S03E04: Looking After Your Conservator

C is for: Caring

We team up with Lorraine Finch to talk about how to look after your conservator: we cover topics like wellbeing and self-care, while also discussing what employers and managers can do to keep staff in good condition. We talk to Dr Michelle Huws-Thomas about burnout and stress in the workplace, and we interview Sam Jenkins from the Museum Wellness Network. Also tune in for a review of ‘Objective Lessons: Self Care for Museum Workers’ by Seema Rao.

00:01:04 News in brief
00:05:11 Defining ‘wellbeing’ and ‘self care’
00:07:32 What’s wellbeing to us?
00:17:46 Lab pets and yoga practice
00:22:11 The power of body language
00:25:23 Swedish fika and the art of taking a break
00:28:11 Different types of stress
00:35:28 Mindfulness and its place in conservation
00:41:43 Mental health: Lorraine and Jenny’s stories
00:48:45 Tips for improved wellbeing
00:50:17 Interview with Dr Michelle Huws-Thomas
01:05:41 Warning signs and remembering to recharge
01:07:30 Rust out
01:11:45 Interview with Sam Jenkins
01:21:18 Review: Objective Lessons – Self Care for Museum Professions

Show Notes:
– Article on clothes moth spread: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/22/how-to-avoid-clothes-moths-live-in-the-east-midlands
– Pests in Houses Great and Small – Identification, Prevention and Eradication by Dee Lauder and David Pinniger: https://amzn.to/2HBYSBc
– Museum Practice on Wellbeing: https://www.museumsassociation.org/museum-practice/wellbeing
– Staff and Volunteer Wellbeing article in Museum Practice (members only): https://www.museumsassociation.org/museum-practice/wellbeing/16042018-staff-and-volunteer-wellbeing
– Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/
– Presence – Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy: https://amzn.to/2r94Q1r
– TED talk about the power of body language: https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are
– What is Fika? https://www.thekitchn.com/what-in-the-world-is-fika-an-intro-to-the-swedish-coffee-break-the-art-of-fika-219297
– Headspace app: https://www.headspace.com/
– The Curse of Lovely by Jacqui Marson: https://amzn.to/2I7SXmS
– Clore leadership course: https://www.cloreleadership.org/
– Rust Out: https://www.healthcentral.com/article/rustout-causes-symptoms-and-cures
– Mental Health First Aid training: https://mhfaengland.org/
– Joyful Museums: http://www.joyfulmuseums.com/
– The Happy Museum Project: http://happymuseumproject.org/
– Museum 5 a day: https://twitter.com/Muse5aday
– Museum Wellness Network: https://museumwellnessnetwork.wordpress.com/
– Objective Lessons – Self Care for Museum Professions: https://amzn.to/2KsSaLU

Further Resources:
– Jenny’s favourite yoga instructor on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene/videos
– The Blurt Foundation Resources: https://www.blurtitout.org/resources/
– Museum Wellness Network on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Museum_Wellness
– Mental Health at Work: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/
– NHS Moodzone: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/

Book Recommendations from Lorraine and Jenny:
– Quiet – The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain: https://amzn.to/2rbPGbV
– Sane New World – Taming the Mind by Ruby Wax: https://amzn.to/2vZd6a0
– The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer: https://amzn.to/2HKuv7C
– The Self-Care Project by Jayne Hardy: https://amzn.to/2HJrqVD

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Hosted by Jenny Mathiasson, Kloe Rumsey and Lorraine Finch.

Intro and outro music by DDmyzik used under a Creative Commons Attribution license. Additional sound effects and music by Calum Robertson.

Made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

A Wooden Dice production, 2018.

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