Living more sustainably in 5 small steps

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”

The perils of the penpal

Instagram is a dating app. Or so they say. For the single lady, this means a waiting game of “has he viewed my story yet?” and a deep analysis of every heart eyes or fire emoji reaction. But the good old DM is where things get really murky.

For women, someone sliding into your DMs is usually taken as a sign of interest. For a lot of men though, it’s just a bit of banter or – worst of all – an ego boost. Messaging can be pretty addictive and even the anticipation of each notification can give you the illusion of something deeper going on than there really is. Also, if you’re a single woman actively looking to meet someone online, you probably want to give every guy who messages you a chance. Enter the modern day penpal.

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Twitter account deactivation notice

So long, Twitter

I finally did it. I deleted my Twitter account, uninstalled the app and felt buoyed by a weird mixture of triumph and relief. And then…I had the urge to tweet about it. Old habits die hard and all that. The funny thing is, I’ve barely tweeted in the past 2 years and the only reason I still kept the account was to badger customer service reps (does this make me a Karen?).

Even though reminiscing about the halcyon days of Twitter feels very redundant, I’m gonna do it anyway. I can’t let the moment slide without devoting some final thoughts to the social platform I spent (wasted?) the most time on.

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Early morning walk in Ireland

How to become a morning person

My plan to become a morning person was hatched over the Christmas holidays. As I always do when the new year is looming, I put pen to paper and was plotting my grand plans for 2022. The only problem was: where would I find the time? Over the festive break, I took a long, hard look at how I was spending my days and quickly realised my night owl habits were no longer serving me or my precious time. Getting up early, now that would change everything! Who knew?! The only problem was…I’m not, and never have been, a morning person. Morning monster maybe.

Since then, I’ve slowly, slowly, slowly become less of a gremlin in the AM. As I write this, I’ve been naturally waking up around 5.30am and – the biggest shocker of all – I love it. This eyes-open-at-the-crack-of-dawn phase has coincided with the brighter mornings and the dawn chorus, so we’ll see if I’m still up and at ‘em when the darker mornings of winter roll around. For now, I love my new routine and can’t believe I used to feel the rage when I had to wake up before 7. If you also want to get more out of your day, and/or be less of a grouch before you’ve had your coffee, here’s how I have become a morning person.

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Bouquet of lilies

Positive habits I picked up during the pandemic

Since the world has started reopening and things are returning to the pre-2020 way of life here in Ireland at least, I’ve noticed some of my old, pre-pandemic bad habits creeping in already.

As the world got smaller over the last 2 years, there was a lot of time to think and reconsider the way things were. I made small improvements to my life that somehow made a huge difference. Even though I’m determined to get as far away from the pandemic as possible (when it finally does end), I’m equally determined to continue with these healthy habits (and hopefully add more to the mix) in the After. The old way of doing things no longer serves me.

Following on from my 6 things I learned during lockdown post, here are a few positive habits I picked up during the past two years:

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Books I read in one year of lockdowns

For most of the pandemic, my concentration skills shot from hyper-focused to barely able to follow an episode of Gossip Girl (yes, even when Nate’s face was on screen – shocking). My voracious appetite for reading went out the window, alongside my appetite for pretty much everything else. These days if I read 5-10 pages each day of whatever book I’m reading, I’m doing good.

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orange and yellow LA lilies

5 things that got me through September

Pretty dramatic headline, right? Truth is, I’ve been feeling a bit Eeyore about everything lately. No idea why. I mean, it’s a mystery! As part of my attempt to practice gratitude each day, I’m counting my blessings in whatever shape I can find them, whether it’s the big stuff (my health) or the silly stuff (things I consume to brighten my week). You guessed it – this list is mostly the silly stuff.
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6 things I learned during lockdown

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

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”