We live in a society where failure is seen as weakness, and anything less than perfect is seen as a failure
The first time I heard the term “perfectionism” was when I was 16. My teacher referred to it as a potential answer to the job interview question: “What is your biggest weakness?” Little did she realize that it was the truth for many students in the class who had spent the last 12 years in a school that served detentions for crossing things out or using an ink eraser in their school books.
From the age of seven, I was indoctrinated to believe that perfection was the only standard and that anything less was not only disgraceful but deserving of…
There is a lot of stigmas and unnecessary sympathies extended to single people. But being single is great, not just as a life decision, but also as a financial one. I save money in so many areas. Going out less frequently means I have stopped regularly spending money on eating out and drinking, gift-buying and big-ticket presents for holidays and celebrations. As a single person, I’m less likely to go travelling frequently (as solo travelling only makes up 11% of the overall travel market) and living alone means I spend a lot less money on toilet roll — who knew?
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No, the answer isn’t “outsource your tasks”
Let me set the scene for you. It’s 6:30 am. I get dressed in my workout gear and pop on a podcast to listen to whilst training. Beside my workout bench are a notepad and pen to jot down any interesting ideas that arise during the podcast. By the end of my workout, I have one book recommendation, a new person to Google and three blog post ideas.
Whilst reading with my breakfast, I think up two more blog post ideas, a video idea and, lo-behold, another book recommendation. Then, as I’m researching for my work, I think up an…
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There are a lot of productivity apps out there that can radically improve your professional and personal life. The trouble is that many of them have monthly subscription charges, which can total a hefty sum when put together. What makes it worse is that we sometimes end up paying for an annual subscription to an app because it works out cheaper, only to find out it doesn’t work for us.
So, I’ve put together a list of my top six apps I don’t regret investing in (or using for free) from the perspective of…
Don’t let the social pressures of the holiday leave you bankrupted for 2021
Gifts, decorations, cards, holiday food, wrapping and snacks — even in the most difficult of times, some traditions never change — but in many cases, income does.
Regardless of what year we’re in or what circumstances we’re facing, Christmas is a financially stressful holiday, and it will be more so this year than ever, and you can’t blame people.
After experiencing what has been the most confusing, unpredictable and economically uncertain year in modern history, people worldwide are facing a holiday season away from their families with…
Scams, overspending and environmentalism, oh my.
Despite the financial hellhole that 2020 has been, Black Friday is the tradition that doesn’t want to quit, and it’s coming full-force this year. All of us are currently being bombarded with unabashed sales marketing for 15%, 40% or up to 60% sales from companies that most of us are pretty certain we unsubscribed from the email lists of a long time ago.
As a no-buy connoisseur with an appetite for a bargain, I’m not against a good deal. …
and it’s not worth the cost
Last year I decided to quit most of my social media accounts. I left Instagram, Facebook and deleted Twitter entirely.
I lasted nine months before I started missing bookstagram accounts, so I decided to make a new Instagram dedicated solely to writing and book discussions. I never returned to Twitter or Facebook.
When I returned to Instagram, it was tempting to check up on people. Like many, curiosity got the better of me. After a few days back on Instagram, I searched for the accounts of old acquaintances or influencers I used to follow.
I remember how I used to…
Because, believe it or not, parenting isn’t for everyone, and some of us prefer dogs.
When I was eight, all my friends had Baby Born dolls. Getting fancy prams and cute, trendy, seasonal outfits gave you access to a whole new world of group pram strolls in the park, sleepovers and small garden parties, and I wanted in.
I asked for both a Baby Born and Baby Annabelle for Christmas, and by January, I was part of the pack. It didn’t get serious until one of the girls at a slumber party asked me what I wanted to call my…
None of us imagined ourselves as growing up to be uninspired, unmotivated adults. But just because the world was harder than you imagined it would be doesn’t mean your potential is any less.
There are a lot of misconceptions in life about the importance of work and identity. Due to the nature of being a capitalist society, what one does for a living becomes a significant social marker against which others judge us.
What we do for a living gives a shallow and inaccurate indicator of our intelligence, academic background, income, social class, interests and potential.
Because of that, it’s…
I was at a Black Lives Matter protest in Edinburgh when the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down by protestors in Bristol. It was relieving to hear Mayor Marvin Rees say he felt no “sense of loss” when BLM demonstrators threw the controversial statue into the harbour. It was about time someone official acknowledged how vile our cultural celebration of racists is.
The Brits think racism is “just in America”. Spoiler alert: just because we have fewer police shootings of black people doesn’t mean racism doesn’t exist in the UK. We’ve spent hundreds of years reaping the…
