What Sophie Said

All over Twitter at the moment I’m seeing people moan and fret over writing their dissertations. Some are proud of themselves for powering on through and some are in that period of despair where you think you’ll never possibly be able to write enough words, or make them make sense. I feel your pain. I handed in my dissertation almost three years ago now, in May 2013, and thought I would share five of the lessons that writing process taught me. I was studying English Literature, and my topic was a prize for short stories by African writers. I was proud of the final piece, but my goodness it took hours upon hours of work, and I know if I tackled it now I would approach some elements differently. ONE. Planning is everything. I know this may not help for those of you approaching your deadline, but for people with it coming up over the next year or so, please prepare. You have a long time to write it because you need a long time to write it. The process of coming up with a...

Another month has flown by, and it’s time to fill you in on the results of my fifth monthly challenge. The challenge for April was: To walk to and from work (3.5 miles each way) every day, and not take the bus. I did it! There were 3 occasions – either the journey to or from work – that I had a lift from one of my parents as they were coming to the house or going in that direction, but every other time I have walked. I’ve not set foot on the bus. Here’s my top 5 benefits of my walk to work month, which is a routine I will 100% be sticking to: 1. Saving money – A bus pass costs money. The walk doesn’t. Simple! 2. Exercise – Walking a brisk 7 miles each day is already feeling so much easier, and my legs are toning up. 3. Wakes me up – I arrive at work feeling fresh and energised because of all the fresh air. 4. Time to think and reflect – As someone who has been dealing with panic and worrying, I’m finding it really helpful to have these periods in the ...

After a busy week, I'm finally sitting down to write up the results of my February challenge. I'll start by saying exactly what everyone else has said: where did February go?! I can't believe we're already at 11th March... February's challenge was: to drink 2-3 glasses of juice, and 3-4 glasses of water, per day Let's start with the juice. I think I was partially influenced here by the amount of people I had seen doing juice cleanses. I can see all the benefits, and the fact it adds another portion of fruit to my daily total, but I have to day the amount of sugar in them was what was at the front of my mind throughout the month. I quickly settled on one glass a day, with my breakfast, and I think I'll stick at that level. Also, I'm so fussy! I've found a few juices I like, so I think I need to branch out more, to add in different fruits and vegetables. In terms of drinking water, I've done pretty well. I upped my daily target to 6 glasses...

Time for my next challenge update! January’s goals were focused on beginning to take control of my panicking, and trying to take positive steps forward, and I’ve had mixed success. Point number one was to go to the doctors, chat about what’s going on, and discuss some kind of talking therapy. I did that, and was lucky to get a great doctor, who immediately made me feel so calm. He referred me to a local place for some CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). I’ve had one session so far, but may write about it in a little more depth once I’m really starting to learn any techniques, or can see it making a difference. This was definitely a massive step to take, so I’m really pleased about that. Point two was yoga, and that one has just not happened. I do have a tendency, whilst I’m worrying so much, to put off certain things. It’s something I’m trying to sort out, but this was something that fell by the wayside. I got as far as emailing to confirm the times of a local class, but on h...

The results are in for my first challenge month! I will aim to get these up on the last day of the month, before introducing a new challenge on the 1 st , but Christmas and New Year has thrown every schedule out of the window! My December challenge was to spend no money on any make-up or toiletries. I admitted this was a little easier because of my beauty advent calendars, but when weighed up with the temptations of amazing sales it was still tough. I did it, though! I’ve begun working my way through products I had forgotten about, and using up a lot of sachets and samples, which is clearing up space in my room. I definitely want to continue working through all the things I already have, and try and use up as many as I can before buying loads more. Judging on the way I then acted yesterday, when faced with the sales, I have begun to think a bit more about what I want and need. December gave me the chance to look through and rediscover what I already own, so I have a...