How to be super productive in 2023

16 Thursday Feb 2023

Posted by in Everyday living, journal, Personal Development, Planning 2023, Positive Habits, productivity, Weekly posts, Yearly Reset

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Being the week of a UK school holiday (so kids are off from school: February 2023) and my son is at a holiday club called Youngstars I planned the week before of what I will be doing whilst he is at the holiday club. Today I did a reset and went through my make up and toiletries cleaning the shelf I use to store these items, I then cleaned the skirting boards, went through my son’s books and vacuumed and went for a walk as I needed some bread and sat in a local park whilst listening to music and then came back, and worked on my EBook called How I like to live, and updating it and make it into a bigger book and worked on my new Novel When mothers are real and now watching Gillian Perkins on Youtube where this idea of this blog post was created.

Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.com

Sorry if that tires you out, this blog is not supposed to cause fatigue or make you feel like you haven’t done anything, but it is possible for everyone and who has kids off from school too, and when we get some hours to ourselves.

This is no way showing off, as you should have seen my room, it was a mess and could have easily gone back to bed, but no, there was no time like the present. So I chose today whilst I had the chance and more in the next two days. Time is precious and if I don’t do it today, when will it get done? This is a question I ask myself a lot when I think of others things I could of be doing. This question stirs me on to get my stuff together. I don’t like living in a mess, and I know if I was in bed I know that guilt of not doing anything would sink in, and then comes my negative thoughts, so being productive helps with my thoughts and anxiety.

Now being 2023 there is a lot of resources like different cleaning products and organizing digitally and using APPS, but lots of these new items come with cost and how functional are they? I could put it all on Notion, which I did use but already had OneNote on my computer and works well with me rather than paying to use Notion. Just say that is having an issues with it, I just trying not that works, but may still use Notion in the future, but not right now. OneNote is free I use it, like Notion to make lists rather than a notebook, but my question is, what if they stop working which my laptop does crash at time? It is technology and means losing all my lists and notes, so I still convert to paper, because I still find this method more resourceful and I don’t need to clog up my phone with a loads of APPs or have the latest appliances, they can cause clutter and be counter productive because they take up so much space, so in 2023 is keep it simple and still have a written plan and to do lists and for working on projects. I know we need to save on paper because of the environment, but I find it better to jot down rather than type all of the time, and what if I lose my phone and that means not having the APPs to help me, so for me, being productive in 2023, always have a back up plan written and stored so you can see it and notes for books is important because it helps me keep on track of where I am and brainstorming. I do like using my laptop but I like writing things down especially for when I write a journal and creating stories. I find it relaxing and great for on the go and save the space on my phone. Its not what an item can do but how resourceful it is, does it make life easy?

The items I do like are the cordless items, like I bought a wireless keyboard and mouse, and I do have access to a cordless vacuum which I did use, but don’t need tones of appliances, and so it is using what I have already got and this saves me money and time.

So, lets get productive and take that time to sort our lives.

Many thanks for reading

Carrie X

Typical London Gal

Start the day as you wish to end it

12 Sunday Feb 2023

Posted by in Everyday living, having bad days, Personal Development, Positive Habits, productivity, Weekly posts

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When I worked at a Holiday Camp back in 2002 to 2005 was told when working in the Residential Catering Department working with the chefs, that a sandwich should taste good from the first bite to the last and life for me should be like that too. How you feel when you wake up can affect you when you go to bed, whether it has been a good day or bad day.

Routine: I live by a routine and one day a week I will go for a run, or do a workout indoors or later in the day by using a Crosstrainer and has made a massive difference and had reminded me of how much I have missed it and exercise in the morning really wakes me up. There are days when I don’t because I need that balance, but I make sure, if I don’t workout indoors or running I at least do some walking. Each day I have to have my first cup of tea and some breakfast. I make my bed except Saturdays because I am out with my son and wants to play as soon as it he gets up, I know say it “It shouldn’t make a difference and can save play until I have made the beds” This will be changing. I don’t feel right too if I don’t have a coffee at least one and make sure I hydrate throughout the day. Very important to me. I do have a bedtime routine too, whereby I will plan the next day using my diary I keep on my desk, my Reminder APP on my phone and on OneNote. Then I will take my medication that helps me sleep and then read, and if my mind is starting to come active again, and I do have a overactive mind, usually at bed time, I will get up like this evening and empty my mind, onto paper or on a blog, before the idea goes out of brain and forgotten by morning.

Rhythm : I have to have a good rhythm, to push down anxiousness I feel growing inside me each day and that I have quiet time aswell being super productive and have that time to myself. On Sundays I love getting outdoors with my son and go for a long walk and he will count the door numbers as we walk and enjoy the fresh air and love the peace, especially when we walk along the river. It is so nice to just let our feet travel while we take in what is around us. We will look at the different wildlife we see, like the birds, squirrels and ducks and watch trains as they go passed and just enjoying our surroundings.

Family time: It is good to spend time with family and so we all today as I continue to write this blog spent time watching the Rugby o the TV, along with a nice roast dinner and when my son goes home, which this week he is staying with me, but will make sure I have tidied up. I am still going to do this but when my son is at a school holiday club and going to do a total reset this week whilst he is there and doing a reset. THIS WILL BE FILMED!

Food: I know, I have already talked about this one, but having a good meal in the morning, through to the evening really good to fuel and I love dinners and is my favourite meal of the day and so make sure I am hungry to have dinner and am thankful that I don’t have to cook each day as I live with my Mum and step dad, but if they are out then I will buy food for myself, and try to use what is already indoors that I can have. I love leftovers so I do take advantage, and never rush but eat making sure I food is properly digested.

So how do you like to start the day and end it? You can leave a comment below.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Typical London Gal

Can you get rid of the past and can we learn from it?

07 Tuesday Feb 2023

Posted by in Boundaries, Everyday living, Personal Development, Positive Habits

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Am I going through the past a lot? This is a habit I have done all my life, but I can’t ignore as much as I try, so rather than avoid it I allow it to come into my mind and then I will address and think, what did I learn from that? For example when I went to Brownies there was a girl who was really bitchy and she would be very abrupt towards me and talk to me as if I was an idiot. This helped me to toughen me up and so when I went to Secondary school I made sure that noone was like that to me again. Many of the girls, as I went to a girls school, did try but I didn’t stand for it and showed my authority and when someone is rude I will speak up and say “You don’t talk to me in that way” and so has helped me to set boundaries.

Boundaries are the very important. It also taught me about communicating better and not talk as if someone is able to read my mind, like that girl did because they would play games at Brownies and because I was new wasn’t understanding it.

As a kid who was super shy, I needed support in understanding, but remembering this event, it made me decide on what type of person I wanted to be and that the way she reacted was wrong, and what would I have done if I was her. I know she was a kid herself and was still learning and thinking perhaps it was because she had troubles in how to interact properly and so needed to be given training and understanding, that her way of talking to me was wrong. She did get told off, and when the Brown Owl, The head of Brownies left so did she.

It taught me about morals and respecting others like I would like to be respected. She obviously thought that the way she spoke was her way of stamping her authority and had learning difficulties, who knows? Only she would know, and I think about the times where I had been unkind. There was a guy I worked with was super happy and cheerful and I couldn’t understand what he was say because he had a very thick accent and I was very dismissive and he then had a go at me. I then said “Sorry but I can’t understand you” and was worried in answering him in case he said something rude. All I had to do is say “Sorry but can you say that again” and it made me understand that when someone is being nice doesn’t mean they are actually being mean. So, the past incidences and help us with reactions to how we have been interacting with other people.

Can I fix that? Yes by realising that being rude is not necessary in any form, but being nice and polite goes a long way and it I don’t want people to think I am rude, because then people won’t want to talk to me. It didn’t make me an angel but human and I can’t mend what I once did but I can learn by being better to that person. Noone is ridiculous because they can’t understand a game, they just need to be shown again and someone to be beside them and show them, rather than shouting. Shouting is just someone not knowing how to communicate correctly and I have been guilty of that too, if I want a good response I have to initialize it.

Is it good to have regrets? A lot of people would say “No” and that it was part of them growing and I come to see that, is it worth regretting? NO because you can’t go back, so you have to move on and learn, Learning is the key to mending our ways and about the world and how it works. I believe in forgiveness. You have to forgive yourself and others may have done something wrong to upset you, and instead of arguing talking. I think with technology it is very good to hide behind it and not speak to a someone in person.

We live and learn by our actions and the past can have an impact on how we respond to others and I catch myself when I realise I am being like my dad and its like NOOO. I love my dad but he was very outspoken and said what he thought which wasn’t always good, but the one thing that was taught by him was how to talk to someone. He wasn’t ever rude as such he just was honest and he would talk to anyone, whether they knew him or not, and he loved to socialise. He would make us laugh because he would take the mickey but people never took him seriously and he never took himself seriously either, he was just very well spoken and I do feel sad that I never to to see him again before he died, but glad he was my dad, and remember the good parts and why everyone knew him and loved him.

So the past can help us to grow and be thankful for how the past has shaped us to think about the present.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Typical London Gal

My Challenge for February 2023/Changing money habits for clear debt

05 Sunday Feb 2023

Posted by in Everyday living, Financial Living, Friendships and relationships, new year, Personal Development, Planning 2023, Positive Habits, Weekly posts, Yearly Reset

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So my last “No spend January” video is up on my main Youtube channel https://youtu.be/Ree9adtj7YM and it really helped me to look at my money in a different light in that it not about not spending, but cutting back on things and looking at all the stuff I already got and not buying anything more until I used everything up.

It made me see that there I things I like to enjoy, and that is no spending days which I began last year. I enjoy making my coffee, rather than someone else do it and I like instant coffee. I did want to buy some clothes, as I have decided that this year I won’t be buying any and wear what I have got and the same with skincare, and so would say to myself “I have enough”.

My February challenge is to look for deals on the items I plan on buying this month. and I have filmed one video already for this and will be posting videos on my Instagram and my main Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@typicallondongal once a week.

I like buying sensibly now and the part of a reset is managing your finances if you have debt like I have and it can really affect your wellbeing and cause anxiety. My financial goal for 2023 is to pay off my debts and have a target amount on what I want to save and I love hunting for deals and if I can find a product that is still as good, but get it for less than I normally pay for, I know that this is a good deal.

Building a life is investing on what you care about and I have had a bad relationship with money, because when I began working up in London I would be out in the evenings a lot, near Oxford Street in London and became a bit ruthless. Now I feel I am managing my money well again and think about what it is going to help me and feeling happy with spending money, but not gonna cause me to get stressed. When it comes to money it is good to have a plan and have a list. With the internet it is good to go through how much different items cost that you need and what you are willing to pay for items. Budget for me in very important and that has really helped me to get my good money habits back on track.

If you’d like to join me in this challenge then you can do and let me know how it went for you, and see how much we can save, and use it to buy what we have always wanted. I have a what I want to call, a Financial Wish, to take my son on a holiday and would love to take to Disney in Florida.

It is also good to get your kids involved to if you have children and why not have your friends and family involved too.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Typical London Gal

New Printables Page

30 Monday Jan 2023

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Hello and welcome! I have created a new Printables page where you can download of Life coaching, tracking your happiness and managing your life and building it to have a life you love.

They are completely free and so no cost at all and because of your wonderful support you given to me. Your feedback has helped me to build this blog and what us all to work together in us all living our life full of happiness and wellness.

Free Printables

Regards,

Carrie X

Update of my No Spend January video 2023

30 Monday Jan 2023

Posted by in Dreams and ambitions, Everyday living, Financial Living, monthly challenges to manage my work, New Beginnings, Personal Development, Positive Habits, Weekly posts

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Hello and welcome! Please check out my No Spend update of my No Spend January Challenge.

It has really help go through my finances and not neglect them, and be logical and I did do a video similarly ago on my other Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@mywayofliving1602

The video on this blog is on my main channel, Typical London Gal.

Here is a my latest No Spend January update

It has influenced me to plan my finances for the entire year which I have never done before, but I feel the sense of dread where I know bills are due, but worrying how they gonna get paid. I will do it again and I will be filming another update this week and if you did No Spend January how it went for you.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Typical London Gal

Being the person you wish to be/Telling my Story

27 Friday Jan 2023

Posted by in Dreams and ambitions, Everyday living, having bad days, New Beginnings, Personal Development, Positive Habits, Weekly posts

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I knew as a kid that I didn’t want just a job and do something different to what other kids wanted to do and as a kid I wanted to be famous because I never was the popular kid and starting school I was a loner and it took me ages to form friends.

As I gone through life I have been different depending on where I am, like when I went to dancing school in Fulham in London on Saturday’s and first I was shy and would get anxious and cry, but then when I realised I was good at it didn’t look back and I loved it. I am now a mum living in Wimbledon in South West London and finally have a good balance with being a mum, writing and looking after myself and my wellbeing and its taken a long while to achieving my goals and ambitions.

I like who I am now. I still can be self critical and allow the negative thoughts come through, but I have started to be resilient to those thoughts and use proof to these thoughts that I can be who I want to be. It has taken a long time and I don’t want to just stop, but keep going, that is what I am all about.

You can lose your way and I did. I have been battling with managing my mental health and now back on my feet and never felt such strength before and feel more good things coming away. It has taken its time, but I have never lost my ambition or my drive, and know I have to make the choices and stand on my own two feet. I have to be strong for my son and he is my priority, and struggled with motherhood and so that took a back seat, whilst I got back on my feet, and the bond never went and we have so much fun now and want my son to learn from me, and if he ever has struggles that he will talk to me about them so he can have balance in his life too.

It is good to talk about your ambitions and live the life you want and not what somebody else wants, and have habits that help towards to be the person you want to be and feel good. If anythings feels like a chore then something needs to change, because in my experience, it can make you put it off.

There are a lot of things I still want to do and I still a lot of growing and building to do, but lay off on myself and be proud of who I am and I like having good conversation and so start going through the area of your self you do like, and what you can improve and set a plan for yourself to get there.

So, who do you want to be? And I’d like to hear from you and so you can leave a comment below, and if you like my blogs then please follow me so you can be updated whenever post and don’t miss one.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Typical London Gal

Kick start your day and building up your energy

26 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by in Everyday living, New Beginnings, Personal Development, Positive Habits

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I did my first run this week, and was my first one after a two year break and it felt so good and doing that gave me so much energy and felt so good about myself and feel grateful for my legs and being able to run, and on Tuesday I did my first long walk this year and again it gave me such a boost.

If you want to make change then it is up to you to do it, and did start getting thoughts about doing the run, but said no to those thoughts and I done it.

We can all put things off and have excuses of why we shouldn’t and I would often talk myself out of it, forgetting the benefits of how I’d feel afterwards if I did a run for example, but then you get stuck in a rut and becomes a tug of war.

I have started to put together some life coaching tools together and it is for my Life Coaching programme I do each year and this year it is Project 2023 and so check these out here:

I will let you all know when this will be starting and so I will keep you informed.

Going for a run really gave a kick start to my day, I got a lot done, like changed and washed my bedding and uploaded a new update of my “No Spend January”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8-74xKzsyQ

I kick my start my day by setting an alarm and I before I am tempted to go back to bed, turn the light on, make my bed and get dressed.

When we have kids I get that it can be a challenge but once I got passed my 8 weeks after having my son I would get up early about 4 to 5am, whilst I did my son’s milk used the time to do some exercise. It was hard at first but my mindset was “If I don’t do any in the day at least I did some exercise in the morning” and it is was mentally energizing.

Then started to struggle, so getting back to it 9 years later having battled with it, remember how good it feels. Yes I still get bad days, well I am only human. Through those years, I developed a mental health condition, psychosis and my exercise was overtaken by it and lost my energy. Not that I didn’t try, I did, but I felt drained and so had to seek help and now got my life back and did exercise around the Autumn, but I take some time off for that time of year because I have birthdays and then comes Christmas, and so I am determined this year to make sure I continue to kick start my mornings to boost my energy for the day and not allow my inner critic talk me out of it and not worry about the cold and the dark mornings to stop.

For the first time in a long time feel good about my life and how I see it.

Habits go along way when they serve a purpose, like I get fit in the morning because that it helps get my day on a good start and that I don’t feel anxious about it, not drained by worry and thinking the worst and be relaxed and content.

So kick start your day honestly it can make a huge change, like dancing in the kitchen whilst doing your kids breakfast and why not have them join in. I loved doing this with my son before he started school. This stopped because of my mental health and because I don’t do the school run in the morning, because his dad and I no longer live together, but is a great way to wake up and boost you entire life.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Typical London Gal

Doing a regular Reset and Getting ready for a new week

22 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by in Everyday living, Personal Development, Positive Habits, Weekly posts

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So today I did some laundry, sort my son’s bed out and spent time planning using OneNote and going through my goals and completed another Unit on another course I am doing and so feel super productive, and I do plan a new video to do for my 2023 Reset and to inspire others to complete projects and making steps towards achieving goals.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

I have a pile of clothes to be put away and it is late at night so don’t clear away tonight but will do so tomorrow, and Sunday I will plan my week ahead and do a reset, by tidying my room, going through my wardrobe to set up more of my clothes and what I want to wear for the week and I wear the same clothes in the week and use my wardrobe before I go into the open closet I am using and rotate my clothes. This makes sure I wear them all, and my goal for this year is not to buy anymore clothes.

I go through unfinished tasks and so will set a plan to get them done and BUILD my word for this year and follow my dreams and ambitions.

It is Sunday now a I finish this blog and sorted out my clothes for the week and spending time catching on Youtube in between and uploaded my Sunday chat video. and do a have a new Update on my No Spend January to go up and I like to use my Sunday’s wisely to help set my week up and it is so good when I get things ticked off my lists.

Doing a reset helps the mind too and manage my thoughts. I like to feel calm and contentment to be ready for a new week and plan my days and getting more things done to build and continue to grow in mind and body, and get control of my wellbeing.

I like to do my skincare to reset and wash my hair, along with having a nice dinner and work on tasks that I can’t get done in the week.

There will be more blogs to come and I hope that you spend time resetting and getting your life on track.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Typical London Gal

Let’s talk about love

19 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by in Dreams and ambitions, Everyday living, Friendships and relationships, People, Personal Development, Weekly posts

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What have you learned in your life about love?

When it comes to love it is all around us and often we can’t see it. To remind me about love I will write in my gratitude journal of everything I am grateful and thankful for, like my son, he is the most precious person of my life and love seeing him everyday and spending time having fun and bonding by play and learning.

Love is about giving your whole being to somebody and at times it can be a challenge, if you have different views on life and love, but as long you can talk, laugh and be yourself, that is what is important.

It can break your heart and change, but it can also be what drives you forward and learn how to help love be good again, by looking around you and by that phone call, watching the one show tonight on BBC 1, Will Young was talking about writing letters, rather than a text message can really make a difference and change your view about love.

Love is a personal feeling that should not be taken for granted and it can be from a person who let you go first on the bus and giving money to buskers and street acts, and there is so many ways to show it and give, that it lights up your world and their’s, and it can also be a object, like a music instrument you love, where you like to travel to each year and watch on the TV and writing a book to help others, and spreading love through many different channels and I do tell friends I love them, because I do or if I see a post from a celebrity on Instagram for example and say if I love something they have posted and it has to be what relates to you, and mean something more than a post of someone unwell or just reaching out and showing love.

Compassion goes a long way and love is where it all begins and grows.

Tell me what love means to you and what you have learned. You can leave a comment below, and remember if you’d like to see more posts then please follow me so you don’t miss out on more content and blogs.

I love you for taking the time to read my blog and for your feedback, because without that I wouldn’t know if they are helpful to you and feel so enlighten by the likes and follows I get, you make it that way.

So lets spread the love today and always, and remember to love yourself too.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Typical London Gal