For the past ten years, I have focused on celebrating International Women’s Day in a professional context, and I am lucky indeed to be part of networks and groups that help me grow and learn about equality and equity in education and the non-profit sector. Ever since my student days I have found so much inspiration and strength in the people I work with and I am grateful indeed to all the amazing colleagues, collaborators…
Maren Deepwell Posts
Many of my clients are looking to make progress in their work or personal lives: to make a change, develop their career path or build personal habits. Many of us have goals like ‘progress in my career’ or ‘be happier’… but it can be hard to break down exactly what to do in order to achieve our aims and define what ‘success’ means to us. Here are five tips that will help you create a…
It’s a exciting week as I have news to share about my upcoming career transition. After 15 happy years at ALT, the Association for Learning Technology, I will step down as CEO this September to focus on my work as a coach. I would like to say a BIG thank you to all Trustees and staff during this period of transition. It has been a privilege to serve as ALT’s CEO since 2012 and lead…
Recently I blogged about Laura Vanderkam’s Tranquillity by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. Now that I have finished the book, and tried out some of the rules for time management, here is a follow up sharing how things went: What did I try out and how did it go? The first ‘rule’ that I put to the test for me is Rule Two: Plan on Fridays. The basic…
I am always on the look out for new tools or resources for coaching, and I want to share this one I recently came across in a blog post by Laura Vanderkam: It’s called a ‘List of 100 Dreams’. If this is a new concept, then head over to Laura’s blog to read more about the original exercise from Career coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine and how Laura has used this exercise as part of her work…
It’s my second post about the joys of going to the library in as many months, so I won’t hold it against you if you don’t keep reading… this post. Please keep reading everything else! Over the past month I have borrowed and read a lot of books from the Cardiff library system, trying out different branches of the library, close to home, nearby and in the city. Using the library has been such a…
At this time of year, it’s easy to focus on ever busy work schedules instead of activities that help with balance. Here in Cardiff the weather is dreary and grey, and not particularly inspiring even in the lightest hours of the day. Leaving my desk and screens in favour for a proper break feels much easier on sunny days. When I came across a book called Gone for Lunch: 52 Things to do in your…
I’ve really enjoyed reading Laura Vanderkam’s Tranquillity by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. From an anthropological perspective, it’s interesting to read a book rooted in the experiences of a group of people putting the productivity and time management ideas into practice and I especially enjoyed reading why things did and didn’t work for particular individuals. I found it helpful to read about their experiences alongside the expert…
It was a great pleasure to return as a guest to the wonderful #LTHEchat for a conversation all about hybrid working. For #LTHEChat 254 we shifted our focus from learning to work. We discussed ways in which learning and teaching practices can inspire a more sustainable and equitable hybrid workplace. If you haven’t yet seen it, read the original post on the #LTHEchat site. I was very curious to hear different perspectives and see where…
In my last post, I reflected on the benefits of a monthly newsletter as a tool for reflection and monitoring progress. For example, I shared how looking at my blog posts for the month gives me a chance to think about aspects of my work I have enjoyed and want to do more of, things I’d prefer to spend less time on, what I want to focus on in the coming month and what is…