Mindful Musings

What I Learned After a Year of Sea Dips (In No Particular Order)
After a year of fairly regular sea dips, I’ve learned a lot. Not in a polished, expert way. In a lived, trial-and-error, slightly chaotic way. This is not a guide. It’s a collection of things I wish I’d known earlier, shared honestly and without hierarchy. Things I’ve Learned Dry quickly. The faster you get dry, the easier everything that follows becomes. Step into a vest and pull it up. It preserves dignity. Or don’t. Most sea dippers are very relaxed either way. Fluffy socks are non-negotiable. Cold feet ruin the... Read more...
Happy New Year 2026... Somehow, We’re Here.
As last year began, I wasn’t making plans or setting intentions. I was surviving. 2025 opened with profound grief. The kind that knocks the air out of you and makes even familiar days feel unstable. For a while, I was genuinely afraid that the weight of it might pull me backwards, into a place I had worked very hard to leave. Starting the Year in Fear Grief has a way of stirring old fears. Not just about sadness, but about safety. About whether you can trust your own mind to... Read more...
Notes I wrote while trying to keep going: December
the month she was everywhere December was the month I missed my mum the most. I knew the waves were coming. I could feel them building long before they hit. We went to Spain to try and stay ahead of them, to put sun and distance between me and the shape of the month. It helped. And it didn’t. Just before my husband’s birthday, I broke down. The kind where everything you’ve been holding finally gives way and you realise how tired you are from carrying it. I had to... Read more...
I Don’t Journal Every Day and That’s the Point
I don’t journal every day. I never have, and I’ve stopped pretending that I should. Journaling Comes in Seasons There are seasons where my journal is open constantly. Pages fill quickly, thoughts spill out, scraps get glued in without much thought. And then there are long stretches where it sits untouched, exactly where I left it. For a long time, I thought that meant I was doing it wrong. When Journaling Becomes a Task Journaling is often sold as a daily habit. Something you commit to, track, and maintain. But... Read more...
Read this when rest feels undeserved
For the days when stopping feels harder than carrying on. If rest feels undeserved, it’s usually because you learned to measure your worth by how much you can endure. Somewhere along the way, rest became something you had to earn. After the work was done. After everyone else was looked after. After you were completely spent. Until then, you keep going. Even when your body is asking you to stop. Why rest can feel uncomfortable Rest sounds simple, but for a lot of people it brings guilt, anxiety, and a... Read more...
Things I’m Proud of That Didn’t Look Impressive
For a long time, I thought pride had to be attached to something visible. Finished projects. Big moments. Tangible results. Things that could be explained quickly and understood by other people. But some of the things I’m most proud of don’t look like much at all. Showing Up Without Certainty I’m proud of the days I showed up without knowing how things would go. Turning up scared. Turning up unsure. Turning up anyway, without waiting for confidence to arrive first. From the outside, it just looks like attendance. On the... Read more...
The Craft Fair That Lived Rent-Free in My Head
The next terrifying thing I did in 2025 was a craft fair. On the surface, it sounds small. A table. Some stock. A few hours. In reality, the planning consumed my waking moments. Every spare thought was taken up by questions, lists, and what-ifs. When the Work Suddenly Felt Too Big One of the first problems was realising that the artwork I’d drawn years ago for my notebooks wouldn’t translate properly to anything over A5 without being redrawn. That alone felt overwhelming. And then came the bigger realisation. Notebooks couldn’t... Read more...
Doing Things Scared Becomes a Skill
2025 was the year I properly grew. Not in a dramatic, overnight way. In small, cumulative moments where fear showed up first and I chose to move anyway. The First Time I Was Too Scared to Park I remember turning up for a sea dip and being too scared to even park the car. I needed full instructions on how to get to Helen's Bay, reassurance about where to stop, and a plan for my friend to meet me at the car. The fear was physical. Shaking hands. Tight chest.... Read more...
Notes I wrote while trying to keep going: November
after all that I turned forty in November. Every year I wait for her phone call. This year my body forgot she can’t make it anymore. I wanted that call more than anything. I didn’t get it. Instead, I had my first craft fair. Two hours.That was it. Months of prep and planning funnelled into one short slot. Sticker packs. Dip trackers. Habit trackers. Pens. Lists that never seemed to end. I went into full creator mode, not knowing what Daydot was going to do next, only knowing the craft... Read more...
Why I Document Things Instead of Fixing Them
For a long time, I thought journaling was meant to improve me. Fix the feelings. Organise the thoughts. Create clarity where there was mess. But the more I tried to use journaling as a tool for improvement, the harder it became to return to the page. It turns out, I don’t journal to fix anything. Fixing Implies Something Is Broken When I approach a notebook with the intention of fixing myself, I bring judgement with me. The page becomes a task. A problem to solve. A place where I’m meant... Read more...
Notes I wrote while trying to keep going: October
when everything caught fire October was full. Pumpkin swims. Cold water with bite, but joy threaded through it. London lunches that felt grounding instead of overwhelming. Witchy found-family parties where no one needed explanations. Halloween crafts everywhere.The graveyard in the garden.The flowing potion pot.Small rituals that made darkness feel playful instead of heavy. There was more craft fair prep. Still building. Still making. Pens appeared. A literary theme emerged out of nowhere and quietly rewired Daydot forever. I didn’t see it coming. I just followed it. October felt creative in... Read more...
Read This When “Self-Care” Makes You Want to Scream
Read this when someone suggests a bath, a candle, or “some time for yourself” and you feel an overwhelming urge to fake your own disappearance. Read this when the phrase self-care makes you feel selfish, inadequate, or like you’re failing at yet another thing. I can’t do self-care. I can do self-maintenance. That distinction matters. Why “self-care” feels wrong (and self-maintenance doesn’t) Self-care sounds optional. It sounds indulgent. A bonus. Something you earn after coping well, being calm, or holding it together convincingly enough. Self-maintenance sounds like what it is:... Read more...

Made for moments like this

I don’t write these things to sell notebooks.
But these are the kinds of moments my notebooks were made for.
A place to document experiences, not improve them.
Forests & Rivers

Forests & Rivers

Half-Feral, Fully Fabulous

Half-Feral, Fully Fabulous

Mountains & Glens

Mountains & Glens

Seas & Sunrises

Seas & Sunrises

Cosmic Beyond

Cosmic Beyond

Half-Feral, Fully Fabulous

Half-Feral, Fully Fabulous