Living more sustainably in 5 small steps

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True story: I joined Greenpeace when I was 8. I still have an envelope full of literature and stickers about the Ozone layer, Save the Whale and the dangers of pollution. Let’s just say I was a precocious, super sensitive little Sally Draper who was very obsessed with saving the planet. Plus, I’d read The Baby-sitters Club ‘Dawn Saves the Planet’ that summer and well, just about everything in my life can be traced back to The Baby-sitters Club books. Continue reading “Living more sustainably in 5 small steps” →

6 things I learned during lockdown

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Number one: fluent Russian. Just kidding! Don’t worry, this list of “lockdown lessons” won’t make you feel bad about yourself. Despite my occasional Oprah-inspired moments of insight, my lockdown achievements are less “valuable skills” and more the product of too much time in my own head. Nonetheless, I wanted to share what I got up to and things I realised during this time. Continue reading “6 things I learned during lockdown” →

5 free online courses to do in lockdown

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Be productive during the coronavirus pandemic! Now is not the time for productivity! Upskill! Take it easy! I don’t know about you but I’m getting whiplash about how I should be using lockdown time. My advice? Do what works for you.

One thing I know for certain is I need to keep busy. Too much downtime and I start to dwell on things. All the wrong things. Ever heard the old adage that you can cure feeling down by learning something new? Online courses are one way to do just that. Continue reading “5 free online courses to do in lockdown” →

Stack of books

Books to (re)read during a pandemic

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God, I miss the library. Specifically the weekly thrill of a delivery of orders arriving, the greedy reward for spending so much time stalking the catalogue. With my beloved library out of reach for the foreseeable future (sob), I’ve taken drastic measures – I’ve raided my bookshelves for something, anything, to distract myself from reality.

After falling down a rabbit hole of “How do I own three copies of Valley of the Dolls?” I emerged clutching a stack of books I first bought at a very specific time in my life and haven’t been sucked into the pages of since. You don’t need to be an armchair psychiatrist to analyse why my book choices are all from a better, less anxious time. Needless to say, if you want to escape the present moment, you could do a lot worse than escaping into books you last loved as an awkward teenager. Continue reading “Books to (re)read during a pandemic” →

5 ways to cope with coronavirus anxiety

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I’ve never been a newshound but in the past two weeks, Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise couldn’t take me away from the endless scroll of my Twitter feed. With the coronavirus pandemic seemingly changing by the minute, I’ve spent more time online this month than I have in years. I feel a weird mix of wanting to know more, more, more, and conversely craving the days when all we talked about was Baby Shark, Pokemon Go, and whether a dress was blue or black (for the record – it’s blue, I tell ya). As a result, my anxiety has hit the roof. Continue reading “5 ways to cope with coronavirus anxiety” →

Hotel bedroom

Where to stay in Dublin on a budget

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Having déjà vu? I’ve updated this blog post with new hotels (and references to covid-19) to do my bit for the Irish tourism industry.

Visiting Dublin on a budget? With average hotel prices in Dublin clocking in at €155.75 a night (compared to the European average of €115.54), chances are most of your budget won’t go on pints of Guinness but will instead be swallowed up by your hotel bill. Despite its reputation as a notoriously expensive city, cheap hotels in Dublin DO exist.

Fear not – booking a budget hotel in Dublin for under €100 a night doesn’t mean you have to stay in a grimy hostel (with your new bunkmates – a lively hen party from Liverpool) or a soulless airport hotel miles away from the action. Continue reading “Where to stay in Dublin on a budget” →

5 podcasts for creatives

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Have I mentioned that I love podcasts? Oh, only about 800 times. And counting.

Some of my favourites are podcasts for creative entrepreneurs. Wide generalisation here but I find creative professionals hold their cards pretty close to their chests IRL so, when you’re a freelancer, it’s hard to find out the nuts and bolts of your profession without good ol’ trial and error. A lot of error.

I’ve found podcasts for creative entrepreneurs to be an absolutely invaluable source of practical tips and insider knowledge about running your own business in the 21st century. If you work in a creative field or you’ve got a side hustle you one day would love to turn into your main hustle, these podcasts will give you the tools, insights and inspiration to get things done to achieve your goals. In fact, they’ll pretty much be your career coach. Continue reading “5 podcasts for creatives” →