Woody Wonders

Remember in my January blog when we spoke about how important it was to ease yourself into the year and not put yourself under pressure?  Well, I was talking with a friend recently and she was feeling a bit down on herself because she was feeling a bit out of control with life and not able to do some of the things she'd planned to do during January.  "Hey, don't worry" I told her, "let's make February the new January"! It's ok if things didn't quite go to plan for you in January, that was exactly the point I was trying to make in my previous blog.  January is about testing the water, starting to think about what you want to do over the course of the next few months but maybe not putting them into action yet. So, now is the perfect time during February to up the ante a little bit, let's take a few more baby steps so we are ready to emerge all guns blazing ready for the start of Spring in March. Let's do some reflection on January: What di...

Adapting to new ways of working  and staying healthy As we continue to change and adapt our lives at this difficult time, many of you may already be working from home or will be doing so at some point in the coming weeks.  As someone who may have said to their colleagues in the past, "working from home? yeah right", you're in for a big shock if you thought it meant sitting in your PJ's all day whilst having Netflix on.  You have to contend with distractions, communication issues and it can be very isolating.   Below are a few tips and things to think about to help you transition into home working whilst staying productive and healthy. Have a morning routine.   Routines help to provide the stability we need during difficult times.  First of all, many of you will no longer have a long commute to work so make the most of this time.  Don't stay in bed, get up and do some exercise, even better if you can get outside for some fresh air a...

We are living in a strange  and worrying time I did have some material prepared for this week's blog but it seemed insignificant in light of what's been happening over the course of the week.  So I thought I'd talk about how we can all help ourselves, others and pull together during this very difficult time. Regardless of what our individual opinions on Corona virus are, we are in this together whether we like it or not.  We are now past the point of no return and can no longer ignore it, even if we are a healthy individual.  As a healthy individual it is within our power to alleviate the pressure on the NHS so that they can focus on our high risk and vulnerable loved ones.   Be the bigger person, even if you only have mild symptoms then please self-isolate and under no circumstances mix with anyone at high risk.  You could well be the person who saves hundreds of lives by staying at home. Employers also have a part to play in th...

What a wonderful time of year .... right?!! This is an honest, warts and all blog so look away now if you're easily offended. Christmas, a time to show how much you care for your loved ones and spend time with the family.  What could possibly go wrong??  Well in my experience, lots!  I used to get incredibly stressed at this time of year when I was younger, trying to please everyone and rushing round visiting everyone.  Jeez, it's not as if you're never going to see these people again so why do you end up trying to squeeze in visits to 36 people in the space of 3 days.   The fact is that you can't please everyone and it's your time for a break just as much as everyone else's but we don't want to admit that do we, so instead we put our own happiness to one side and focus on everyone else.  Is it any wonder then that by the time Christmas is over we're completely frazzled and burnt out instead of feeling energised and ready to face the New ...