On the holiday-work juggle

Our design correspondent Daniel Benneworth-Gray has escaped work for a family holiday. Or has he…?

Day one. We’ve escaped and headed to the sea. The seemingly endless school holiday makes working from home a tad chaotic, a relentless tug-of-war between clients and family. There are deadlines and Pokémon cards all over the place, piling on top of each other. Our holiday needs a holiday.

So for the next few days, our home is the wonderfully named Boggle Hole, a charming little YHA hostel (and former pirate hideout) just south of Robin Hood’s Bay. Nothing to do here but take walks on the beach, eat fish and chips, gaze at the horizon, prod ex-crabs, bore everyone by excitedly pointing to locations from Phantom Thread, walk back along the beach. This is exactly what I need, the pressures of work out of sight and out of mind.

… Except maybe for an hour or so in the evening once the boy is asleep. Just a peek at my inbox to catch up on some urgent emails, chase a few outstanding invoices, that sort of thing. Maybe an hour in the morning too. Don’t want to take my eye off any balls or spinning plates while I’m away. Just the tiniest of peeks.