Typecast

Last year I promised myself that the best way to maintain sharing stuff-I-found-on-the-internet-that-was-too-important-to-be-passed-by-on-social-media-but-not-long-enough-for-a-blog-post was to keep up this series of "Things I Learnt In..." I don't want to put out content that feels forced or boring and some months you think that you don't have enough material to create a meaningful article or you get to the second week of the next month and think, "Oh, shit. I didn't do my monthly series shizzle".  So, what I learnt in 2016 is that if I miss a month, then it's no biggie.  Here is a mixture of what t'internet and life taught me in November, December and January. When you blog for yourself, writing for magazines is harder than it looks. I was asked to write the lead editorial for one of our annual industry publications at work.  Following on from that I have been given the opportunity to write another lead editorial for a brand new mag...

I remember my first school books having the top two thirds of the page blank for a picture and the bottom third of the page printed with two or three lines for our handwritten story. I much preferred writing to drawing and went through about ten different styles of handwriting before settling into the one I naturally use now. (see in full on Instagram ) I had a pang of nostalgia recently when I became the proud owner of a couple of Sylvine red exercise books. Once upon a time they were my go-to notebook when writing short stories or drawing pictures or playing paper-and-pen games with my sister on long car journeys. The cover of their books has changed (it's no longer shiny) and the pages are perforated but that shade of red hasn't changed... *be still my beating heart* Anyway... this isn't about me and my memories.  It's National Handwriting Day and handwriting is something that always fascinates and amazes me, especially when a comparison of two differe...

We live in a hyperactive world. People are either busy or stressed about not being busy enough. Almost every hour of every day is scheduled with activity, most of that involving work and communication, thanks to technology, is immediate and constant. Yet despite all the apps and software that's now available to supposedly make our lives easier (and some of it definitely does), we're still battling with the issue of productivity. Our demands have increased, but time hasn't. People are working longer hours, losing more and more of their social existence, with very little to show for their efforts. The way to really boost your productivity isn't to try and do more, but to change your habits. Here's how to start: Delegate It's not a weakness to ask for help. All the best leaders understand the importance of delegation to lighten their workload, introduce new perspectives to their work and allow them space to think. It's about understanding your pri...

If you're looking at renting your home it's a good idea to know your rights whether your are a tenant or a landlord.   As a tenant you have the right to live in a property that's in a decent state of repair, to live in the accommodation undisturbed and to be protected from unfair rent and/or eviction - all of which (and more) will be covered in your tenancy agreement which should be signed by you and your landlord before you move in. Landlords need to ensure that they are protected from non-payment of rent and expenses incurred by damage to the property but there's no legal requirement for landlords to have insurance (however, the mortgage lender may insist on it and there are some great deals on landlord insurance to be found). Here's a fabulous infographic from HomeLet which may help answer some of your questions. This is a featured post. To find out more, please read my disclosure policy . ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Pin...

I struggled so much in 2016 to find my headspace when running after coming back from a three month break due to injury and a diagnosis of arthritis in my knees. In March I rejoined our local community Couch to 5k programme, revisited my volunteer role as Group Leader for a few months and then took the personal decision to spend the winter running for me to try and find my sweet spot again in our Progression group (5-10k).  I ended up with a couple of personal best times - just shaving a few seconds off here and there - and started to fall back in love with running again. For 2017 I have three goals and they are not 'time' related.  I need to take that particular pressure off myself but I'm sure that if I stay injury free, the better times will come in the long run ( no pun intended but you can have that as a bonus ).  So my goals are manageable and achievable and which, I hope, will keep me motivated month after month. They are: A medal a month To run 100...

Soundtrack To My Life has taken on many forms over the years. It's a place for me to write mini-listicals about my favourite types of music and it's also a place where friends can share their own favourite songs that take them back to a specific moment in their life. Anyway, I'm always wanting to keep ideas fresh so this year I'm going to publish twelve personal Soundtracks To My Life (one a month), each with a different theme. I'm not one for new year resolutions but I do think it's good to start a new year with positive affirmations and goals that feel achievable.  I've pulled together five songs that currently inspire me -they are from all different eras and their lyrics spring to mind for different reasons. I wanted my choices to be spontaneous rather than over-think this because, otherwise, I would have ended up just linking you to the music section of YouTube and being done with it... So here are my motivational songs for the new year. Let ...

A tumultuous 2016 has not put Brits off spending big in 2017, according to credit score and report site ClearScore . 82% plan to splurge on ‘big ticket’ items next year, with holidays abroad topping the wish list for nearly half of UK adults (45%). “Staycations” follow close behind for 38% and high-end tech, such as MacBooks and SLR cameras will be snapped up by 20% of shoppers. In an ideal world, 69% of Brits would prefer to save up to afford big purchases, such as jet-setting holidays next year. However, the average cost of a British family holiday is almost £5000 and nearly a third (30%) will use credit to foot the bill. 47% say they will use credit to fund at least one of their big ticket purchases in 2017; the most common reason being to spread the cost over a number of months. ClearScore found that credit cards and personal loans are the most popular forms of credit used to pay for big ticket purchases, accounting for 51% and 28% of purchases respectively. While holid...

I get bored easily so was hunting around for new skills to learn and stumbled across origami boxes. It's a brilliant way to recycle magazines or brochures (I'm using my Woodland Trust seasonal magazines at the moment) and the boxes are really handy for collecting up vegetable peelings or tea bags or as temporary holders for your latest craft project. I've even stored some unopened boxes in a box so they are ready to use! I've uploaded a handy YouTube tutorial for you to follow and have written the instructions below - just five steps to follow!! Fold your piece of paper into half and then half again Fold down the corners to form a triangle on both sides Open the flat sides and fold the corners in to the middle fold on both sides Fold up the edge twice on both sides Open out and push the bottom down to create your box. Let me know if you give it a go and tell me what you use your origami boxes for. ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Twitter | Facebook | G...