You look at a windowsill in your home and it is cluttered so you tidy it up and now you have a a bit more structure. Your child gets a certificate for learning at school. I manage to cook a meal, never cook before. These are the small things that can make a big difference in how we see ourself and our life.
This weeks Cheat Sheet is all about the Daily things I like to do on a daily basis that sets up my day. The small wins are just as good as the small ones. Today I tidied up and get clothes out of my son for the day. Have my two cups of tea I like to have in the mornings and later will get a take away coffee.
These are free to download and print. If you’d like to be notified of when I post on this Online Platform then please subscribe.
It can be the hardest the times when you have nothing set up to feel good about yourself and your life. It is all about living in the moment and like I did another Radio show yesterday after feeling so nervous and it was good and so tip# Go through what you have done each day.
It is a better feeling that you have taken on action, a step towards the bigger tasks like at the weekend, I went through my clothes and it is good to let things go, to focus on each day and I don’t need a new outfit all the time and rather book things to do. At half term I am taking my son to a show and take him to the Cat Cafe in London and like booking days out for my son.
Tip# Write down what you enjoy.
Tip# Get a bag and start to go through a draw and at the weekend as I had so many clothes, told my mum to get rid of anything in the draws I was using, away. I am moving so no longer going to live in Wimbledon, this is a huge change and means really getting my head down and do more things to move towards the bigger things I want to do and decide on what is important to me now and what is not. Making one change can make a huge different. Check this blog: Making one change
I was fired by an employee back in 2008 and it really affected my confidence. I couldn’t wait for #Christmas to have a break. The people where I worked, was so rude that I wondered if they would be that rude to their family? Snapping whilst on the phone as I would be doing what a company should do, give Good Customer Service and they hated it. The guy who ran the company, was awful.
There was no morale and when I reported the bullying to him he blamed it on me and yet it all the people who were there, were all really unpleasant and so going back after Christmas and start of a new year I was fired. I feel they did the right thing, because I didn’t walk out, which some would have done and so I am glad he did fire me now because then it made me decide my next path and did some temping for a bit, but was ready to go back home and my time living near the south coast was coming to an end.
So if it is too much then don’t let yourself feel as though you have to take it. There are organisations you can call for help and then I found job in Kingston and yes there were not very nice people there but I became resilient and they ended up leaving and I ended up being in a good team and so take action. It may be fate, meaning that its time to change and that can be the thing we fear the most, of what to do next so we can often feel that we have to stay. No, if it is stressing you out then leave and get support and life is about chapters ending to welcome new beginnings.
One person who was having issues in a job and she rang me unexpectedly because she felt she was being bullied and sometimes you don’t want to be rescued, or for someone to resolve it for you, its about able to speak to someone to make sense of it. So talk to someone. Also you have a right to leave and say that you are not happy and if things don’t change you will leave and it is okay to confront. I would not advise to do it without support for your own safety and not their word against yours, but ask for a chat and if you can have someone there with you.
I have come across many walks of life and met different kinds of people and those that carry out the bullying are actually the one that is vulnerable and perhaps they need help. I am not saying they should be getting sympathy, but that often it is not about you but about them and the using you as a verbal punchbag and so should be reported for their own sake.
I hope that helps you and as we head into a new year I wish you a Happy New year and if you like to read more of my blogs on this site then you can subscribe.
When I ran a football team and felt “Oh I can do this by myself” I soon realised that I needed a bit of help. It doesn’t have to be One Man Band and asked a parent to help. I was hesitant in asking and running a football team, there was a lot to do. It was up to me to choose the training I wanted my players to do, pick the team for matches and collecting subs.
I think I was a bit naive too. I had this picture of it but the reality hits and realised it is totally different to what I imagines and underestimated it too.
If I was to run a team again I’d make sure I had someone helping me and have an assistant.
“It is okay to ask for help”.
If someone offers to help then say yes or have a chat and decide what their role will be and that they have the same mindset as you. When I working at Butlins I struggled with working Front of house and so asked if I could go back of house and felt good that I had the guts to talk to the manager of the restaurant. One of my friends said to try back of house and we were put together and we had a brilliant relationship. She got me and I got her and so glad I asked instead for help and I still did a bit of front of house work but not all the time and I felt pleased that I took the initiative to share how I felt and thankful to the Manager for listening to me and I felt better.
If you are stuck
I worked for a company that sold tickets for some attractions in the UK and I was finding one attraction booking difficult. I asked if I could have a bit more training. You should be supported by your manager or Team Leader because it shows them that you want to do well and it is the employer duty to help you if you are finding some things tricky.
Write things down. I am now working on Radio for a local hospital and if there is an issue I will flag it up and it helps me and my colleagues to inform one another and I make sure if there is something I am not sure about, I ask. I write in my journal of how I felt about my show and if they have told me how to do something, I go through each step in my mind and journaling is a great tool and do it everyday and write down what you are not sure of and who is the best person to ask. Or ask someone if they know of anyone that can help and worked in an area.
It is better to ask then not.
If you make a mistake
We all make mistakes. It is part of our learning as human beings. It is also shows you what you want to do and talking to others, that if they have made the same mistake and what they did to fix it. Don’t hide behind a mistake, but apologies, move on and learn so you know for next time.
I have made mistakes and it would cause me stress but then it can be down to the fact that they hadn’t communicated properly. I found in some companies, especially when I did temporary work that they assumed that you should already know. I worked for a holiday company, processing data but struggled to understand what I had to enter and the manager spoke to me as if I was dumb said “Oh it is easy” and telling a friend she said “Yes because he had probably done it for 20 years and so of course it is obvious to him” and so if they assume you know, say “I need to be shown again so I don’t make the same mistake”. Ask if there is someone you can sit with to go over it and them give you written instructions too.
Do they want to do a good job or a bad one
It is all about what works best for you, but never be afraid to ask someone to help you and feel you have to go it alone.
Did you ever do the puzzle where you had to connect the dots that would form a picture? Well you can do that with life.
I have filmed my first video for this years Life Coaching Programme and so please check it out: https://youtu.be/bcHG7Dx_3ck?si=W4nzQka-oHxQ_yLr That is about Habits and with changing your habits it can help to join things together. Once that starts you will see changes in your life. In the printable I created check this blog which had the link to my printable I have created for this programme The Beginning of My Summer Project 2025 I am a Radio DJ/Presenter and connected another dot to having the life I want.
In my free printable I do each week, my cheat sheet I talk creating a Map Do Ten Things it helps me with writing my books. So the first ones I did were parenting books and wrote and published my first novel, A Lonely Walk to Happiness and now creating a series, and drawing out a map of ok so first book this year is to republish book 1 of the series, then continue to work on another book which is a stand alone and then work book 2 of my series.
Create a chart to see your progress or journal.
With WordPress it shows you how engaged your readers are and how much traffic you are getting.
With that it helps to see what blogs they are particularly interested in and why I continued with this programme because of the positive response to them.
So spend time mapping out what you want to work on and with that set goals, develop new positive habits. Example: I know when I brush my teeth how better I feel and there was a time I would miss days but lead me to not feeling good and having bad dreams about it. I like to be active and do a bit of walking each day, even if it is for 10 minutes and this leads me having better energy to write which I enjoy and clears the brain and when I don’t feel clogged up, feel good.
Concentrate on one area at a time, brainstorming is affective too and researching. I read books on writing, watch youtube videos of other self published authors and watching other peoples routine. Add Mind mapping to your routine as I do this a lot as I see my blogs grow and the writing of my books.
I hope you find these blogs helpful and if you want to be notified when I post then please subscribe and my Educational Youtube channel and then you will not miss a blog or a video.
I have a new set up now and going to show in a vlog and it is to stop me from getting neck ache that I often get when working on my laptop. Sometimes you have to try a different system to find out what works for you. Finding out what is more productive to the way you work.
Picture taken out having a coffee editing my book I am editing with a coffee and great way to stay productive and not spending too much time in one place.
Changing the environment so you need use a different area of a room for better lighting and have a better system where you can work more effectively. Having a desk lamp if you share the room with your spouse, so he can still watch TV, whilst you are on the computer and not getting into each others way.
You may find working in the kitchen is better and you have all your to do’s on a notebook ready, written the night before, rather than on your computer. I like to write down my plans aswell as using online tools, it is good to have it as a back up and also I find it goes into my head better and make notes on my phone when I am, out and about so not having to carry a lot. Well still working on that. I like to spend time writing, planning and reading, in a coffee shop, just nice to be out but carry my current notebook, diary and book I am editing.
Playing music by making good playlist or a place you can throughout the day, to have some silence. Too much noise can really clog up my head so like to turn off the TV and not get disrupted. Have base where you can read for half hour or where you can do some exercise and workout in your garden whilst the kids are at school.
I see people going out for a walk around the park and taking their dogs for a walk and I like doing that aswell and walking though commons, such as Epsom Common or Wimbledon. I now do parkrun and it is really good fun but see many families not doing parkrun still having a morning stroll and it is so good. I enjoy walking and I post a lot of my walking on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/typicallondongal/
Have your kids do some reading and writing each morning once all the breakfast items have been put away, or have them read to each other, whilst you get ready for the day. When they return from school have a place or system of putting their bags in a place where they can unpack and pack for the next day. Order their school dinners every Monday rather than later in the week where you are likely to forget. This is from experience and reduce the amount you have to think about.
The one system I do is whilst making myself a coffee once my son has gone to school, is put away the breakfast items and that I am dressed before my son is in the morning and once my son has had breakfast is dressed for school. We have all his uniform set out and is ironed which my husband takes care of.
It is good to have a system when it comes to daily chores. This morning I cleared the Living room windowsill into my bedroom and have made changes to my room too to have more hanging space for my caps and bags.
It is really has made a difference to how I feel about my environment, to feel good about myself and my life. I am today sorting out my Pinterest and organising it a little better and can be added to your system by putting all your vision boards and plans on there and is a great resource for planning. Please check out this board of Planning ideas: https://uk.pinterest.com/thetypicalLondongal/planning-your-life/
We all have pressures in our lives or we have the same battles and arguments that have ended into saying hurtful things, lashing out, leading to the same feelings of hatred and bitterness. If it’s going to cause you unhappiness and then have your say, keeping it Civil and then hear there’s and leave it as a difference of opinion and move on. Often it isn’t actually a personal attack it can be that they have noone else to talk to about it and anger is often meaning that they are scared, not actually that they are confident and strong.
I have been jealous of friends and family to the point I’d feel low about myself and that I am never going to be good enough, but that has not been the case and so I had to do a lot of work on that and watched a Mel Robbins video about being Envious and Jealousy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS_Lu5IIFBI
She says that we feel this way because we feel that the person your jealous of has robbed you in having success in your life to have the same dreams come true and to turn it around and yes I would feel like “What is wrong with me?” and “I am never going to get that dream because they’ve taken it”.
It can make you feel resentful and looking at the way they talk, walk and gain success in their life, which leads us thinking we belong in the audience but not the stage. If it is making you not eat, sleep or go out, then it is time to look at yourself and why they are where they are, because they’re not bothered. Your bothered but you needn’t be because they not losing sleep over you, so use it to make you determined and find your spotlight by giving yourself time to focus on you and can often mean that there is a different stage for you and not feeling that you have lost out. Everyone in this world deserves to be happy so work on letting your negative feelings go to be happy and proud of your life no matter what some else has been doing to have a success career and that your never going to compete. I use others success to make me hungry of succeeding accomplishing my goals to have a life I dream of and that meant stepping back and working on my Mental Health and bring up my son and help him with his development and things he’d like to do.
I am all about working together and encouraging others to be happy with their lives. Be the person you want to be, as long as there is no bad intentions but that is good and not feel that we are never going to change and that we will miss out because of someone else’s success. So let it go.
I thought that I would never be married at one point as I went through the phase of not believing in it and thought it was just a piece of paper and I never had a lot of boyfriends in my teens and twenties didn’t really want to be with anyone, but felt I should, to keep up with others who had boyfriends but realised no, I living by their means and not my own. I just enjoyed my Youth and in 2002 I made a decision that I needed to follow my dream in working at a holiday camp. I wanted to be a red coat, but it didn’t happen, because I met my husband and in 2006 got married and then in 2013 I fell pregnant.
Me and my son
Life is full of surprises, because when I first applied to work at a holiday camp was turned down and didn’t get further in the process of actually being employed and so it took two years, and so was a surprise that my second year of trying, I was successful and I was home sick, for the first two weeks but then stayed down there, for about 5 years. I never became a red coat, and part of me is sad about that, but it still was a life changing experience.
Be prepared for surprises by setting goals and when you want to achieve them. Back in 2013 my son was born premature and it was a shock. A week or so before reading a mother and baby magazine, I saw an article about premature births and ignored it, thinking “I didn’t need to read that” and wished I had.
When working at a call center there was a colleague who was a web designer and feel bad because I was unkind because I was jealous of her that she went on to be a Senior Agent and I didn’t, but it made me make changes to my life when I read a book, called The WAGS Diary and started writing a blog. I am not a WAG by the way and would be fully surprised if that ever happened. I like to watch football but on the TV or if I fancy going to see a football match, but not looking to date a footballer. No offence to those who do.
Back in 1990 after not really bothered about football I began to play in the school playground, as the other girls in my class were and so “If you can’t beat them join them” and cried for two hours after England got beat by West Germany in a penalty shoot out. Overnight became a full on football fan and fell in love with it and I changed my image, from being a girlie girl to a tom boy.
I had changed from wanting to be a singer to wanting to become, not a player but a coach and created this character in my head called Sherie, from a girl I used to go to school with, and be the first woman in a men’s team and later in 2012 I did my FA Coaching badge and ended up managing a football team, at youth level, and coached girls and boys team.
This is surprising myself that if I want something then I can get it but I have to do for myself and not rely on others, and standing on my own too feet. I fell in love with rugby league, with a friend who knew I liked sport, and followed the team for 8 years, and then stopped to work at a holiday camp.
Going through that really surprises me, as it felt such a long way off, for all those things happening, so follow your dreams as you will be surprised of what you can do in your life that will surprise you each and everyday, of your life.
You have to make the right choices for you. It means saying no, but finding what is right, and if it doesn’t then that is fine. Saying yes because you feel obliged to, is not making the right choice, because you are not doing it for you and if it is going to stress you out and fill you with dread, then means you have to change it and go down a different path. This doesn’t mean you won’t succeed it just there can be many roads to take to reach the things you want to do in your life.
If it is not for you, then it is not for you. Not everything is going to workout, and if someone says no to you, then that is okay too. Trust yourself in making the right decision, journal or talk to someone who can help you, and reflect on why on this occasion something has not worked out, or doesn’t feel right.
Dip your toe in. Test it out. Research and try it out. There is no harm in giving things a go, before you make your mind up. I remember when I was first looking for work, just leaving school and was interested in working in fitness, and was offered work experience for the day, to see how it felt and it wasn’t for me at that time and wanted to work in a football club, and was successful, and worked at a local football club as a steward and did work experience too helping the Groundsman and then found my office job whilst doing that in London.
I did some football training, with the Fulham ladies and it was only a few sessions, and made me decide that I wanted to coach, and gain experience. I was a little regretful as my confidence really affected me in going, but I am glad I still gave it a try. Twenty or so years later I did an FA qualification whilst working in a call center and got to manage my own team, and learned from it, so it still taught me a lot and now we are in 2024 going to “Grow” which is my word for this year. It was progression but grow fits better and get another book published, do more training and looking for work outside and continue to grow as a writer, and have a lot of great things planned and it is planning that can help decide on where you want to go next in your life that will boost your feelings and raise your happiness, to not allow times when it didn’t workout, affect you, in following your dreams.
I always wanted to write a book, and as a kid I liked writing, but stopped and now found my love again, in writing and now written 5 books, which are on amazon my most recent being a comedy called Mum&Me. I now am writing three books, a book called When Mothers Are Real and Behind the eyes of the other woman, and Mum&Me book 2, and it was by watching TV that I discovered self publishing, and I really enjoy it, and now looking to work outside, and finish my courses I have enrolled on, to help build my knowledge and understanding of the human mind, and children and young people by educating myself, to help grow my blogs and books, to help you my audience, to find happiness and live a life they love.
Listening to the right people, who can give you the right support you need can make all the difference, and there are many ways to train and learn, without it being too much and if it is affordable. Last year via a careers service received some free training and I want to learn more interventions, to help people and getting to know the mind.
Our minds are constant running machines and it can either work for you or against and want to learn about how to, being a mum for example communicate more affecting to my son who had ADHD and is on the Autism Spectrum. Why we can be positive one minute and down the next.
Reading books about topics you want to learn more about, can be really helpful. I am currently on Audible listening to Atomic Habits and want the physical book, I have read to help me with my writing, Save the Cats Write a Novel and again want the physical book because I felt it helped and continue to learn as a writer, and want to do more writing courses.
So, never stop believing in yourself and trust your gut instinct. If you say no that is fine. It is all about what makes us happy, and lowering the expectation we set for ourselves.
I started to plan my goals for 2024 this week, and getting ready to kick start the new year, and see what I can accomplish. I have already set my financial goals, and now starting my Personal/Home goals, and then set work goals and then play.
However set your goals that suit you, as everyone has different things going on in their lives so it isn’t one size fits all. I find some goals over lap, with other goals like Financial goals, example, Pay off debt could be in Financial and Personal/Home goals, along with fitness goals.
So, first of all I like to reflect on the previous year, before getting myself ready for the new year and putting a printable together to help you, and then start planning for the new year.
I use a notepad and OneNote, and set yearly goals and Quarterly goals, and separate them, and also do a vision board on Pinterest, and want to do one using Canva. I have already started on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/thetypicalLondongal/vision-board-2024/
I like to set goals for my son and things I’d like for him to do, like for example he has a bike for Christmas and want to take him to a cycle park, and get confident in riding his bike, and he wants to use a Tennis court to play tennis, and so, this I would like to put into home. Then there Play where I want to take him to different places on the train, and he actually wants to be a train. Yes we have had many discussions, about this and not sure, it is being heard as my son is very determined, and not getting that he does have wheels or several doors, but I am sure that he will grow out of thinking that he and ride on the train tracks, and can work on the trains.
Then there is work. So it could be, getting a pay rise and work more hours, or less, and have a side hustle, and want to build your career and profession. If you like me, write blogs and books, then it could be write a new book, or complete a book, or do some writing everyday and create it, into a book and get it published. I love creating stories and have many books that I have started, but not continued, and once one ideas comes into my head, so does another, and then it could, doing Voluntary work, or changing careers. It is all about how it makes you feel. If it excites you, then do it, and yes, you can get self doubt, but if it gives you a buzz, I say go for it.
If you’d like to check out my current books, then go to amazon, and look under my names, Carrie Challoner and Carrie Holmes.
So, lets enjoy the rest of 2023, and be ready for 2024.
As I am getting more completed today, and feeling super fatigue I was daydreaming about when I was working at Butlins Holiday camp in the Residential Catering Department and would have to stock take and count cutlery and bowls etc, and it was real hard work and could easily lose count.
So we would then workout what was the best method and good place to get start, and so learning from that, I firstly set it all out first in a diary or a calendar and just spend time planning and is a good way to get started and write down how many we had counted by writing it down and could take a long time to do, but we always managed it, and when it was done felt so much better, but at one point it felt like it was never going to end.
Yet we always had a system, and I have that now where by I make sure before I get stuff done for myself, that Henry my son has his breakfast, that he is ready for school, and then will tidy up once he has gone and get started on a blog post or whatever tasks I have planned for each day and keep track of it, by planning and go through tasks not completed on other days, and have my planner laid out along with my Lists on OneNote and my calendars.
I use my Sunday’s, as I spend my days in Epsom in the week to see me son off to and from school, use this time to sort out my bedroom in Wimbledon and trying to have minimal stuff and what works for me is doing it bit by bit each Sunday. If you have a whole day then that is fine, but if not my tip is, break it up and just do ten minutes each time or whatever time suits you, but get started with entertainment, like listening to music or a podcast.
When working in a contact centre I would get there in enough time to set myself up with all my notes and tools on my computer and then log into the contact system to speak to customers over the phone and on the chat and email service, and would check to see if I had any customers cases that were escalated, and so had to contact the customer about there case to hopefully solve their problem, with a product. I was given manuals from a colleague, who left and were manuals for the different phones that the company I was representing, manufactured to hand, and other documents.
I was so thankful and would print of manuals of equipment and I found it easy to have manuals to hand as there were time when the computer network we used, crashed and could still give technical support. So next tip, have a notebook to hand too aswell digital tools.
Next tip, keep stuff into a folder, for notes and cheat sheets ( I used these working in a contact centre), and were labelled, and again found it a lot easier to refer too rather than online. I do this now and have folder of all my important documents and have my current book notes in one and notes from my Life Coaching course and my certificates of courses I have done, in the last year and completed and so next tip, give everything a home, and have a junk draw. I last Sunday sorted out the bottom of my wardrobe of bags and used storage box for the items I want to keep like pockets tissue packs, carrier bags to reuse and other essential items, not in any particular but easy to find these items that I use all of the time.
I have filmed this in a weekly vlog, for my main Youtube channel, and will be up soon.
Make time for you, and to sit down with your family and have a family project that you can all do and give each person and responsibility. Sharing is caring, so if you have any tips about organizing a massive workload, then please leave a comment below.
Everyone can build a castle 
