A week in the life... Catherine Duhaut

Catherine Duhaut, co-founder and director of Newcastle-based BeaconHouse Events, provides an insight into her typical working week, highlighting how she balances commercial sector demands with life outside the office.

Monday: What gets you motivated for the start of the working week?
Working in events is one of those industries where you don’t really plan your time in days and weeks, more months and years!

Long-term planning is key to seeing consistency and success in the delivery of our large-scale projects, and as a team, we set weekly milestones as our first task on a Monday morning.

I love starting the week with a task list; it gives me a clear overview of how my week is going to pan out and I find motivation in ticking the tasks off before scheduling and planning time for contingency tasks.

I get my motivation from doing the thing I love.

Since starting the company in 2014, I haven’t once had the ‘Sunday fear’, and having flexibility in working hours has really helped my work/life balance.

Having a team that also gets their kicks from events is a huge driver too.

Tuesday: The diary is full of meetings and commitments – how do you balance such responsibilities with productivity?

Monday sets me up with a game plan. I’m a big believer in something I call ‘capsule working’ (I’m sure someone cleverer than I will have already named this in a scientific study).

I plan my meetings with action time; I plan my project work with buffers for delayed communications and complexities; and then plan for everything not to go to plan.

It’s a curse of the industry; we’re suckers for a plan but we’re realists and know that external influences can alter everything.

I’m not superhuman; I often put myself under pressure to over-achieve in a week, and I often fail to be as proactive as I’d like in some areas of the business.

Client work typically always takes priority, but client satisfaction is also what keeps our business thriving, so I can feel productive in one element and re-balance the rest.

I don’t really see responsibilities and productivity as separate things.

Wednesday: Halfway there – how do you stay focused and re-energise yourself for the days to come?

Shaking things up. Getting on with a task that’s been sitting for a while and feeling a sense of accomplishment that I’ve finally tackled it.

Or something creative – I did media production at university, and I still love all elements of production.

Any opportunity I get, I’ll be getting involved with set design, stage management, designing some marketing collateral or getting up to speed with a new piece of equipment or software to enhance event experience.

I also love spitballing new event ideas with the full team or having the opportunity to be a guest at another event – I take so much from meeting new people and gaining new experiences.

We’re doing a big focus on tackling food waste at events this year and I thrive on finding solutions, so some proactive research and chats with people who are working in that area will certainly re-energise me.

Thursday: The weekend draws closer – how do you remain on top of your to-do list as the end of the week gets nearer?

We use project management tools that constantly remind us to get on top of our task lists.

By Thursday, if I’m not up to speed on everything, I’ll spend some time reallocating non-priority tasks and assisting the team where needed.

A supportive team all working to a common goal with shared values is key to our business operations – we make a lot of effort to collaborate to ensure we’re all working as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Friday: The last day – how do you approach Fridays, and how do you unwind over the weekend?

At the minute, I don’t work on a Friday.

I take the day to look after my young kids, so I approach Fridays in much the same way I do the rest of the week.

I make a plan, I allow for buffers and I reallocate as needed.

I can tell you, in my 18 years of experience, the most challenging clients to date are my two daughters and, more often than not, my well-constructed plan goes out the window.

Parenthood came as a shock to someone who prides themselves on time management and executing a plan well!

I unwind over the weekend by enjoying nature.

I’ll be walking, hiking or strolling with various dependents, be that the kids or our Bernese Mountain Dog.

I’ll be enjoying a coffee and pastry in Whitley Bay, I’ll be cooking up a storm or, if I manage to persuade someone to take over my responsibilities, the hubby and I would escape to one of the many restaurants on my hit list, enjoy a bottle of wine and – of course – get planning for the next day…

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