Hi everyone,
When the sun comes out and the blossom appears, I start to cast a disapproving eye over my wardrobe. As I write this, there’s a big pile of black clothes on the floor beside me. My friend Tracy has given me a fashion style assessment for my birthday. In the session, I’ll find out what suits my body shape, colour season and personality. I’m hoping for a fresh perspective on the kinds of colours and styles to wear.
I’ll let you know if there are any revelations!
Emily
Mind & Body
Podcast
This month I have chosen to feature a podcast. It’s called ‘How To Stop Screwing Yourself Over’. The advice in this episode, I hope, will help both your mind and your body to unwind. It’s about the power our phones have over us, and at the very least, it highlights how glued we are to these devices. The question is: are you using the phone as a tool, or is the phone using you?
It’s not groundbreaking advice, we have heard it all before but it resonated with me as I seem incapable of watching a tv series or a film without having my phone next to me. I will either be random googling or checking out more details on an actor in a series I am watching. I’ve now started to leave my phone in another room when I watch TV. Host Mel Robbins’s presenting style may not appeal to everyone, but I would encourage you to give this episode a try. It includes an interesting interview with Dr Alok Kanojia, who is a psychiatrist also known as Healthy Gamer. You can find him on YT and all social media channels.
I will be really interested to know if you find it helpful so drop me a line if it has an impact. I am hoping you will find there will be one small change you’ll make after listening to this episode. Something that will help calm your mind, improve your concentration and help your body to relax.
To Read
Meditations for Mortals
Oliver Burkeman
Author of the global bestseller
Four Thousand Weeks
I always talk about my never ending to do list, a habit I share with my mum who has a similar list….When I spotted Oliver Burkeman’s latest book the title Meditations for Mortals jumped out at me.
In a nutshell, Burkeman’s theory is that you think the problem is that you have far too many things to do. However, you don’t have enough time to do them but if you were amazingly efficient and energetic then you could power through to the end of your list. What Burkeman argues is the incoming list of things to do isn’t large, but to all intents and purposes it is infinite. So getting through them all isn’t just difficult, it’s impossible.
He says once you see that it is just unavoidably the case that you will only
ever get to do a fraction of the things that in an ideal world that you might like to do. Anxiety then subsides and a new willingness arises to get stuck into what you can actually do.
I feel better already, one of his tips is to write a ‘To done’ list rather than a ‘to-do list’. So at the end of the day write all the things you have done. Rather than getting despondent that you have only ticked off a few from your list. I have made a promise to myself that I will never mention my never ending ‘To -do list’ to anyone again.
To Listen
I worked as an au pair in Florence when I was eighteen. My Italian over the years since has become rusty and blended with a mix of Spanish/French. A kind of mezze of Spaitalian, Freitalian. Not good!
I decided to have lessons as I was frustrated that I remembered so little. If you want to really wake up your brain cells then I recommend foreign language lessons. My brain actually hurts when my teacher asks tricky questions. He has given me some recommended links to listen to. One of which is News In Slow Italian. (There’s also French, Spanish and German).
You can listen to 8/9 minutes for free and if you want to listen to the longer editions you pay a small monthly subscription. Listening to the news in Italian is definitely helping and for some reason the news is more palatable in another language. If you have any suggestions for other language apps let me know.
Grazie Mille!
To Investigate
If you are freelance or have been in the past then remember to check that you are building up your NI contributions to qualify for a state pension. You may have spaces on your NI record of contributions if you have lived abroad or taken time off to look after parents and/or children.You only get the full amount if you build up 35 qualifying years of NI contributions.
For the 2025/26 tax year, the full state pension will be£230.25 perweek which is nearly £12,000 PA.
You can currently make voluntary contributions to plug National Insurance gaps that go back to 2006. But after the April 5th, 2025 deadline, this will be limited to the previous six years only.
Check your pension forecast online by going to
https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension. You can call 0300 2003500 to talk to DWP but the lines are very busy. If you are worried about missing the deadline then you can complete a form and as long as you submit a request by the 5th April 2025 you will still be able to pay voluntary NI contributions after the deadline has passed.
To Entertain
Copyright
© 2019-2025 The Dog House C4
Here’s my comfort TV.
The Dog House C4
My niece Mabel says The Dog House is her favourite series. It’s now in its sixth season and if you are looking for a heartwarming watch, it’s got all the ingredients of a winning formula. Dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages are looking for a loving home. We get an insight into the dogs’ personalities and why they have been rescued. We meet potential new owners who share the story behind their search for a dog. I love the finale of each show when you get an update on the dogs, they look so happy bounding around. Listening to the new owners describing what a positive impact the dogs have had on their lives makes it a joy bubble of a show.
Drive To Survive – Netflix
Drive To Survive -the behind the scenes of Formula 1.
I never thought I would be interested in this series but my brother-in-law encouraged me to watch it during the pandemic. I have been hooked ever since, it’s now in its seventh season and what stands out is the camaraderie between drivers. They are very articulate reflecting on the pressure of driving for F1. Yes, they do earn vast sums of money but they are in an environment with a huge amount of danger and intense pressure. I have particular respect for Toto Woolf, here is his R4 Desert Island Discs:
If you have the chance to get tickets for
Guenther Steiner’s Unfiltered 2025 tour then do, as he’s very entertaining. He’s the former Team Principal of Haas. He’s disarmingly honest and offers a unique perspective of life on the F1 circuit.
Walter Goggins– Architectural Digest YouTube
If you like seeing celebrity homes then you might enjoy Open Door AD which is Architectural Digest’s version of MTV’s Cribs. If you’re watching this season’s White Lotus you’ll recognise Rick Hatchett aka actor Walter Goggins. This is Walter, curtesy of Architectural Digest giving you a tour of his 1920’s Hunting Lodge Home in the Hudson Valley, in upstate New York. What a space, almost makes me wish for winter and a lovely open fire!
Copyright © 2021-2025 The White Lotus HBO
EG Member: Amina Razaq
Head of Content & Partnerships
at Mediabrands Content Studio
| Q&A |
| Can you tell us about your current role? I lead the Content and Partnership teams at a large agency called Mediabrands Content Studio. My day involves working on creative responses for brands either for social media or pairing them up with another partner to bring the idea to life credibly. I love what I do and never stop thinking about ideas and admiring brilliant work. I am very conscious that marketing can feel unwanted or manipulative. I challenge myself and the team to find new ways to engage an audience in a meaningful way that isn’t just focused on sales. When you have time off from your job what do you like doing to unwind? I like to walk in the park, listening to a crime podcast or chatting to a friend. Working out at home and a morning of self care, with a face mask, is my Saturday ritual. I am a podcast addict, I usually listen up to 2 hours a day, but I also try and read a little before bed. What book are you reading at the moment? Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, recommended by my bookworm husband. What do you love about being an emilysgroup member? I joined Emily’s Group in the early days. I was looking for a nanny ahead of returning to work and I’ve been part of the group since. I love to fantasise that one day I’ll have a glorious second home in Antiparos to let out to members. Seriously though, it’s the perfect place for finding reliable recommendations for health, kids and home and I’ve never been let down by it. |
| Get in touch with Amina You can contact Amina at amina.razaq@mbcsww.com |
Drop me a line with any comments or feedback on what you have read. I really appreciate hearing from you.
If you would like to invite a friend to receive the monthly prescription then please click the box below. To register to be an emily’s group member click on emilysgroup.com