Giving Life Colour

The monotony of working at a desk staring at a computer screen for 9 hours a day can really take its toll. I really enjoy my job, yet there are times where I  long to get outside and breathe some fresh air. I’m lucky to work in a beautiful wooden beamed converted barn in the middle of the countryside, but all of that can pale into insignificance when I’ve been staring at the same spreadsheet or report for what feels like weeks. Therefore, this I’ve been trying to bring a little colour back into my repetitive life and enjoy the small things.

Mornings

As Adam would gladly tell you, I’m terrible in the mornings and hate getting out of bed. Therefore,  my morning routine definitely doesn’t have much colour! However, one great pick me up I’ve adopted recently is ignoring the steaming jug of coffee wafting its heavenly scent behind me and instead choosing lighter herbal teas that are gentler on the digestive system, don’t send you in a coffee induced high and then crash and taste delicious. I’m making my way through as many flavours as I possibly can, but my favourite at the moment is definitely Twinings Apple and Pear Green Tea which still gives you a gentle lift whilst tasting fresh and fruity.

Lunchtimes

When my school friend Shannon started working at Stylist magazine, one of her projects at the beginning of the year was to #reclaimyourlunchbreak and so every since then I’ve been trying to do just that. To avoid the dreaded double screens, I’ve been trying to spend half the hour chatting to colleagues whilst munching down my lunch (we’re lucky enough here to have all our food provided for us!) and then the other half doing something to take my mind completely away from work. This has so far involved, walking my bosses Springer Spaniel, Hector, reading a huge number of books, and napping (that’s productive – right?). We’ve also recently embraced lunchtime yoga via YouTube (which made us quickly realise quite how inflexible we were, how yoga + tights just doesn’t work and how following videos on the projector with sound coming from my phone due to lack of speakers on the computer meant to a lot of laughter and not a huge amount of yoga)!

Today was slightly different as I had to post a letter for A and the nearest postbox is about half a mile down the road. The fresh air was lovely and it definitely made me realise quite how much you miss when you’re in the car, staring blankly at the road dreaming about what’s for tea when you get home.

Evenings

My evenings are precious and provide some of the only time I get to myself all week. Living at home during the week means that I try and grasp all the little wisps of freedom I can, and have found going for a swim on a Monday and doing an HIIT class with Shapesmith on a Wednesday and Thursday means that I feel refreshed, energised and am taking a positive step towards finally not being so chub. Tuesday evenings usually involve cooking up a tasty healthy feast for the family and indulging in extra time for relaxation. On the days I’m out, by the time I’m home I just about enough minutes to eat, shower and relax for an hour or so before snuggling into bed by 10pm (yes, really!) ready to face the next day.

Weekends

I love weekends and to me, the perfect 2 day break from work involves a lie in, breakfast in bed, lazy mornings reading with the sun shining through the curtains, a walk somewhere beautiful, visiting friends and family, making something and then cooking up an extravagant dinner. As we haven’t been in the flat that long, we can often be found doing some sort of DIY either in the flat or on the cars (definitely Adam’s domain rather than mine!).

This weekend was an exception as I didn’t commute back to work on Monday but instead headed back to Exeter on Sunday afternoon and met up with my best friend for a long awaited catch up, a sunny walk around the river to the quay and an amazing piece of carrot cake!

 This post was inspired by one of my all time favourite blogs Take Courage. Cat got her post idea from Twining’s new competition to win prizes using the hashtag #drinkitallin by posting on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. This week’s theme is “How do you live your life with your senses turned up?”