Bullet Journalling is a fun, therapeutic way to customise how you organise your time and interests. For those who do not know, it is a diary/ journal that you build for yourself using your own unique themes and keys.
What do you need for Bullet Journalling?
To start a bullet journal, you need a journal, this is usually dotted or plain though some people use lined journals. Along with this blank journal, you will also need some pens, markers and colouring pencils.
4 Bullet Journal Tips
1. Get Inspiration
Watch YouTube videos and use the internet for inspiration and drawing tips. If you’re not too creative or prefer function over style, use stencils and adapt what you have observed to create the right spreads for you.
2. Personalise
Create bullet journals that reflect your day to day activities, helps track your goals and matches your personality and needs. This will increase your usage and genuinely help you organise.
3. Perfectionism
It is easier said than done but avoid perfectionism and panicking about the layout, neatness and focus on the the functionality aspect of the bullet journal.
4. Enjoy and have fun
Focus on enjoying the process and working towards developing new skills such as organisation, creativity and a commitment to personal development
There is always a negative connotation attached to unhappiness. Yet, unhappiness that warrants reflection can often lead to change. Does that mean that unhappiness can be changed always? Not neccessarily, however, the mindset can be transformed. The secret to transforming your mindset resides in the acronym of happiness. Here is how to use ‘HAPPINESS’ to overcome unhappiness.
(H)umility
Humility is important in happiness because if you’re humble enough, it is likely that you are grateful enough. When you are grateful with your circumstances then you become happy with your situation.
Example: I am humbled by the fact that I have my life, many died this year but i still have the life and a chance to live. so i choose to be happy in my current situations.
(A)ssertiveness
Assertiveness is the art of not accepting the situations or things which makes you or others uncomfortable. Assertive people are happy because they can pick and choose what makes them happy and create the boundaries against unhappiness.
Example: I do certain things when i’m sad , to overcome this bad trait or habit, i choose to be assertive and place boundaries.
(P)assion
We all have our passions- the things we like and love, hobbies and interests and the things we are good at. Sometimes, the art of happiness rests in doing the things we love whether that is baking, dancing, sewing, singing or otherwise.
(P)urpose
We are all have a purpose. That one or multiple things we are called to do. If we spend time discovering our purpose and working on the tools we need to achieve our purpose, then that can make us, others and the people we meet happy.
(I)ntegrity
Sometimes, we feel unhappy because we are doing the wrong things. The choices of our actions makes us feel bad. For instance, if I lie all the time, I start to feel guilty about lying and that guilt makes me unhappy. Be a person with integrity and sometimes the goodness of integrity allows you to be happy.
(N)eglect
Sometimes, we feel unhappy because neglect our selves, This can be our health, our wellbeing, ourselves and the things that matter to us the most. When you make a conscious effort to look after yourself, then happiness also radiates with you.
(N)eed
Deciding what you need and want is a good start to discovering your happiness. You need a balance between the two- it is not a good idea to always focus on your needs even though it is hard when you need things and to always live in want makes you insatiable. Though easier said than done, focusing on wants and needs distracts you from choosing to be happy now.
(E)ffervescence
Sometimes, choosing to be happy means you need to radiate effervescence. This means stop frowning, smile, laugh and enjoy. Choosing to be a radiant and lovely person to be around and doing things on purpose that makes you effervescent can often make you happy as well.
(S)ilence
Silence negative, terrible or unhappy thoughts. This can be through meditation, quiet times, repeating words of encouragement to yourself and believing the good, pure and noble thoughts.
(S)upervise
Monitoring your happiness can also be good for your wellbeing. Identify days that have made you happy and figure out what happened that day that made you so happy. Look back on those days, weeks, months or even years in a journal, scrapbook, notes or conversation.
happiness is a seed, plant its bud and water it with love and watch it bloom.
Investing in my skin used to be something I thought of as vain or shallow, not because of the benefits and the healthiness of the skin but because of the ways products are promoted to make us feel younger and prettier. It wasn’t until recently that I started to see skincare as part of wellbeing. Another aspect of this was that I didn’t know where to start or which products would work for my skin. If you are thinking about embarking on a journey for affordable skincare regimen. Here are five essential types of products that you can try in order to look after your skin:
1. Facial Scrub
This scrub can be used by men or women. For me personally, it exfoliates well and allows me to cleanse my face quickly and efficiently. I like the minty smell and doesn’t require too much as it exfoliate my dry skin. However it can be used for any skin types. It includes ingredients such as Calendula Oil, Allantoin and Activated Charcoal.
2. Cleanser
A good cleanser will leave your face feeling smooth and clear. I like to use my exfoliator brush to scrub my face then rinse it off with warm water.
3. Toner
I use a liquid toner by pouring small amounts onto a cotton wool pads and cleaning around my face and neck to achieve clearer skin.
For some people, smartphones are more like a distraction than a blessing. If you are running a business, you might find yourself trying to update your social media accounts and spending hours every day viewing videos that are not even related to your industry. There are, however, some positive aspects of using smartphones and technology on the go that can improve your personal productivity and save you time. Find out more about them below.
The mind, body and soul are key areas of focus when it comes to self care. This is because they intersect. I find self-care to be an important message that people need to remind themselves each day. It cannot be shared enough. I see a lot of inspirational content on Instagram, Twitter and even here on lifestyle blogs that are very moving and it makes me happy to see people appreciate who they are and how they can be even greater! One thing I would like to dispel is that self care is not just about losing weight or dieting or even drinking slimming tea (thank God!).
To me, self care can be defined as:
The condition of loving yourself so much that you choose not to compromise your health and wellbeing.
To the sceptic, origami is folding paper. To the rational, origami is full of instructions. To the idealist, origami is a movement. But to the creative, origami is the vision that is created by diligent hands. – Hannah Williams
This Thursday, I had the opportunity to participate in an Origami class hosted by Toshiko called the Happy Origami Wonderland. This experience was sponsored by Indytute which is an online platform allowing you to purchase experiences such as origami classes as gifts that you and your loved ones can participate in.
Now, I went into this class completely oblivious to how difficult origami can be. However, it was fine because most people in the class were beginners just like me. The class is a two person experience so my sister came along and we had fun bonding together over this workshop.
Before I delve into what I learnt in the class, I would like to take a moment to appreciate the culture of the art-form by pointing out what I learnt about origami:
I understood the meaning behind the crane as a symbol of hope. In fact, one thousand cranes was the exact number in the Japanese culture.
There is a specialist origami paper which is much softer.
Origami can be therapeutic. There is also mindfulness origami in which the tutor also specialises in.
In addition to learning about the culture and history of origami, I also learnt about myself from taking this class. Here is what I learnt:
Be a doer and not a watcher:I noticed that because I was anxious, I began watching rather than doing which in turn made it difficult for me to keep up. So after being helped by the wonderful teacher, I was able to get back on track with the class.
Practice: When I completed the final piece of the flying crane and it looked fine, I settled for that and didn’t push myself to try again or even practise/ perfect what I have already made. This is a completely complacent attitude and to get the full experience, it was important that I personally try to practise and not leave what I learnt at the workshop.
Ask for help: Don’t be embarrassed to ask others and the instructor for help. It can be simple questions but as long as it needs answering they are VERY valid.
Overall, origami is an activity that requires the ability to listen carefully, follow instructions and solve problems through intuition, common sense and even to some extent team work especially in a group.
Here are the pictures of the Crane and the Japanese Maple Leaf made in the class
Here is a GIF of my patterned origami crane (bird). It actually flies!
For more information on this Origami class or other available workshops, please feel free to visit:
Writing haikus has been a simple yet complex process because I am aware that the English form of haikus is very different to what constitutes as a haiku in Japan. This is because sentence structures and syllables are quite different in these two cultures. Yet, the universal essence of nature as the topic of an haiku inspired my haiku album ‘What Nature Said’. In this blog post, I explore my creative process and provide samples to the album so here goes.
What is ‘What Nature Said About?”
What Nature Said is an eighteen track haiku album which explores the literal and metaphysical aspects of nature.
Why did you write ‘What Nature Said?’
I wrote ‘What Nature Said’ because I find writing haiku’s therapeutic and enjoyed the creative process of writing. I have always appreciated haiku and enjoy writing haikus in a way that is personal yet enjoyable to me. The passion I had for writing these pieces is what inspired the project.
What did you enjoy the most about the ‘What Nature Said?
I enjoyed the creative process of writing, recording and producing this album all by myself. It really allowed me to develop life skills such as decision making, creative skills such as recording and editing and career/ business skills such as marketing. Yet, I will never stop learning even after this haiku album.
Can we get some snippets?
Yes. Below are three samples of my haiku pieces along with the lyrics:
Poverty
A hand that never
labour. Yet clings to prayer,
asks for starvation.
On Dreams And Memories
A lucid mirage
Faint elusive memories
Reason redundant.
Where can we find out more?
Please head over to Bandcamp for more information.
What Nature Said- A Collection of Short Haikus by Hannah Williams (Audio Version)
‘What Nature Said’ is a short collection of audio haikus written, produced and created by Hannah Williams. Each piece explores the various facets of nature on a literal, metaphorical and metaphysical sense.
‘Cherry Blossom’ explores the vivid imagery of colour whilst ‘Lavender’ explores the intersection of plants and healing. ‘Daisy Chains’ is a playful piece exploring naivety and simplicity of the youth.Other eclectic’ pieces includes: ‘Grass’ ‘Autumn’ ’Rain’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Seaside’ ‘Waterfall’ ‘Silver Lining’, and ‘Flames’. The more poignant pieces are ‘Soil’, ‘Language’ and ‘Speech’ centred to reflect the political state of land and linguistics. Then of course, the musings on books in ‘A Potential Wasted’ and perception of destitution in ‘Poverty’ as well as the conflict between reality and imagination in the piece ‘On Dreams and Visions’. Overall, this collection is bound to make you ponder and bring you closer to nature with its relaxing sounds, soft meditative tone and soothing lyrics.
£0.99
Please feel free to share, comment or let me know what you think?
The Children’s Society has launched a campaign known as Seriously Awkward.This competition seeks short stories inspired by the awkward stage most sixteen and seventeen years old experience. But what exactly does it mean to be awkward? When I searched for the synonyms of awkward, the dictionary gave definitions such as difficult, stubborn and obstinate. These definitions are indeed wrong but it can often appear to society in this way leading to labels and stereotypes. One thing everyone including myself can be mindful of is looking at situations and people with a compassionate gaze irrespective of their ‘awkwardness’ or differences.
Here are three situations where the compassionate gaze can be practised:
SCENARIO ONE: SUSIE SMELLS Susie attends school every day. This is not what her school classmates observe- what they notice is her smell. She doesn’t smell very fresh. Nobody knows why and they can never comprehend why she cannot attend to her hygiene.
Compassionate Gaze: Susie lives in abject poverty. A house with regular leaks, little or no hot water and an expensive gas bill which her parents struggle to pay due to their low incomes combined. Susie showers sporadically.
SCENARIO TWO: MYLIE THE MIGHTY Mylie is a quiet girl. She can be quite moody and a little short-tempered. She bottles up her emotions too much and waits till she reaches a breaking point before she retaliates. Every day in the mathematics class, Joe keeps calling her names. One day, she decided to throw a stool at him out of anger.
Compassionate Gaze: Mylie has some anger issues triggered by domestic violence she sees her mother experiencing. She doesn’t tell anyone and keeps the pain hidden. Her anger builds. She cannot afford therapy sessions and the mental health waiting list keeps growing making her wait longer.
SCENARIO THREE: MORGAN THE MISGUIDED Morgan finds it difficult to integrate so when he found bad friends with whom he became very loyal. A gullible young man thinking he has found a family and community.
Compassionate Gaze:Morgan lacks the guidance he needs. His mother works night shifts struggling to pay the bills. So when the boys on the estate promises him an illegal job which makes more money than his mother, he takes the risk with the potential that this illegal occupation could kill him either by the gunshot or the stabbing of a sharp knife.
By no means are the compassionate gaze excuses or an absolute representation of what people in similar situations go through. These characters whom are purely fictional just offer us an insight into the lives of those experiencing the awkward stage. It is imperative to think with a gaze that sees the compassionate side of things which is better than formulating misconceptions. A little bit of a compassionate gaze makes the world a better place.
Please feel free to use these ideas as inspiration for your entries either as a piece of character development or perhaps the essence of your plot.
Last week, I attended the Tŷ Newydd Emerging Writers Programme. This took place from the 4-9th June 2018. This experience has really shaped my perceptions on writing and if anything it has encouraged me to keep writing. Without further ado, here is my reflection on the experience.
What did I learn on this course? I have learnt about some of the various writing styles, the different ways in which you can approach your work and the editing process as the course explored these aspects. In fact, one of my goals was to learn how to enhance my writing style and learn how to experiment with other style of writing. This course has provided me with the tools to do so.
What were some of my fears or reservations about the course? The performance or more specifically the reading sessions. I was a bit anxious about sharing my work but everyone was really supportive and encouraging so I felt more at ease when sharing.
What are some of the key highlights?
Conversations: I had some really interesting conversations with my peers, the facilitators and even managed to speak with a really famous welsh poet who gave me lots of brilliant advice and insight into poetry.
Food: The meals at dinner were absolutely delicious and you can help yourself to seconds (which i did).
Information: I felt more informed about the world of literature and creative writing after attending this programme. Although it was in Wales, I was still informed about opportunities in London.
How do I hope to use what I have learnt? I hope to encourage myself by practicing these writing techniques and developing the building blocks either by writing leisurely, on this blog and perhaps even entering short story competitions in the long run.
Overall, I had an excellent time, our tutors were incredibly funny and incredible too. I sincerely wish everyone I met all the best.
I‘ve always loved quotes and find inspiration and wisdom in them. So this afternoon, I have decided to sit down and reflect on some of the quotes that I have written and would like to share with the readers of my blog. I hope you like them or find it thought-provoking.
1. There is no can’t or can.It is either I choose to or I choose not to.
2. Family is everything. Everything is anything. So in anything family is still everything.
3. The deception of a lie weighs deeper than the consequence of the truth.
4. The true spirit of boldness is to say what you mean, how you mean it and not overthink on how people will take the message. At the end of the day, it is the message for the people and not pleasing people for the message. I don’t want to give people what they want to hear.
5. Precaution is sometimes paranoia and paranoia is sometimes precaution.
It can be very difficult going through your twenties because you are becoming a young adult. It involves figuring out your likes and dislikes and navigating through the world with your identity. This can often result in mistakes. However, I realise not everyone’s twenties can be this way. Although, I must confess that mine are full of mistakes. I wish I could lie to you and say that I wouldn’t change it for the world because it has made me who I am. Yet, the truth is that I would totally change it. I would totally change the past but I cannot because it has already been written as a part of my history. Upon this reflection here are twenty three things I have learnt in my twenties.
I cannot change the past but I can manage the effects.
Death doesn’t discriminate by age
Love begins with accepting yourself
Have a passion, hobby or interest- these are very important.
Avoid situations that can haunt or hurt you in the future
Your health comes first.
Work hard in everything as you do not know what each opportunity may bring.
Family is everything.
You are your own role model everyone else is inspiration.
Maintain healthy relationships.
Appreciate everything you have.
Learn and try new things.
Step out of your comfort zone.
Your happiness starts with you and is dependent on you.
There are people out there whose sole ambition is to tear people down.
Always try to maintain professionalism at work.
Not everyone’s life is as perfect as it seems on social media.
Nice people do not finish last.
Smiling isn’t a sign of weakness and a frown is not a signal to be feared.
Making mistakes are important but learning from them are just as important.
Age is not always wisdom.
Having a faith, belief system or values are important.
Be the best version of yourself, always.
Thank you for reading!
What lessons have you learnt in your twenties? Please feel free to share in the comments section!
In my teenage years, I have certainly underestimated the importance of alone time as I thought it was cooler to be around people. However, the older I get, the more I realise how important alone time is. After all, if you are not spending time with yourself, who will spend time with you?
