Happiness Matters

July 20, 2020

Time management and lists

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Time management and lists

Using even very rudimentary time management and lists of things I need to do, then going one step further and setting up a weekday timetable, helps me to focus. What I’ve been putting off becomes harder to ignore, besides which I find I have much more headspace to make life more interesting and enjoyable.

Compiling lists puts all outstanding matters up front, spelled out in black and white, so I don’t have to carry reminders around in my head. If I go one step further and compile the rudiments of a timetable for each weekday, I can change and refine what I decide to do, testing out what works. In itself, the thought that goes into setting up a timetable gives me the added incentive to follow through and commit to what I’ve already decided.

It doesn’t matter so much what I put in my schedule: respecting the thought and commitment implicit in setting one up, I find it much easier to tailor my other tasks around it without having to find awkward excuses. To say, “I’m sorry, I’m busy” is enough, and far easier than, “I’ve timetabled work that day,” which always invites a counter argument, “Oh, but surely, just this once?” or “But you don’t have to work today, surely?” Beware of people planting the idea that what they have planned for you is more important than what you have timetabled.

Another major bonus of timetabling deployed for even a couple of weeks, is that allocated timeslots quickly become habit forming. We get used to doing a thing regularly at a set time, and so it gets easier. Writing between, say, 2pm and 5pm on weekdays; hoovering on Monday mornings early; supper prep never before five of an evening. Little steps like this soon build into a self-respecting habit, which also means it is very much easier to relax and enjoy our free time when we have scheduled a “Weekend off!”

Thanks for listening. 

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July 9, 2020

Tools of time management

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Tools of time management.

Since I work for myself, I have to be both my own organiser and the one who gets things done. I have to be the one who says what goes, and who does what she’s told. And lately – in fact, for far too long – I’ve been prevaricating and feeling a bit lost, because I have not understood that both roles have different purposes, and both roles are essential.

So, instead of actively using tools of time management and organising my time – accepting the role of organiser – I’ve been hiding in books and in details. It’s very easy, in a lockdown situation to hide from the realisation that I’ve been stalling. I’ve needed someone to tell me what to do. But – Ha! – that is my job. So….?

So I have to be the one who sets up my own timetable. This very quickly gives my weeks a structure that enables me to allocate different times to certain allotted tasks. Having committed the time in advance, I do not then find myself thinking endlessly about all those other tasks which still have to be done and which are less than thrilling: shopping, laundry, meal prep…

With the help of a timetable, routine jobs are given their allocated time, before which I am allowed to accumulate a small pile of things that will be dealt with then. So I can stop thinking about them. That way, I free up loads of space and crucial mental energy for many of the things I prefer to do, deploying timetabling so that I can say, “Sorry, I’m busy at the moment…” and mean it.

Having even the rudiments of a timetable is as important to tell us what we can leave doing until later, as for reminding us what we can do now.

Thanks for reading.

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June 25, 2020

What to expect from Covid

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What to expect from Covid.

I read worrying news that Covid is on the rise again in China, the country whose experiences in the latest infection control seem to be the lodestar for the rest of the world. New outbreaks, more infectious, with a super-spreader at the centre, requiring the tracing and testing of literally hundreds, then thousands, of people. Elsewhere, there are sporadic outbreaks in countries that have previously managed to keep their outbreaks under control. More infectious may not mean more deadly, but it’s all to be seen.

And what can we do? I’m not sure what to expect from Covid. It seems that, if we pursue the Scottish objective to its logical conclusion, the hope is that Covid will be eradicated here. There are some smaller countries that have managed eradication, presumably at the cost of not allowing travel beyond a radius of say, ten miles, controlling cross-border movement and so on: difficult to maintain, though presumably cross-border controls will continue to be necessary for a fixed or limited period – a year, six months? – and then gradually, we may hope to see them lifted, as part of a package of measures including widespread testing, quarantine arrangements for those who have to travel and eventually, an effective vaccine.

Meantime, here we all sit each of us alone and together as our family circumstances dictate, waiting to hear, and increasingly dependent on our on-line tools for social and business interaction. I worry most about our children, who cannot be expected to learn everything from their carers, no matter how well balanced or optimistic the adults around them might be, and who rely on people from outside their family circle to evolve and develop socially.

I am puzzled by the ramifications of losing physical sharing, laughter and picnics in the park, and I have to hope that life can resume, eventually, allowing us to emerge into daylight, in groups, and sharing hugs, whispered secrets and good times.

Thanks for listening.

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June 16, 2020

Holidays in lockdown

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Holidays in lockdown

How do we take holidays in lockdown? It might seem peculiar, in a time of enforced mass inactivity, to talk of Summer holidays. We don’t want time off work! We need to get back to work…! And yet, old habits die hard: despite the changes, we are advised to keep things as “normal” as possible, our usual yearly activities almost always include a long summer vacation and in less that two weeks, both my husband and my daughter will be “on holiday”.

If we are forced to shelter in place or isolate, how can we enjoy a holiday feeling? I have a few suggestions which you can maybe relate to, and which I hope will soften the blow of a staycation, even if you are yearning to get away.

~ Since holidays are all about being looked after by others, take steps to share the burdens of daily living: routine tasks such as cooking, cleaning and laundry are much more fun when shared. Make a party of it and put on music, dance.

~ Buy a new set of linen and put it on the bed. Freshly laundered sheets always make me feel happier.

~ With our weekly shop, we can experiment with new foods, dishes and meals that take the sweat out of cooking. Eat a main meal at lunchtime instead of in the evening and try out new salads, drinks and prepared foods. Short-cuts can be such a boost.

~ I’ve cleared out my wardrobe again and I’m wearing a lot of the clothes I keep “for special occasions”. If you’re anything like me, the time is fast approaching when that special occasion is right now, this minute. If you need matching gear, order it on-line, and if that is beyond your budget, browse for ideas and accessorise with what you have at home.

~ Clear out cupboards and put together a present box: wrapping papers, celebration bags, ribbons and bows. Recycle the old, well used seasonal stuff that you don’t really like, so that you know, next time you want to wrap a present, it’s all organised tidy for you. Then exchange presents for the season. Small is beautiful.

~ spend more time outdoors in all weathers. There’s no restriction on walking and travelling near home, so let’s spend more time out in the fresh air. It’s such a wonderful time of year.

I’ve been up since the crack of dawn and have already recorded and sent a contribution to The Word Bin, a new audio podcast, “The Word Bin” from Fair Acre Press. Check out the link and have a go, it’s great fun!

Thanks for listening.

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May 26, 2020

What I do in lockdown

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What I do in lockdown

What I do in lockdown has altered my views so that all my workaday and long-held assumptions are being challenged.

I’m sure that, six months ago, if I’d said I would prioritise hoovering on Mondays, and washing sheets, taking out the recycling, remembering to place gardening bins on the kerb just to give me something to do of a weekday morning, I would have guffawed loudly. That, I would have opined, would have been as likely as my daughter settling down to do jigsaws, which hitherto she has scorned.

Yet, in the last few weeks, both Seline and I have completed about seven or eight jigsaws each, with no complaint and a great deal of enthusiasm.

Instead of complaining about domesticity, I now thank my lucky stars when I can visit the supermarket, am grateful there is food on the shelves, and shop conservatively, mindful of the twin injunctions to shop as infrequently as possible, but without hoarding. I’m grateful too, for daily acts of heroism from those who keep turning up for work in hospitals, schools and shops, fearful, perhaps, of becoming unwell, but also grateful to have gainful – and such useful! – employment.

One of the good things to have come out of this current situation is the recognition, finally, that the “small” occupations many people have, are vital for all of us. The recognition that ordinary people, going about their usual jobs, are really important to the continuing function of their communities; that to be relied upon, as a teacher, a medical technician or a parent must be, is a useful, indeed one of the best, ways to contribute meaningfully.

Whatever else I may learn, the restraints currently imposed on us have taught me, finally, what it truly means to perform routine tasks willingly and with a peaceful heart. So many of us have to take risks that I am not, nor ever have been, called upon to take. And I am grateful to them.

Thanks for reading.

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April 30, 2020

A different world

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A Different World

Lockdown has brought with it the realisation that, for all our privileged existence, there are aspects of the way we live that we must change, if we are to continue having any quality of life. Though they present major challenges, the current restrictions also offer un-looked for opportunities to consider that a different world is possible.

I don’t find that the lockdown restrictions so far imposed have yet changed my daily routines or expectations radically; except perhaps to bring with them the beneficial awareness that yes, I can go for walks, and so I should make the most of that. Because I am only allowed to venture out once a day – though again, that is not such a change from my usual limitations – I find myself rejoicing when I do: official restrictions have made me very grateful and appreciative of the freedoms I enjoy.

Perhaps we will all have to re-frame or curb our notions of what we have grown used to, but the end result is that we are usually more appreciative of what we have.

The season, and the weather, are especially lovely at the moment, the routes are calm and quiet, and I can hear loud birdsong in the bushes that, un-tended, have been left to flourish. They are that shade of almost painfully bright, light green that makes me breathless.

Robins chirping loudly, blackbirds flitting and warbling, song thrushes trilling, do remind me what an invasion our usual motor vehicle noise is. The fresh green grass and the bright and blue skies unmarked by vapour trails remind me, too, that we must find ways to share the world so as not to destroy it.

We can do this, and we must. So I’m grateful for what I have and look forward to a quieter, more equitable way of living when lockdown restrictions are eased.

Thanks for reading.

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April 14, 2020

Happy Easter

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Happy Easter

It’s been a long time since I posted a blog. Despite enjoying acres of unusually unstructured time, currently I’m finding it hard to (a) find the level of privacy I usually enjoy and which allows me to work without the constant feeling that I’m excluding the rest of my family. Is this a common experience? I’m also finding it hard to (b) focus on writing about anything that is the usual subject matter for this blog, which frankly pales into stark insignificance in the face of our current health, social and economic dilemmas.

Unless I am writing in a strictly fictional context in which our previous “normal” life expectations can continue unchanged – as good a defence of fiction as I have yet come across – every word I write will be coloured by our current over-riding preoccupations.

Apart from having to live with a continual, low-grade anxiety about our future global prospects, I realise that my usual topics of conversation – editing, indie publishing, proof reading, how I read books, techniques that I have deployed to help me finish a book I’m writing – are likely to be met with the response, “Who cares? Don’t you know there is a pandemic on?” or “It hardly matters at the moment, does it? I’d count myself lucky, if I were you!” And I do, most sincerely.

So I read the news, while trying not to take it too much to heart, I fret about the future prospects of such unguarded continents as Africa, and I wonder where we will be in a year’s time. And I recommend reading cheerful, forgiving books that entertain while also being enlightening and heart-warming. Bill Bryson is my current re-read favourite, a joy which I’m delighted to say, my husband seems to have finally cottoned on to. Which makes a nice change from his usual preoccupation with books about the Great War, the Irish Wars of Independence or Edmund Burke’s Political Philosophy.

Happy Easter season. Stay well, and thanks for reading.

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March 13, 2020

To be happy

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To be happy

It seems to be increasingly difficult to be happy or peaceful when, lately, lots of things seem to be happening to us, and “out of the blue”: at the end of a bruising and politically divisive three years, on 31st January, 2020, the UK finally left the EU. After the flags had finally been re-arranged following the end of the final – final – extension period, full-page adverts placed by the UK government appeared in newspapers to remind the few of us who might have forgotten, that, “The UK has now left the European Union”. Good to know that, in the face of gloomy post-Brexit forecasts, revenues were being well deployed.

At the same time, at the end of last year, new headlines were appearing indicating the origins of coronavirus in Wuhan and speculating wildly about its causes, spread, and likely mortality rates. I watched the news and tracking reports with fascinated alarm, as one would watch the approach of a tornado following a clear path and bound, at some point, to pass nearby. By now we are beginning to realise that we don’t need a direct hit, for life to change utterly.

If there is any good news to be had out of recent events, it could be that, in the face of a growing climate emergency, the natural world has the chance to recover some ground. We also have the opportunity to reassess what really matters to us, and to work co-operatively to find sensible, practical and compassionate outcomes that include us all. Increasingly I see that working together need not be difficult, but can be immensely rewarding, both for the unexpected joy we uncover and because in working together we are more open to sharing and being inspired by new and interesting possibilities.

By finding solutions that include everyone – it is interesting, for example, that the emergence of Covid-19 in the USA has finally forced the political concession that everyone who needs it can get tested, and everyone in need can get treated – finally, we may see the beginnings of a recognition that effective solutions are, and have to be, inclusive. “Value” is not just about the stock markets or the size of our wallets.

I’m going to be taking a break for a while. It’s a time for reassessment and reflection. More than ever, we need to listen to each other, avoid jumping to conclusions and try to stay healthy, cheerful and optimistic.

Thanks for listening.

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March 7, 2020

Cancellation of the London Book Fair 2020

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Cancellation of the London Book Fair 2020

On Wednesday, I thought I would check the website again. So I looked, and only ten minutes earlier, the cancellation of the London Book Fair 2020 had been announced.

In what would have been its fiftieth anniversary, the news was all over Twitter and Facebook, yet I found myself compulsively checking and re-checking, making sure there wasn’t a mistaken double-negative tucked somewhere in the public statements.

So I’m not going to London next week. Not such a big deal, you might think, apart from a meeting I have been very much looking forward to, the non-refundable train fares and costs of accommodation near the venue. No problem.

Except… The Fair is the one place I may hope to meet like minded folk, since, for the rest of the year, I spend too many hours with my nose up against my computer screen and communicating in the virtual world of avatars and emojis. This annual meeting of minds also throws in my direction the hope that I may meet interesting folk with a lot to say, and who have the same obsession with writing that I have, albeit with a different flavour and emphasis.

I feel at home in the London event even if, as usually happens, I come home with lots of postcards, fliers and ideas, few of which get further than my jotter or notes. But the hope inherent in such a gathering is motivation enough for me. Because the hope is what keeps me going.

Without that jolt of hope and enthusiasm to the system, the rest of my writing year now looks very different. And now, where will I find that jolt? Well, from me, obviously. I can hardly expect anyone else to supply it. So that’s where I’m at: despite the gloomy global forecasts, I have to start applying to myself and my own life, all the lessons that I wrote about in my three books to date: I know the theories, and now is the time to bring them out of retirement – that is, the satisfied glow of publication – dust them down and use them every day to take me forward, peacefully, happily, and in the certain knowledge that the biggest miracles I may bring into being, start with me.

Thanks for listening.

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March 1, 2020

Live Local

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Live local

If we want to live sustainably, we can increase our efforts to live local.

Wherever possible – in other words, without going fifty miles out of our way, spending a whole day driving around in the car trying to find something, or parting with an overdraft-crippling amount of cash – as a household we try to avoid air-miles and motorway-miles in the sourcing of our food. We also try to avoid and reduce our use of palm oil, refined goods, soft drinks and plastic-wrapped produce. And generally to reduce our reliance on those things that we think we need, but which, actually, are surprisingly unhealthy, un-necessary and expensive. Personally, I do try to avoid refined carbs, sugar and caffeine but I can’t realistically place such restrictions on others: I simply recognise that, as the main cook and bottle washer in our house, I can certainly influence what we purchase and eat.

It is ironic that, whereas a hundred years ago, a diet of wholemeal bread, brown rice and cabbage was seen as crude and primitive, nowadays plain, whole, home-produced food is seen as highly desirable – think of artisan bakeries and health food shops – and comes at a premium both in terms of cost and the time and human labour expended in producing and sourcing it.

In “living local” I also consider alternative modes of getting around: the bus instead of the car, the train instead of the plane. I have reason to be very grateful to airlines – and I do sympathise with their plight in the current economic slowdown – but without them, I’m sure that alternative arrangements would have been possible and I would have been reconciled to travelling less. As an easily accessible way of getting from A to B, I have made use of flying, which for longer journeys is often less expensive than train travel. With flying falling slightly out of favour, might rail fares reduce?

A recent and peculiarly disjointed news bulletin has me thinking with fresh urgency about the difficulties that arise in making consistent, national policy decisions in response to the climate emergency. Three headlines, all delivered without any ironic inflection, the first about the battle to construct a third runway at Heathrow; the second, about the impact of the coronovirus in shrinking the global economy; and the third, about the likelihood of further flooding in areas of Britain already metres deep in water.

Since it appears very challenging for national agencies to come up with a clear, co-ordinated policy to tackle climate change, once again, the onus falls on consumers to vote with their choices. Let’s hope that our choices, and our voices for change, can make a difference.

Thanks for listening.

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