life hacks – Keeping it creative

Analogue activities, intentional living, life hacks, lifestyle, Mindfulness, Setting goals and intentions, wellbeing, wellness

Monday Matters: Stop mindlessly scrolling and choose something that actually supports your wellbeing (40+ ideas)

Posted on Jul 27, 2026Jul 26, 2026 by Laura

I think most of us will agree that we spend far too much time on our mobile phones, scrolling social media on apps such as Facebook and Instagram, watching endless YouTube or Tiktok videos and reading emotive ‘news’ content which has drawn us in through the usual click bait titles or pop ups. And, if we took the time to really think about what we want from life, reading random content and wasting hours on our phones does not feature on our mental or physical list of priorities for 2026.

So, for today’s blog post, I’m sharing lots of ideas for alternative activities that will actually make you feel good and won’t waste precious minutes (or more likely hours) of your day. I’ve tried to include something for everyone and hopefully you’ll be able to pick out a few from each category which sound good and are easily actionable. Without further ado, let’s dive in:

Meditative and mindful activities

I’ve talked about the many benefits of engaging in mindfulness and flow state activities before but importantly they include a reduction in stress, anxiety and depression, plus improved concentration, attention and decision making, all of which support better wellbeing. Here’s some activities to turn to when you find yourself reaching for your phone a little too much.

Try a spot of journalling – e.g. stream of consciousness (i.e. whatever comes into your head and out on paper), gratitude, favourite things about the current season, intentions for your morning / evening / weekend, goals for the month
Do a short meditation or sit/lie doing nothing for 10 minutes, focusing on just your breath (and don’t worry if you get distracted or your mind bobs about)
Engage in mindful movement such as yoga or tai chi. Or, why not dance around your kitchen or the bedroom to an upbeat song or piece of classical music
Work on a jigsaw (my favourite are 1000 piece ones because they’re challenging enough to really get you ‘in the zone’)
Drawing, painting or colouring – or a combination of all 3
Find a cosy corner of your home (or make one using cushions and blankets) or a quite space in your garden and read a few chapters of a book
Grab a puzzle book and do a crossword, wordsearch, sudoku or other personal favourite to get your brain really working
Buy or borrow a glossy magazine and find a peaceful space to read / flick through
Pick a photography genre e.g. landscape, wildlife or nature, pet, street, macro, abstract and explore. You can use your phone for this but make sure you put it on ‘do not disturb’ first as you don’t want to get distracted.
Tend to your houseplants – check for signs of destress and evaluate care, wipe dust from leaves, remove decayed parts, check moisture levels of the soil, feed them, decide if any need repotting, rotate to ensure balanced growth, prune if required
Watch a cartoon you used to love as a child and really immerse yourself in it (phone in another room) – can you remember what you particularly loved?
Make a cup of tea or coffee and really take your time to appreciate it – use your senses to explore the sound of the kettle being boiled and the water filling the container, aroma, colour, warmth of the mug or cup, taste etc. Be grateful by thinking about the processes and effort involved in the production to ensure a quality product.
Declutter your handbag – empty it out and then decide what you want to put back in and what is fit for the bin or needs filing.
Check in with your vision board for the year or goals for the month or quarter. Have you forgotten about some of them? What are your next actions? Have your priorities changed? etc.

Outdoor fun

You can enjoy spending time outdoors at any time of year but as we’re having some lovely weather at the moment, here are some activities to engage in whilst it’s fine:

Make a paper aeroplane and see how well it flies in your garden, backyard or local park – there’s various instructions online if you need them (I did this as a Finch App challenge last week and had such a laugh!)
Try something else you enjoyed as a child – frisbee, hoola hoop, ball in a bucket, skipping, hopscotch, ring toss etc.
Fill a picnic bag with fresh summer fruits (e.g. strawberries, peach, watermelon, mango, raspberries or cherries) and some dainty sandwiches (cut into little triangles) and enjoy an impromptu picnic in your garden or yard or go a bit further a field and pop to a local park. Take a picnic rug or blanket and choose an area in the sunshine or under the shade of a tree depending on your preferences.
Take a short drive or walk to an area of your city or town that you’ve never visited before and explore. We did this a few nights ago and walked across a new bridge over the river and found some new bars and eateries, plus gorgeous park which is soon to open.
Go to a local nature area and engage in observation and exploration e.g. do bird or wildlife spotting, take a short hike to a water feature such as a pond, stream, river or waterfall, or go armed with a field guide or app (okay you’ll have to look at your phone for this one, but it’ll be more purposeful) and identify insects, trees, wildflowers, grasses, fungi or lichens.
Try out a new art or craft in the garden or at a picnic bench somewhere – I bought a cyanotype “sunography” kit from a National Trust shop and had great fun experimenting with it on a sunny afternoon in the garden. I also took my watercolours out and did a mini painting session.
Lie on a blanket on the grass during the day and do some cloud gazing or, find a clear night and do some star gazing. You could even print off a constellations map and see what you can spot.
Take a brisk, short walk round the block to get some fresh air (whatever the weather)
Grab a sketchbook and have a go at drawing something in nature e.g a wildflower, a leaf, a tree, a stream, mountains or hills in the distance etc.
Enjoy a short bike ride around your local area.

Sensory / hands on

Sensory activities have a great many benefits including stress and anxiety relief, better connection with emotions and ability to process difficult feelings, improved cognition, memory and attention and opportunities for much needed self care. They can also encourage a sense of curiosity, creativity and playfulness.

(N.B. Many of these ideas are mindful and meditative too)

Spend half an hour tending to your garden – weeding, pruning, setting seeds, mowing the lawn etc.
Make a refreshing mocktail or smoothie as a fun drink to enjoy supping.
Create a vision board using photographs from magazines.
Bake a tasty treat in the kitchen.
Try out origami or balloon modelling.
Buy a small chocolate bar then mindfully and slowly savour every single bite.
Do a sensory check in – notice 5 things you see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste.
Try out different teas or flavoured coffee syrups.
Visit your local library and spend time browsing the books.
Buy a packet of air dry clay (or make playdough) and use it to create animals, patterns or simple shapes.
Declutter or re-organise a drawer, cupboard or shelf in your home (okay, this might not be fun but you’ll feel so good afterwards).
Have an at home spa evening with soothing essential oils, scented candles, face or body masks, luxurious hand and foot creams or maybe a manicure or pedicure.
Grab a mirror, paper and pencils and doodle a quick self portrait (and if you draw faces and people like I do – laugh or smile at the results!)
Go to a local park or cafe and do some people watching.
Spend quality time with your pet – obviously what this looks like depends on the animal but it could include grooming, playing a game, giving treats, enjoying snuggles etc.
Fix something that is in need of repair – sew on a button, replace sealant, tighten up a handle somewhere, unclog a plug hole, touch up paint, fill in a hole in a wall etc.
Try out calligraphy or hand lettering -there’s lots of practice sheets available for free online.

Final words…

A lovely idea which I saw on YouTube a few weeks ago (yes, I was randomly watching videos that popped up at the time, you caught me!), was to create a hobby basket full of items to reach for when you’re in need of some me time. However, I think this could be adapted to an anti-scroll basket full of resources for some of the above ideas. You could add things like a small colouring book and pencils, a deck of yoga pose cards, a project you’re working on such as knitting, crochet, cross stitch or embroidery, a sketch pad and pencil, a poetry book you can dip into, a print out of some recipes you want to try, or even an anti-scroll menu or list (which could include pictures for inspo too.

Once you start reaching for analogue activities instead of your phone, you’ll begin to realise how long you actually wasted on scrolling and discover that you have plenty of time to try out new activities or engage in those which already bring you so much joy but that you never seem to fit into your busy schedule.

Habit formation, Hobbies, intentional living, learning, life hacks, lifelong learning, lifestyle, personal development, personal growth, wellbeing

Discover Fun Hobbies That Boost Skills, Wellbeing, and Growth (a guest post by Linda Chase)

Posted on Jul 16, 2026 by Laura

This week, we have another fantastic article from regular guest contributor Linda Chase. The focus of today’s piece is hobbies which your boost skills and wellbeing and, provide opportunities for personal or professional growth. Linda shares some excellent tips for getting started and maintaining consistency. She also offers thoughtful and honest answers to common hobby related questions. I hope you enjoy reading the piece and that her writing provides you with as much food for thought in relation to different pastimes as it did for me. From here, I’ll leave you in Linda’s capable hands…

Busy professionals juggling work, responsibilities, and a shrinking sense of curiosity often feel the same tension: plenty of interests, but no clear starting point and no desire to add another “should” to the week. The result is drifting into default downtime while the urge for momentum, to feel engaged again, keeps tapping at the door. The right hobbies for adults turn that restless feeling into learning new skills through options that span creative hobbies, physical activities, intellectual hobbies, and lifestyle interests. Choosing well makes free time feel purposeful.

Understanding Hobby Types and Their Payoffs

A useful way to choose a hobby is to sort options into five buckets: creative, physical, intellectual, social, and lifestyle. Each category tends to build a different mix of skills, confidence, and connection. That framing helps you choose based on the outcome you want, not whatever looks trendy.

This matters because hobbies can support mental health, personal growth, and relationships at the same time. Research has found lower depressive symptoms among people with hobby engagement, which makes “fun” a practical investment.

Think of it like building a balanced menu. If work already uses your brain all day, a physical hobby can reset your mood, while a social hobby keeps you from isolating. If life feels scattered, a lifestyle hobby adds structure you can actually look forward to. With clear categories, you can map hobby strengths into real skill pathways that support career momentum.

Turn a Hobby Into a Career Plan With Structured Learning

Once you see how different hobbies pay off in real-life skills, it’s natural to wonder which ones could become something bigger. If you’ve fallen in love with a new hobby or skill, whether it’s something you practice every weekend or can’t stop thinking about, going back to school can help you turn that momentum into a career path. Formal learning can give your passion a clearer direction, strengthen what you already do well, and make your next move feel more achievable.

If you’re starting a business, earning a business management degree can build your skills in leadership, operations, and project management, and a clear reference can help you explore what that coursework looks like. An online degree can also make it easier to keep learning while you balance work, family, and the hobby you’re growing into something more.

Try Beginner-Friendly Hobbies With First-Week Steps

Pick one hobby that fits the skill you want to grow, creative output, social connection, fitness, or career-relevant capability, and commit to a “first-week sprint.” These beginner hobby ideas and practical hobby tips keep the barrier low while still building real momentum you can map to longer-term learning goals.

Run a 7-day “minimum viable hobby” plan: Define a tiny outcome you can finish in one week, one photo set, one stitched item, one song, or one conversation. Block three sessions of 25–40 minutes and write a one-sentence success rule like “I practice even if it’s messy.” This works because repetition beats intensity, and the plan is easy to track if you’re treating hobbies as structured skill-building.
Start sewing basics with a two-seam project: Begin with a low-stakes item like a simple tote, pillow cover, or reusable cloth. Your first week goal is mastering two skills, threading the needle and stitching straight, so you don’t overload yourself with patterns, zippers, and fit. Use scrap fabric to practice three lines a day, then sew the final piece in one sitting so you get a quick win.
Use one photography technique per walk: Take a 15-minute walk and shoot only one subject category, doors, shadows, or hands, to sharpen your eye. On day one, practice exposure by taking three versions of the same shot: darker, normal, brighter. Later in the week, add composition by using the rule of thirds for 10 photos, then review and keep only three; editing your “keepers” teaches faster than saving everything.
Learn a new language by experiencing it first: For the first 3–5 days, listen and read without drilling rules, aiming to recognize repeated phrases you can reuse. The Circe Institute’s idea that the first stage is poetic supports starting with experience over grammar charts, which reduces overwhelm and builds intuition. Finish the week with a 60-second self-introduction you can say from memory, even if the accent isn’t perfect.
Play a musical instrument with a “two-chord + rhythm” target: Choose a single rhythm pattern and two easy chords or notes, then practice switching between them slowly for 5 minutes a day. Add one new element only after you can do 10 clean switches in a row; this prevents the common trap of bouncing between tutorials without mastery. By day seven, record a 30–45 second clip so you can hear progress objectively.
Pick a hobby that doubles as a career skill and document it: If you’re building toward a career plan, select a hobby with transferable outputs, cooking becomes process planning, gardening becomes measurement and iteration, crafting becomes project estimation. Keep a simple log: time spent, what improved, what blocked you, and one “next rep” task. This creates a portfolio-style trail you can use to identify skill gaps and decide what structured learning would accelerate results.

Common Hobby Questions (and Honest Answers)

Q: What if I’m “bad” at the hobby I picked?
A: Being bad is the starting line, not a red flag. Choose one tiny skill to repeat (one stitch line, one photo setting, one chord change) and track reps, not talent. Treat mistakes as data you can adjust next time.

Q: How do I make time for a hobby with a busy schedule?
A: Use a fixed, small appointment like 25 minutes three times a week. Put it next to an existing routine (after dinner, before shower, during lunch) so it has a cue. If you miss a day, restart the next day without “making up” time.

Q: Why does motivation disappear after the first few days?
A: Novelty fades fast, so lean on structure instead of feelings. Many people use adult hobbies as a steady outlet, not a constant thrill, so keep the goal simple and repeatable.

Q: Can I balance hobbies with work without feeling guilty?
A: Yes, if you define your hobby as recovery plus growth, not “extra productivity.” Remember that leisure activities can reduce the stresses of grown-up life, which often supports better focus at work.

Q: What should I do when progress feels painfully slow?
A: Shrink the task and raise the consistency: five minutes, one drill, one page, one sketch. Then do a “reset review” by comparing your first attempt to today’s and writing one specific next step.

Build Lifelong Learning With One Hobby and 30 Days

It’s easy to want a hobby for relief and growth, then get stuck on time, motivation, or slow progress. The way through is the mindset this guide emphasized: treat hobbies as playful practice, small, consistent effort that values learning over perfection, supported by simple self-improvement strategies. Done that way, the lifelong learning benefits stack up quietly, personal growth through hobbies feels earned, and the hobby’s impact on wellbeing shows up in steadier mood and confidence. Pick a hobby you can return to, and let consistency do the teaching. Choose one skill today and run a 30-day experiment, tracking tiny wins daily in a note. That’s how inspiration to start hobbies turns into resilience, health, and momentum that carries into everything else.

Final words…

Last month, I made a commitment to a summer personal curriculum which involved learning macro photography across the months of June, July and August. I created a page of aspects of the topic with a view to dedicating around two hours each week to learning. I started off well and was enjoying finding out about this aspect of photography, however, work took over much of my time in June and early July and my photography hobby has very much taken a back seat. I absolutely love Linda’s idea of developing hobby consistency through tracking my daily wins, and that, along with actually getting my camera out of the cupboard, attaching the lens and beginning to explore what I can do based on the theoretical aspects of the topic, should help me to maintain momentum. I’ll be able to record my wins in my bullet journal and this will help me to celebrate tiny achievements across the remainder of the summer months.

Let me know in the comments which aspects of Linda’s article particularly resonated with you and feel free to also share your hobby ideas and intentions for the next month or so. I love to hear what my readers are focusing on in their free time.

Habit formation, life hacks

Monday Matters: Utilising habit stacking to establish consistency in forming new routines and instilling habits

Posted on Feb 10, 2025Feb 8, 2025 by Laura

I’ve been using habit stacking for years, and I find it extremely successful in ensuring consistency whilst I work on adding a new, positive habit to my daily, weekly or even monthly routine. Today, I’m sharing some definitions of the terms habit, a quick introduction to habit stacking, plus explaining why habit stacking is so helpful, and, of course, providing a few examples of the technique in action within my own life.

When I Googled ‘habit definition’ and checked the items related to the noun (as oppose to the traditional item of religious clothing worn by nuns!), I came across a number of different examples and thought it would be pertinent to share some of them here:

Cambridge Dictionary: something that you do often and regularly, sometimes without knowing you are doing it

Oxford Languages Dictionary: a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary

Collins Dictionary: established custom, usual practice, etc

So, the above explain what a habit is, but what’s habit stacking?

There have been a whole host of non-fiction books on the art of habit stacking but the idea was originally coined by James Clear in his best selling book Atomic Habits. In brief, it’s the practice of attaching a new action that you want to become a regular habit, to one or more habits which are already deeply ingrained in your current daily life. The idea is that the old and well-established habit will provide a cue for performing the new action which you want to add to your current number of habits. So, for example, if you wanted to start flossing your teeth each evening, you could attach this action to your nightly routine of brushing your teeth, maybe by getting the floss out when you pick up your toothpaste and brush from wherever they reside in your bathroom, and then flossing your teeth prior to brushing them. Over time, you would start to automatically get your floss out at the same time as your other teeth cleaning tools and the habit of flossing would (hopefully) be instilled.

The habit you choose to stack your new action with would depend on such things as how often you want to engage in the action (daily, weekly, monthly etc.), when you want to do it (morning, evening, night time etc), where you want to perform it (in bed, in the car, on the sofa whilst watching TV, in the kitchen whilst waiting for the kettle to boil etc.) and, of course, when and where would be most appropriate. You should also consider if there’s time available before or after the established habit in your routine as this will of course, increase the likelihood of success in habit formation.

How I’m currently using habit stacking

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before on here, but back in September 2024, I headed for the coast with my DSLR camera and long range lens and walked along the beach at low tide to the rock pools to take lots of photos of wading birds. To cut a long story short, I got some lovely bird photos but heading back along the sand, I slipped over, presumably on a large smooth stone and fell forward. As I had my camera, I wrapped my arm around it and twisted, landing on my flattened right wrist. My wrist has now been very painful for months and I recently sought advice from an MSK (Musculoskeletal) specialist. The clinician gave me some physio exercises and advised me to do them each day so I’ve been deciding when to fit them in and how I can be sure I do them regularly. As this is something that needs to become a habit that I do daily, I’ve used habit stacking to increase the likelihood of this being achieved.

I decided that I would like to do the given exercises morning and evening and I’ve also thought about how many reps I want to do each time. For the morning repetitions, I decided to stack the exercises with my The Five Minute Journal writing habit. So now, I fill in the day time prompts in my journal and then I remove my book from the arm of the sofa and do my exercises. Finishing my writing reminds me that it’s time to do my physio session for my wrist and so far, I’ve consistently remembered to do them. The second set of exercises is performed straight after filling in my journal evening prompts. This routine is proving to be more difficult to establish as I’m tired and ready for bed! However, as I perform the first set consistently in the morning after journalling in the same book, I’m hoping that it will be enough of a prompt eventually. The other thought I’ve had is that doing them once a day is better than not doing them at all so I’d be happy if I just developed the morning habit.

The second new action that I’ve just started to implement is completing a double page journalling spread as a summary of what happened each month throughout the year. This project, which I hope to do for the whole of 2025, but, if I enjoy it, continue with beyond this year, involves collecting appropriate resources throughout the month for my pages and working on the spread in a single session at the beginning of the next month. I only started the journal in January so it’s definitely not a habit yet, but I don’t want to get behind with creating the spreads or collecting ideas and bits and pieces for them.

I chose to do this monthly journalling project as I was trying to keep up with journalling about all kinds of experiences such as purchases, days out, holidays, nights out etc and it was becoming very overwhelming and half of my spreads were staying barely completed or barely started as their creation was far too time consuming. Doing two pages each month will be much more manageable, and, if there’s anything I want to do a little more documenting on, I can still do this whilst only creating between 2 and 4 pages a month. This is my reason why I want to instill this particular habit and you can probably see how it would help me to document my life but at the same time, not go overboard with the journalling and accompanying spreads.

So, with that all said, how am I going to make collecting resources and doing the actual journalling a habit? Here’s my initial ideas for habit formation:

closely follow the YouTube channel and Patreon pages of KelseyLeigh @ MyAbidingJournal who introduced me to the idea of monthly summary journalling pages.
make notes of effective ways she’s found of collecting materials and memories
schedule times for collection of resources and ideas
schedule a time each month for creating and finishing my pages

For this, I needed to attach the new actions to existing habits, one which occurs weekly and one which already occurs monthly. I decided that the collection of resources and ideas to include would take place on a Sunday evening when I set up next week in my bullet journal. This typically happens around 7pm although if something prevents me doing it at this time, I always schedule time early Monday morning to fill in my double page spread. As this process could potentially take up to an hour – half an hour for filling in my weekly and half an hour to gather supplies and record ideas, I would need to time block the event to be sure it gets done. However, because filling out my planner is essential for me to know what’s happening that week, I believe that stacking my journalling prep session would be a good fit.

With regard to me creating my journal spread, I have stacked this with my habit of filling in the evaluation of my monthly goals. Realistically, the process for both can take me up to 3 hours and again I would need to make use of time blocking and section off a big enough section of time to ensure everything got finished. Obviously, this requires a big commitment but as it’s something I really want to establish as a habit, I’m hoping that the filled in pages with look so great that I’ll be so excited by the finished product that I’ll want to do it time and time again!

This brings me on to another question which you may have…

Does habit stacking always work?

In my opinion, habit stacking can be really useful in helping you to develop a routine for performing a desired action or routine but you still need to apply motivation and discipline if it is to work. Going back to my wrist exercises, if I didn’t believe that doing them was going to help me get better by improving my muscle strength, I might consider it a waste of time doing them. In that case, I would be unlikely to keep up with the habit, even if I did stack it with my morning and evening journalling work. Also, if I didn’t make time in my schedule to perform the exercises, I could still end up skipping them or only doing them on less busy days which wouldn’t help me to develop better strength and less pain in my wrist.

Final words…

In summary, habit stacking, the process of attaching a new action that you hope to make a habit to one or more of your long established habits, is a great way of ensuring consistency in developing new routines. However, you still need to have the motivation and disciple to perform the action, so it’s worth spending some time thinking about how this brand new intention and would be habit would make a difference to your life or your day. Personally, I think doing a little bit of reflective journalling on the subject can be a really useful way of establishing your why or reasons for.

I hope you’ve found today’s Monday Matters useful and it has helped you see how using habit stacking would fit into your life when creating new habits. Let me know in the comments one thing you are working on at the moment and which current habit you plan on attaching it to so you can successfully embed it into your routines, or if you’re struggling to develop a habit, why not reply to today’s blog post and hopefully either myself or one of my readers can offer some useful advice.

If you particularly enjoyed today’s topic, you might be interested in reading one of my previous posts on forming positive habits.

life hacks, psychology, relationships

Monday Matters: A beginners guide to ‘pebbling’ to strengthen your relationships

Posted on Jan 27, 2025Jan 29, 2025 by Laura

Up until an hour ago (well as I write this anyway), I had never even heard of the term ‘pebbling’, which, according to an online article, is a very commonly used social media hashtag and a popular practice among us all (I must live under a rock which has no WiFi!). Despite this, as I perused the online article, I realised that I’ve engaged in pebbling with colleagues, friends, family and my husband many times, without knowing there was an actual name for it. If you’re unfamiliar with pebbling or the associated hashtag which is (apparently) currently flooding TikTok along with other social media platforms, or if you’d like to know more, I encourage you to read on…

The word pebbling was, in fact, originally used to described a romantic gesture that has been happening for decades, amongst gentoo penguins. During the breeding season, as part of their courtship ritual, male penguins carefully select and present a perfectly shiny and beautiful pebble to their prospective mate as a sign of their worthiness as a love interest and suitability to lifetime commitment (gentoos are usually monogamous). If the female is impressed by the aforementioned, she will place the gifted item as the foundation stone of her nest. Then, in return, she will present her own carefully chosen, smooth and highly polished specimen to her mate as a form of non-verbal communication.

Photo from a selection of free images on Unsplash curated by Derek Oyen

Now, I’m not about to suggest that you head off to the beach in a bid to find your own perfect little stone to woo potential partners with, but you can certainly apply the principles of pebbling by offering a small, inexpensive (or free) gift to demonstrate your feelings towards someone or to simply show them that you care, whether that’s as a family member, a friend, a colleague or as evidence that you like or admire them. I’ve written before on my blog about love languages with one of them being focused on receiving gifts, but, to be honest, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t appreciate a little, thoughtful something-or-other from someone else (as long as they consent to it or it would be considered a nice surprise anyway!).

The thing with the gentoo penguins and their pebble giving is that there’s no financial cost, and the emphasis is wholly on spending quality time carefully selecting something that they feel that the recipient would really appreciate. And this act of ‘pebbling’ can be applied to human gift giving as well – including the non-verbal element if you so wish. Think inexpensive or free items that will bring a little spark of joy to both the giver and the receiver, and you can’t go wrong.

So, what kind of things could you give as a token gift?

What you choose will completely depend on your chosen recipient but, here’s some ideas for you to consider:

A virtual gift with a ‘saw this and thought of you’ message attached e.g. their favourite pet or animal doing something amusing, a meme that just says it all or says it better than you possibly could (pebbling is very popular with neuro-divergent individuals who may struggle to say something heartfelt or thoughtful in words).
A link to an article you’ve read online (or a newspaper / magazine cutting) that you think would interest them or is on a topic which you think they would love to learn more about.
Some flowers picked from your garden which you think would cheer them up or make their day.
A photograph of you and a friend that you found from a while back as you were scrolling through your Google albums on your phone. This could be forwarded somehow, shared on social media e.g. their ‘wall’ on Facebook or printed and delivered in some way.
A pretty greetings card in which you let the person know that you are thinking about them or really appreciate them
Something to represent an ‘inside joke’ that you reckon would bring a smile or make someone giggle
A multipack of chocolate or sweets that you share with a couple of your closest colleagues.
Pass on a book (or a personal recommendation of one) that you’ve read and think they would enjoy too.
Pop out to your local bakery on a Sunday morning to get pastries for a leisurely breakfast with your partner, flat mate or kids
Buy a subject specific magazine for your significant other e.g. computing, gardening, crafting, wildlife etc
Pick up a little personalised item for them e.g. pen, pencil, keyring etc e.g. from a garden centre or gift shop (or, if you have a Cricut machine, add their name to an inexpensive plain or patterned notebook)
Bake some biscuits or cupcakes and bring them to the office to share with your colleagues (sometimes the recipient might be more than one person)
Buy a small box of individually wrapped chocolates (e.g. Cadburys Heroes, Celebrations, Roses or Quality Street) and let everyone you work closely with choose their favourite to enjoy with a coffee at breaktime.
Visit your local pet store to find a treat for your pet or pets – who says that penguins should be the only non-human animal to perform loving acts! Or, if you don’t have your own pet, why not pick up a treat to give to someone you like who does have their own cherished animal (thanks to my husband’s ex work colleague who provided the inspiration for this one – Aggie the hamster was very grateful for the cupcake shaped biscuits!)

Aggie in her digging tower where her treat was hidden!

Final words…

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading today’s post and it’s given you a good overview of the origins of ‘pebbling’ and examples of different small gifts you can give to show affection or care. I’m sure most of us have engaged in the act pebbling many times in the past and I would love to hear some of your favourites in the comments.

Happy pebbling!

Blogging, crafting, creativity, Cricut, goal setting, Health and Nutrition, Home cooking, intentional living, life hacks, lifestyle, manifestation, mindset, personal development, Planning and journaling, reflective journalling, Setting goals and intentions, watercolour painting

Setting up my 2025 Vision Board

Posted on Jan 22, 2025Jan 22, 2025 by Laura

Last year, for some unknown reason, I think I must have decided against making a 2024 vision board. I’m not sure why, but maybe I didn’t feel up to it or perhaps I had a variety of commitments at the beginning of January and decided it was too late in the month to work on one.

For 2025, I decided that, for me personally, it’s not really important to have the board finished in super quick time and it doesn’t matter if I’m still working on it towards the end of January. I wanted to have a slow start to the first month, really pondering over what I would like the year to look like. I found it helpful to revisit a couple of old blog posts of mine in which I’d talked about key questions you could ask yourself to prepare your mind and what to actually do to improve your chances of manifesting everything you’ve visualised for the year.

I decided to create a larger display, rather than using two pages in my bullet journal as then I can have it on my craft room / office wall to look at all year round. I also chose to combine images, motivational sayings, affirmations and a few cute decorative elements to make it visually appealing. I’ve spend days thinking about what I truly want this year, flicking through a huge stash of Psychologies magazines, answering deep questions from my previous vision board posts, journalling my thoughts and closing my eyes to visualise things. I’m so glad I put lots into the preparation as my 2025 vision board is now complete and turned out exactly how I wanted it. I can’t wait to share a photograph of the finished product!

And here it is…

Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative

My main categories

Diet – The plan this year is to eat more plant-based goodies than ever before. We’ve made so many healthy and delicious vegan dishes this Veganuary and we’ve also found a cafe that has a range of vegan friendly cake options. It’s getting easier and easier to eat a plant based diet and my husband and I have already made a number of changes over the years such as soya milk on our cereal and oat milk in our hot drinks, vegan spread on our bread, lots of plant based alternatives to meat such as soya mince, veggie sausages, VLTs etc.

Creativity – I want to develop my watercolour skills even further this year, whilst also engaging in mindful and calming activity after busy days. I got a gorgeous book for Christmas which provides exploratory activities and projects with a nature theme. I want to incorporate a weekly slot of time to experiment and develop a range of techniques.

Blogging – I want to spend more time promoting my blog posts so that I develop a wider readership. I used to consistently post pins on Pinterest but I’ve let this slide over the last few years. I get plenty of readers but I want to reach individuals who do not have their own blog as well as those who are keen bloggers.

PCPI work – I thoroughly enjoy my work at the university but it’s really important to me that I’m making as much of a difference as I can to the students. I particularly want to develop my feedback skills for medicine sessions, particularly with young adults who are in the initial stages of their uni course.

Kaizen – I recently started a short book called The Little Book of Kaizen – The Japanese art of transformation, one small step at a time. I’m enjoying reading it and doing the exercises at the beginning. The idea really appeals to me, so, to make sure it’s a focus for me this year, I’ve added a photograph of the mini book on my vision board with a view to working through all of the chapters. I’ve even pick out a cute notebook to use to jot things down and I’m using my fountain pen to write beautifully inside.

Cricut – As you probably already know, I’m obsessed with making stickers and cutting them using my Joy Xtra. However, I also have the smaller Joy machine and also invested in the EasyPress 2 when it was on offer at a discount. I have lots of vinyl and HTV as well as some iron on papers so I want to spend time this year getting creative and using them all up. I have so many ideas but I now need to schedule time to actually get making things. I added a Cricut bug sticker to watch over me and remind me to have more fun playing with my machines.

Getting organised – We have a lot of stuff in our house and some of it needs purging. As well as trying to use up craft materials before buying any more, I also want to re-organise our home so it’s easy to clean and keep tidy.

Final words…

That’s everything on my vision board for this year and to ensure that everything on the display comes into fruition, I will be checking in with it at the beginning of each month and using the different aspects to set mini monthly goals. I’ve developed pages in my bullet journal to list my goals and I’ll make sure at least some of them relate to things I want to manifest throughout the year.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my board and that it’s inspired you to have a go at creating your own. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get around to it for a few weeks – there’s still plenty of days left in the year to take action.

Good luck!