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How to have a calm Christmas
Review of Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year by Beth Kempton (2019, 227 pages) As much as I love celebrating Christmas with my nearest and dearest, it can be a really stressful time of year! It is easy to get caught up in the preparations, trying to meet expectations, and frantically attempting to create the ‘picture perfect’ Christmas that you see on social media, all while juggling work commitments and the numerous events that begin to fill up the school calendar. You might find that after ‘the big day’ you are feeling worn out, fatigued and promising yourself that next year will be different. In Calm Christmas and a…
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The route to self-acceptance
What did you learn about loving and accepting yourself as you were growing up? What is your relationship with yourself like now? When I was growing up, to ‘love yourself’ was actually considered an insult! Unlike today, where we see messages plastered all over social media telling us to go forth and love ourselves, the phrase often implied that you were vain, self-centred and overly confident and, in an attempt to take you down a peg or two, it was hurled at you if you dared to walk around with your head held high. Believe me, you did not want to be seen to be loving yourself! Looking back, I…
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Build a self-care routine that serves you!
I must admit that my level of self-care has been pretty minimal at times. I particularly remember when my children were very young and I would find myself caught up in a flurry of feeds, nappy changing, playing, medical appointments and, because I like to make life extra challenging, I was studying at the same time! So, self-care was not on the radar much, apart from getting sleep…and a good night’s sleep was like gold! I also experienced a lot of guilt around self-care. If I did relax and make time for myself I would worry that I was not doing something important around the house (because my own care…
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Keeping your cool at Christmas time
Now that the shops have had all the Christmas gear out for a good few months, 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 aim for a more chilled experience this time around! I want to be able to kick back and relax come 25th December so, as a bit of a ‘note to self’, here are some of the points I am going to bear…
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Make your day work for you!
Sometimes it seems like we are at the mercy of the day’s events! We might start off with the best of intentions, that we are going to have a highly productive day, breeze through our tasks and bask in that wonderful feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment by the end of it…. Yet we find ourselves having to sort out an array of issues that pop out of nowhere and just seem to get sidetracked and distracted throughout the day. By the time we manage to put our feet up, we realise that we have done very little of what we actually needed (or wanted) to do! While we are not…
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Managing Work and Study Successfully
Have you been mulling over the prospect of undertaking some further study to develop your knowledge and skills and make the next move in your career? Before you start searching and applying for suitable courses, you may be wondering how on earth you will balance your existing workload with study and all your other personal commitments?! Perhaps you have already enrolled on a course and have been intending to complete it but life just seems to keep getting in the way? Well, I have been there…many times! I have always had a strong passion for learning therefore work and study have often gone hand in hand during my career. I…
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5 Morning Journal Prompts To Kickstart Your Day
I have often fantasised about having one of those super chilled and invigorating morning routines that are frequently recommended in the personal development and wellbeing space. You know, where you wake up naturally, basking in warm sunlight, switch on a guided meditation, slip into your stretchy pants and do some gentle exercise, have a healthy breakfast, read a few pages of a book, and then journal until your hearts content… While I have been able to incorporate some of these things into my morning routine, the reality is that during the week I am a mum of two, and the beginning of the day mainly involves making sure that both…
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What’s Your Summer Holiday Survival Strategy?
The end of the school year is in sight (or it may already be done and dusted for some of us!) and that six week stretch will soon be upon us. On the one hand there is the wonderful prospect of quality time with the family, heading off on holidays, exploring new places together, and not having to leap out of bed for the school run (whoop!) On the other hand though there is the dreaded juggling act between work and home life, figuring out how much holiday you can afford to take, who is going to look after the kids, and how you are going to keep them suitably…
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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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What has Lego got to do with self-care?
Review of Build Yourself Happy by Abbie Headon (DK, 160 pages) When you think of mindful, relaxing activities that take you away from all the hustle and bustle of daily life, Lego building may not immediately come to mind… But then, as Abbie Headon points out right from the beginning of her book, Build Yourself Happy*, there is something joyful and liberating about allowing yourself to get lost in play even when you are all grown up! *Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops. It certainly provides a much needed break from your everyday routine and…
