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Photography: Emily Tonge
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72 Contents Eat
Sleep
Move
Relax
What we eat and drink can have an enormous effect on our wellbeing. Boost your diet for a happier, healthier you with meal and mood trackers.
Good sleep is essential for us to function at our best. Use our sleep diary to discover your optimum bedtime routine.
Whether it’s some gentle yoga or a 10km run, make plans to get active and your body will thank you.
Taking life at a slower pace will keep your stress levels low and can help you connect with others. Learn how to be patient, and plan time on a retreat.
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C O N TE N T S
The Team EDITORIAL
J U L E S TAY L O R Editor-in-Chief
CHARLOTTE MARTYN Managing Editor
DAVINA RUNGASAMY Production Editor C R E AT I V E
JULIAN DACE Senior Art Editor
M AT I L D A S M I T H Deputy Art Editor
DAVE CAUDERY Photography
ESTHER CURTIS Calligraphy
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WITH THANKS TO...
Christine Bailey, Jo Bisseker Barr, Kate Bennett, Esther Ekhart, Sarah Gane, Suzy Glaskie, Harriet Griffey, Rebecca Hanmer, Siân Lewis, Sarah Orme, Sarah Plater, Annika Rose ADVERTISING Call: 0117 300 8206 Group Advertising Manager Penny Stokes Account Manager Emelie Arnold
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M A R K E T I N G A N D C I R C U L AT I O N Direct Marketing Manager Kevin Slaughter Direct Marketing Assistant Charlie Herne Newstrade Marketing Manager Juliette Winyard Head of Newstrade Marketing Martin Hoskins Subscriptions Director Jacky Perales-Morris Subscriptions Project Lead Julie Sewell PRODUCTION Production Director Sarah Powell Production Manager Louisa Molter / Rose Griffiths LICENSING Licensing and Syndication Tim Hudson tim.hudson@immediate.co.uk International Partners Manager Anna Brown PUBLISHING Managing Director Catherine Potter
Think
Grow
Create
Positive thinking can transform our lives. Overcome your negative thoughts and build your own ‘mental toolbox’ with our practical advice.
Reach your true potential by setting goals and challenges for yourself. You can achieve great things one step at a time.
Words and colour are the perfect way to express ourselves and make sense of the world, too. Use our prompts to express yourself through creativity.
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FIND A COPY Call +44 (0)844 844 0388, visit www.buysubscriptions.com/craftspecial or email immediatemedia@servicehelpline.co.uk
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I M M E D I AT E M E D I A C O M PA N Y Chief Executive Officer Tom Bureau Managing Director, Bristol Andy Marshall Immediate Media Company Bristol Limited (company number 05715415) is registered in England and Wales. The registered office of Immediate Media Company Bristol Limited is at Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT. All information contained in this magazine is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Immediate Media Company Bristol Limited cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this magazine. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Immediate Media Company Bristol Limited a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine, including licensed editions worldwide and in any physical or digital format throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk. Although every care is taken, neither Immediate Media Company Bristol Limited nor its employees agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage.
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Photography: Dave Caudery; Quote: Dalai Lama; Calligraphy: Esther Curtis
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S LEEP
Deep sleep TRY THESE THREE TECHNIQUES FOR A RESTFUL NIGHT
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Use a visualisation
When you imagine something, your body produces the same physiological response as if you were actually experiencing it. So when you focus on an anxiety-inducing thought, you feel adrenaline race through your veins and notice your pulse quicken. Happily, this works the other way around, too. If you vividly imagine a peaceful scenario, your body relaxes. Try mentally re-living a relaxing holiday or another pleasant experience. Re-experience each memory in detail, visualising how it felt, what you could smell and what you saw.
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Label your thoughts
If the same worrisome thought keeps coming up, give it a name. For example, if you think, ‘I’m never going to fall asleep’, you could
label that thought as ‘never’. If you have a jealous thought about your partner, label it ‘jealousy’. Next time it pops into your mind, greet it. Thank it for turning up, repeat it in a funny voice or even sing to it! The aim is to distance yourself from your thoughts, and to deflate their emotional power by responding to them in a more positive way.
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Change your story
If you often tell people how badly you’ve slept or label yourself as an insomniac, you could be contributing to your sleep problem. You’re training your brain that sleep is something difficult, causing you to doubt your natural ability to fall asleep. Stop thinking of yourself as an insomniac, and avoid talking about your lack of sleep. Instead, focus on the times you’ve slept well.
How to use our sleep visualisation cards...
the and imagine Close your eyes and you, inky blue night sky above ns. and constellatio dotted with stars sky arched over Imagine this starry ctive prote comforting you – a safe, s, fulnes peace which dome under . and sleep occur deep restfulness to ing you need Notice that anyth the day lies above do during the to be there for you dome. It will time rrow when the attend to tomo the your mind on is right. Focus starry colour of your shape and the your body drift dome and feel notice that you as towards sleep r relaxed unde you are safe and curves. its protective
friendly bedroom environment will help you relax fully. Keep your bedroom cool, dark, quiet and clutter-free. You might also like to diffuse a scent you find relaxing, such as lavender. When you begin your sleep visualisation consider all your senses, as this practice is known to work best when you use at least three. For instance, as you mentally explore your calm place, imagine the scents, the feeling of the ground under your feet and the sounds you hear. Finally, it can be helpful to remember that, like anything, visualisation meditation takes practice. If you find your mind wandering, calmly bring your focus back to your visualisation. Our cards can help you find the themes that suit you best.
Illustration: Becki Clark; Sleep Techniques Words: Sarah Plater
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ver the page you’ll find eight sleep visualisation cards that you can cut out and keep by your bed to help you drift off. Visualisation meditation shares its roots with hypnosis, named after Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep. (In fact, sleep temples are known to have existed in Greece, India and the Middle East, where they played an important healing role.) While Starry sky being in a hypnotic state is not the same as sleep, visualisation adapts some of its deep relaxation techniques to help relieve insomnia. Before beginning your visualisation, creating a sleep-
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Welcoming walks
TAKE TO THE HILLS FOR A WORKOUT YOUR MIND AND BODY WILL LOVE, RECOMMENDS SIåN LEWIS alking in the great outdoors is so calming. There’s a meditative state to be achieved in the gentle repetition of movement, and a heart-lifting sense of achievement to be found in covering ground (ideally with a warm pub somewhere on the horizon). Walking in the hills is, by its very nature, far removed from news bulletins, commuters and a phone signal. Like looking at a vast starry sky, there’s a lesson in perspective to be gained from taking paths trodden by centuries of feet, up mountains that are indifferent to the humans that come and go. If you ever feel your spirits dampen at the sight of storm clouds, think of these words written by the father of British fellwalking, Alfred Wainwright: “The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing beck, the silent forest; always there will be the exhilaration of the summits. These are for the seeking, and those who seek and find while there is still time will be blessed both in mind and body.”
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M OV E
List the longer, more challenging walks you’d like to try for a weekend away or during a holiday
Illustration: Jade Perkin
List the short walks you’d like to try locally and note your favourites once you’ve completed them
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How to clear your head USE THE NEXT FEW PAGES TO TAKE SOME SIMPLE STEPS TO FREE YOURSELF FROM NEGATIVE THOUGHTS
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Write down any negative automatic thoughts you’re aware of. Once you have a list, look at each one and think about whose voice this might originally have been. Is it something you’ve created after a certain experience or difficulty, or is it something someone close to you has passed on? If it’s a parent, for example, was this opinion justified? Can you make sense of why they were saying this, now you are older and wiser?
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Now you’ve identified the negatives, you need to find the positives. Imagine you’re one of your good friends; someone
who’s always there for you and cares about you. What would you say to yourself if you were them? What do you think they like about you as a person? What encouraging words would they say to you?
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If you want to get rid of your negative thoughts, it helps to put healthy, positive thoughts in their place. Imagine you’re always carrying a virtual toolbox with you. This is your ‘mental toolbox’, where every newly learned understanding or technique, helpful thought or healthy belief can be stored away and carried, so it can be reached for when anxiety or stress threaten negative thinking. What do you already have that you can put in your toolbox? Adding to it can then be a life-long practice.
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Photography: Cathryn Lavery / Hannah Olinger
Identifying and letting go of negative inner chatter enables us to clear some headspace, making room for a much more reasoned and compassionate style of thinking. It’s akin to clearing out a spare
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room full of junk that we’ve thrown in over the years with an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude. We now want to give the room a new identity, so we can feel proud of the space. Think about how much more pleasurable life will be if you can let go of some of the unhelpful noise you’ve been beating ourselves up with, and instead begin to embrace more of the positives that life can offer. But just like a spare room, it can be easy for your mind to become cluttered again as the years go by. Make sure to repeat the practice of clearing out negative thoughts whenever you notice them popping up, keeping your mind clear for more positivity.
TH I N K
My negative automatic thoughts Jot down unhelpful words and phrases that often come to mind
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Clear out your closet HOW TO CUT BACK YOUR WARDROBE TO THE CLOTHES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL HAPPY
Does is spark joy? Open up your wardrobe, drawer or cabinet. Inspired by Marie Kondo’s best-selling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, start by looking at every item and ask: ‘Does it make me happy?’. We often already know how something makes us feel without trying it on. If the answer is no, it goes straight in the ‘to go’ pile.
don’t suit you any more isn’t going to show off the current you at your very best.
A quick fix Are there any clothes that are damaged or missing a button? If you’d like to keep them, make plans to mend them, so you can enjoy them again soon.
Partner up Who you are now Next, try on the clothes that have made it to the ‘yes’ pile. Do they fit? Do they make you feel confident? Do they reflect your personality now? We often keep clothing relics from times when we were younger, larger, slimmer or before we had children. Keeping items for sentimental reasons is okay, but keeping them in your wardrobe or wearing them if they
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Go through the ‘yes’ pile. Now you only have clothes that make you happy, are there any gaps? Do you have an abundance of great tops, but nothing to wear them with? Make a note of what you need, then start to search for them on your next shopping trip.
Get in order Put all the clothes that have made it through back into your
wardrobe. Make sure they’re in some kind of order, and that each item has its own hanger, so whenever you next open the doors, you can see exactly what you have.
Out of sight Fold all the ‘no’ clothes neatly and pop them in a bag, then label it with a date in the future. What date you set will depend on the season and what type of clothes are in there. Put them out of sight, and see if you find yourself missing any of the items. If you decide that you judged them too harshly and you need them, they can be reinstated back in the wardrobe. Any clothes you forget about should go to the charity shop when your deadline is up.
G R OW
Clothes that make you feel happy COATS/JACKETS
JUMPERS
SHIRTS
TOPS
T-SHIRTS
TROUSERS
SKIRTS/DRESSES
ACCESSORIES
SHOES/SANDALS/TRAINERS
OTHER
WHAT CLOTHES DO I STILL NEED TO GET?
Illustration: Matilda Smith
Follow the steps on the opposite page, then list the items in your ‘Yes’ pile here:
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Your bullet journalling kit Get started with all the right tools
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GET THE BASICS “Don’t be intimidated,” Emily says. “You just need a blank notebook and a fine pen.” Many bullet journallers like to use a dotted notebook for layouts, and look for 003 to 005mm fineliners. Pick colours that suit your style.
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oo k A5 d ot ted noteb
GET INSPIRED Before you start, have a think about how you want your journal to look – there’s plenty of inspiration available online if you’re stuck. GET CREATIVE “Try different ways of journalling,” Eline suggests. “You’ll figure out what works well for you over time. Don’t be afraid to experiment.” GET COLOUR-CODED Assign a colour to birthdays, appointments, workouts and so on. This will help you quickly see at a glance everything you need to know.
Colo ured s highlighter
GET CUSTOMISING Use stickers, stencils, stamps and washi tape for unique pages. This will make your journal even more fun and creative, ideal for looking back on in the future.
Instagram inspiration Check out these bullet-journalling Instagram stars to inspire you to pick up a notebook and pen and get started: @bulletjournal @daintilynoted @journalspiration @mashaplans
Dual-tip brush pens
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C R E ATE
Creating your bullet journal
Fineliner pens
Follow these simple steps to get started. Then blend your creativity and curiosity each month as your journal evolvesÉ INDEX To begin, flip open your notebook and set up an index page. This will live at the start of your notebook on the first double page spread and it’s where you’ll keep a running list of all journal content and page numbers to make it easily accessible. Note: your index relies on you keeping your pages numbered as you go, so get into the habit of that from the start! KEY Create a simple key to suit your lifestyle and journalling needs. Use a small number of symbols to create a consistent visual categorisation for your entries. For example: = task, = completed task, = event, = completed event, = note, = want, = appointment, = priority, = inspiration, = purchase, = migrated, = cancelled. FUTURE LOG Your journal will be created month by month, so you need a page to list all future events and dates in one place, before you reach that corresponding month. Creating your future log behind the index page makes it easily accessible as you’ll be coming back to it each time you start a new monthly spread. WEEKLY LOG Set up a spread to see your week at a glance. Start with a simple set-up by ruling six even spaces and a half-sized section for the days of the weekend. Add in the tasks to be completed each day, using your key. MONTHLY LOG Write the month at the top of the next blank page and list the days of the month (e.g. 1-31) vertically down the page. Add the first letter of the corresponding day of the week next to each number. Start adding your appointments and events to this list.
Fine--p oint markers
Photography: Philip Sowels; Jacket Illustration: Becki Clark
MIGRATION Move uncompleted tasks from this month forward into the next month by finding all the empty squares and circles and adding ‘>’, then adding it into the future. Ensure each task has been actioned or accounted for each month. If you’re constantly migrating the same task, reflect on its importance and whether it’s worth keeping or cancelling altogether. HABIT TRACKER Track habits, finances, health and other areas of your life over the month/week/day by ticking, charting or colouring in your progress along the way.
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