Stationery Freaks

In this episode Rob and Helen share the 5 items of stationery they would take with them to a Desert Island.

What would you take? Let us know on Instagram - @stationeryfreaksuk

In this episode:

1. Helen is obsessed with Rob’s A3 learning management system - a video of the system is here on Rob’s YouTube channel.
2. Rob talks about his new (old) Waterman Fountain Pen
3. Rob bends the rules of the game
4. Helen forgets a pencil sharpener

Helen’s 5 items:

• A Mark and Fold desktop scratchpad (part of the stationery pack)
• A Mark and Fold blackwing pencil (and no, we' have no affiliation with Mark and Fold - other than we love their stationery!)
• A Perfectly Penned notebook (aff link)
• TomBow brush pens (aff link)
• A Paperweight her daughter painted

Rob’s 5 items:

• Yellow legal pads (aff link)
• Staedtler school pencils (aff link)
• Craft knife
• The Daily Stoic journal
• A sketchpad

What would you take?

We also encourage you to try last year's stationery advent calendar challenge - here's the first episode of that!

Don’t miss out on joining the community with our newsletter or join us over on Instagram (@stationeryfreaksuk)

Thanks

Rob and Helen

How excited were we when, Sunday Times Best Selling psychological thriller author, Helen Callaghan agreed to be on the podcast?

Helen is a stationery freak, so we dug into her process of writing, typewriters, book soundtracks, choosing colours for books, Moleskines, writing retreats and more. 

It was a real joy and we’re sure you’ll be inspired and motivated and learn a lot about the world of writing books.

Some quotes from the show:

• “Self-consciousness is the enemy of creativity”
• On Fountain Pens - “There’s something wonderfully technical about them”
• On writing retreats - “This is what I’m doing now and I’m concentrating on this”
• “You create a plan for the chapter, and then you don’t follow it.”
• “Work on it every day, be engaged in it and a synthesis happens between things in your head.”
• “Inspiration has to be summoned”

Here’s what we covered:

1. NaNoWriMo - and Helen’s engagement in it
2. How stationery still has an important role in Helen’s life and book writing process
3. Why seeing what you crossed out on paper is important
4. Why choosing a colour scheme for a book being written is important - and how Helen does this
5. Mood boards and music playlists
6. The importance, joy and process of writing retreats. Helen mentions Gladstones writing retreats.
7. How Helen plans and plots out a book - and why sometimes she often doesn’t stick to the plan
8. Why writing plots and twists in a book often surprises herself with where it goes!

You can find out more about Helen, including her social media and published books here on her website. 

Thanks

Rob and Helen

In this episode:

• We jump into the topic of career development with a three dimensional approach created by Rob, which consists of:
  • DISC
  • Strengths
  • Happiness
• Rob explains why he prints out loads of selfies using his new Thermal Printer from Vretti
• Helen is obsessed with stickers from Spooky Yeti
• If you’re interested in the Trinity here are some recommended surveys (Stationery Freaks has no responsibility for your data from these sites - nor has an affiliation with them. But we use them often).
• It’s also worth doing an internet search for free versions of the strengths finder - we’ve never used any alternatives so cannot comment on how helpful they are.
  • For DISC use Tony Robbin’s free online survey.
  • For strengths use Strengths Finder 2.0.
  • For happiness, (choose VIA Survey of Character Strengths) from Authentic Happiness.
  • Rob has a more in-depth write up on his Cultivated Management website here.

Don’t miss out on joining the community with our newsletter or join us over on Instagram (@stationeryfreaksuk)

Thanks

Rob and Helen

In this episode:

• We explain what mind maps are, how they work and what we use them for.
  • For more details on different mind maps we recommend this post.
• We also introduce our new newsletter!
• Helen introduces her new learning of choice - Arabic. And how she is using brush pens and a new notebook for it.
• Rob steals Helen stationery. Video of that here.
• Rob talks about his new Academic planner that makes him look all sophisticated.
• Helen talks about NaNoWriMo and how she’s only ever made it to day 3.
• Helen talks about fine liners
• Rob buys some stationery from Sainsbury’s but is less than impressed with their shop display.
• And Helen adds that TKMaxx isn’t much better for their displays.

https://www.stationeryfreaks.com/episodes/mindmaps

In this episode:

• We explain, with poorly formed excuses, why we've been absent for 6 months
• We talk about consistency, notebooks, etsy and Helen's addiction to stickers
• We talk about notebook usage, whiteboards for bi-annual planning, bulletjournaling and A5 mind mapping
• Rob talks about his countryside productivity retreat
• Helen talks about colours, pens, mood
• Helen's cat makes an appearance
• And Rob talks about the endless nature on digital todo lists like ToDoist (and how it's not always a good thing)

We mention:
Zen Art Supplies
Moleskine
Etsy
Mark and Fold
Todoist

https://www.stationeryfreaks.com/episodes/whats-been-keeping-us-busy-for-6-months

In today's episode we cover:

* How to pre-empt failure
* How Helen thinks through what could go wrong
* Why Rob looks at everything as an experiment - and therefore failures are data for moving forward
* Why resilience is essential
* The old stoic approach of setting a target but not being wedded to the outcome

The challenge -> Subscribe to the podcast as next year we have some cracking content coming your way

In today's episode we cover:

* Habit stacking and what it is
* Chaining habits together
* Forcing your environment to support your habits
* Picking one existing habit and building on it
* Avoiding leaving gaps between habits
* Doing just 15 minutes of habits
* How Helen did a PHD is procrastination
* Talking to your inner 8 year old
* How Helen uses her Bullet Journal to track habits

The challenge -> Choose a habit you wish to develop and decide when would be best to do that habit. Then find an existing habit in or close to that time. Then try to add your new habit together with the existing one!

In today's episode we cover:

* How we track goals once they are in progress
* Rob shares how he tracks his videos using a Mark and Fold notebook
* Helen shares how she relies on the enthusiasm at the beginning of starting a goal to drive habits
* Rob talks about his Fridge of Accountability
* Helen shares how she uses her Bullet Journal for tracking goals

The challenge -> We forgot to set one today!

In today's episode we cover:

* How we got interested in minimalism
* Courtney Carver's project 333
* The Minimalists - Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
* Stationery Freak -> Someone who tells themselves they can walk past a stationery shop without going in, but they cannot
* How lockdowns have stopped impulse buying from stationery stores
* Helen's Etsy habit
* Maria Kondo
* Sort your life out with Stacey Solomon (and why visualising everything in a warehouse is so clever)
* Why emptying a cupboard and throwing stuff away is so cathartic
* Two recommendations
- Courtney Carver's project 333
- Fumio Sasaki's "Goodbye Things" book (affiliate link)

The challenge -> Pick one cupboard or drawer, empty it and discard that which doesn't spark joy

In today's episode we cover:

* How to turn goals into action
* Triggers that trip your brain into breaking it's subconscious routines
* Habits are awesome as you don't have to think about them
* Can you replace a bad habit with a good one?
* Can a certain place trigger habits?
* Is the theory of 21 days habit building correct? 
* Traumatic moments help with building habits (anyone ever forget their gym kit at school?)

The challenge -> Pick one goal and think about what routines and habits you'll need to develop to bring it to life