Plan and save - food management tips

There has been quite of lot of press recently about food wastage. "British families throw away an average of the equivalent of 6 meals per week, which would amount to £60 a month for a household, research has suggested" I find this staggering. Apparently staples such as bread, milk, vegetables and fruit are most commonly thrown out and 86 million chickens are said to be discarded every year. Also, from my experience of coaching and helping people with time management, food management can be stressful and time consuming so here are some tips to help:



Quick Quote

"The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found." ~ Calvin Trillin

Plan and save

1. Plan your meals for the week. The best time to plan is the evening before the weekly shop. It need only take 5 minutes, and if you involve the whole family it makes for happy mealtimes!
2. Create a 3 week rolling menu including one day which is an experimental day (Sunday, say) and if it is a success it replaces a standard meal on the menu and one flexible (take away?) day
3. Have a shopping list on the fridge which you and your family update whenever you are running low on a staple (it's amazing what creeps on in my 8 year old's handwriting!)
4. Shop for the freezer and store cupboard especially for meals later on in the week, and then if plans do change you are not left with fresh items 
5. Review what you are tending to throw away and make a note on your shopping list to buy less of that item. Also keep an eye on what you have in your freezer (keep a list on the front including the dates items were frozen)

It reduces stress immensely having this level of planning and is even more useful over the Christmas period. Do you have any tips to add? Please share them here: 

Will it make your boat go faster?

I had an inspiring weekend last weekend. I went on a training day, the highlight of which was a talk by Ben Hunt-Davis. He won an Olympic gold medal in Sydney in the rowing eight. He told his incredible story and I would like to share the three main lessons I took away.

Quick Quote
"One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks."  ~ Jack Penn

Suggestions on how to make progress

1. Will it make the boat go faster? This was obviously a literal statement for Ben, but for many of us, it can be a great metaphor for "does it move us closer to our goal?". If you ask this question before any decision on how you're spending your time, it is a powerful way to move towards your goals. For example:

• ​Is is a good idea to click on this internet link? Will it make the boat go faster? Be honest. Are you just getting distracted or procrastinating?
• I haven't got time for yoga today. Will it make the boat go faster? Yes, it probably will. It is unlikely to contribute directly to your goal but if you don't nurture yourself you are likely to hinder any goal. Interestingly, in 2000, the boat team trained less hard than they had before previously unsuccessful competitions, so remember to pace yourself.

2. Never give up. Ben had lost every major competition for the first seven years he was in the GB team. Would you have given up? The key was that he changed his approach, tried new things and carried on.
3. Work as a team. – The ethos of the team was trust and honesty. If feedback needed to be given (or taken), however hard, it was on the understanding that it would make the boat go faster. Communication was key. Is there someone you need to communicate better with?

If you have any suggestions or success stories, please share them below.

Is it possible to have it all?

Last week, during a course I attended on taking my business to the next level, I was forced to confront a dichotomy which has bugged me for the last couple of years. Is it possible to go "all out" to achieve a goal and at the same time achieve balance? As someone who naturally likes to give everything to achieving a goal once I have set it, it is sometimes hard to maintain the balance I strive for. Also I have noticed that many people who are successful in their work either later struggle with burnout or lack satisfaction in their personal life, and people who focus on another priority such as their family don't achieve all that they hoped for in their working life. Is it possible to have it all?

7 Practical ways to "have it all"

1. It is not a race. Striving for challenging goals is a positive way to grow and to achieve great things. But make sure the timelines are realistic and commensurate with the amount of time you have to spend on them. If you are only working 30 hours a week, it will take longer to achieve your goal than if you are working 60 hours, although you do need to be commiting a "critical mass" of time for some goals.
2. Ensure that you have goals for all aspects of your life including your health, fitness and time with people who are important to you to maintain balance.
3. Segment your life so that whilst you are at work you are focussing on work, and whilst you are with people you love you are focussing on them (ban all additional appendages such as iphones when you are spending quality time with someone)
4. Manage your time efficiently and effectively so that you are being truly productive when you are in "work mode".
5. Ask for help, delegate and make sure you build a strong support structure
6. Accept that there will be times when life is slightly out of balance but you are achieving lots in a certain area. If possible, try and keep those periods finite and as short as possible, or worst case, if things get really crazy, make sure you have scheduled breaks for the other people and things important in your life when you can.
7. Acknowledge that nothing and no-one is perfect and keep a sense of humour when things don't go to plan!

This is all easier said than done, and it is a continuous process. Contact me if you would like support, structure and help finding your own practical solutions.
Please comment and share your challenges and solutions.  It is great to be able to learn from each other.

Are you selfish if you spend time on yourself?

I have many clients who have numerous responsibilities such as children, jobs, businesses, houses, cars, parents... They feel overwhelmed and often it is the "me time" which gets usurped. We can feel that we are being a "martyr" for giving so much - time, energy, compassion, and that some day we will be rewarded for our commitment and hard work. I like to think of myself as a Golden Goose, laying golden eggs. The eggs are the things I create, nurture, develop or support. Without a healthy Golden Goose, there are no golden eggs.

It is pertinent to note that when on an aircraft, we are told that if there is a shortage of oxygen to fit our own mask first. This then puts us in a strong position to help others including our children.

Quick Quote
“It’s hard to be selfish and it’s easy to self-sacrifice.” ~ Nathaniel Brandon

A fun exercise to better understand your priorities

1. Write down on a piece of paper, your top ten priorities in order (most important first) from the list below

      Housework       Career/business       Hobbies
      Sprituality       Personal Development       Friends
      Relatives       Children       Relaxation
      Health       Challenge       Dreams
      Fun       Me       Diet
      Exercise       Partner       Love
      Passion       Home       Environment
      Income       Travel       Material possesions

2. Circle those which promote the health, energy and motivation of the golden goose
3. Underline those which represent golden eggs

Questions to ask yourself:

• Do you have enough priorities which take care of the golden goose?
• Are you living according to those priorities on a daily basis?
• What changes could you make to move your time towards your priorities?

What is truly good for you, is truly good for everyone else.

If you would like to go through a more detailed version of this exercise with my support, or would like support in helping achieve some of your priorities, please ring me on 07764 235394.

Do you think it is selfish to have "me" as your top priority? Please give me your reactions and let me know your thoughts.

Real mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids

Happy Mother’s Day!

Real Mothers don’t eat quiche;
They don’t have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils
Are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
Filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough
Doesn’t come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don’t want to know what
The vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask ‘Why me?’
And get their answer when a little
Voice says, ‘Because I love you best..’

Real Mothers know that a child’s growth
is not measured by height or years or grades…

It is marked by the progression of Mummy to Mum to Mother…

The Images of a Mother
4 YEARS OF AGE – My Mummy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE – My Mum knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE – My Mother doesn’t really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE – Naturally, Mother doesn’t know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE – Mother? She’s hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE – That old woman? She’s way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE – Well, she might know a little bit about it!
35 YEARS OF AGE – Before we decide, let’s get Mum’s opinion.
45 YEAR S OF AGE – Wonder what Mum would have thought about it
65 YEARS OF AGE – Wish I could talk it over with Mum.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,
the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes,
Because that is the doorway to her heart,
The place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,
but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows
and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

I love this poem - gives me a great excuse for my dirty oven too!
Pass it on to other great Mums out there today and boost them too..

Thanks to parenting expert Sue Atkins for this lovely poem

Focus on the people you love

One of my clients is very lucky to be alive having just been in a horrific car crash. With her permission, she is allowing me to share one of her responses to this accident - "I feel lucky to be here with my family and friends and want to let them know how much they mean to me." She has decided to send them cards with heartfelt wishes in them. Valentines day is a commercial day when we often feel obliged to buy things for our other half or feel bad if we don't have one. I think a better idea is to focus regularly on the people who are important to you, through communicating more with them and/or spending more time with them. I have a quick exercise to help you.


Quick Quote

“The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.” ~ Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lamat

Are you spending enough time with the people who are important to you?


1.Write down, in the middle of a page, the people who mean the most to you and draw a circle round them (imagine you had a day to live. These are the people you'd like to be with). This is your closest circle.

2.Around that, write down the people who are important in your life, but not in your closest circle and draw a circle around them.

3.Finally, write down the people you interact with regularly but who you wouldn't regard as being close to

4.In a different colour, next to each person's name, write how much time you have spent with each person over the last month (on the phone or in person)

5.Highlight those people you would like to be spending more time with, and those you would like to spend less with

6.Decide how you can make that happen (if you are struggling, my time management course will help!)

7.To take it one step further, communicate more deeply with the people in your closest circle, in writing (as my client is doing), by phone, or in person

What would your response have been to surviving a car crash? Share your thoughts