Weekly Round-Up #204: Getting In The Christmas Spirit, That’s Not A Bullet Journal and Taking Time Off

Hello! Welcome to this week’s round-up, I hope you have had a fun and productive week. This week we look at some of the best Christmas markets across the world, how you can get organised for festive feasts and how you can take time off over the holidays. I also have a mini-rant about bullet journaling!

The Most Popular European Christmas Markets According To Instagram – On The Go Tours

It’s almost December so what better way to get into the Christmas Spirit than to look at Christmas Markets? I went to one in Birmingham (England, not Alabama!) last year and it was a really wonderful experience – even if I’m not a big fan of glu wine!

How To Get Sms Notifications For Google Calendar Events – Zapier

I’m not sure why you’d need SMS notifications from Google Calendar – after all most people have a smartphone that’s capable of using push notifications to let you know when an event is due so I guess this is why Google is retiring the feature. That being said, you may be using SMS to trigger some further business automation so Zapier has a way around the shutdown so you can still receive your SMS calendar notifications.

Find Out Which Canadian City Will Have The Best Christmas Party According To Instagram. – Party Casino

Sticking with Christmas, if you’re planning a trip to Canada (or are lucky enough to live there) how about visiting the most “Christmassy” places? Based on data from Instagram, this graphic looks at where in Canada is the most festive – and has the best Christmas markets!

The 5:2 Diet: What It Is, 7 Myths About It, How To Lose 50 Lbs, Recipes, And More – Eternal Oak

I’m not suggesting that you should diet now – it’s the festive season so it’s a time to be a bit of a glutton. But when the New Year arrives it’s usual for us to think of dieting so how about the 5:2 diet? It sounds interesting but I’d recommend speaking to your Doctor before making any radical changes to your diet (sorry – had to add the boring legal bit!)

Recommended: Weekly Round-Up #95: Sort Out Your To-Do's, Why It's Okay To Quit and Detoxing Your Goals

This week's round-up takes another look at the wonderful craze of Bullet Journals, discover's it's okay to stop doing something (and not feel too guilty about it) and a simple hack to make your to-do list more effective.

Read Article »

Finding Your Inner Photographer: Making The Most Of Your Camera – Groom+Style

If you’ve been a good boy or girl then you may receive a new camera from Santa this Christmas and, if you’re like most of us, you’ll take it out of the box, ignore the instructions and then wonder why you don’t get professional quality photos. Don’t worry though as Groom+Style has a guide to help you get the most out of your camera without having to wade through a 400 page manual!

If you’re wondering what you can do with your new bit of kit don’t think that you can’t make exciting objects around you interesting, check out these photos of London that show how you can make every day scenes interesting.

18 Holiday Hacks From Iconic Chefs & Celebrities – Gifts.com

Planning a festive gathering can be quite a stressful occasion – especially if it’s for a large group or the first time you’ve put one together. Gifts.com have some great tips on how to stay organised and stress free over the holidays.

Don’t forget to download our free Christmas planners too to help you get organised in the run-up to Christmas,

[hightlight-post id=”555″ color=”green”]

A Life-Changing Challenge: Add One Compliment – Becoming Minimalist

During the holiday period, tensions can run high – old arguments can surface and families can quickly be at each other’s throats. How can we avoid situations like this? How about adding a simple compliment to each conversation you have. It’ll improve your relationships, diffuse bad situations and increase your emotional bank balance – it’s win/win!

6 Gmail Tips, Tricks, And Hacks To Help You Master Your Email – MashableUK

If you use Gmail or GSuite then these tips will help you get more organised and in control of your inbox. Unsend an email, filter out all of the unwanted messages and much more!

How Deadlines Thwart Our Ability To Do Important Work (And What We Can Do About It) – Washington Post

If something has a deadling do you do the work right away or do you wait until just before the deadline hits and rush the work in a mad panic? If it’s the latter then you’re not alone as it would appear deadlines do something odd to our sense of urgency – especially if the deadline is a while away.

10 Bullet Journaling Mistruths You’Ll Never Believe Again – Page Flutter

I’m a member of a few bullet journaling groups on Facebook and I have to admit I’m getting really annoyed with a lot of the posts I read: “I can’t Bujo every day”, “I’m not artistic enough”, “I can only afford a lined exercise book”. I want to pick them all up and scream “YOU’RE MISSING THE POINT”. Fortunately Page Flutter has aired some of my grievances although I still may write a post of my own on the subject as I’ve been doing something similar for OVER 10 YEARS…. yeah, sorry folks, it’s not new I just didn’t have a fancy name for it at the time.

You Might Also Like: My “Killer” GTD setup

If you're looking to organise all of your tasks in a single place then you can't go far wrong with a pocket sized notebook, In this article I look at how I organise a range of tasks across my daily life and sort them

Read More »

How To Take Time Off From Work When You Have A Small Business – Miranda Nahmias

One often overlooked aspect of being a small business owner is how to take time off from work. When you’re running your own business it can be difficult to get time off so Miranda Nahmias is here with a few tips to help you get away for a while. Remember, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!”

This Is What Happens To Your Body And Mind When You Nap Three Times A Week For 20 Mins – Healthy Holistic Living

The stigma against napping is finally starting to wane — and for good reason. Taking a timeout to sleep during the day does much more than just give us a quick energy boost. It also confers some serious cognitive and health advantages as well. Here’s what the latest science tells us.

Recommended: Weekly Round-Up #295: Plants For Health, Veggies & Account Security

This week we have some indoor plants that, as well as looking nice, have some surprising health benefits. Sticking with green thumbs, we have a great guide on the best times to plant your vegetables to ensure you have a great crop. And finally we know that account security is...

Read Article »

Hate Waking Up In The Winter? Here’s How To Fix Your Bedroom For Happier Mornings – Huffington Post

Winter sucks for a lot of reasons. One of the real kickers, though, is dragging yourself from your blanket palace every weekday morning in the dark. Does the whole performance really need to be so ‘bleugh’?

Have A Great Weekend

I hope you have enjoyed this round-up, as always if you have any links you like to share with me and my readers please contact me through the website or send me a tweet.

Until next week, Stay Productive!

About The Author

Katy is always trying to be more productive one day at a time! Whether it's analogue, digital, motivational or psychological who'll try any system that will help her get things done and get organised. As well as running FlippingHeck.com, she also loves making music and reviewing things.

• Follow Katy Whitton on:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•