I wrote this earlier today whilst I sat on a slightly damp log, watching my boy climb up to the top of the climbing frame in the local park - on the way back from a 45-minute stomp. I was due to have it written yesterday, but due to a malfunction with my car charging (I shan’t bore you with the details), I didn’t get home until gone 10pm last night with both kids. Whipping my laptop out at that hour is an absolute no-no for me. I find the knock-on of crap sleep for me just isn’t worth it at this time in life.

I don’t think you mind receiving this Sunday evening rather than Sunday morning, do you?

The theme here is structures, schedules, and routines - but as Dani Wallace (my speaking mentor) would say - we need structures from which to deviate. Indeed we do.

So we are where we are, and I’m now dictating this into my trusty notes app once again in the beautiful (damp) fresh air whilst also getting us all out for a walk. The fam are all coming over for a roast a bit later, so that’s all been peeled and prepped, and I feel very happy knowing lots of my heart’s priorities are being honoured today (I'm also more tired than I would like with Ideas Fest talk coming up and my mind constantly reviewing the talk – but as I say, 'perfect' and getting it all 'right' isn't a thing! Good enough really is good enough). ❤️

All the above is relevant to the takeaway I want to leave you with today, I promise!

So Friday, I travelled to Bedfordshire for a wonderfully progressive meeting with my brilliant mentor Lisa Johnson - along with my ace EA Nina too. Amongst working on lots of exciting things we have coming up (can’t wait to show you it all!), she told me under no uncertain terms that I was told to stop hiding all the things I know because I’m afraid of appearing a smart arse know-it-all, and to share it all daily - on repeat. Apparently, this is the life-changing stuff people don’t know about and really wish they did. So that’s me told (and also me really chuffed!).

I realise I felt uncomfortable doing so previously, because I certainly don’t have all the answers. I’m always learning, ALWAYS learning, implementing, tweaking, and adapting. But yes, I hear her, I do indeed know what I know, and yes I have a tonne of experience, all of which is likely to be of massive benefit to you. So another lesson learned, and here it is in action.

Lisa encouraged me to share my daily routines - insisting people will be interested and inspired. So I will. Whatever I can do to help people truly get the most out of their lives, I will do. It’s my absolute heart’s desire.

Before I do share what I do, I want to be clear from the offset that life design is not about copying (and certainly not about comparing yourself to) somebody else’s life – mine is far from perfect, and I really do not get it 'right' a lot of the time. It’s about learning primarily about YOU. This is about your core values and priorities in life, and how you can include them in a way that optimises your experience and enjoyment of life. The key here is self-awareness before anything, keeping on tuning into YOU every day as you evolve.

So in these weekly newsletters, I’ll continue to share my own tools, routines, and rituals and make you aware of any people and resources I’m inspired by (as you’ll know if you’ve received them for a while!). But I’d like you to treat what I present you with, and what others offer as advice, like a buffet. You take from it what you really want because that feels good for you, and you leave behind the bits you don’t fancy. BUT that doesn’t mean not trying anything new, because you might find a food, sorry a ritual (am I ever not thinking of food?) that you really really like and makes a real difference.

If you want change, if you want your life to change, you have to be prepared to think and act differently. If nothing changes, nothing changes, as they (who?) say. So, stay open to trying new things. Always. That’s where the magic happens.

Here is my regular life schedule - I hope you find it useful

Usual Routine Monday-Friday

5.45am: Alarm

5.45-6am: Meditation

6.15: Hydrate (Pint of water, juice half lemon, tbsp apple cider vinegar taken to bed the night before). Journaling/Gratitude. Open curtains, tidy bedside table, make bed.

6.15-6.30: Warm shower - 2 mins cold at the end. Skincare (face - always thorough since problematic skin as a teen!), HRT etc.

6.30-6.55: Get dressed, get kids up, get upstairs sorted (curtains open, towels folded from the night before, beds made, washing collected to take downstairs), essentially get it ready for the evening...

7-8: Fresh coffee (lots), catch up/scroll on phone for 10 mins, breakfast for kids/mine prepered, fold washing, make lunches, get ready for day ahead

8-9.15: School runs (sometimes I use the time from school to gym to just get quiet, sometimes listen to a podcast - very occasionally make a call)

9.20-10.30: Gym - always a podcast, audiobook, or music - depending on what my energy feels it needs. (If you learn to get in tune with your body - you’ll know what you need)

10.30-3.00pm: Work diary is scheduled by EA Nina - varied but planned to make me focus and get all jobs done in order of priority. (Somebody else planning this in for me, being accountable, really helps me be productive - it’s been a total game-changer)

3.00-4.30: School pick-ups and faff!

4.30-5.30: Homework with kids, in the kitchen with fam

5.30-6.30: Sometimes kids’ activities (Tues, Wed and Thurs - piano, swimming, climbing etc), finish up bits of work, washing, empty bags, organise everything for me and kids for the next day - bags, shoes, coats, sports kits etc.

6.30-7: Tea with fam

7.45-9: Baths, bedtime, time with kids (blue light glasses on!)

9.00: Get clothes out for the next day for me and the smallest, night-time tea (Pukka), and get lemon water ready for the morning.

10pm: Hold gratitude object, pinpoint the best thing that happened that day, and say it out loud or to myself, followed by "thank you, thank you, thank you."

10.30: Usually asleep (bliss)!

Every week, I do 4 x gym-based resistance training sessions, and every day I hit 12k steps minimum, be that walking or running - as much outside as possible (running less at the moment as I have a lot on, so I'm keeping my central nervous system as calm as I can).

Weekend Routine

I set my alarm in the morning for 6.30am but still stick to the same morning routine. I don't tend to go to the gym on weekends, sometimes I do, but not often. I'll usually go for a run or a walk, and it might be after making pancakes or breakfast for the kids - I'm more relaxed about when it happens but will always have planned it with Rich the night before.

At the weekend, we spend more time together as a family and seeing friends, so it's only the mornings that are structured. Often kids have stuff planned too. I still like to get to bed early-ish if we aren’t out. Friday, I usually watch something with my eldest, but aside from that, it's a freer schedule!

So this is my usual 'plan', but like I said, this email was supposed to be written yesterday. It wasn't planned in Sunday's schedule. But life will never unfold exactly as we plan it, and that's really important to recognise. You see, it really is the case that the only thing you are actually ever in control of is you, and once you learn you have absolute control over you, it’s the most empowering lesson of all.

If plans change, it’s YOU who has to be able to adapt and learn to manage yourself, your reactions, your actions, in a way that can remain calm, positive, and flexible so it doesn't send you into a spin. And this is all stuff you can learn. This is all the stuff I teach (and continue to learn), and it properly changes your life in the most beautiful way.

Make this a wonderful week ahead. You have the power to do that you know! I massively believe in you.

Make this a wonderful week ahead. You have the power to do that you know! I massively believe in you.