PLAYFULNESS + CURIOSITY Page 2 of 16

Is your routine holding you back?

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[Tweet ““If you think adventure is dangerous try routine. It’s lethal.” ~ Paulo Coelho”]

For me variety is the spice of life. I like every day to be different and I’ve always tried to avoid falling into habits and routines. So when I had my little boy, almost two years ago now, I’m the first to admit that being at home all day and juggling feeds, nap times, nappy changes, and everything else that a new baby brings, took some getting used to.

As any new parent knows, having a tiny little person relying on you for everything is hard work. You’re no longer have the freedom you used to. Even the simplest task, like meeting friends for coffee, requires an element of forward planning and spontaneity gores out of the window. Within weeks I  developed my own little way of doing things. I was in the motherhood groove and  and before long I had a routine!

My husband and I were in Brighton when I realised just how much of a creature of habit I’d become. It’s amazing how much clarity a change of scene can bring. Being by the sea, exploring a new city, and escaping the ‘daily grind’ left us both feeling inspired, refreshed and re-invigorated.

IMG_2130Getting a new perspective

Zack was now a few months old and having adapted to being parents things were becoming much easier. We realised that while there are always going to be jobs to do, and obligations and responsibilities to fulfil, life doesn’t have to feel like Groundhog Day.

Is your routine holding you back? RK Brighton e1433507081426Exploring a new city

On the journey home we agreed that while some routines are helpful and even necessary, especially for Zack, others had seen us get too comfortable and complacent. So we decided that some things needed to change.

Things that changed after our trip:

  • I left my 9-5 and started writing part-time for Do What You Love. Now I’m free to work wherever and whenever I choose and to do all the things I love – be a mum, go running, do yoga, and be creative. Embracing new opportunities and connecting with interesting new people is part of the job so no two days are ever the same. I want Zack to grow up understanding that my work makes me happy and that I have my own hopes and dreams.
  • We stopped complaining about how much time we waste watching TV and now, instead:

– we limit the amount of TV we watch

– we have regular date nights

– we have dinner as a family and talk

– we socialise more in the evenings with family and friends

– we spend more of our free time being creative and working on our own passion projects

  • We looked at our finances to see where we could cut back and save money for a weekend away every few months.
  • We both started doing more exercise. I joined a gym and my husband started running with colleagues at work.
  • We made a 5-year plan that will help us live the life we really want and create our own special memories along the way.

10 simple ways to shake up your routine today:

  1. Change your schedule. Get up with the sun and take an early morning walk. You’ll see your world differently, sense different emotions in the people you meet and hear different sounds.
  2. Change your style – do your hair or make-up differently or experiment with clothes to find a new look.
  3. Commute a different way to work, or instead of going by car take the bus, train, walk or cycle.
  4. Take a class or a course in something you’re interested in, who knows what doors may open.
  5. Pick a different place to hang out. If you meet friends at a local bar, try a local restaurant. Or do something different – go to a sporting event watch a gig or have a dinner party.
  6. Have a conversation with someone new. Make this your daily mission and who knows, you might make a friend for life!
  7. Make more of your lunch break. Go to museums, try new restaurants, meet a friend, walk in the park, do something you’ve never done before or go somewhere you’ve never been before.
  8. Have a mini-adventure at the weekend. Do a road trip, go hiking or camping or explore a new city.
  9. Be inspired and get creative. Watch this playlist of TED Talks to kickstart your creativity, or read this excerptfrom Pico Iyer’s TED Book, The Art of Stillness.
  10. Take a day off and give yourself permission to do anything you want. Go for a long, solitary walk; write poetry; bake; go shopping; read a novel; watch a blockbuster; paint; make something for a friend; have a picnic in the middle of nowhere and then lie in the grass and look at the clouds.

[Tweet “Have you ever felt stuck in a rut?”] Do you follow the same routine, day in, day out? What small changes could you make to mix things up today?

Rachel

The Do What You Love e-course will help you ditch bad habits and boring routines, and lead you to see what you really want (or need) more clearly.

“I am now far more open to ideas and willing to say yes to opportunities. I think, well, what’s the worst that can happen?!” Shona W., Do What You Love participant, Jan 2015

Join us this June for the experience of a lifetime.

Ditch the routine

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Do you have a routine? How does it go?

Chances are you don’t acknowledge your routine day to day, but we bet you have one. You probably go through most of it on autopilot, without stopping to consider whether what you’re doing is healthy, productive or enjoyable. Isn’t it time to change that?

We’ve been really enjoying doing the activities from the Do What You Love e-course recently. Week three of the course is all about being brave and coming alive. One of the activities asks you to spend a day mixing things up a bit, so we asked Rose to ditch her routine today. Here’s what happened.

When I started thinking about what I was going to do differently today, I was at a bit of a loss. Shaking up your routine is inevitably going to move you out of your comfort zone – that was clear at the very moment I started thinking about it. But when I really got to thinking about what I could do differently, I felt a strange sense of excitement.

It started with breakfast. Today I swapped my usual Marmite for Nutella and bananas on toast. Having chocolate for breakfast always feels indulgent, but it’s the chocolate-banana combo that makes this an unbeatable start to the day.

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Rather than sitting straight down in front of my computer after breakfast, I decided to go for a morning stroll on the seafront. It was a beautiful day – sunny and breezy – and I was surprised to find so many people by the sea before 9am. I was even more surprised at how friendly everyone was. I tend to assume everyone is grumpy in the morning, not being a morning person myself. But receiving so many friendly hellos so early in the day put me in a great mood.

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After my stroll it was time to get to work. But I was feeling remarkably chirpy, and I didn’t fancy working on my own. I decided to give my friend (a freelance designer who works from home) a call. She invited me to work at her house, so I grabbed some juice and biscuits and headed over.

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I loved working somewhere new in the company of my friend and her cat, Mila. We enjoyed frothy coffee, countless snacks and great music. And I had a really productive working day.

I was so surprised at what an effect shaking up my routine had on my mood, and my productivity. I felt more alive today than I have in weeks. I’m looking forward to changing my routine in different ways in the future – perhaps I’ll end up replacing my old routine with a great new one that’s just right for me!

The Do What You Love e-course will help you ditch bad habits and boring routines, and lead you to see what you really want (or need) more clearly.

“I am now far more open to ideas and willing to say yes to opportunities. I think, well, whats the worst that can happen?!” Shona W., Do What You Love participant, Jan 2015

Join us this June for the experience of a lifetime.

Child’s play

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We’re a week closer to the beginning of the next Do What You Love e-course, and this week we’ve been doing one of the many exercises designed to help you excavate your story. We asked Rose to take a trip down memory lane and draw a picture of what ‘play’ looked like for her as a child. Here’s what she came up with.

“My initial reaction was an all too common one – ‘I can’t draw’. I like to think of myself as artistic in other ways, but drawing, especially from memory, definitely isn’t my forte.

 But, as Vickie pointed out, this isn’t a drawing competition. So I set to work. As a child I remember playing with baby dolls, making dens, running shops and holding tea parties for my toys. My strongest memories are of those tea parties, so I started drawing. As I drew, that carefree feeling of being surrounded by my much-loved toys crept back up on me, and I started to really enjoy it. I began to remember seating my toys next to their ‘best friends’ and serving them from my miniature polka dot teapot and stripey tea cups. If I was lucky, my mum would help me bake miniature cupcakes for the occasion, too.

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Doing the exercise got me thinking about how that early love of entertaining stuck with me as I grew up. I spent ten years in the hospitality and events industry, and although I left it behind me in favour of more regular, sociable hours, I look back so fondly on the days of working in a team to make those big birthdays and wedding receptions completely unforgettable. It’s clear that I’ve always loved making those special occasions happen, for both toys and humans, and I know I always will.”

The Do What You Love e-course will encourage you to reconnect to the real you, deep inside, in order to uncover what you really love. Understanding yourself and your passions will help you map out your perfect road ahead.

“This course is like pressing a pause button on your life – to take stock and help realise your potential.” Course participant, January 2015

Join us this June for the experience of a lifetime.

Collecting moments

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Our next Do What You Love e-course is starting in June, and over the next few weeks we’ll be offering you a taste of what’s to come. During the course, you’ll be asked to go out with your camera and take pictures of things that put a smile on your face or a spring in your step, before turning those pictures into a mosaic or collage for safekeeping. Since this is one of Vickie’s favourite exercises from the course, we asked her to share her experience of it with you.

“I love to go exploring with my camera (these days it’s with my phone) and I have become a fan of Instagram over the past couple of years. You just can’t take a bad picture with Instagram. Editing the picture and adding those filters and effects are all part of the fun; they are a great way to capture the mood of that specific moment even better.

This exercise reminded me of how much I love taking pictures, and whatever I do in the future I want photography to be a part of it somehow.

Taking pictures is much more than just gathering memories, and the process is as important to me as the final picture.

  • It allows you to be more observant of what’s around you as you look for the perfect shot
  • It makes you think about light and contrast, colour and movement and you might find that you’re more creative than you thought
  • It allows you to live in the moment, be focused on what is happening here and now
  • It gives you an excuse to wander off the beaten track and explore places you wouldn’t go if you were just walking around. You’re not a random wanderer, you are a photographer on a mission!
  • It surprises you when you look back at your pictures that you have developed a style of your own – it makes you feel proud
  • It makes you think about what you are drawn to, what you like and which moments are important to you

Small moments, big wonders

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My mosaic is about freedom, wonderment, sharing and playfulness. From top left and clockwise:

1/ Spring has arrived in Brighton and I love to feel the heat as I walk along the street. Feeling the sun on my face makes me smile and want to spend more time exploring outdoors. It makes me feel braver, as if I don’t need any protection anymore, I am free with my movements and choices.

2/ I am lucky enough to live by the sea, one of my favourite environments. My office is close to the seafront and I can pop out whenever I need a break. The sea is always there but it never looks the same. It makes me feel refreshed and full of new possibilities. When I go back to the office, it’s always with a new idea or solution in my head.

3/ Sharing afternoon tea with a friend I hadn’t seen for a long time. A lot of my friends live abroad and people sometimes ask me if I miss them. I don’t. I love the idea that there are people scattered around the world with whom I have a special connection. Just knowing that they are there is often enough. Meeting up after several months, years sometimes, and getting along as if we only last saw each other the other day – those are always magical moments. 

4/ I got these vintage roller skates second hand and just looking at them makes me smile. This is something I used to love doing as a kid and hadn’t done since then. I recently had to go to a specific location for work and decided to skate there to make the ride more interesting. Well I wasn’t disappointed! Although I did have muscle cramps the next day (and a bruise on my left thigh), it was totally worth it!

5/ Every year during the winter hundreds of thousands of starlings gather around Brighton pier in the evenings to roost. It’s completely mesmerizing to watch them dance around the pier in the sunset. It is one of those wonders of nature that you watch in awe without completely understanding what’s going on. 

6/ The month of May in Brighton is festival time. Streets and venues fill up with artists, musicians, comedians and it’s not rare to bump into tightrope walkers or even cowboys on a street corner! This was a man making giant soap bubbles. Soap and water. That’s all it took for kids and adults alike to let go ooohs and aaaahs as the bubbles danced into the wind and popped silently over our heads.”

Victoria (@vickieinwonderland)

The Do What You Love e-course will encourage you to explore in so many ways. We believe that knowing ourselves and our environment is key to having the confidence to achieve big things.

“I was and continue to be floored by this course – it was so valuable. I felt like it helped me focus on me, my interests, my desires, and what was holding me back from those things. I was more painfully honest with myself than I have been in years, but I also allowed myself to play more than ever. Since joining the course, I’ve blossomed into a new person. I feel like the course will continue working its magic for ages. It has a killer curriculum covering all the bases. I’m so absolutely pleased I chose this as a way to start turning my life around.” Course participant

Join us this June for the adventure of a lifetime.

May’s happy list is here!

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May's happy list is here! Library at Anthro HQ e1430423181837On my happy list this month: feeling inspired by nature and magazines galore in this gorgeous little library at Anthropologie HQ, Philadelphia

Each month we share a free ‘happy list’ as a place for you to capture the things – big or small – that have made you smile each day.

Download your happy list here.

Wishing you a marvellous May,

Rachel

Add more play to your day today!

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The Do What You Love team is off to cookery school! We can’t wait to learn new skills and enjoy the process of creating (and of course, eating!) our delicious three-course meals.

How are you going to play today? This week? And at the weekend?

Whatever you do, have fun and enjoy!

Creating magic

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Last week we went up to London for a very special show in the West End – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl. It is one of my favourite books from childhood, and Sam Mendes’ version was a feast for the eyes, full of mystery and surprises, all bound together by a delightful story. There were exploding potions, flying elevators, rivers of chocolate and even some breakdancing. The stage came alive with colour, motion and magic.

Roald Dahl was an absolute genius at capturing the things that fascinate and delight children and adults alike.  From rude noises and naughty characters, to worlds of sweets, and retribution for nasty adults, he captured it all. I met him once, when I was about 8. I queued up for hours at a book fair to get his autograph on my copy of The BFG. When I got to the front of the queue I couldn’t help but stare at this old man, who had a twinkle in his eye and a pocket full of crazy ideas. If he was still alive and I had the chance to meet him again, I’d ask him where he got his inspiration from.

Apparently Roald Dahl wrote most of his books in a shed at the end of his garden, which shows you don’t need to travel far, spend much or do complicated things to get inspired. If he could create dreamcatching giants, square-footed witches, everlasting gobstoppers and a giant peach from inside a hut furnished with a brown chair, tartan rug, small wooden desk and a waste paper basket, surely each of us can conjour up magic wherever we are too.

Here’s another example of simple creativity – just loved seeing how this inventive couple have made November completely magical for their children (when they make the toy dinosaurs come alive…)

I’m all for making your space imaginative, for trying new things, and going off on adventures to get inspired. But sometimes arranging that space, getting round to doing things, or planning a trip can give way to procrastination and excuses. So this week why not take a leaf out of one of Roald Dahl’s swizfiggling books and find a way to inspire yourself right where you are, with what you have now. And be sure to tell us about it on Facebook or Twitter!

Happy Monday!

Life according to Mr. K – Finding inspiration

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lifeaccordingtomrk

I had a chuckle with myself recently. This month’s theme is ‘Love to Create’ and ever since I have been devoid of all and any ideas. The irony!!!! What a time for writer’s block. The most creative thing I have managed this week is rustling up an ad-hoc meal with whatever ingredients there were left in the cupboard.

This actually did get me thinking about this topic from a very different perspective. It raises an interesting point about inspiration and what gets our creative juices flowing. I also think it is really important to consider what affects our creativity when as children we were often overwhelmed by our imagination and possibilities… in many cases making the impossible very possible!

We live in a world of technological advancements that would have been considered science fiction not too many moons ago. We are surrounded by huge achievements of engineering, art, literature, technology, science and architecture to name but a few.

Yet I would argue that our world – and more particularly our society – restricts and dampens our imagination. We are conditioned into processes and procedures, and bound by rules. We have our bubbles burst by doubters. We are hampered by the very people who we need inspiring the most. But it only takes one person to show the way.

Do we lack the courage and conviction to follow through with our ideas?

To create is not a whimsical philosophy. It takes courage, as Beth shared in this post, and as I will talk more about next week. It also requires inspiration.

Mother Nature is a constant reminder of what can be created and achieved, ‘life’ being the greatest example. Birds taking flight long before Bernoulli translated it into a mathematical formula. Nests, warrens and dams providing evidence of sustainable construction. It is all around us. We just need to look.

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