Showing all posts in Women’s Interest

In Business & Blogging, Family Time, General, Women's Interest

When The Kids are in Bed 

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

It’s the summer holidays folks and you know what that means? A seven week juggle! Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore having the boys at home however I still have to work and when your office is at home that can take some keen organising and some rather weird working hours. I started work for example at 4am this morning.

Thankfully the boys go to a fabulous holiday scheme three days a week which is just around the corner which means the days that they aren’t here have to be fierce working days and when they aren’t there I’m found working from silly o’clock through to them getting up and the odd evenings too.

Now I wouldn’t change this for one minute, I gave up employment in favour of running my own business 9 years ago and have never looked back. It offers me the opportunity to do what I love while being completely flexible around the boys. That doesn’t mean though that I don’t find myself burning the candle from both ends sometimes.

The way I get through the juggle is to make sure that I have proper leisure time. Me time. I don’t necessarily need to leave the house (in fact I prefer not too – PJs at 7pm works well for me!). Me time is important though as it recharges the batteries and stops me from burning out.

How do I spend my me time?

With My Head in a Book

There’s nothing quite like  curling up with a good book and chilling out as my FB status last night shows..

Facebook status

I’m reading Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming at the moment which is a gripping read (look it up!). I’ll read from most genres, be it a romance, a sci-fi / fantasy book (I’m a bit of a geek), chick lit, autobiographies; whatever suits my mood and captures my interest and imagination.

Hobbies

I’m not sure you can call my hobby a hobby but for the want of a better label that’s all you’re getting. I am a stationery fiend, I get a lot of joy out of paper, stickers, good pens and the like. I’m also a keen organiser and planner. I put these two parts of me together and enjoy a variety of planner related hobbies sessions, from decorating my diary (Erin Condren Life Planner) to watching bullet journal videos on YouTube (more on this another time – I’ve finally found Planner Zen!).

I have been known to curl up on the sofa with YouTube on the big screen tuned into saved stationery, bullet journal-related or similar clips while being surrounded by paper goodies. What can I say, it makes me happy!

Hobbies, papercrafy, Erin Condren

The Big Screen

Talking of the big screen, like many the TV provides interest and relaxation. Roy and I record a number of shows on Sky+ to watch together and I’m a bit of a Netflix fan myself. Nothing got done until I reached the end of Sons of Anarchy recently. Like my reading matter I’m happy to watch a load of different types of shows.

I love period drama and similar so Anzac Girls, Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and more futuristic shows so Falling Skies and of course anything Marvel related. I also have a bit of a thing for American dramas such as West Wing, House of Cards, Madam Secretary and The Good Wife. Obviously I don’t spent THAT much time watching TV but it’s great to have so many saved ready for me to watch either on my own or with Roy.

I am something of an XFactor fan too so look forward to seeing that restart in the Autumn (without Louie?). I’ve got quite good at weeding out the divas and picking winners so might even try something like the XFactor TV betting and put my money where my mouth is. If I win a bit back I’ll treat myself to some new slipper boots or a onesie for sloughing in front of the TV in!

 

Ok, so I don’t leave the house much of an evening but I do have plenty to occupy me in a relaxing way, to help me rewind and to make sure I have something to look forward to. That works for me, particularly during the work/family juggle over the summer and over other key holidays (apart rom Christmas where I take three whole weeks off to spend with my family!). How do you spent your “me” time?

 

In Health and Exercise, Weight Loss, Women's Interest

Boosting Activity at Work

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on
Boosting Activity at Work

We all know that when it comes to increasing your fitness and decreasing your chance of weight-related illnesses that we need to move more. We know this because the NHS tell us so, because it is all over the news and because everyone on Facebook (apart from me perhaps) seems to go running three times a week or attends a spinning class.

What few people share is how we are supposed to manage to boost our activity levels or more so when. When you are at work from 9 -5pm for example you have a limited number of hours a day during which you have to fit in your housework, your family time, time when you eat, commuting and everything else.

The key it seems is in boosting activity at work. Those in the know over at Simply Health have written this really rather useful article around promoting activity at work. There are some great ideas for you workers here and this is definitely one to forward to your manager (unless accessing personal email at work is a no-go, in which case a random hard copy on their desk ought to do the trick).

Boosting activity at work seems to be a hot topic at the moment with BP having bought their employees wearables such as step trackers and activity monitors in order to monitor and encourage movement during work hours. This move (I believe called the BP Wellness Programme but don’t quote me on that) has been met with mixed receptions as some feel it is great and supportive of BP while others have concerns about it being a bit Big Brother-ish.  BP’s health insurance company no doubt think it’s a fabulous idea. The point here is that even the big businesses are now cottoning onto the fact that boosting activity at work is a good idea.

So what do you do when like me you work from home. I work for myself full-time in my home office. I don’t have a wellness programme or health mentor and I’m not hooked up to a wearable (yet – this is on the cards!).

Here are my tips for increasing activity at work (when at home).

Track Your Movement

First of all find a way to track your movement. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean using a wallet-busting gadget. I currently use a free pedometer app on my phone. It’s great at basic tracking although I’ll soon be using a wearable as this app eats battery. Being aware of your movement helps you set and meet goals.

Talking of Goals, Set Them!

Make your goals SMART and find a way to achieve them. You don’t need to double your steps (etc) in the first day but gradual increases are great for health.

Use the Stairs

My office is upstairs and my kitchen is downstairs. For this reason I tend to bring a flask / snacks etc upstairs so that I don’t find myself grazing during the day. This means fewer steps down to the kitchen which my app doesn’t like. What I do therefore is use the stairs as and when I normally would however when I get to the bottom I go back up again and come down, doubling my stair climbing time. Genius, especially when you add all of the other times i end up back up or down because I’ve forgotten what I went there fore in the first place!

Make Time

I take thirty minutes for my lunch (all I need when my lunch is ready prepared in the morning). Before my thirty minutes I might walk around the block, do a few extra stair climbs or walk around the garden. This helps me build an appetite and boosts my activity.

Get Up Earlier

Those who want to fit in a workout before work have to get up earlier, end of story. The same goes for me even though I work from home. Thankfully I’m an early riser anyway so this gives me an extra 30 minutes to use my baked bean can weights and do another half hour of my Strictly Come Dancing exercise DVD downstairs (don’t be fooled, it’s harder than it looks!).

Just Get Up and Move

Taking a few minutes here and there, standing up, walking around and boosting your activity at work will serve to refocus your brain, increase motivation and productivity and of course make your app or wearable happy. When working on a PC like myself all day it makes good eye health sense to take short breaks too.

It isn’t always easy to boost your activity when you are working, whether you work from home or somewhere else however the benefits to health and well-being  moving more increases makes  the effort is worthwhile.

Do you have any tips for increasing activity when at work? If so I’d love to hear / steal them!

Boosting activity at work, pedometer app
3979 before midday? Could do better! Need to do a few more stair climbs.
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