Working from home: Neil Findlay

The Scottish Labour MSP for Lothian shares his home office space

Describe the view and what it means to you?

The view is of my back garden and kitchen. I try to work from my 'man shed' which is a hotly disputed term as my wife and daughter call it the 'women’s shed'. I built the base and my pal who is a joiner did the rest. We use it all the time, sitting with the doors open in the summer, having a 'few' drinks and listening to some top tunes, usually a bit of Ska, punk, new wave, Northern Soul or a bit of Johnny Cash or, Willie Nelson.

What are a few things that you have in your work area?

I have around me a record player turntable and lots of albums, downloads don’t do it for me as they don’t come with a cool album cover, the words to the tracks or moody pictures of the artist. I also have some pictures on the wall of my top band The Jam and my trout fishing gear stored in there as well.

If I need a break, I get my fishing stuff prepared from my next trip to the River Tay. That is when I have a real break away from it all – sadly fishing is suspended during the lockdown too, this will impact badly on the rural economy. I am currently converting an old van into a camper so I hope to get away in it during the summer. 

What’s your top tip for working from home?

Top tip for working from home is the same as when in parliament. Start early and get through the bulk of your emails before you get distracted by other things or people. I have always been an early riser, this comes from when I worked on building sites, I believe it is a good routine to get into. The biggest distraction as always is social media – however during this crisis it has been great way of getting information to people very quickly.

What do you miss most about being in the office?

Easy, the mac and cheese in the canteen... and the best shortbread ever, made by the parliament chefs (don’t tell my wife I said that!)