• The appointment you still haven’t booked.
• The bag that’s been waiting to go to the charity shop.
• The subscription you keep meaning to cancel.
• The form you need to fill in.
• The birthday present you need to buy.
• The cupboard you’ve been meaning to sort.
• The thing you need to return.

None of these things is particularly significant on its own but put enough of them together and they start taking up quite a lot of space – both around you and in your head.

This is what I think of as needing a Life Laundry.

Life admin has an annoying habit of multiplying.

The trouble with all those little jobs is that they have to fit somewhere and if we don’t actually decide when we’re going to deal with them, they tend to get squeezed into odd bits of time.

I’ll do that later.

I’ll sort that at the weekend.

I’ll remember to ring them tomorrow.

I’ll deal with that when I’ve got five minutes.

And somehow another week passes, meanwhile, new things are being added because unfortunately, life admin doesn’t have the decency to stop arriving while you catch up with the existing pile.

Sometimes it needs it’s own space in your diary.

This is something I talk about a lot with clients.

We make time for work; we put appointments in the diary. We know when we’re meeting friends or going to the dentist but all the ordinary jobs involved in keeping life ticking along are often expected to magically happen somewhere in between.

Sometimes they do.

But sometimes they don’t.

One of the most useful things you can do is recognise that keeping on top of life takes time – and actually give it some.

For some people that might mean regularly setting aside a little bit of time. For others, a bigger catch-up every so often works better.

There isn’t one perfect system.

The important bit is that instead of constantly thinking, I really must get around to that, you’ve created some space in which you actually can and that can be a surprisingly big game changer.

This isn’t about becoming more productive.

That’s an important distinction.

A Life Laundry isn’t about squeezing more into your week or becoming brilliantly efficient at all times.

Quite the opposite.

It’s about stopping all those little unfinished things from following you around because there is something quite tiring about repeatedly remembering the same job and still not doing it.

Sometimes just knowing “I’ve got time set aside to deal with that” means you can stop thinking about it for now and that feels very different from carrying a constantly updating list around in your head.

You don’t need a complete life overhaul.

I think we’re often encouraged to believe that making life feel better requires something quite substantial.

A new routine, a big goal. A complete reset. Possibly getting up at 5am and drinking something green (whoever thought that was a good idea?)

But sometimes making life feel easier is much less dramatic. It’s dealing with a few things that have been hanging around. Creating a bit of space. Getting some jobs out of your head and actually deciding what you’re going to do about them.

That’s a Life Laundry.

It’s something I’ve used with clients for years because it’s simple, practical and works in real life.

Fancy doing your own life laundry?

I’ve created a free Life Laundry workbook which takes you through my approach and helps you work out what needs your attention and how to make it manageable.

You can download it for free here from the shop on my website.

So if you’ve currently got seventeen little things floating around your head that all begin with “I really must…”, it might be a good place to start.

You don’t need to sort your whole life out.

Sometimes you just need somewhere to put the washing.

The post Does your life need a bit of a tidy-up? appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.

“I know this probably sounds silly…”

Or:

“I’m not sure this is really a big enough thing to talk about…”

And every time, I find it interesting because somewhere along the way, lots of us seem to have created an invisible scale for whether something is “serious enough” to need support.

A major life event – Allowed.

Complete crisis – Allowed.

Everything falling apart – Definitely allowed!

It’s the everyday stuff that can derail you.

The things that affect our everyday lives, well we often tell ourselves we should just be able to deal with those.

Feeling overwhelmed, going round in circles about a decision, struggling with a change or/  and trying to balance work, family and everything else. Knowing something isn’t quite working but not knowing how to fix it.

Those things count too.

You don’t have to wait until something becomes a crisis before you do something about it. In fact, it’s usually much easier when you don’t.

We understand this in so many other areas of life.

• We service the car before it breaks down.
• We ask an expert when we need financial or legal advice.
• We get someone to help when we don’t know how to fix something in the house.

Yet when it comes to us, we often decide we should magically have all the answers.

An objective view can make all the difference.

I get it but life changes and circumstances change. What worked for you five years ago might not work now and that means you might need to look at things differently and sometimes having someone outside the situation can make all the difference.

Someone who isn’t emotionally involved. Someone who can ask different questions. Someone who can help you see the wood for the trees.

Coaching isn’t just for the big life-changing moments, it’s for real life. The everyday challenges, the decisions and the transitions. The times when you find yourself thinking:

“Something needs to change, but I don’t know where to start.”

Life shouldn’t need to be at crisis point to ask for support.

You don’t need to arrive with a crisis; you don’t even need to arrive with all the answers -that’s the whole point. We work it out together and create a realistic plan to support you in moving forward.

If something has been sitting in the back of your mind for a while and you keep telling yourself you “should” be able to sort it, maybe this is your reminder that you don’t have to do it alone.

A free 20-minute chat is simply a chance to talk through what’s going on and see whether coaching might help.

Sometimes the most useful conversations happen before everything feels too much because support isn’t just for a crisis, it’s for real life too.

The post You don’t need to have a crisis to ask for support. appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.

What does a life coach do?

The phrase “life coach” can create all sorts of different ideas – someone telling you how to live your life. Someone giving you motivational quotes, maybe someone encouraging you to quit your job, move abroad and start a completely different life.

And while I can’t speak for every coach, I can tell you that’s not what happens when you work with me.

I’m not here to tell you what to do.

Firstly, I don’t tell people what to do, which is probably a good thing because most people don’t need another person giving them instructions, we already have enough of those. We already have enough of the endless lists & things to juggle –

The work deadlines, managing family expectations. Our fife admin and the endless list of things we feel we “should” be doing.

It’s all about space to talk, to discuss & find solutions.

Coaching is different.

It gives you space to stop, talk things through and understand what is actually going on because often the thing someone comes to coaching with isn’t the whole story.

“I need to get more organised” might actually be “I have too much on my plate.”

“I need better time management” might actually be “I’m trying to fit an unrealistic amount into my week.”

“I need to make a decision” might actually be “I’ve been going round in circles because I’m trying to find the perfect answer.”

My job is to help untangle it.

So how do we do it?

We look at what’s working, what isn’t working and what practical changes would make the biggest difference. Sometimes that’s a big decision, sometimes it’s a small adjustment and sometimes it’s simply having someone outside the situation ask the right questions because when you’re in the middle of everything, it can be really hard to see clearly.

I often describe it as trying to read the label when you’re inside the jar – you’re too close to the situation.

Coaching gives you the chance to step outside it for a while.

You will have a practical plan.

And because I am The Practical Life Coach, we don’t just talk, we create realistic steps, things you can actually use in your actual life. Not the imaginary version of your life where nothing unexpected happens, nobody interrupts you and you have endless amounts of time and energy (if anyone finds that version, please let me know.)

This is coaching for REAL life.

Real life is messier than that. Which is exactly why coaching needs to work in real life.

So, if you’ve ever wondered what actually happens in a coaching session, the answer is probably less mysterious than you imagined.

We talk.

We untangle.

We make a plan.

And you leave knowing what the next step looks like.

Then, because I love a list and absolutely believe in making things practical, I send you a follow-up email with everything we discussed and your agreed next steps.

Some clients have been known to describe this as my “slightly bossy but helpful” email.

Personally, I prefer to call it accountability.

The post What actually happens when you work with a Life Coach? appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.

I thought I was in charge but apparently not. Although, to be fair, he does attend a lot of meetings, has very strong opinions about when breaks should happen and takes his responsibility for making sure I leave my desk very seriously (his diary management skills need some work though.)

So, while Barney continues in his self-appointed senior management role, I thought this might be a good time to properly introduce (or reintroduce) myself for those who may be new here.

The Practical Life Coach.

I’m Kate, The Practical Life Coach and the word “practical” is there for a reason.

When people hear “life coach”, I think they sometimes imagine big dramatic life changes –

Quitting jobs.
Moving countries.
Finding your one true purpose.
Completely reinventing yourself.

Who are my clients?

And while big changes do sometimes happen, that isn’t what most of my work looks like. Most of my work is with real people navigating real life.

It’s the busy professional who feels like they’re constantly juggling, the person facing a change they weren’t expecting. The parent trying to balance everyone else’s needs along with their own or the person who looks like they have everything together but privately feels completely overwhelmed.

It’s the person who says, “I know I need to do something differently, I just don’t know where to start” and that’s where practical coaching comes in.

How do I help?

My job isn’t to tell you what your life should look like. It’s to help you understand what is happening now, what needs to change and what realistic steps will actually help.

I like a plan.

I like a list.

I like breaking big, messy situations down into manageable pieces.

Because in nearly 20 years of coaching, one thing has become very clear, most people don’t need someone to tell them to try harder because they’re already trying really hard.

They need space to think. They need someone outside the situation and they need practical steps that fit the life they actually have.

And that’s what I do.

Working with real people living real lives.

No magic wand or overnight transformations. No pretending life will suddenly become perfect if you wake up at 5am and follow a 27-step morning routine.

Just honest conversations, practical tools and support to make things feel more manageable and occasionally, a reminder from Barney that taking a break and going outside is also important (although I’m still not officially confirming his promotion to CEO, well not yet anyway!)

If any of this sounds familiar and you feel like you could do with someone helping you untangle things, that’s exactly what I’m here for.

How can you work with me?

Sometimes you don’t need a completely new life, you just need some time, space and support to work out what would make the life you already have feel a little easier.

If you’d like to find out more about working with me, you can book a free 20-minute chat and we can talk through what support might be useful.

(Barney’s attendance cannot be guaranteed unless you can promise snacks.)

The post Kate – the person behind The Practical Life Coach. appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.

There are new routines, work schedules to consider. There are the obvious school arrangements, appointments. Things we want to organise and of course, things we think we “should” get sorted before normal life begins again.

Before we know it, we have mentally moved into September while we are still standing in August.

Planning ahead.

Of course, planning ahead can be helpful and as you know, I am a big fan of a plan.

A bit of preparation can reduce stress, make transitions easier and help us feel more in control, but there is a difference between planning for what’s next and constantly living there in your head.

Living in the moment.

When we spend too much time thinking about what is coming, we can miss what is happening now – the ordinary moment that we don’t notice because our brain is already three weeks ahead.

And this isn’t just about summer; we do this all year. We think about Monday during Sunday, we think about the next job before finishing the current one, we think about the next stage of life before allowing ourselves to experience the one we are in.

Feeling productive.

Sometimes looking ahead feels productive, but actually it’s just worry wearing a more organised outfit. Anticipatory anxiety is NOT a friend of joy!

So, if you notice your mind racing ahead, try asking yourself:

“Is there something useful I can do about this today?”

If yes, do it.

Write the list.

Make the appointment.

Put the reminder in your diary.

Then come back to now.

If the answer is no, it might just be your brain trying to solve something that doesn’t need solving yet.

September will come and the routines will return. The lists will still be there.

But August is still here.

And whatever this month looks like for you, holidays, work, family, quiet days, busy days, there are still moments worth noticing before you rush into the next thing.

Enjoying today.

Planning ahead is useful. Living permanently ahead is exhausting.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is remind ourselves:

“I’ve got a plan for later, but I’m allowed to enjoy today.”

The post Don’t let September steal your August. appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.

A change of scenery, a break from routine, time away from normal responsibilities but somewhere along the way, many of us have started expecting quite a lot from them.

Managing expectations.

We expect one week away to undo months of being busy. We expect to arrive tired and come home completely refreshed. We expect a holiday to fix the fact that we have been running on empty for weeks.

That’s quite a big responsibility for seven days.

And the reality is that holidays are still real life.

Someone has to pack, someone has to remember the chargers. Someone has to sort the dog, the passports, the sun cream, the washing, the travel plans and the “just in case” items that may never leave the suitcase.

Then, when we arrive, it can take a few days simply to slow down and just as we start relaxing, we find ourselves saying:

“I can’t believe we go home soon.”

This isn’t about not appreciating holidays. It’s about not making them responsible for all of our rest because rest works best when we build it into ordinary life.

How do we do things differently?

Not by adding another job to the to-do list or trying to create the perfect self-care routine, just  making a few small changes before we reach the point where we desperately need a holiday.

Give yourself permission to have quieter moments during normal weeks.

Protect the occasional evening where nothing needs to be achieved. Not every spare hour has to be productive.

Take small breaks before you’re exhausted.

We often wait until we’re completely running on empty before we stop. A ten-minute walk, sitting in the garden with a cup of tea or reading a chapter of a book won’t replace a holiday, but done regularly they help stop your batteries reaching empty.

Notice when you’re thinking, “I’ll do that after the holiday.”

If it’s something that would genuinely help you feel calmer, more organised or more rested, ask yourself whether there’s a smaller version you could do this week instead.

The small moments matter.

They might not feel as exciting as a holiday, but they stop us reaching the point where we desperately need one.

We’re not aiming for perfect.

The aim isn’t to create a perfect routine. Most people don’t have unlimited time, quiet mornings and completely clear diaries. Real life is busy but looking after yourself shouldn’t only happen when you finally get a week away.

Your everyday life deserves moments of breathing space too.

Enjoy the holiday.

Look forward to it.

Make memories.

But don’t ask one week of the year to do all the work.

Rest isn’t something we save up. It’s something we need to invest in regularly.

The post Don’t put all your rest in one basket (especially the holiday one!) appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.

There’s something about August that makes many of us want to slow down a little – longer evenings, different routines, a chance to breathe and yet, for many people, their phone still comes everywhere with them.

We photograph the meal before we taste it.
Scroll while sitting in the garden.
Half-watch films while checking notifications.
Record moments instead of fully being in them.

You don’t need to disappear.

Without really noticing, we can end up consuming everyone else’s summer instead of properly enjoying our own.

This isn’t about throwing your phone in a drawer or disappearing from social media altogether. Most of us use our phones for work, connection, entertainment and everyday life. Social media can be positive, funny, inspiring and comforting too, but there’s a difference between using it and constantly reaching for it and August can be a really good time to reset that balance a little.

Not in a HUGE “digital detox” kind of way. Just in a more practical –

“I’d quite like to be a bit more present in my own life” kind of way.

Stepping back from scrolling.

 When you step back from constant noise and scrolling, we often notice something quite interesting…and that’s life feels calmer.

You think more clearly.
You compare yourself less.
You stop feeling quite so “switched on” all the time and suddenly ordinary things start feeling enjoyable again.

A proper conversation or an uninterrupted cup of tea. A walk without checking notifications. Sitting outside in the evening without automatically picking up your phone every few minutes.

Tiny things — but they make a difference.

Practical ways to reduce screen time this August.

1. Create Phone-Free Pockets

You don’t have to cut screen time completely. Instead, choose small moments where your phone stays elsewhere:

• during meals
• on walks
• in the garden
• for the first 30 minutes of your morning
• an hour before bed

Small gaps create breathing space surprisingly quickly.

2. Stop Filming Everything

Not every moment needs recording. Some experiences feel better when they’re simply lived. You’re allowed to enjoy something without posting it, photographing it or proving it happened.

3. Turn Off Notifications You Don’t Need

Most people don’t realise how much mental interruption comes from constant alerts.

Switch off non-essential notifications for a few weeks and notice how different your brain feels. Less reactive, less distracted, less “on edge.”

4. Replace One Scroll with Something Else

Instead of automatically reaching for your phone:

• read a few pages of a book
• sit outside for ten minutes
• listen to music
• potter in the kitchen
• have a proper conversation
• simply rest

The goal isn’t productivity. It’s presence.

5. Let Yourself Disappear a Little

You do not have to be available all the time. You do not have to respond instantly. You do not have to keep up with everything online.

It’s okay to step back a bit.

The internet will still be there when you return.

A final thought

August doesn’t have to become a perfect “slow living” fantasy, real life still exists. People still work, families still argue, laundry still needs doing.

But there is something quite freeing about putting your phone down a little more often and realising: life is actually happening right in front of you and sometimes, the most meaningful moments are the ones nobody else ever sees.

The post Can you take a break from screen time this summer? appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.

“Just get through the next few weeks.”

“Once I get to my holiday, I’ll be fine.”

“Things will calm down soon.”

Phrases I hear a lot and it’s understandable.

End of term.

By July, many of us have already managed six months of work, responsibilities, family commitments, life admin, unexpected problems and everything else that real life throws into the mix.

For parents, the end of term can bring a whole extra layer of things to remember.

School events.
Forms.
Changes to routine.
Planning childcare.
Keeping everyone organised.

Your halfway point.

But even if school holidays aren’t part of your life, July can still feel like a strange halfway point.

Lots of people are trying to finish projects before annual leave. Diaries get squeezed because everyone is working around holidays. There is often a sense of pushing through.

The problem is that we sometimes treat our summer break like a finish line. We tell ourselves we just need to keep going until we get there. But arriving at your time off completely exhausted isn’t always the best way to enjoy it.

Rest is maintenance.

Rest works better as regular maintenance, not emergency repair.

Most of us wouldn’t wait until our phone battery was completely dead before thinking about charging it, yet we often do exactly that with ourselves.

So, before you reach the point where you’re counting down the days, it might be worth asking:

What would make the next few weeks easier?

What can wait?

What am I putting pressure on myself to finish that isn’t actually urgent?

What small thing would help me recharge now?

It doesn’t have to be complicated. In can be something like –

A quieter evening.
An earlier night.
Saying no to something optional.
Moving something on your list.
Taking a proper lunch break.

Small things make a difference

You don’t have to earn rest.

You don’t need to earn your rest by reaching a point of complete exhaustion first. July doesn’t have to be a finish line you crawl towards.

Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is adjust the pace before you get there. One baby step at a time!

The post Why does July feel like the finish line? appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.

Some people are excitedly planning BBQs, garden days and evenings outside, others are already working out which room in the house stays coolest, wondering if it’s acceptable to have an ice lolly before lunch and remembering that most of our homes were absolutely not designed for this.

Managing expectations.

But whichever side you’re on, there is something interesting that happens when our routine changes. Many of us still expect exactly the same from ourselves – the same productivity, the same energy levels and the same to-do list just in completely different circumstances.

And this isn’t just about hot weather.

We do this all the time.

When we’ve had a bad night’s sleep.
When work is particularly busy.
When family life gets complicated.
When we’re dealing with change.
When we simply have more going on than usual.

We forget to adjust.

We expect ourselves to keep performing at the same level regardless of what else is happening around us and the reality is that our capacity changes.

That doesn’t mean giving up, ignoring responsibilities or declaring the week a complete write-off because the sun has appeared, it means being realistic.

What do we need to do?

Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is look at your list and ask:

What actually needs to happen this week?

What would make the biggest difference?

What am I doing simply because I decided three weeks ago that it “should” be done?

Because here’s the thing about to-do lists…they don’t know what kind of week you’re having.

The list you wrote when you were organised, motivated and sitting comfortably with a cup of tea doesn’t automatically know that you slept badly, your energy is low or your brain has slightly melted in the heat.

You need to be flexible.

That’s where you come in.

You are allowed to review it, you are allowed to change the plan and you are allowed to move things around.

Being organised isn’t about forcing yourself to complete everything regardless. Good planning includes flexibility.

So, during a hot week (or any difficult week), try asking yourself:

“What is the sensible version of this plan?”

Maybe that means doing important jobs earlier in the day. Maybe it means postponing the non-essential things. Maybe it means accepting that some things can wait.

Plans can change.

Real life changes mean our plans need to (and can) change with it.

Sometimes looking after yourself isn’t about adding another thing to your list. Sometimes it’s about looking at what’s already there and deciding what really needs to stay.

The post A Heatwave Reminder: You’re allowed to adjust the plan. appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.

• constantly out doing lovely things
• surrounded by happy friends and family
• drinking cocktails in beautiful places
• making magical memories every day
• effortlessly balancing work, children, relationships and social lives
• somehow funding endless trips, meals out and activities without a second thought

And if you’re sitting at home in joggers eating fish fingers while wondering whether anyone else’s family argues in the car on the way to the beach… it can very quickly make you feel like you’re getting summer “wrong.”

A reality check.

Social media is usually a carefully selected snapshot — not the full story. People post what they want others to see. That doesn’t make it fake necessarily, but it does make it incomplete.

Because behind those lovely photos there are still money worries, relationship tensions, overtired children, awkward family dynamics. People still feel stressed and anxious.

Real life still exists behind the sunset picture. The family photo may have been taken five minutes before someone stormed off in a mood. The girls’ night might have taken weeks to organise because nobody was free. The “perfect” holiday may have involved delayed flights, stress and arguments over where to eat.

 Many people posting constantly are often trying to convince themselves they’re having a wonderful time too. We forget that, because comparison makes other people’s lives look complete while making our own feel messy and ordinary.

But ordinary life is where most real life actually happens. The cup of tea in the garden, the takeaway on the sofa, the walk with the dog. Laughing at something silly, a quiet evening when everyone’s finally calm. Those moments count too, and often, they’re the moments that feel the most real when summer is over.

3 Practical ways to avoid the comparison trap this summer.

1. Remember: You are seeing edited moments, not everyday reality

Nobody posts the full picture.

Not the stress before the outing, not the financial pressure afterwards. Not the boredom, tension or emotional load sitting behind the scenes.

Before comparing your life to someone else’s post, remind yourself:

“This is a moment — not their whole life.”

That one sentence alone can stop comparison spiralling.

2. Stay focused on what actually makes you feel good

It’s very easy to start believing summer should look a certain way, but not everybody enjoys packed schedules, expensive trips or constantly being social.

Some people genuinely feel happiest:

• pottering at home
• having slower days
• seeing a few close people
• reading in the garden
• going for walks
• having quieter weekends

You do not need to copy somebody else’s version of a “good summer.” Your life should fit you.

3. Reduce the noise when you notice comparison creeping in

Sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is step back a little.

Less scrolling.
Less consuming other people’s lives.
Less measuring your own life against carefully filtered snapshots because comparison grows the more we feed it and very often, when people spend less time watching everyone else, they start enjoying their own lives more again.

A final thought………

You do not need unlimited money and endless plans. You don’t need a HUGE social circle. You don’t need perfect weather (what is that anyway?) or a picture-perfect family and you certainly don’t need a packed calendar to have a meaningful summer.

Real life is allowed to look ordinary. In fact, ordinary moments are often the ones that matter most. So, this summer, try to stay in your own lane a little more. Enjoy what’s actually in front of you.

And remember:

People’s social media feeds are designed to tell a story — not necessarily the whole truth.

The post Don’t compare your real life to someone else’s highlight reel this summer! appeared first on KATE TILSTON - PRACTICAL LIFE COACH.