If you’re anything like me and leave things until the last minute then you may enjoy this post. I always find buying a father’s day gift quite a challenge. My dad doesn’t quite fit in with the usual stereotype (you know, the pipe and slippers image the glossy magazines like to feed us) and buying gifts for him at any time of the year is a nightmare.

But with the shops about to close – don’t panic!

Here are 3 last minute father’s day gifts that will suit any dad…

1. Kiva Loan

I’ma huge fan of paying it forward. Part of my monthly budget always includes a loan to someone via Kiva.  Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

So why give $25 on behalf of your father and help someone’s dreams come true.

2. Groupon / Living Social

For last minute gifts, groupon and living social are my go to places. Simply chose something from a meal to a trip and you can print the voucher out instantly. Simple and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own chair.

3. Head to the booze aisle

A bottle of Glenfiddich 18 Year Old Single Malt Whisky is a great choice this fathers day.

But if you dad isn’t much of a drinker then head to the chocolate aisle, my pick would be some seriously chocolate truffles from Waitrose.

A little rebellion now and then is a good thing

I was walking home from town and stumbled across this piece of graffiti.

I don’t think I need to add words {although, I may come back to it at some point} but I just love the sentiment. Whether it’s a bar of chocolate, a trip away or just doing something out of the ordinary, sometimes rebellion really is a GREAT thing.

Enjoy the weekend x

Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating. – John Cleese

I’ve spoken before about my habit of procrastinating,  I’m kind of embracing it these days. Usually the main cause of my whiling hours away, doing nothing, is feeling as though my creative juices are empty. There has to be nothing worse than staring at a blank page when you know it should be brimming with words. Nothing worse and nothing more hampering either.

Since it’s midweek and that’s usually when the slump sets in (or at least it does for me), I thought that I’d  share a few methods that I use to boost creativity whilst I’m working…

How to Become More Creative

1.Take the afternoon off and go watch a film. A solo trip to the cinema always helps. I don’t know whether it’s the 2 hours living in someone else’s world or just time where my phone is off and I don’t have to think. But it does work.

2. Pick up a pen and write by hand. Notebooks and handwritten notes are a vital part of my routine.

3. Go outside. Walk, run, sit, whatever, just the feel of the sun on your skin, the rain on your face and the fresh air in your lungs can work wonders.

4. Have a glass of wine (or whatever your drink of choice).  An ice cold glass of chablis is the perfect creativity booster for me. There’s a limit though, one glass = great work, two glasses = sloppy and incoherent (no matter how great I think it is at the time). As Ernest Hemingway says “Write drunk, edit sober“- although not recommended for 9am on Monday morning!

5. Turn EVERYTHING around you off. No radio, telly, music. I’m not one for silence but sometimes an hour or two of perfect silence gets shit done.

6. Take a nap. Sometimes you just need to shut down.

7. Screw work, take some time to read your favorite blogs/magazines. 30 minutes of reading work by people who inspire you, WILL help get you pumped.  Here are some of my favorites: Sarah Wilson // Inspaces Between // Thug Kitchen // Danielle LaPorte // Deborah Lee // Marie Forleo // Gala Darling // Emma Cossey // Brain Pickings // British Beauty Blogger // The Middle Finger Project {my list of must reads is much longer but we’d be here ALL day – which would be kind of ironic}

8. Work elsewhere. Coffee shop, co-working space, a friends house – a change of scenery is good.

9. Get to work on your confidence. Nothing will stop creativity in it’s tracks quicker than low self esteem. Check out Alex’s Confidence Vitamins.

10. Get a cat…I love this piece from Muriel Spark. If you’ve got a cat,you’ll understand.

If you want to concentrate deeply on some problem, and especially some piece of writing or paper-work, you should acquire a cat. Alone with the cat in the room where you work … the cat will invariably get up on your desk and settle placidly under the desk lamp. The light from a desk lamp … gives a cat great satisfaction. The cat will settle down and be serene, with a serenity that passes all understanding. And the tranquility of the cat will gradually come to affect you, sitting there at your desk, so that all the excitable qualities that impede your concentration compose themselves and give your mind back the self-command it has lost. You need not watch the cat all the time. Its presence alone is enough. The effect of a cat on your concentration is remarkable, very mysterious.

Now I want your tips…What are your sure fire ways to improve creativity?

The papers are having a bit of a field day about David Cameron jetting off for a little sunshine break. Apparently, if you’re prime minister you must leave all your wellbeing needs at the door.

There is a reason why jobs come with holiday entitlement. Personally, I’d rather a PM in charge of the country who is rested and on form than one whose frazzled and burnt out.

But it’s not just those in high-powered jobs that need a break. We all do. It’s good for the soul. Switching off from everyone and everything can do you the world of good.

Years back when I was setting up my public relations company, I used to visit the various business forums (this was before twitter and facebook were mainstream). You’d see the same names pop up late at night, frantically working and come bank holidays, Easter and Christmas, they’d swap taking a break for more work. The question “whose working this bank holiday” would often be asked.

It created a bit of unease with me. As though if I dared to take some ME time on a public holiday I wasn’t in to my business enough and the whole world would fall apart.

It was bullshit. I see that now. In fact nowadays, I probably work less and get more results – go figure. It’s not that I don’t work hard or work long hours – I do, but I know when it’s time to take a break, step back and shut down – even if it’s just for 24 hours.

Author of Activate Your Life, Andrew McCombe says “We often overlook the importance of proper rest and relaxation, but without it our bodies don’t have time to repair, recuperate and grow.”

EXACTLY. In order to grow you’ve got to switch off. It really is THAT simple. {click to tweet}

Here are 4 reasons why you should to take a break… (more…)

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I love social media. Most of you reading this right now, will probably have found this post via my Twitter or Facebook feed. But every now and again, I resent my involvement in the social media world. It’s totally skewed the way I view people.

People (who at times can come across as wonderful, insightful people) say things and make comments that shake me to my core and it makes me wonder about how well you ever really know anyone.

It’s strange that I post this today because I had initially planned on writing it this morning after reading about @emmaway20, the girl who knocked a cyclist off his bike and then took to twitter to brag about it. But after the events in London earlier today and seeing the inevitable social media reaction, it’s just reinforced my thoughts.

We’ve ALL said things on Twitter/Facebook which, in hindsight haven’t been the wisest. I know I have. But how many tweets are sent every day by people who wouldn’t ever say those things in real life? Is this someone’s true colours shining through or is it simply showing off and then hiding behind a screen?

For me, I’m drawn to accounts where the user displays authenticity. I like outrageous but not cruel. I like interesting but not speculative or rumour spreading. I tend to follow people back a lot because I am super interested in people. But I also find my finger clicking the unfollow button a lot more than usual – mostly because I see tweets from people who you just *know* wouldn’t say such things outside the realms of virtual reality. I can get on board with honesty but only if it’s authentic and would be said where it matters most – outside of cyberspace.

There is just something about social media that brings out the inner monster amongst its users. It shouldn’t be a difficult concept really, what we do on the outside should be the same way we behave on the internet. But somewhere along the lines, those boundaries get blurred.
There also seems to be a culture of saying things to get kudos, to become a kind of twitter/facebook celebrity. Unfortunately, those tweets don’t reflect well on the person sending.

Does that make sense?

I can’t have those people in my space anymore. When I use social media I’m at home or in the office, I therefore have to be mindful about who I invite in to my personal space.

I like to think that I have a simple social media process to help me stay real online…

- I don’t say anything on my public stream that I wouldn’t say out loud and in public.

- I don’t @ someone in something if it’s negative and going to have a negative impact on their day. No one needs to have shit streamed right in to their space.

- I think before sending that tweet/facebook status.

- I try to be helpful and supportive, we’re all just trying to make our way in this world.

- I always REMEMBER that there is a human being on the other end of the screen.

- Social media isn’t just about being noticed – it’s about interacting or learning.

- I know that I don’t have to be an open book, just be myself.

- Simply…the key to not being a monster on social media is to be a decent human being. {click to tweet}

Authenticity. Not the opposite of fake, but rather the counterpart to truthful and honest. Legitimate. The real me, excavated and discovered, aired out with all her good and bad, dreams and nightmares, fears and joys. – Susannah Conway

Tell me, are you yourself online? Do you have a system to stay authentic?

Thank you so much if you took part in the Twitter party last Thursday. It was GREAT to see so many of you take part and ask loads of questions – as well as giving out some very sage advice.

I’ve created a Pinterest #BootsMakeItHappen board to keep on top of all my goals and boost my inspiration. Take a look at the board HERE - It will be chock-a-block full of health and fitness pins…

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Working from home, actually, working for yourself, means that sometimes you lose perspective of how people work. You go inside yourself and you find your own way of working and expect people to follow suit.

It’s hard.

Part of my ethos is to “hustle with heart” which is all about finding ways to do business and carve out a good career without being, well, to put it bluntly…an arsehole.

Just think about shows like The Apprentice, I love these shows but absolutely hate how they portray women in business. Business doesn’t have to be all high paced and a struggle with who can shout the loudest. There’s a place to do business, which combines refinement and good manners – ergo, my version of hustling with heart.

Here are 20 ways which you can do business with charm…

1. Wait before replying to any negative emails or online comments. Take your time, cool down, even sleep on it but wait until your head is clear before shooting off a response.

2. Be honest with people.

3. Be the kind of person you’d want to work for.

4. Show gratitude for projects and to those you work with.

5. Quit being jealous, this will only harm your own ambitions.

6. Aim to be part of a solution, not the problem.

7. Under promise and over deliver – always.

8. Encourage and support others.

9. Know your shit. Keep up-to-date with what’s going on in your own industry.

10. Work out your own business ethics and let them guide any decisions and choices you make.

11. Step out from behind the computer once in a while; make that call, attend that meeting.

12. Never take calls, reply to emails or send texts when you’re in a business meeting (actually, this could expand to when you’re out for lunch or meeting a friend too – in a nutshell, it’s rude).

13. Try to help others whenever you can.

14. When emailing or texting, remember the recipient is human and consider your ‘tone’.

15. Sometimes you have to tell people things they don’t want to hear, do so kindly and constructively.

16. Accept compliments and celebrate your achievements with grace and modesty.

17. Remember your performance is a reflection on you, is it your best work?

19. Be kind, be inclusive and always remain engaged.

20. Never take yourself too seriously.

I’m fascinated by boxes of letters, photographs of people I don’t know and the scribblings of other people’s diaries. I have no idea why, I’m just attracted to them, like a moth to a flame.

But there’s also a sadness when I see these things.

Today we went to an auction house, just to have a nose and a poke around. One lot was a draw full to bursting of letters, newspaper clippings and random photos. I was in love. I spent at least 45 minutes rooting through this tiny little box, trying to get a picture of what these people were all about.

Then it struck me. All these memories and little snippets of history are sat in a cold, draughty, auction space separated from the families to which they belong.

The other thing I stumbled across was a book which was given to the recipient in 1936 by her grandmother. It was a beautiful, old book that had various photographs of the family inside. I wanted to know more.

Does anyone else get sucked in to other people’s memories? Just what is it about the every day life of strangers that’s so fascinating?

More finds…

This tweet just about sums it up…

If you consume bad coffee you are likely to completely miss the point of life it’s self.

— ✭ Coffee Punk ✭ (@CoffeePunks) April 18, 2013

A digital public library to make cultural holdings freely accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world? Yes, please! j.mp/16XdPzR

— Maria Popova (@brainpicker) April 14, 2013

Have a great week!!

ps: Image isn’t of Kopi but from my trip to Sardinia