Worry Time - and our updated book about beating the blues

A few years ago, I got together with Brighton friend and fellow author Sarah Rayner to work on Making Peace with Depression – a short, comforting book full of tips and ideas for dealing with the blues. It had a great reception from readers – and now we’ve updated it, and it’s just been published with a lovely new cover (featuring the cutest ‘black dog’ ever) by Thread. It includes tips on crafty stuff and kitchen self-care.

A super-quick strategy for scary times

Right now, many of us are struggling with worries about the future, and I wanted to share one of the most useful strategies I’ve found, which I write about in the book.

 I am a champion worrier, and I can even multiworry, letting them build and build! But one very useful technique I use if I find I’m going through a period of ruminating too much is to set aside Worry Time.

Worry time… the simple strategy I use all the time

• I pick a time of day when I can devote myself to worrying, and if something niggles or stresses me out, I add it to my Worry List.

• Then at the designated time – say 8pm – I let myself worry in a concentrated way for 20 minutes. That might be constructive – trying to think of ways to tackle the worry or reduce the probability of something going wrong. Often it becomes so tedious that I go off and do something better – or the postponement means when I go through the list, I realise how trivial most of it was!

 This can be a good way to reduce the time spent ruminating, to try out gaining control over your own thoughts and, of course, to find solutions to the things that genuinely merit concern. It also helps you identify the worries that are entirely proportionate but out of your control. In many ways, those are the hardest ones to deal with.

When the first cases of Covid-19 were being reported, I was hugely anxious because I felt no one else was seeing the signs. It meant that once the world did begin to take action, even as other people become more worried, I felt better, because at least I no longer felt ‘responsible’ for warning everyone.

And now that we’re concerned about the conflict in Ukraine and energy supply and the climate, I’m trying Worry Time all over again…

Rock Your Year: make 2021 the best it can be

Let’s face it, 2020 won’t go down in the history books as the best year ever… but as I write this, on New Year’s Eve, I am focusing on the things I can change - and that includes a complete update of my free download about making changes in your life. It’s available to members of my Book Club the instant you sign up right here…

The booklet is 20 pages long, plus free worksheets you can print off . I’ve given it a new title, too:

Rock Your Year

We can’t always be sure a year will go as planned - but we can take steps that’ll help us make the best of what life throws at us… and that’s the focus of the new book.

Do you want to be happier, healthier & more productive?

Are you overwhelmed by all the changes you’d like to make to your life?

Or maybe the pandemic has made you feel everything is out of control?

2021 and beyond…

2020 has left no one untouched by worry, frustration and loss. In the face of the uncertainties and awful headlines, we can feel powerless and trapped.

You might think that planning in these times is a mistake, or a waste of time. After all, so many things are beyond our control, right?

For me, planning is a source of fresh hope and new starts. And it doesn’t have to be done in December, or in the last few minutes before a new year. You can do this at any time of year.

You also don’t have to make goals for a whole year – this same process can help you plan for the next 3 months, six months or any period that works for you.

3 Steps to making the most of 2021

The 3-step process is simple and energising and it’ll help you:

1.  Review: what makes you happy and fulfilled

2. Refocus: identify what will make the biggest difference to you and those around you:

3. Resolve: to improve your life, whatever the challenges you face.

Why listen to me?

As someone who has struggled with depression, I can be a ‘glass half-empty’ person. But this annual process of looking at what matters most, and how I can put that first, makes a difference to my quality of life on a daily basis.

This approach has helped me:

• Lose weight and keep it off (even during pandemic lockdowns)

• Pivot my freelance work several times to focus on what gives me most creative satisfaction;

• Use grief to motivate me to become a keen runner;

• Move to a city I love.

These are all big changes that didn’t happen overnight. But what my process does is identify my dreams and see the smaller steps I need to take to make them real.

Imagine what this could it do for you…

Your dreams and ambitions will be different to mine. But the sooner you clarify those and start taking actions to get you where you want to be, the sooner things will change for the better.

Short of time? Feel like focusing on yourself is selfish?

Maybe you feel spending time reviewing your dreams is selfish when others are in need. But the happier you are, the more energy you have to support the people you care about.

It doesn’t take long to do the three-steps – and it’ll help you save time by ditching stuff that no longer matters to you.

To download the free e-book, or have it sent to you e-reader, just sign up for my free book club.