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Let’s talk about the ‘F’ word…
Well, I don’t know about you but I’m thinking about FUN! How much of it do you have in your life currently? I know it can be hard to remember what fun is and how it even feels to have fun after the dire events of the last 12 months! However, it’s something that really struck me after looking back over 2020 and realising just how much I had thrown myself into working, studying, and stepping out of my comfort zone (which I can safely say also takes a lot of energy and emotion!) When it came to prioritising some carefree fun that would help to fill up my cup…
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Kickstart your yearly review and find your focus for the year ahead
After reluctantly emerging from my Christmas cocoon, and finding out that another lengthy period of lockdown loomed ahead, I made the decision to pause and take stock of the last 12 months. I wanted to extract any useful ‘life lessons’ that I could from what was such a challenging time (for many different reasons), to ponder ‘What next?’ and start the year with renewed focus and something positive to work towards as lockdown continued. If, like me, you love putting pen to paper and taking time out to journal (or just really want to give it a try) then I have packed this post full of questions that will prompt…
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Keeping your cool at Christmas time
Now that the shops (well, ok those that are still open!) have had all the Christmas gear out for a good few months now, and we are well and truly in the run up to the ‘big day’, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on how I have prepared for Christmas in the past so that I can take a few of the lessons that I have learned from those moments and have a more chilled experience this time around, especially considering the fact that it has turned out to be an incredibly turbulent and inconceivable year! I want to be able to kick back and…
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The two parenting books that helped me through lockdown (and beyond!)
Review of Mindfulness for Mums by Izzy Judd and The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read by Philippa Perry I have never been much of a fan of parenting books, and after nearly 12 years of being a mum I have managed to steer clear of them, probably owing to some fear that they would confirm I was getting it all wrong and really was as clueless as I felt! Having come to an acceptance over the years that I don’t have to have it all sussed, and that seeking support is absolutely not a sign of weakness or inadequacy, I was curious about what I could learn from…
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Pause, Reflect, and Discover… What can you learn from lockdown?
As we take tentative steps towards opening up our businesses and communities, as well as making our own personal emergence from lockdown, there will undoubtedly be a mixed bag of feelings and a whole range of different experiences. Maybe you have actually relished the time to pause or perhaps there was no time to pause at all and you were busier than ever. You might have had to spend time recovering from the virus or have endured a long period of isolation to shield yourself and other family members from it. Maybe you have been going through immense heartache and have been grieving over the loss of loved ones, or…
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Nothing compares to you…
What to do when you feel like you don’t quite measure up to others I know I should really give myself a break, like many people in lockdown right now I’m in the midst of adjusting to a new way of life, figuring out this home learning business, and dealing with the uncertainty of not knowing what life will be like for us all afterwards. Yet, in spite of all the upheaval, and the fact that we are all just doing our best to get by right now, I’ve still found that whenever I’ve been scrolling through social media to see what the outside world is up to, I’ve been…
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Coping strategies for self-isolation and social distancing
And just like that, in an instant, life as we know it has dramatically changed. All the routines, comforts and freedoms that we took for granted are no more or are becoming scarcer and harder for us to carry out. I have spent my days watching the unfolding situation in horror and with immense sadness, seeing the suffering and ensuing chaos that is going on around the globe. Since coronavirus hit the UK I have been busy adapting to our new reality, cancelling upcoming plans, and bobbing between feelings of disbelief, frustration, panic, confusion and fear (as well as seriously counting my blessings!) Unfortunately, my career is now on pause.…
