My Weekly Newsletter

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You can subscribe at www.sarahstewart.co.uk

For those that are long time followers, you will recall that I started my online presence with this very blog, Glasgow Mummy, that I began on the 16th June 2011. Gosh - that seems like a lifetime ago now. To the outside world, I was happily married with two young children, living in our beautiful home in Glasgow (hence the blog name!). However, on the inside, I was struggling. The blog became my therapy and I (over) shared my life for a number of years. I separated from my husband that same year, on the 29th December 2011. The divorce was difficult, and prolonged; and I think on some levels I'm still recovering from this. 

I moved from Glasgow Mummy to Ethel Explores... this was in response to my ex-husband who felt that my son would be bullied for being a 'mummy's boy' if I continued with my original branding. However, it was hard to establish myself under this new name (I gave it a couple of years!), and a lot of my followers didn't make that transition with me. Eventually I reverted back, although the blog faded with time. I felt that I wasn't being authentic and sharing my true self. In the back of my mind, I was always worried about what my ex would think, say or do. I was missing the creativity of having a blog; my own space to share and store memories.  

 

Fast forward a few years and I threw myself into a new creative outlet... painting. Following (another) break-up, this time with my boyfriend of 2 years (Rick), I joined a local acrylic painting night class. Every Tuesday night, the 2 hours flew in as I immersed myself in colour mixing and putting brush to canvas. I loved it. 

 

The children have now grown into my soon-to-be 13 year old son, and my 11 year old daughter. I am so proud of them, and despite everything we've been through they are (mostly) a delight to be around. (They have their moments, like any kids!)

 

Before Covid-19, I was very occupied with work (by day I work in the pharmaceutical industry in program management) and the children... rushing from the office to the school to their extra-curricular classes. I was always on the go, and painting took a back seat. I didn't prioritise myself as a person; I was 'just' a mum.

 

The pandemic has been a wake-up call. I am truly devastated for the loss of life, and the suffering that it has caused. However, for me, I've seen some positives. I was in the shielding category, as I take immunosuppressants for Crohn's Disease, and so I was forced to stay at home for a number of months. I got my paintbrushes back out, and set up a make-shift studio at my dining table. I've been revelling in the slower pace. I have been doing lots of inner work, and have taken time out for myself. I'm in a place now where I feel confident to share my work, and have been selling it too.

If you'd like to have a look at my artwork, you'll find it on my website here. I love sharing my story through this medium.

I just checked the dates, and it was two years ago (the time has flown in!!) I started writing email newsletters for my subscribers list. I feel more comfortable sharing more personally via email now than I do on these pages... so my weekly newsletter is definitely the place to be! 

I'm also continuing to write on both my blogs; here on Glasgow Mummy and also on my personal website Sarah Stewart where I blog about time management, productivity, home organisation and small business know-how.

Let me know in the comments if there's anything in particular you'd like me to write about.

Sarah x

Let Me Reintroduce Myself

There have been a lot of changes here in the last few years, and I thought it might be time to reintroduce myself.

Hi! I'm Sarah...

I can vividly remember creating my 35 at 35 list just prior to my 30th birthday... it was a list of 35 things that I wanted to achieve before I turned, you guessed it, 35! And now I find myself sitting at my laptop aged 40!! Where did the time go?

So who am I? 

If you had asked me this question 10 years ago, even 5 years ago... I think you'd have gotten a very different answer to the one I'm going to give you now. A combination of different things - getting older (& hopefully wiser!), the Covid-19 pandemic, navigating some difficult situations with the children and investing in my personal development - have really opened my eyes to what's important in life. Perhaps you can relate?

I'm a single mum of two pre-teens... gosh, what a tricky age they are both at! My son is nearly 13 years old and my daughter has recently turned 11. The hormones are really kicking in! When I was newly single (just before my 30th birthday!), they were 9 months old and just over 2 years old... and I thought it was difficult then. I had believed it would get easier as they got older... spoiler alert, it hasn't. It's a different type of difficult. When they were little it was physically demanding, whereas now it's emotionally demanding. Perhaps it's compounded by the fact that I'm a single mum.

A year ago I gave up my employment, and ventured into a new territory... I had been a Senior Director of Global Program Management at a large pharmaceutical company with teams of project managers across America and Europe, but it just wasn't feeling right anymore. 

You can read more about how I left my corporate career here.

I had been investing in my personal development, the kids were in a difficult spot and I had this realisation that I was prioritising the wrong things. It felt good to step back. I still work in pharma, as a part-time consultant... this means that I can choose the hours I work, and I'm no longer on work calls in the evenings (which came as a result of working with the US and the time difference). With this change in work circumstances, and some other strategies, I've managed to carve out time and space to build my creative businesses.

I'm a certified transformational life coach (although I acknowledge that this is a phrase that's banded about a lot now and perhaps it's not always so clear what it actually is! I've a post on life coaching on my website which might be of interest - you'll find it here). I've decided to call myself a 'productivity coach and small business mentor'. Essentially, I work with small business owners, and help empower them to make sustainable changes in their businesses using project management strategies (drawing on all my corporate experience), plus a mix of mindset work and practical activities so that they get more time. Organisation, systems and processes are my jam!

In addition to the coaching, I'm also an abstract artist and I sell my art via my website. Everyone is creative in their own way, and what I love most is sharing my story... whether that is through my art, my blogs or my weekly newsletters (you can sign up here if you'd like to receive these).

I wholeheartedly believe that it's possible to build a business whilst still being present with your family.

I also believe that it's possible to do this whilst not burning the candle at both ends, or worse yet - burning out.

I am an advocate of living mindfully or more minimally; if you can simplify & streamline your home life then this is one way of creating additional time... giving you freedom to choose what you do with the time you've created.

Freedom and adventure are important to me. One way that I use the additional time I've created is to travel in my campervan, Verity (@veritythevw). My future vision involves more travelling and exploring Scotland. I'm building a business that will allow me to do just that.

Generosity or giving is another value, and I now volunteer every week at the local hospice. I run mindfulness and meditation sessions each week for the out patients at our Living Well Hub. Find out more about my volunteering here on my website.

Lastly I'm passionate about nature and the environment. I get a lot of inspiration from nature for my art, and I love to take walks in nearby parks and forests with my dog, Evie.

Getting clear on my personal values has been an impactful personal development exercise. Being in alignment with my values, in both my personal life and my business, means that my life and work feels good.

Hopefully this gives you a flavour of who I am...

I'd love to hear more about you. Let me know in the comments what is important to you (and if you want some help figuring our your values - this article that I have written might be helpful).

Sarah x

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Here are some ways that I can help you - 

 

🤍 Free training

Slide into my DMs on Instagram with the words ‘Get More Time’ and I'll send you the links to a couple of video training sessions I've recorded on how I use my Google calendar to time block, plus my morning routine and evening routines to book end my days.

 

🤍 Take my 5-day course, ‘Project Manage Your Life’

My popular challenge is now available as a self paced course. Click the link above for more information. In just 5 days, and for £55, I'll have you feeling more organised. 

 

🤍 Work with me 1-to-1

I currently have space for 1-to-1 life coaching clients. Are you a small business owner feeling burnt out, overwhelmed and stressed? I can help you find more time in your day, get organised using project management strategies and personal development techniques, and have you feeling calm and back in control. Find a spot in my calendar here to book in for an introductory call (this isn't a pushy sales call, but rather a genuine desire from me to help you).

Planning for the School Summer Holidays

For those of you in Scotland, the school summer holidays are now upon us!

As a single parent, and a business owner, getting organised for the summer holidays is no mean feat.

I put a poll up on my Instagram, and there were a lot of parents in my audience who are yet to get their holiday plans sorted, and were keen to understand how I do my planning.

So here goes…

• As a single parent, in the first instance I need to understand what my childcare rota is for the holidays. I had put forward a proposal to my ex a while ago, but it was only agreed now… so it’s delayed my planning somewhat. It’s also meant that some of the clubs locally for over the holiday are already fully booked out, and we also have the added difficulty that the summer club we have previously used isn’t running this year. Out of my control unfortunately, and so I just have to manage around these things.

• I’m a really visual person, and I like to ‘see’ the time that we’re playing with. Have you come across the visuals for a human life in months, or even weeks before? I’ve included a monthly version below for a 90 year old. It’s powerful being able to consider time in this way. Full blog post from Wait But Why here. Anyway, what I’ve done is I’ve created a planner for the summer holidays that breaks the weeks down into days, so that I can have a 1-page snapshot of what we’re doing each day.

If you want to get your hands on my summer holiday planner, as well as my other planning templates such as meal planner, daily habit tracker and my to-do list then you can head to this page on my website.

• My kids are older now, 11 and nearly 13 - so we had a family meeting to chat about what we’d like to do over the summer. Gone are the days when I could pick & choose by myself!

• I’m going to be taking the kids away on a few trips this summer, and so this is one of the first things that I blocked out in my planner. (I’ve got some campsites booked up now, and the arrangements are in place - can’t wait!).

• I am also going to have to do some work over the summer - I’m not yet in a place with my business where I can step away altogether for the full 7 weeks. So using my planner I’ll determine which of the days, or parts of the days, I’m going to work, and figure out what the plans are going to be for childcare on those dates… this might be summer clubs/activities, or play dates with friends etc. 

• Get creative! Can you offer to take a friend or neighbours kid for a half-day whilst they work, and then see if they’ll offer the same in return?

• Have a think about what activities you can plan and schedule in advance for your business that will take the pressure off over the summer months…. perhaps you can schedule your email marketing and social media now? Have a look at this blog post on being more efficient with your social media.

• Are there tasks that you can blast out in the mornings during the summer holidays before the kids get up, or once they are in bed - maybe get yourself an accountability buddy and get a few Zoom power hours scheduled each week?

• It’s also a great time to mull over what tasks you can delegate to free up your time. I’ve a blog post here on prioritisation that should be helpful.

• Lastly - have a think about how you want to feel over the school summer holidays, and make sure that the activities you’ve got scheduled will help you feel that way. I’m craving adventure, and so I’m excited to get away in our campervan, Verity, as much as possible.

Would love to hear your thoughts - how do you plan for the school summer holidays, and what exciting things will you be doing over the summer months?

It's been a long minute...

Hey! 

It's been a long minute since I last posted here on Glasgow Mummy! How have you been?

I wanted to provide you with a wee update on the latest in my world...

Well, wasn't the Covid pandemic an experience to say the least!! It felt so surreal at times, and I also can't get over the devastation that it caused. It's been a wake up call, that's for sure.

Since I last wrote, I've left my employment in the pharmaceutical industry and am instead following other creative pursuits that truly light me up! I do still work in pharma, but on a part-time basis as a consultant whilst I build and grow my other businesses.

I qualified as a transformational life coach in 2021, and am working with mums starting out in business as a productivity coach and business mentor. I love that I can bring to the table my 13 years of corporate project management experience into this space. 

I'm also an artist, and sell my unique and colourful abstract art via my website shop.

You'll find me blogging on all things productivity, personal development, small business, creativity and art over on my new website, www.sarahstewart.co.uk

I also write a weekly newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.

Lastly, if you want to hit me up on Instagram (where I hang out most days!), you'll find me here:

@sarahstewart.co.uk

@sarahstewart_art

@sarahstewart_wellness

@veritythevw

Best,

Sarah x

Verity, the VW Campervan

Verity has been one of the best purchases I have ever made. She is a VW Transporter, that was lovingly converted into a campervan by The Wee Camper Co. She is beautiful, and I love her. Very dramatic, but it's true!

Verity!

I sold my car at the end of last year, making Verity my everyday vehicle... much to the amusement of my colleagues when I rock up to the office in her (pre-COVID 19... I've been fortunate that I can WFH, and have been doing so since we went into lockdown).

The timing of the purchase was perfect given the current circumstances that we find ourselves in. As soon as the campsites opened back up, the kids and I threw our stuff into the van and hit the road! We have been to a few different campsites over the summer, but our favourite so far has been Tantallon, near North Berwick. So much so, that I have two additional trips booked at this site before the year is out... one with the kids, and one on my own (with Evie!).

The view from our pitch at Tantallon

This weekend I was at Balbirnie for two nights; an ideal spot for exploring Fife. On Saturday I visited St Andrews, and then on Sunday I drove to Elie, Pittenweem, Anstruther and Crail. Evie loved all the beaches, and I enjoyed spending lots of time in nature. I find the sound of water very soothing... I'm thinking that a water feature for my garden might be a nice addition!

The beach at St Andrews

Verity has her own Instagram page, so you can have a look there to find out more and I will share some more updates here on the blog with my top tips for #vanlife!

For my fellow campers, which campsites in Scotland should I be adding to my list?

Lockdown

I wrote in my first newsletter about the COVID-19 pandemic being a wake-up call, as I'm sure it has been for many of us. Being in the high risk category, I was confined to my house for the first few months; something I was actually ok with. I'm grateful that I was still able to work from home, which I had been doing regularly anyway pre-lockdown... plus I had beautiful surroundings and a garden too. As a single parent of young children, I've had plenty practice being restricted to my home. Except, on this occasion a whole myriad of online classes opened up and it felt like I wasn't missing out. I threw myself into trying new things... such as meditation and life drawing. I joined yoga classes virtually, personal training and even a facial massage class. 

Life coaching is not new to me. I had a few sessions with a coach when my mum passed away, and then I also hired a coach when my marriage failed. Connecting with Lynette Gray, and more recently Jill Ritchie, has been life changing. That may seem like a bold statement, but it's not an exaggeration. Shortly after we went into lockdown I had a handful of 1-to-1 sessions with Lynette. I know that I work well with coaches; I've had great results with personal trainers but I don't do as well when I'm working on my fitness on my own. I will show up, and more importantly take action, when I am accountable to someone. Lynette's energy is phenomenal and her story is compelling.

I committed to Lynette and Jill's 6 month group coaching programme which we started at the beginning of this month, and the 10 members of the group were also granted access to their new 21 day Unearth Your Power online course. Each day on the 21 day course there was new content... meditations, journalling prompts, personal development exercises on money mindset, visualisation and so forth. It's true that the more you put in, the more you get out; and I threw myself into all the activities with gusto. 

I've recently finished listening to The Miracle Morning on Audible, and I've been rising early and having 1-2 hours to myself before starting my day job. Evie (our Cavachon puppy) has been helping me get up, but irrespective of her, I'd be up... what a difference it makes to your day. 

My morning routine is now coffee, light bite to eat, affirmations, gratitude, journalling, looking at my future vision board, walk with Evie and then a second breakfast. I squeeze in some reading when I can (this morning it was a few pages of Elizabeth Day, How to Fail), although I typically will save the reading for evening. The only thing I'm missing that I feel I need to weave in is meditation. 

My future vision board includes more creativity; I've been enjoying painting so much and it feels good to get my emotions out onto the canvas. I opened an Etsy shop to sell some of my work, and have sold a number of original paintings already which I'm super proud of. My second newsletter, which will be circulated at the start of August, explores some of the inspiration for my art. If you'd like to get on the list to receive a copy then please share your email with me. I promise not to spam you or share your address with anyone else.

I'd love to hear from you; do you have a morning routine and what does it include? 

Check out my video on my morning routine below - 

Sarah x

Back, From Outer Space

"Oh no, not I, I will survive

Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive

I've got all my life to live

And I've got all my love to give and I'll survive"

I will survive, Gloria Gaynor

I'm back! 

My blog slowly fizzled out, with my last post on Ethel Explores being published in April 2018. I felt that I wasn't being authentic anymore; fearing what my ex husband would think/say/do in response to my writing. There's also the fact that my children are now nearly 11 years old (my eldest / boy child), and the littlest is now 9 years (she had a lockdown birthday!), and they can readily access the internet / know how to read and write / can google me! 

That said, I miss writing, and I miss my little space on the world wide web. 

I've decided to dip my toe back into the water. I'm creating an email newsletter, and the first one is ready to be shared. Please find me on Instagram and let me know what your email address is if you would like to receive my (occasional) emails. I promise not to spam you, or share your address.

I'm excited to re-connect with you all!!

Sarah x