Greetings friends!  This has been an exciting week!  I started a new job in a part of town I’d never heard of (let alone visited), so it’s been great to see a new side to the city, albeit a fairly corporate, blue-y grey one. It’s pretty normal for folk to leave for work around 8.30am for a 9.30 / 10am start.  Since my current role is very office-based just now I’ve decided to give the Tube a miss and walk a few stations further to kick start my day and I’m not alone.  The pavements are packed with workers teaming their slick suits with Nike trainers, (which they switch out for more suitable shoes once they reach their destinations of course!)  We herd ourselves along the Bridge like sheep, shuffling into our respective pens in the shortest time possible.

In the company I’m working at we usually wrap up around 6pm but it’s quite common for lots of people to stay on later.  Getting home after 7pm means down time is very limited but I still think it’s important to switch off and recharge after a busy day.  Switching off isn’t necessarily in my strong suit so I thought I’d look to my fellow bloggers for some inspiration and share their pearls of wisdom with you.

Let’s make time for the important things.  One way for us ladies to maximise our ‘me-time’ plans for the long haul is to book a smear test.  Now.  I know: they are bloody horrible but the alternative is a hundred times worse. I am the first person to admit that I *hate* getting a smear test.  If you’ve ever seen Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues and resonated with the woman who screams ‘My Vagina Is Angry‘ you’ll know what I mean.  But I hate the idea of getting cervical cancer much more.  This week my Instagram feed has been inundated with ladies faces with smeared lipstick as a reminder for us girls to make an appointment.  The campaign itself looks a bit daft but it’s cast my mind back to the letter my GP sent me and prompted me to add it to my to do list.  I’m making my appointment this weekend – don’t put it off girls.

I’ve already posted this year about getting a new DSLR camera for Christmas and I’m really keen to make the most of it.  This handy post from Sweet Electric has compiled some of the top tips on the internet for making the most of your photography.  I love that Zoe Louise has done the leg work here meaning I can dip in and out of the tips as and when I have the time.  Good for (hopefully rare ) days when work runs over and I only have an hour or two left spare before bedtime.

I’m trying to reform my last-minute Laura ways and prepare my lunches for the week ahead.  I like to get out and grab a coffee from down the road at lunchtime.  It’s not ideal to be spending over £2 for a coffee I could make in the kitchen but I think it’s really important to get out of the office and go somewhere and needing a caffeine boost is the prompt I need to get moving.  Where I am able to save money is making my batches of lunch throughout the week so I’m ready for a few days in one go.  I love this idea from the team over at A Beautiful Mess.  I’m not going to run out and buy mason jars but a couple of smaller jam jars (or an old takeaway container) would do the job rightly and making a couple of days’ lunches in one go frees up time later in the week.

Even though I spend most of my day in front of a computer screen I love to catch up on what some of my favourite bloggers are up to when I get home.  I get a bit bored with countless identikit make up reviews and tend to veer toward more creative posters and, more recently, YouTubers.  When I’m making dinner I often have bloglovin’ open on my computer or phone while I cook and one blog I love to visit is Cupcakes & Cashmere. Every week Emily does a post entitled ‘Links I love‘ and I love to dip in and out of these – I always discover something interesting.  I’m loving this week’s tip on how to up my nap game!

The last tip I came up with all on my own, would you believe!  Every day I’m going to try and take 20 minutes out to do something to help myself relax.  Tomorrow I’ve earmarked painting my nails – I know, I know: I’m so wild!;)  Joking aside, it’s important to do something that’s just for your own wellbeing whether it’s a bit of pampering, reading a book, listening to music or going back to basics and sitting in comfortable silence.

What are your top tips for tuning out?  Enjoy the rest of your week and see you Sunday!  L xx