As we entered the new year of 2019, I felt like I was reaching a new chapter in my life and there were so many things that I wanted to do.
Now 40 something, I felt positive about the future and wanted to make the most out of the year ahead. Life is beautiful and is a gift and I wanted to do things I hadn’t done for a while, spend time with my kids and find happiness in the smaller simpler things. I was given a book that was in keeping with my new ideology and my quest to cleanse my soul. This is for you – A Creative Toolkit for Better Self-Care and I wanted to share it with you.
Ellen Bard, a Chartered Psychologist and Wellness Thought Leader has created a beautiful and interactive journal with 100 ways to take control of your life and make more time for you in the New Year called This is For You.
As I turned the pages, I felt like the book was written just for me.
Why do we often prioritize ourselves last? There are so many excuses we make to justify why we’re prepared to run ourselves ragged looking after others but won’t take five minutes for ourselves. Work Psychologist and Author Ellen M Bard was precisely one of those people, working a 60-hour week as a management consultant before she stepped off the treadmill and decided to change her life for the better. In This Is For You, Ellen Bard shares her science and evidence-based formula of 100 key exercises to help us reframe our priorities and take better care of ourselves. With chapters exploring Body, Mind, Feelings, Relationships, Time, Work, Environment, Creativity and Change, there is something here for everyone so we can pick the themes most resonant for us, and every page contains a fun and original interactive challenge and a new way of viewing our world. I in particularly found the why we fail at taking care of ourselves, your time and the change chapter extremely useful in my trying to understand me. The book helps to learn how to make ‘a jar of awesome’ where you draw out happy memories every time you have a bad day, or create a morning ritual where you feel energised and grounded. Alternatively, if it’s a hug you need, experience touch by wrapping your arms around yourself in a loving way, or simply learn to say ‘No’, and identify the drains and radiators in your personal relationships. This Is For You is filled with useful practical exercises that can support you every day. Written by a Chartered Psychologist with 17 years’ experience of successful people consulting, this is a no-nonsense journal that will help you take stock, re-evaluate and give you small self-care steps that will change your life for the better and, most importantly, have lasting results.
Biography
Ellen M Bard is a work psychologist, writer and digital nomad. She is on a mission to bring practical, useful and fun development suggestions and personal improvement ideas to those who are long on interest and short on time. Ellen is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychology Society, and registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC) in the UK and as an independent assessment and development professional, puts her 18 years of management consultancy experience to good use with clients in countries in Europe, the Middle East, and South East Asia. She has published papers and spoken on topics including values in the workplace, engagement, the candidate experience in recruitment, psychometric tools, generation Y, and employer branding. She has been featured in the Huffington Post, The Guardian, BBC Radio 4 and the Financial Times – as a thought leader in productivity, and the challenges of work-life balance.
Article by Fykaa Caan
Lifestyle & Current Affairs Editor The Hollywood London Magazine
