Talking to Paula Bennett on the Ask Me Anything podcast, Lockhart speaks about the strange “grey space” she now inhabits.
“You have to live a little bit in the now, a little bit in the near future, and a little bit in the planning for the far future,” she says.
That new awareness of time sits in interesting contrast to the four-day working week Lockhart and her partner Andrew Barnes began trialling 2018 with their company Perpetual Guardian.
“What we were interested in was how do you improve productivity in the business,” Lockhart says.
They were concerned people weren’t bringing their best selves to work and curious about whether that might be because “people’s lives were getting in the way”.
The trial was a huge success with Lockhart and Barnes noticing staff used constraints of a shorter work week to find more efficient ways to achieve the same amount of productivity, but in less time.
She also says the increase in personal time improves the overall wellbeing and attitude of the workforce.
“People spend more time with family … more time at yoga or getting fit … and more time in their communities … all of those things top you up.”
Since her diagnosis, the value of time spent well has become even more significant for Lockhart.
“When I got my diagnosis and I thought, hell’s teeth, I might not be a grandmother. And it made me realise that, with that one statement, I had wished my children’s life away.”
Making the most of the time she has left means Lockhart sometimes has to pull herself out of the “quagmire of quicksand”.
“Life is messy and sometimes you don’t have a good now. And your near future doesn’t feel good. So you’ve got to try and find ways to change that for yourself. No one else is going to change anything for you.”
Listen to the full episode for more from Charlotte Lockhart on:
- How AI and new medical advances are rapidly changing cancer treatment.
- Her years living in the Middle East and how that shaped her worldview.
- The support networks that have helped her, including Sweet Louise and the breast cancer community.
Ask Me Anything is an NZ Herald podcast hosted by former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett. New episodes are available every Sunday.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
