work

Making YOU time.

/ lizziechantree / 6 Comments

I’ve been chatting to a lot of people lately and many discussions are about how busy everyone is. I find the term busy really stressful! The reason is because I have a vivid imagination and picture everyone running around waving their arms in the air and panicking. In reality, busy people are often enjoying their day or job and are being super productive. What I would say, is that even the you are busy, try and carve out some time for yourself.

As a creative person, I find it inspiring to chat to others on my networking hour on twitter, even though it’s such a fast paced hour. I enjoy meeting friends and family for lunch an make time for this, as it inspires me and makes me feel more energetic and happier when I am at work. I also fit in time to read. As an author it’s not only important for my job, but it’s relaxing and time away from everyday worries or tasks can breathe fresh life into your day and make you much more able to concentrate after taking a break.

Making time for yourself might be at the bottom of your to do list, but it’s actually important for your wellbeing and might help you stay focused and reduce stress levels for the rest of the week.

believe in yourself

Top tips for carving some YOU time into the day.

  1. Get up an hour earlier. It might seem harsh, but if this hour is spent exercising or reading a book, even if the book is about a business topic or hobby, then your mind is drawn away from worries and your day starts with an alert mind.
  2. Make time to have a lunch hour if you can. Eating at regular intervals perks up a tired body and mind. Do something completely different to your job or task for that one hour.
  3. Phone a friend or family member. Pick someone you haven’t spoken to for a while and reconnect. It’s so easy to lose contact with people because everyone is busy. Take a moment to call or text and say hello. It might mean a lot to the person you are calling that you have taken time out of your busy schedule for them and it could make you feel good too.

 

 

Day 2. Blog Tour. Ninja School Mum.

/ lizziechantree / 6 Comments

Today’s stop on my blog tour is with author Alice Castle and her wonderful blog. We talk about invention, first jobs and being a romantic!

Check out Alice’s post for my blog tour here: http://www.dulwichdivorcee.com/meet-the-author-lizzie-chantree/

 

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Meet Thea, one of my main characters in Ninja School Mum. She is a new mum and looks after her niece for her bossy sister during the school day. She feels very overlooked by her family and although she used to have a responsible job, she now finds it hard to remember a time when anyone actually noticed her at all.

A fresh start.

/ lizziechantree / 4 Comments

Lizzie Chantree blog dancing

Happy 2018 everyone! It’s a new year and time for a fresh start. I had an exciting 2017, but still want to try new ideas and have a good clean out of anything that doesn’t belong in my life now.

I am going to try to be more efficient with my time, so that I have space to be creative and have some fun! I believe that getting a balance will help me do more when I am at work or play. Being fully present in all that I do is beneficial too. If I am worrying about something else while I am seeing friends, in a meeting or at work, then the task at hand is wasted. I might as well be in the place I am worrying about.

Taking time out to truly nurture your inner-self, can bring fresh ideas, a zest for life and a whole lot of new energy to the workplace. I’m going to try it. I’ll let you know how I get on:)

Have you started the year with a New Year resolution and have you broken it yet?

 

Don’t forget to grab your pre-order copy of Ninja School Mum as the release date is fast approaching! viewBook.at/NinjaSchoolMum

 

Too much information.

/ lizziechantree / 5 Comments

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Last weekend I had been trying to manage my work tasks, plus organise Christmas for my family after a week of being unwell. Sometimes my head felt like it was full of too much information for it to be productive at all. After climbing a mountain of wrapping paper and filling the cupboards with two Christmas puddings and various festive treats as we have people coming to stay, I decided to stop worrying about what I had to achieve  and do something completely different.

I was probably thinking of a brisk jog with my dog or getting some housework done, but I must have walked past the kitchen and I cooked and scoffed one of the Christmas puddings… it was a very small one… instead! The change of thinking (and probable sugar rush) from the process of stepping away from my work load, managed to clear my mind and I was then able to sit at my desk and complete most of the work I had been fretting about finishing for two days.

We sometimes overload ourselves with useless information that holds no relevance to what we need to do. By thinking of them over and over and procrastinating, we are adding to our own confusion and wasting precious time not doing the things we are thinking about. This week i’m going to try not to overthink and also to not walk past the Christmas cupboard too often, as although it was helpful in this instance, the repeat journey to the shops to replenish what I ate is definitely not the way forward!

Working while asleep.

/ lizziechantree / 9 Comments

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This week i’ve had an awful cold and have been half asleep at my desk. What has surprised me is that i’ve still managed to complete quite a lot of work, when I feel like i’ve slept through half of the week. A friend on Twitter said she was up working at 2am and I mentioned that sometimes we are more productive when we’ve had a rest. Time away to restore and recuperate can mean you achieve twice as much when you do get back to work. I know I haven’t actually done any work while asleep, but the amount i’ve accomplished while awake, means I feel like I must have done!

Do you feel more productive after time away from your work, or does it make you panic and feel like you are not getting enough done? I’d be interested to hear how you all manage time away from your daily tasks.

Marketing merchandise.

/ lizziechantree / 5 Comments

Happy new week everyone. This week I’ve been working on some new merchandise for my blog tour and launch. I had this brilliant photo taken for me and it’s a wonderful way to spread the word for my work and make people smile. I have also made promotional keyrings and had posters printed. The theme of my book content and colour scheme follows through all of it, so that it is easily recognisable. This is a good idea, as it refers to your work and hopefully encourages people to pick up your book and give it a try. You never know who you might meet whilst wandering round, as my promotional photo shows, so take every opportunity and make the marketing fun for you and your readers.

 

When you bump into Batman and he’s reading your book! 🙂

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Piling on the pressure.

/ lizziechantree / 10 Comments

Computer. Do more

Instead of my regular marketing post on Mondays, I thought i’d mix things up a bit. The reason is because I have been looking into website analytics and Google doesn’t like content that appears anywhere else on your site. This can be a title, like my Monday posts about marketing, or it can be a an overused photo, or a tag that you use to often. This means that although this isn’t my usual format, it’s still a post that might help you with your blogs, or websites, but presented in a different way!

I’ve been working towards finishing the promotional material for my blog tour for Ninja School Mum and each day I feel like I need to do more. I still have the author Q&A’s to write, the fun facts, the Twitter ads to design and now I have signed up for #NaNoWriMo without a plan at all, even though it starts today! My thoughts were that if I am about to publish a new novel and have an idea for the second book in the series, then I need to get on and write the sequel. If I write a few words a day, the community of writers that take part in this month long writing challenge, are working alongside me with their own novels to inspire me to do more every day.

I will post about my progress on my blog, which in turn refreshes the content and keeps everyone up to date on how the new novel and book tour are progressing. I know we all put pressure on ourselves to cram more into our days and this can sometimes seem impossible, but I am imagining myself having a well earned rest a while after launch date, preferably on a hot beach surrounded by piles of good books to read. I can dream… 🙂