I don’t quite know where to begin with my usual monthly reflections. February felt like a weird month. I spent so much of it feeling tired and energyless. I felt stuck in first gear. The tiredness dissipated towards the end of the month, but as I pulled together my monthly ‘Look Back’, you’d never know…
Category: Work
A Look Back At January 2023
I can’t quite believe we’re a month into 2023 already! I don’t know about you, but unlike previous years, I really enjoyed January. I eased myself into the New Year and found myself relaxed, with a chilled but positive mindset. If you found yourself bogged down by January (or any other month), I find it…
Setting Goals For The Year Ahead
If you’ve followed my musings for a while, you’ll know I love setting New Year goals. For me, it’s not a case of HAVING to set them. It’s more a case of WANTING to. They keep me focused on things I would like to achieve, and the geek in me loves to keep track of…
My 2022 Goals in Review – Q3
As if we’re coming to the end of Q3 already đ«. I honestly don’t know where the last quarter has gone, and I’m overwhelmed with how quickly the end of the year is approaching. However, from a goals point of view, I always feel like the last quarter is about seeing and appreciating results rather…
My Italian Adventure – Part 2
After a lovely long weekend in Ferrara with my friend Magdalena, it was time to head south, back to Bologna, where I would spend the next four nights. Magdalena accompanied me to Bologna as she didn’t have to work until that evening, and as a newbie to travelling solo in a city, it was nice…
A Look Back At July
I started July in Italy, albeit on the last day of my trip. I had a late flight home, so I had a full day to explore Bologna before I headed back to the airport. I took the opportunity to climb to the top of the Towers of Bologna, eat some more pizza, and indulge…
My 2022 Goals in Review â Q2
A little later than planned, but I’ve spent the weekend reviewing my goals for this year to see where I am and to think about any further tweaks I need to make as we move into the latter half of 2022. I find that blogging about my goals helps me to: Check on my progress;…
A Look Back At April
I know I say this a lot, but I genuinely don’t know where April went! It came and went in a flash. We’re currently enjoying a bank holiday weekend here in the UK, and it’s nice to have some time to stop and catch my breath after a hectic month. Here’s a little look back…
Claiming Universal Credit
Would you like to know a secret? Did you know that if you’re self-employed and work in the United Kingdom, you could be eligible to claim Universal Credit? I’ve been claiming Universal Credit (UC) for just under a year, and it’s been an absolute godsend, especially in the early days of starting my business. With…
A Look Back At February
At the end of each month (or the beginning of the next!) I like to look back on the highs and lows of the month. February was a challenging month for so many people. When countries are at war, it can be challenging to know how to help. Yet we feel this overwhelming sense that…
New Year New Goals
Happy New Year! The end of 2021 flew by, and I found myself taking my lengthiest break from writing so far! I wanted to write, but time kept disappearing. In the past, I would’ve beaten myself up about this. This time, however, I decided to be kind to myself and accept that something had to…
2021 Goals Review – September
By the time you’ll be reading this post, we’ll be in October and heading towards some of my favourite events of the year. There’s something so magical about Autumn. I almost get as excited for Halloween and Bonfire Night as I do Christmas! With the New Year less than 13 weeks away, it’s time to…
The Best Way To See Cheddar Gorge
Last week I finally took a week off work. After nine months of freelancing and with limited breaks, I was bordering on burnout. Thankfully, my family had booked four nights in a caravan for mid-September, which would give us all a much-needed break. Somerset, which is in South West England, is one of the largest…
How Do You Know When It’s Time To Take A Break?
If you’re reading this blog post hoping to find the answer to this question, you might want to look away now. Unfortunately, it’s a question I don’t have the answer to yet. I haven’t had a week off work since Christmas, and the last couple of weeks have been a struggle as a result. Perhaps…
The Downside To Being Freelance
Earlier this month, I wrote a blog post called ‘The Highs of Being a Freelancer‘. As promised, I’m back with another blog post, and this time, I’m aiming to balance out the highs with the things that are slightly less enjoyable about freelance life. I mulled over the title of this post for ages. Should…
The Highs of Being a Freelancer
When I became a freelance writer, I had no idea what to expect. I wasn’t someone who had planned for years to become a freelancer. I had taken redundancy the previous summer and decided I wanted to do something which involved two of my biggest passions – writing and helping others. Since then, my freelance…
The Aftermath of Being Made Redundant
Last August, a week before I was due to move, my boss gathered the senior management team on a call and told us we were all at risk of redundancy. Or in official terms, our jobs were at risk. I had two choices: To stay and fight for a new role Leave an organisation I…
My Top #5 Apps for Newbie Freelance Writers
Earlier this year, I snowballed into the world of writing. As much as I knew I wanted to chase a career as a freelance writer, I was starting everything from scratch. Up until that point, I’d spent most of my adult life working in sports governance. I had a massive network in football, but I…
Fresh Air, Photoshoots & The Mindful Gingernut
Happy Easter to you if you’re reading this over the Easter bank holiday weekend. Whether you’re celebrating Easter or not, I hope you’re having a lovely bank holiday weekend. The spring sunshine is out in full force here today, although rumour has it that winter may be returning tomorrow with the chance of snow. As…
Snow, Vaccinations & A Trip To The Vets
As January comes to an end, I thought I would write a summary of the madness which has unfolded over the last few weeks. Not only does it give me time to revisit the month just gone, but it also allows me to reflect on the month, clearing the way for a new chapter as…
Why being Authentic is Important to me
18 months ago, I sat in my mid-year review with my boss. He’d gone through an exercise with the wider team to get feedback from the team about the senior managers (if it wasn’t for the fact we had also been asked to carry this out with our own teams, I may’ve now been suspicious…
Why redundancy doesn’t scare me
August was largely a month of celebrations: I celebrated 2 years of The Mindful Gingernut; I moved out of central London and into my new suburban flat; I finally saw my family for the first time since March; I celebrated my 18 month anniversary with my boyfriend (no mean feat by my standards!); And I…
What is Your Life Mission?
What is a life mission? Iâve spent a lot of time thinking about my life mission lately. Iâve been engrossed in Richard N. Bolles manual for job hunters and career changers, âWhat Color is Your Parachute?â. Richard is famed for his âflower exerciseâ, where he takes the reader through a number of exercises which gets…
Day 2 – Working from home during a pandemic
Day 2 of working from home, and the struggle is already real. Weâre not yet in lockdown in the UK, although I sense weâre not far off, particularly in London. The Governmentâs decision on Monday to ask people to work from home where possible, came at a reasonable time for us. We already had Tuesday…
The End of the World as we Know it?
As I left the office this evening, you would never have known we were in the midst of a pandemic. The birds were singing happily and the air felt fresh, but with the hint of warm spring days to come. Yet just a couple of hours ago, it was announced by the UK Government that…
The Mindful Gingernut 