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CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE •

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘choose to challenge.’

So I wanted to shout out a few of the incredible change-makers I’ve met in Manchester who are not afraid to challenge the big problems they see in society.

First, @karlamsweet . Karla was the first friend I made in my co-working space and I was captivated by her wit, intelligence and passion for championing racial equality.

She is a crazy-talented multi-creative, working on projects ranging from tv scriptwriting to acting, to journalism to running her own theatre company (@wearedeadgood .)

Check out her Stories for consistently brilliant shares around social justice, equality and the arts.

Naomi Timperley - Naomi recently designed and launched @freelanceher100 - an incredible accelerator program to give female founders and freelancers a support network during the pandemic.

Having been on the program for 5 weeks I can attest to the power of having a network of people consistently challenging and encouraging each other.

As well as her work with FreelanceHer, Naomi is a champion of women in tech and is a staple of the Manchester business community.

Rachael Mole launched online magazine and platform @sick_inthecity to help chronically ill and disabled womxn with employment skills, confidence and all round badassery!

She has been a huge advocate of social justice in the disabled community for years and is always a kind and encouraging voice in the space.

😊 Who are the womxn in your network that are doing amazing work? Give them a shout out in the comments below and spread the love!

- ☕️ Alice

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It’s fine, wellbeing is not for everyone • Oh

It’s fine, wellbeing is not for everyone •

Oh wait, yes. Yes it is.

It genuinely baffles me when companies don’t want to take proactive action to help their people.

Although happily, 2020 seems to be nudging employers in the right direction - according to HR Review, 66% of employers increased their well-being provisions compared to the previous year.

So perhaps one day my rants will soon be a thing of the past...

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If you work for a company that is looking to build an awesome wellbeing program, I’d love to chat with you to see if I can help 😊

Book a coffee chat using the link in the bio and let’s talk all things mental health, wellbeing and badassery!

- ☕️ Alice

🙌🏼 This is why I love public speaking. I lo

🙌🏼 This is why I love public speaking.

I love giving tangible takeaways for people to take away and implement

(because learning how to manage our mental health is incredibly important!)

But I love when people walk away with this kind of feeling; the realisation that they are not on their own.

That’s the kind of feeling that can help them power through a shorty week, go easier on themselves and give themselves a break.

With more of us in isolation than ever before, it’s easy for the self-doubt, self-sabotage and self-judgment gremlins to creep in.

I like to think the talks are like a coffee break for the soul - an opportunity to stop, take a breath and know that everything is going to be ok (eventually!)

For those of you who don’t know, I deliver workplace wellbeing talks from £400 - perfect for a lunch and learn to slot into your wellbeing program.

If you’ve been following me for a while and like the cut of my jib, I’d love to get an intro to your favourite learning & development manager 💛

💻 I’m also going to be giving a free talk next Monday morning at @thesalesdojo - ‘Mental health: 5 things we all need to remember to stay sane right now.’

🥰 If you’d like to kick your week off with a strong start, I’ll see you there at 8am! Link is in the bio to book.

- ☕️ Alice

“Even if your career is your passion... this doe

“Even if your career is your passion... this does not mean it has to define you.”

Hans is an Operational Support Exec in a charity by day, home barista by night and runs a fellow mental health and coffee fusion project - @cap_n_chino

He’s also a kind, gentle and calming soul with a wisdom well beyond his years.

@cap_n_chino is a project Hans set up when he was signed off work from burnout.

It began as an online journal for Hans to share how he was thinking and feeling, and quickly gained an audience of people who resonated with his story.

Hans now creates clothing based around the slogan ‘Self care not selfish’ to promote mental health awareness, particularly for young men.

Incredibly, 100% of his profits are donated to local mental health charity Restore.

Hans had so much wisdom to share that it was a nightmare condensing it down onto 8 slides!

Grab a brew, have a read and let his thoughts percolate like a perfect cup of coffee.

- ☕️ Alice

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If you’d like to share your insights around managing your mental health and well-being at work, we’d love to feature you!

Just fill out the ‘Working on Well-being’ form linked in our bio, and we’ll do the rest!

• Prioritse your mental health • That’s th

• Prioritse your mental health •

That’s the biggest recommendation from today’s ‘Working on Wellbeing’ guest @rickbebbington.

Rick is a videographer, content producer and photographer based in Manchester who has a particularly canny way with small business owners who hate doing scripted videos (speaking from experience!)

Rick gained an appreciation of the importance of prioritising wellbeing after his mental health took a nosedive 2 years ago.

He went freelance after that and hasn’t looked back - even after the curveballs 2020 threw at him, most notably home schooling!

Speaking about the job he hated, Rick says:

“I felt external pressures to stay in that role. This lead to an intense feeling of being trapped which resulted in panic attacks, periods of crippling stress, anxiety and depression.”

Check out the slides for Rick’s advice around what to prioritise as well as REDUCE to find a greater sense of wellbeing at work (especially for the freelancers in the room.)

We really appreciate Rick’s openness in talking candidly about his experiences. It’s still so rare for business owners to put themselves out there to help others.

🎧 Rick does this in bucketloads in episode 63 of the Dark Coffee podcast - ‘From Trapped to Thriving’ (linked in the bio.)

👉🏼 To check out Rick’s work, have a look at his Insta [@rickbebbington |@finalestudios] or his YouTube channel [youtube.com/Rick Bebbington.] or even rickbebbington.com

**EDIT: contrary to the post, Rick actually lives in Wilmslow, not Altrincham... he hasn’t moved 😂

• Anyone else relate? • Whether it’s lockdo

• Anyone else relate? •

Whether it’s lockdown, the pandemic, business ownership, parenting or general adulting, there is ALWAYS something to stress about.

Sometimes, we don’t even realise how much these things are affecting us day-to-day.

Until we hit a wall.

It’s around that time that we might suddenly stop and give ourselves a break.

...Maybe.

Sometimes, we’ll jump straight back up again and keep running at the wall.

That’s basically how my February has been.

So, I’m following my own advice and have booked a long weekend in.

A little bit later than I should have done, but hey, I’m a slow learner.

Learning to recognise the fact that we’re under stress is the first step towards coping with it.

It’s uncomfortable and unpleasant, but also weirdly cathartic to look at all the shit you’re dealing with and say ‘hmm, no wonder I’m struggling.’

Whatever you’re dealing with right now, it’s completely understandable that it’s affecting you.

Stop being a dick to yourself and give yourself a break.

- ☕️ Alice

TRUST THE PROCESS • Natalie Rossiter @natalier

TRUST THE PROCESS •

Natalie Rossiter @natalierossiterwellbeing is a counsellor, mindfulness teacher and nature connection guide.

Today, she’s offered her insights around how she works on her wellbeing alongside her business.

Given the nature of her work, Natalie is pretty bloody great at self-care, but she’s far from immune to the stressors of running a business.

“My biggest challenge is not being able to help everybody and turning people away.

I try to be reasonable with myself about my responsibility to others - my work really does have a big impact, but also I’m not the only therapist in the world!”

Also, a large amount of patience and self-compassion is important.

Natalie’s advice includes allowing for mistakes and learning from experience, as well as trailering your intuition - something the pragmatic world of work often discourages!

Natalie’s Instagram feed is a haven of feel-good content, common sense advice and a moment of mindfulness to cut through the craziness!

Highly recommend a follow of her personal page @natalierossiterwellbeing as well as her @brewwalks community interest company 😊

- ☕️ Alice

SHIT AIN’T EASY • This endless lockdown malar

SHIT AIN’T EASY •

This endless lockdown malarkey is wearing a TAD thin.

I could sit here and give you some more tips for building your resilience, prioritising your wellbeing and safeguarding your mental health.

But it’s important to recognise the limitations of that.

All the wellbeing hacks in the world won’t stop things feeling shit sometimes.

Because guess what... sometimes they do, and it’s naive (and damaging) to pretend that we’re fine with it.

Feeling rough during a shitty time is a completely valid response.

Two fingers up for the toxic positivity brigade that would love to tell us otherwise.

- ☕️ Alice

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✍🏼 Quote from the Dark Coffee blog... because yes, I’m the kind of scumbag who quotes themselves.