Almost exactly a year ago I popped into Phoenix 98 FM, to chat to the lovely Michelle Ward.
If you’re a regular visitor to the blog you already know that I’m a regular guest on the show, and together we present a slot called ‘Happy Club‘, whereby I dispense some tips and hints on happiness, and related subjects (for instance; here’s a show that we did on how to survive Christmas).
This particular time we were supposed to be talking about Boxing Day, but instead we ended up talking about, well, me – specifically, how I became an author and my tendency to get totally wrapped up in building a career, unfortunately at the expense on my own happiness.
We do eventually get around to discussing Boxing Day.
Eventually.
Anyway, if you’ve got a few moments, have a listen. Click the PLAY button in the image below, or click here to open YouTube. The last couple of minutes of the interview went a bit screwy, so I’ve just faded it out on this version – you haven’t missed much, honest.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been playing catch up with some of the radio interviews I’ve given over the past few months, and back in May of this year I was invited back onto the Dave Monk show on BBC Essex, to celebrate twenty five years of the internet and to talk specifically about the surge in online dating popularity.
We talk about my own experiences as well as some scientifically proven tips and strategies to make your own dating efforts more successful, such as…
Whether you should smile for the camera
Just how much of your profile should be spent talking about yourself (vs the person you’re looking for), and
What to say in that opening message
Want More Tips?
If you want to delve into the detail the tips above, pick my brain for more nuggets of dating gems, or need a little more hand holding, then I have some very good news. How To Start Dating And Stop Waiting, my third self-help book, is available in paperback and as an ebook. An audio version – which includes the companion guide From Invisible To Irresistible – is also available at audible (co.uk and com)
You don’t need a Kindle device to read a Kindle book. Download the FREE kindle app for your computer, smart phone or tablet from amazon (.co.uk | .com)
If you like a little romance in your fiction, particularly if you’re a fan of books like Bridget Jones’s Diary, or High Fidelity, or About a Boy, then you might be interested to know that The Good Guy’s Guide To Getting The Girl, my debut novel, is finally available!
It’s available in paperback and ebook, and it can be yours in two clicks, for less than the price of a cup of coffee – click here now.
If you have a question for next month’s show feel free to drop me a line, post a comment below, tweet either myself or Michelle, or send me a message on facebook.
If you’d prefer to ‘listen‘ to this post (rather than read it), scroll down to the bottom and click the big play button in the centre of the video box, or click here if you’re reading this in an email
Yes folks, it’s that time of year again; it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
For some that means mince pies and merriment, for others it’s mayhem and madness, but regardless of how you feel about the festive season one thing cannot be denied. It can be a tad stressful.
In addition to our usual busy lives, for one month, maybe more, most of us have to contend with (at least some) of the following:
Christmas preparation (presents, cards, etc. etc)
Other deadlines (“this must be finished before xmas”, “…before the end of year” etc)
Yet more deadlines / restrictions! (last posting day, office close down, system change-freeze, ‘Sunday’ service)
Adverse weather!
Rubbish driving conditions!! (more traffic, less daylight, adverse weather)
Extra social events (office party, clubs, kid’s panto)
Hang overs!
Colds and flu
Is it any wonder that some of us wish that Christmas only came around every other year, or every four years, or maybe once a century.
A few years back I came up with a solution to all this nonsense. Behold STRESS LIST DAY
Step 1: Make a List
Make a list of all the stuff that stressing you now
Not a general list; this is not an ‘Ugh List’
Only stuff that absolutely has to be sorted
Only stuff that keeps popping into your mind
There’s some very interesting research that shows that if you keep thinking about something other than the thing you’re supposed to be thinking about right now, you’re pretty much hard-wired to feel unhappy.
Here’s my stress list..
Christmas!
Cards
Presents
Niece
Parents
Brother in law
What does my sister want me to take on Christmas Day?
Clients
Client 1
Client 2
Client 3
Next book(s)
finish edits
agree cover
audio?
launch in January!
Step 2: Prioritise
Re-sort your list with the following in mind
Importance (how much trouble would I be in if this didn’t happen?)
Deadline dates (last posting date, event date, last working day)
Step 3: Schedule Stress List Day
Take your diary and schedule 4 to 5 Stress List days / mornings / evenings (or however many days you think you’ll need) between now and a week or so before Christmas.
Better too many than not enough
Make the time! Cancel other things if you have to!
Just knowing you’ve set aside time to sort these things should make you feel better
Step 4: Work The List
On Stress List Day, work your list in order. You probably won’t feel much better after the first stress list day, but by the end of the second, and the third, when you’ve started to make a dent in that list, your overall stress levels should start to fall.
If it works for you schedule next years Stress List days now, a little earlier than this years.
If you have a question for next month’s show feel free to drop me a line, post a comment below, tweet either myself or Michelle, or send me a message on facebook.
The theme for January will be ‘New Year – New You!‘
How To Start Dating And Stop Waiting (mentioned throughout the show) is due out February 2014, How To Eat Loads And Stay Slim is available, now, in three formats.
If you have a question for next month’s show feel free to drop me a line, post a comment below, tweet either myself or Michelle, or send me a message on facebook. We’ll get through as many as we’re able.
Last Wednesday ‘Happy Club’ morphed from its previous incarnation as a workshop, to a radio show, as I joined the delightful Michelle Ward of Phoenix98 FM to discuss ‘happiness’, and to answer your happiness related questions.
This month’s questions covered weight loss, hypothyroid syndrome, and what to do if you feel you have to choose between your own happiness or someone else’s.
To listen to the show click the big play button in the image below (or if you’re reading this in an email, click here)
If you want to skip the pre-ample and move straight to the questions, use the slider to jump forward to the twelve minute mark.
Katherine’s supper clubs can be found here. ‘Deidre’s pen pals’ no longer exists. I’ve checked.
If you have a question for next month’s show feel free to drop me a line, post a comment below, tweet either myself or Michelle, or send me a message on facebook. We’ll get through as many as we’re able.
For instance, on Wednesday I was supposed to be writing a new WTFHIBD post for this blog but instead author Della Galton and myself were special guests on ‘Steve Wright In The Afternoon‘, on BBC Radio 2, talking about our book How To Eat Loads And Stay Slim
It was kinda momentous! I’ve listened to Steve for more years than I care to mention – in fact there was a period in my late teens where Steve inspired me to consider pursuing a career in broadcasting. This in turn led to me torturing hospital patients in various Essex hospitals via hospital radio. If you happened to be in St John’s hospital during the late 80s, or Basildon Hospital in the early 1990s, I apologise profusely. Fortunately for everyone, like my ambitions of becoming an astronaut, a train driver or a fireman, I gave up on those dreams – Steve Wright on the other is still going strong.
Apparently Steve was keen to get us onto the show after reading the title of our book, and though the interview is quite quick – just over five minutes long – we still manage to discuss the concept of the book, how hunger really works, the mysterious oil diet, Della’s fat-free cooking principles, how to survive social eating, why diets don’t work, and why making lots of small changes does. Phew! But I’d have been happy just to shake the man by the hand.
If you’ve examined my Now List in any detail you’ll notice I have a section entitled ‘Sometime, maybe’ for those things that seem incredibly out of reach, but after Wednesday my dreams of having dinner with Imogen Heap, working with Steven Moffat, or appearing on Saturday Kitchen seem just a tiny bit more obtainable.
Several weeks back now, I was proud to be invited back by Michelle Ward of Phoenix98 FM to talk about How To Do Everything and Be Happy amongst other things. We also ended up discussing how I became an author, whether I’ve ever had anyone really grumpy on my workshops, and the book I’m working on for 2014; How To Start Dating And Stop Waiting!
Along the way Michelle confessed that one of my ‘author business cards’ – which has my official author picture on the reverse – has been sitting by the side of her bed for some weeks! And as if that wasn’t enough to cope with, someone’s phone (not mine guvnor – I swear) went off whilst we were on air!
A few days ago I met with Mark Punter of BBC Essex. We talked about my days in Credit Card Banking, the importance of figuring out what you want and list making.
To listen to the interview click the play button in the box below, or (if you’re reading this in an email) click here to play clip on YouTube.
Want to hear more? Click here to listen to an interview I gave to broadcasting legend Matthew Bannister
peterjonesselfhelpbooks.wordpress.com 