Blogging Tips

I’m really enjoying blogging at the moment and have found the following posts pretty inspirational with lots of food for thought.

5 clever ways to make a sticky blog

3 elements to write like a pro-blogger

10 things a blogger should not do

Misc

11 ways to make your customers swoon – if you are not regularly reading Lisa Barone’s blog posts! I really like how readable and full of tips they are!

Personal Assistant Tips – This site really has the potential to be a great site! It’s a bit clunky though and some of the tips aren’t that great.  However, it’s good to see what’s out there for PAs and by looking through it, it’s given me a few ideas for other blog posts.

10 social media books every small business owner should read – I’ve been expanding my reading at the moment and have been listening and reading to lots of books. Reckon I’ll put a couple from this blog on the list.

Social Media Revolution 2 from @equalman – a great blog with lots of facts and figures on the power of social media.

Twitter rant costs Olympic swimmer Rice Jaguar deal – I’m finding the world of celebrity and social media very interesting at the moment. I keep saying to people saying something on Twitter is not the same as being overhead in the pub! This article shows that there are repercussions for speaking mind in a very public place. Good.

1. 12 Tips for Writing Content by Lisa Barone
2. 52 Cool Facts about Social Media and the follow up How to Use Blog Lists for your Strategy by Danny Brown
3. Edinburgh Audit – a performer’s audit of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by Kev Sutherland (on behalf of the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre.
4. 10 Big Ideas from GTD – a great sum up of getting things done and how it can help you
5. 10 Cartoon Dances that are More Fun than Real Dances – Music on the Moon.  This is just a lovely fund blog to read and features my fav – Pocoyo!
6. Everything recent from my pal Juliet over at her Little Dishy blog – looking forward to doing some of these recipes now I have a bit more free time!
7. Even though I’m not that techie minded – anything from Russell Beattie – but especially his Lego iPad stand and his Bionicle iPad stand make me smile.

That’s all for now!

1.    Booking Dance 1 (dance)
2.    Give Guys Named Mo (musical)
3.    Lady Carol: Malady (music)
4.    Smoke and Mirrors (musical/ cabaret)
5.    Flawless (dance)
6.    Scottish Dance Theatre – NQR and Drift (dance)
7.    Alan Cumming – I bought a blue car today (musical/ cabaret)
8.    Yale Whiffenpoofs (music)
9.    Booking Dance 2 (dance)
10.    Mumbai Calling (theatre)
11.    Decky Does a Bronco (theatre)
12.    Booking Dance 3 (dance)
13.    Writers Workshop (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
14.    Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (musical)
15.    Elis James (comedy)
16.    Frisky and Mannish (musical/ cabaret / comedy)
17.    Boy with Tape on his Face (comedy)
18.    Freefall (theatre)
19.    New Art Club: Big Bag of Boom (comedy/ dance)
20.    Unbound (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
21.    Midori (Edinburgh International Festival)
22.    Soweto Gospel Choir (music)
23.    Rhod Gilbert (comedy)
24.    Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Edinburgh International Festival)
25.    Melvyn Bragg (Edinburgh International Book Fesitval)
26.    Pina Bausch – Agua (Edinburgh International Festival)
27.    Pajama Men (comedy)
28.    Gilded Balloon 25th Anniversary party – Sunday night (comedy)
29.    Imperial Fizz (theatre)
30.    Jason Byrne (comedy)

There are so many highlights from this wonderful list! I will try and add detail at another point.

To be honest, this list is stuff that I would imagine most people would have but if there’s only one thing on this list you’ve not thought of, then it might prove useful for the future!

1. Toothbrush / toothpaste / face wipes / wet wipes

These items go a really long way to helping feel cleaner and fresher after a delay.  I have all these things in travel sizes.

2. Notebook and pen

Not just for being creative but to log what goes on in the delay.  If someone promises you a refund / compensation etc you can take notes and keep for the future.  Can keep any expenses listed for potential claims and the like.

3. Something to read

Makes standing in a line so much easier when the delay is quite long.  As lots of people get frustrated and start acting out about their delay, you can be calmly reading.  My main failure is that quite often I’ll take a book that I think I should read (and might randomly impress anyone who looks – which is the saddest thing ever!).  I’m going to learn from this and always carry a book I know I’ll enjoy and stop thinking people will even notice!

4. MP3 player with spoken word content

If your mind is too busy to read a book while waiting to find out what’s happening then spoken word is really good because it can grab attention and keep you occupied.  I find it’s all about keeping calm and occupied!

5. Eye mask to help sleep at airport

Heaven forbid you need this but alongside MP3 player this is great for drowning out what’s happening if you need to!  If you are the kind of person to sleep through announcements though – make sure someone is listening out for you!

6. Painkillers (always!)

The worst feeling in the world is having a cracking headache and no painkillers. Especially when stressed.  Also people are so grateful and relieved when they realise someone in their party has some!

7. Chargers and adapters

When we were travelling home – there was a plane change at Newark (where we ended up getting delayed) but not really that much time in the connecting airport.  Nonetheless I carried my chargers with me.   The phone in particular got heavily used while we were sorting things out and it was super useful to charge up the phone so we could make more calls or receive them.  Again it’s about being relaxed and knowing you can charge your phone if you need to helps aid that.

8. Change of top (if with children)

My nephew threw up on me just before we boarded the plane and my partner ran off and bought me a t shirt.  If I travel with children again, I consider this a must have.  The thought of travelling with damp/ dirty clothes is horrid!

9. Snacks

We had some biscuits/ crisps with us just in case  (my partner has a serious fear of being hungry on a plane). These snacks were so handy when downstairs waiting for our luggage (it took three hours to arrive!) as there was no shop around at that point.

10. Pack List

This doesn’t necessarily need to be with your hand luggage but my original pack list (for going on holiday) was incredibly useful.  My sister in law had thrown hers out when leaving Florida but I had kept mine.  It was really useful after six nights delay in making sure I had everything – especially as I hadn’t been expecting to need to pack again.

I’m sure you will have noted that that most of this stuff can be available wherever your delay is.  However, I suspect if you’ve read this far down the article then you probably hate waste as much as I do! There’s nothing as frustrating as spending money on something you’ve just thrown out or have at home!  On this occasion we were lucky to be at a huge airport with lots of shops but that is not always going to be the way!

Anyways, hope this wee article is at least a teeny bit useful to you!

Like a plumber or a carpenter, over the last five years, I have built up a set of tools that I now take with me whichever job I go to.  I’ve worked across sectors in different types of personal assistant roles but the below short list of items help with my core function – being organised (and looking organised).  Of course these are things aside from the stapler/ holepunch/ paperclips that you might have in any job!

1. Bring it forward folder

This is probably the most important item on the list.  In fact when I started my last job, the stationery catalogue didn’t have exactly what I was looking for so I went out and bought one.  It’s a simple 1-31 expanding file.  I keep invitations, research for meetings, travel tickets etc.  It’s simple to understand as the numbers correspond to the days of the month so any time my boss needs anything they can just look up the day in the month (6th June = 6).

2. Ten- Sectioned Book

As I am the gatekeeper for my boss, I get given lots of things and asked lots of things that need a response from my boss.  Obviously, I can’t ask my boss everytime I get asked something so I “store” it all up for regular meetings (usually daily).  Of course over time I’ve learnt what is urgent and needs to go to the boss straight away!  This book helps with preparation for these regular meetings.  It’s sectioned with tabs like Invitations, Letters, Signature, Reading.  As I receive requests (mail, email, in person) I put them in order and when I meet with my boss, I know exactly what  we need to do.  It makes the whole process quicker and if the work is in sections, it’s better than going in while a pile of things to ask and leaving something out.  Also if I’m out/ off for the day but the file is in order, my boss can look through quickly and leave instructions.

3. Label Writer

Ok, this is slightly over indulgent and I’m getting made fun of in work, but recently, I purchased the Dymo LabelWriter 450 Turbo for myself.  I never want to live without it now!  It hooks up to my computer in work and you can print all kinds of labels from address labels to suspension labels.  I love it!  It makes my work much neater and it’s also much quicker  for me.  I got mine at Labelzone at a pretty good price.  To be fair it’s not essential but I love it, and it’s cemented the fact I’ll be in admin forever!

4. Painkillers/ vitamins

It’s always useful to have painkillers and vitamins!  I keep aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen, as well as vitamin C and Berroca.  I am a “headache” person anyway so it’s personally useful and then it’s good for when others need them to know you’ll always them in stock.  I think having painkillers etc in stock builds on the reputation of being organised and helpful but I might be over stating it a bit!

5. Wrapping Paper / Cards

I’ve written about this before but it’s so useful for work life and personal life to always have wrapping paper and cards and your (and your colleagues) disposal.  I keep a set of plain notelets and some different types of wrapping paper in my office.  Again I think this is reputational and lovely to be able to help your work colleagues out when they need it!

Some of the books on this list I have on spoken word so I may *cheat* in parts .  I’ve also decided to set target of around two a month which should be manageable and if I get into reading again, should be a good starting point!

In no particular order here’s the list:

1. Be Near Me – Andrew O’Hagan

2. The Children’s Book – A.S. Byatt

3. Julia & Julia – Julie Powell

4. The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd

5. Stuck in a Good Book – Jasper Fforde

6. The Sewing Circles of Herat – Christina Lamb

7. My Name is Red – Orhan Pamuk

8. Housekeeping – Marilynne Robinson

9. The Adventure of English – Melvyn Bragg

10. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell

11. Mr Toppit – Charles Elton

12. Found Wanting – Robert Goddard

13. The Seventh Gate – Richard Zimmer

14. The Piano Tuner – Daniel Mason

15. In the Blue House – Meaghan Delahunt

16. Skipping Christmas – John Grisham

17. Gentlemen & Players – Joanne Harris

18. The Pride of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark

19. The Accidental – Ali Smith

20. The Well of Lost Plots – Jasper Fforde

21. Something Rotten – Jasper Fforde

22. First Among Sequels – Jasper Fforde

23. The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman

24. White Teeth – Zadie Smith

25. You Shall Know Our Velocity – Dave Eggers

Similar to Eliza, I’ll embolden once I’ve read.

Wish me luck!

* with exception to discovering Jasper Fforde thanks to @jonmountjoy (and therefore @hazelh).

So last night the famous Strictly Come Dancing started. For me and my sister-in-law this signifies run up to Christmas has begun and as we were sitting together commenting on how bad Joe Calzaghe was we were also chit-chatting about what we were doing for Christmas and what presents we needed to buy.

OK so Christmas is more than 90 days away, but I always find that from now until then the time slips away and before I know it, I’m making the drive down to Swansea to see my parents!

This is what I suggest to start thinking about to help prepare for Christmas 2009.

Christmas Cards

Pick out your cards now and buy them – I usually get mine from Amnesty International because I like to support the charity and their cards usually cover multiple languages.

Look up for Christmas Card list from last year or write one – just by going over the list you’ll see people who have had babies, moved house or had any other changes etc.  You can then use being way before Christmas as an un-obvious way to get up to date addresses!   Make up a new list and save in excel.  If you now how to mail merge, put the information in a way that makes it easy to print address labels.

Count how many stamps you’ll need and purchase, mark in your diary the last day for 2nd class stamps.

I don’t send Christmas cards to people I see regularly because I always see them at Christmas etc but I do send cards to those people I don’t get to see much and people I want to be in touch with.  There is nothing nicer that giving news in a Christmas card and receiving news from someone you haven’t spoken to for a while! I’m all for recycling cards at the end though, either by donating to someone like Marks & Spencers who do collections or using the cards to make gift cards for wrapping etc!

Gifts

I’ve already bought some of my gifts, I like to keep an eye out throughout the year and spread the cost too.

Make a list of everyone you want to buy presents for and also any ideas you might have for them.  Put an approximate value beside each person so you are setting yourself a mini budget.  The advantage of thinking about this throughout the year is that if you are always thinking Christmas in the back of your mind when a friend/ family member mentions liking something you can make a mental note as a present in the future.

If you think a few of your presents might come from the same place, group together.

Shop online, I’m a huge fan of getting presents from The Book People, Amazon and Lakeland!  If you have grouped your presents then you can save money on postage.

I also around this time of year buy my wrapping paper.  Unfortunately last year I bought about three times too much so am going to be using that!  I love buying wrapping paper though so if I could go back in time, I would buy less so I could treat myself to buying every year.  I personally don’t like buying the paper after Christmas in the sales because I forget about it and feel cheated when all the nice new designs come out!

Something different for this year

I’ve put all my stuff in a google group: Christmas Card Lists, present lists, weekends leading up to Christmas etc.  This is so I can input wherever I am easily and so that my boyfriend can have an input (ha!).  This is highly anal but I’m enjoying so I am interested to see how it goes!

And finally. . .

If you are wanting to make a cake, now’s the time to do it!  That way you can add your brandy / rum etc.  I’m actually putting making my cake off for the next couple of weeks but in the last three years I’ve made it in September and topped up with rum through the weeks!

Enjoy!
Sx

• I got made redundant
• I got a new job
• I moved house
• Someone in my family had a major operation

Now I’m not for excuses but anyone of those is a pretty good one!
So this is going to be one long blog on what I saw this Festival now I am *in the arts*!

Starting with the most artistic of them all:

The Chippendales

I went with my sister-in-law to this one – my first official show of the Fringe. I must admit it was not as polished as I hoped it would be but it was great fun and I can only imagine it would have been even more fun with a bunch of girls jigged up on champagne! Lots of people criticised the Gilded Balloon for bringing the Chippendales to town but I have to say their argument of opening the Fringe up to people that wouldn’t normally attend is a great one and one I completely agree with.

Still 3/5.

Kevin Bridges

I went to this one with my boyfriend and a couple of his friends. It was one of his extra shows – it started so well I thought I might hurt myself laughing but then I think he lost his energy somewhat and so the set went a bit flat – besides all that – it only lasted 35-45 minutes which for a £14 ticket was a little disappointing. I think next year if he performs again I would maybe buy tickets to the regular show rather than an extra.

3/5

The Edinburgh Fringe Twinge Party

This was a late notice event organised by the Edinburgh Fringe – it was a great night – over 400 tickets *sold” (it was a free event) and it was a great opportunity to catch up with fellow tweeters and get a preview of some of the Fringe acts that were also on Twitter.

4/5

Booking Dance Festival
I went to this with my friend Jennie who loves dance. This was undoubtably the best thing I saw this festival! Producer Jodi Kaplan from New York brought to Venue 150 at the EICC five different dance companies who did a showcase of their acts. It was mindblowingly brilliant and I am not a dance person. I just really hope they come back next year!

5/5

Venezuela Viva

I went with my aunt and uncle to this one.  Brilliant and varied dancing.  The style of the show is quite formal – with a voice of god explaining bits about the history of Venezuela at intervals.  I did enjoy but it wasn’t quite my thing – my aunt loved it – she said it was in fitting with the formality behind the style of the dancing.

3.5/5

Havana Rumba

Again with my aunt and uncle on the same day.  This was more my kind of thing – it’s more raw and natural and you get the feeling that the dances are different every day – very Cuban!  It’s essentially singing and dancing from Cuba with some storyline behind it.  I loved the music – it of course evoked Buena Vista Social Club which is still very popular.  Lots of vibrancy and spirit.

4/5

Jack Whitehall
This was part of a large group Fringe night out – about 7 of us to this particular show. Jack Whitehall 21 and very funny! Reminds me a little bit of a cross between Russell Brown (but less affected) and Jimmy Carr. Such sharp wit!

4/5

Ian Kendall

Second part of the Fringe night out – Ian Kendall has been performing in the Fringe for 18 years and this show was a mix of his shows over that time. A magic show – simply tricks but very effective! A small venue of 50 which was lovely and added to the atmosphere. The delivery cheesy and delightful!

3/5

BBC Comedy Presents

Last part of our night out – late night comedy at the Pleasance Dome. As per usual some was very funny and some was a bit guff! The evening was compered by Karl Donnelly (aka Kyle Bubbly) and he was pretty good – a lovely end to the night.

3/5

Fringe Select

This was an evening of entertainment at Venue 150 at the EICC.  It was five or so acts such as Stephen K Amos and Tao Drummers and came with a meal and drinks.  I took a table at this event with some friends and it was a great night out – very enjoyable.

4/5

Jason Byrne

I went to this one with Alan (it followed on straight from Fringe Select at Venue 150).  Someone told me Jason Byrne was the best selling comedian of the Fringe and I can believe it! It was so funny – my sides really did hurt.  It’s a very relaxed style of comedy – you know that certain bits come up in every show but his interaction with the audience and reaction to what happens is genius.  Thoroughly enjoyable – I will def go and see next year.

5/5

Kit & the Widow

I went to this with Barry from the Fringe office – we were both tired from a pretty hard days work and it was nice and gentle.  As far as I can tell Kit & the Widow have been around for donkeys years and to that end they do joke rather a lot about the age group of their audience.  It was lovely – but must confess not my thing.

3/5

Bryn Terfel

This was part of the EIF and I went solo due to the tickets being £30!  I LOVED it!  I have seen Bryn Terfel perform a couple of times – being a welsh singer but it was truly enjoyable.  The songs were not quite to my chosing – I tend to like something a little more classical but nonetheless fab – especially the encores!

5/5

The Grind Show

I went to this with Elaine – a total fringe buff and guru.  I think this was the one I looked forward to the most.  It was a physical theatre piece about eternity, the circus, life and stuff I cannot understand because I’m not clever enough.  The acting was superb and the premise behind the show very interesting.  I would def go and see anything TBA Collaborative put on at the Fringe again.

4/5

Luxuria

This was the Scottish Dance Theatre’s piece.  What I loved the most was it was only 33 minutes!  I went with Jennie again.  Beautiful costumes, lovely shapes to the dance.  I’m not a dance person but really enjoyed it – again slightly feeling like I didn’t qute understand it all – but I think that’s the joy of it all.

4/5

Patti Plinko and her boy

I saw this with Keith aka @CRayDancer who very kindly provided me with his spare tickets.  I loved loved loved this! What I liked the most was the rawness of the music and Patti’s voice – the soulfulness of it all.  A simple set with three people in the band.  I was really glad to have seen this and thanks to Keith for the ticket!

5/5

Richard Price

Part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival – I went with James from my last job (sort of).  Richard Price is a writer who has published about 11 books and written a number of screenplays like The Colour of Money.  He’s a total nut writer but I really enjoyed it.  At first he chatted about his most recently published book but later went on to talk about his current project which at the moment has not shape or direction – he says the writing and research just takes him in a direction and he goes there.  Really fun and interesting to watch.

4/5

Jimmy Carr – Rapier Wit

Part of the same evening with James.  Jimmy Carr has really grown on me over the last few years.  A funny show – based mostly on one-liners.  Often very rude and completely over the edge of insulting – I think a lot of people are surprised at this!  Very witty.  My fav parts however are when he opens out to the audience because then you fully understand where his talent is – retorts!

4/5

Camille O’Sullivan

Last show of the Fringe for me! Went with the boyfriend.  Camille sings songs from the likes of Nick Cave, Nick Drake etc.  It was her last show too and it really added to the enjoyment.  She has a great voice – her band is superb.  My kind of thing and as she’s such a queen of the Fringe, a great last act to watch.  Another big thanks to Keith who provided me with his spare ticket again which meant we could both go.

4/5

So that was my whistle stop tour of the Festivals – funnily enough I’m not exhausted today at all.  Can’t wait to get back to proper blogging!

For those you who don’t know I’m part of the EdTwestival Planning team.  Look it up and buy a ticket!

1. I am the type of hypochondriac that nearly always has some ailment (at the moment headache and bruise on leg) but is never worried it’s something serious.
2. The name/person Richard features heavily in my life, my partner, brother and dad are all called Richard (and before I met current b/f I have had crushes on at least three other Richards!)
3. I moved from Swansea to Edinburgh five years ago, I can count on one hand the other Welsh people I have met that live here.
4. Over the summer when I was three, I fell off my father’s shoulders and banged my head in nursery which resulted in two scars and one visit from Social Services.
5. Although I like to talk a lot, I actually hate being the centre of attention.
6. I have a genuine hobby of “organising”.  I love anything to do with being more efficient like GTD, to do list, calendars.  Over time I’ve realised it’s a genuine interest as well as a talent in jobs.
7. I can tell you how much my council tax is, gas, electricity, clothes I buy, telephone, savings account but I still never know the price of a pint of milk!
8. I used to be a Jehovah’s Witness (from about 15-23) – and I consider myself to be one of the few non-bitter XJW’s.  If anyone knows any other, I’d like to know!
9. I’m now an atheist, although I think I understand why so many want to believe.
10. My official favourite movie is Gattaca
11. My unofficial favourite movie is Return to Me
12. The first band I ever went to see live was REM.  The last band I saw was The Killers. Both ROCKED.
13. I was a vegetarian when I was teenager but gave it all up for salami and pate.
14. I have no stamina. I mean I cannot run for even more than a minute!  I have been mulling over training properly for years.
15. I am high-maintenance but fully aware of it.  I consider myself very lucky when I find people willing to put up with me.
16. My first job was as a sandwich maker and I quit after the owner of the business didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t crash the car.  When I look back on that now – I understand what she was thinking – even though I didn’t crash the bloody car!
17. I didn’t ever read any of my Spanish literature books when I was completing my degree and I still got a 2:1.
18. My middle name is Claire – this is so if I turned out *serious* I could use that name instead of Sally.
19. I have always wanted to write a book and one day I blooming will.
20. My baby names are Milo and Bethan but as my boyfriend has vetoed these, I’m happy to share them.
21. I have very little willpower – I hope to high heaven I will never need to go on a diet.
22. When doing my driving test, I grabbed the test instructor’s knee instead of the gearstick when doing a hill start – I passed.
23. My summers as a child were spent on a campsite in the south of France called Lestaubiere, I hope to go back with my children one day.
24. My boyfriend and I are now obsessed with The West Wing – we think The Wire might be our new obsession (although we loved Life too).
25. One of my most proudest moments is being in France miserable and then driving to Germany with a girl I had met three days previously and being much happier.

Technique

First of all, I’ve taken a lot of advice from the blog I cited right of the beginning by Steve Pavlina (here).  The principles are

- no “snooze” button

- no adjusting bedtime just to get up early, go to sleep when tired

- include the weekends

I have of course refined it to suit me.

Benefits

Where to start?  The reason why I’ve kept doing this early morning start past the 30 day trial show that the benefits outweight the occaisional inconvenience of feeling dozy first thing at the weekend!

These are not in order of significance but are:

• I am now in work 30 mins before everyone else, I plan out and prepare before the day to day interuptions get to me. I’m also always in before my boss (not a morning person!) which I think works in this particular PA role.
• I have half an hour more at home before leaving for work.  I means I have time to clear up (unstack dishwasher, empty washing machine etc), shower, eat breakfast AND make lunch.  Previously I used to manage about two of the four tasks which would then impact on the evening after work.
• I have more time to myself.  It’s nice to get up early, catch up on the news and just get on with that reading that I’ve been meaning to do.  It has helped me set aside time for writing my blog which is certainly more regular since the early starts.
• The weekends seem longer!  I think this is probably the funnest one . Now that I get up at the weekends early, the days definitely feel longer (essentially they are!) and I don’t have that feeling so much on the Sunday evening that it’s gone so fast.  In the past I guess I would sleep in about 3.5 hours each morning over the weekend and that adds up to nearly a day!  Don’t get me wrong, I love being in bed, but it’s nice to know I’m making the most of the weekends.
• I sleep better. I don’t completely understand this one, but it is probably the best benefit of the early mornings.  Over the last ten years, I’ve had a real challenge on a regular basis to get to sleep quickly or even to get to sleep.  A lot of it is to do with my busy mind and when it all goes quiet at night, I start thinking of things in the back of my mind and start a worrying cycle.  I think that because on the whole I’m sleeping just a little bit less, that I’m more tired and therefore just a little more ready to sleep when I go to bed. Also I think that because I was aware of the problem, I would go to sleep when I thought I should be in bed and then toss and turn for an hour or so before going to sleep.  Now, I go to sleep when I’m tired.  This may be early but genereally it’s between 2230 and 2330 which I don’t think is too early.

Drawbacks

There are a couple of drawbacks creeping in.  I’ve noticed mid week that even though I’m in the flat 30 minutes longer, I’ve started getting less productive and I’ve also noticed that at the weekend, I’m tending to get up for a couple of hours and then head back to bed for a couple of hours!  These are both habits I’m trying to cull by reflecting the night before about what I want to get done in the morning.  In addition to this I am letting myself sleep in on the odd morning when I have a particularly late night or such.  This means that I’m less likely to go back to bed if I’ve allowed myself a sleep in on one of the mornings (and when I say sleep in I’m still getting up at 0800 on the weekend instead of 1000).

Anyway in conclusion, I’m sticking with the early mornings for the forseeable future and would recommend it to anyone who was thinking about it!

Now I’m off back to bed . . .