My guest today is a Katherine Blackler, CPO Certified Professional Organizer, a London-based decluttering expert who was the first certified professional organiser in the UK, and for the last 3 years has been president of the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers. Yes, such an organisation exists and has been enjoying a period of tremendous growth over the last few years. In our conversation we talk about the difference between tidying up and decluttering, why some people have ...
May 24, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 2
We’re returning for season 2 of A Bit Of A Boost after a short break, and I was delighted to speak to my first guest Jen Martin LLB MAaPPCP to kick things off. Jen is a Psychological Coach, Speaker and Facilitator. Through her research with business, government and sporting leaders, she specialises in vulnerability and psychological safety. In addition to her work in Ireland, Jen has spent the last decade working with non-native English speaking C-suite executives, politicians, diplomats, and ac...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 1
My guest today is clinical psychotherapist Emma Reed Turrell, who I first heard being interviewed on one of my favourite podcasts, How To Fail with Elizabeth Day. Emma was talking about her new book ‘Please Yourself’ - ‘how to stop people-pleasing and transform the way you live’. In our conversation today we talk about the 4 people pleasing types that Emma has identified through her clinical practice, and how most of us will have tendencies towards each one in different situations. I asked her a...
Apr 26, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 34
I'm being completely self-indulgent today and dedicating this whole episode to giving myself a bit of a boost! I have a goal for 2021 that I've been stalling at rather than starting, and need to draw a line in the sand and fully commit to doing what needs to be done. As Jim Rohn once said, 'don't set a goal for what you will achieve but for what it will make of you in order to achieve it'. I know that working towards this goal will reveal some as-yet undiscovered aspects of my character. I know ...
Apr 23, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 33
We talk a lot about energy on this podcast, whether that’s physical, emotional, mental. But my guest today works with energy in a very different way, in his role as a Pranic Healer. I’ve known Mark Willis for over 15 years, and in that time I’ve watched him consistently apply his teachings to himself as well as his clients. It’s made a dramatic difference to his life, and also to the many others he works with. Energy, life force, Chi, Prana… it can all sound a bit spiritual and unquantifiable, b...
Apr 19, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 32
“Vague wishes to improve my work life balance which have been in my mind for the last 5 years, have now been clearly detailed and actioned” This was part of a review somebody left on this podcast a few weeks ago and it really intrigued me. How many of us have listened to a podcast, or read a book or watched a video and felt motivated or inspired to do something, but then nothing changes. We can’t (and don't need to!) put absolutely everything that we learn into action, but I also know that the t...
Apr 16, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 31
This is a topic that's come up a lot lately, with many people saying that they either always or regularly struggle to switch off. Lying in bed at night tired but wired, with thoughts from the day buzzing around your brain can really disrupt your sleep. Mulling over work problems in your mind when you're playing with the kids or socialising with your friends can take you away from the moment and lead to disengagement and a lack of deep connection. Today's episode examines 3 questions: 1) What doe...
Apr 13, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 30
When it comes to physical wellbeing, one of the most important habits we can try to create is around getting a good night’s sleep. We all know that this is important, and I’m sure we’ve all experienced the fall out of a bad night’s sleep, but it’s easier said than done. My guest today is sleep expert and author of ‘Navigating Sleeplessness’, Dr. Lindsay Browning. We talk about how to improve the quality as well as quantity of your sleep, the different stages of sleep and some of the common myths...
Apr 09, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 29
In 2014 I wrote the book 'Beginner's Luck Guide for Non-Runners' and since then it's helped thousands of complete beginners build the confidence to go out enjoy all of the benefits of running. In today's episode I introduce 3 practical tips that many beginner runners seem to find useful, as well as 3 mindset tips and 3 common mistakes. It's a bit of a niche episode and if running isn't your bag then you might want to skip over this one, but if you've secretly wanted to learn how to run for a whi...
Apr 05, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 28
My intention with this podcast has always been to try and give you a bit of a boost of positivity, or a boost energy, or a boost of motivation. But ultimately what I think we’re all trying to achieve, is to give ourselves a bit of a boost of happiness. My guest today is Dr Vikki Barnes, a clinical psychologist and specialist in positive psychology and the science of happiness. Vikki delivers workplace wellbeing programs, she runs retreats, and she’s just finished a book on happiness that will be...
Apr 02, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Pat Divilly is one of Ireland's leading resilience and wellbeing coaches, a sought after corporate speaker and host of The Pat Divilly podcast. We've been friends for many years and for the last 5 have hosted the annual Momentum New Year kick off alongside Gerry Duffy. Pat runs meditation, journaling and personal development programs, retreats, mountain expeditions, and puts on hugely popular sell-out events in the personal development space. He's also in the process of finishing off his 4th boo...
Mar 29, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 29
On today's episode I speak to mental health campaigner, adventurer, speaker and coach Dan Keeley. I almost met Dan recently at an event we were both speaking and was intrigued enough by the title of his talk to get in touch with him afterwards. After our initial 'virtual coffee' I knew I wanted to get him on the podcast to share his story, and also ask him a few questions about his work. Dan had a 5 year battle with bipolar, and I realised that I knew embarrassingly little about this mental heal...
Mar 26, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Most of us are familiar with the expression 'use it or lose it', but my guest today is a man who has been living by that mantra for almost a century. I first met Garry Garretts at a Toastmasters speakers club meeting last year, which he had recently joined because he wanted to 'keep his mind active'! In our conversation today Garry shares some of the other things he does to stay physically and mentally fit, and why at the age of almost 99 (it's his birthday next month!) it's even more important ...
Mar 22, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 24
One tool that's massively changed things for me in the last few months has been my approach to planning, which has elevated my sense of effectiveness and productivity from 40% to 80%. In today's episode I outline the different elements of my personal process and why I include them. My system may not be the perfect solution for you, but my hope is that there are a few elements you can take and experiment with, and experience some of the same benefits that I have enjoyed.
Mar 19, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Chris is the race director for one of the UK's most popular ultra marathons, Endure24. With running events starting to look more likely to take place again this Spring, I wanted to get the inside scoop on what’s happening with events in the UK, what’s going on behind the scenes, and what we can expect to see with these races. He also gives some pretty eye-opening insights to what it’s like being the race director for an event like Endure. RaceSolutions.co.uk
Mar 17, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Over the last few years there’s been an explosion in the number of wearable health monitoring devices, gathering data on our heart rates, movement, and even sleep quality. One of the less well known variables is heart rate variability, which I had never come across until a few years ago when I saw today’s guest giving a talk at Lords cricket club. Simon Shepard is a chartered physiotherapist, and he’s been head of health and performance at Lords cricket for the last 30 years. In our conversation...
Mar 16, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 21
SMART goals, big scary goals, creating a vision of your success so that you're magnetically drawn towards it... There are many different approaches to goal setting and on this episode I share mine. Following the GOALS framework that my Great GOALS online course is based on (bygeorgeanderson.com/goals) I lead you through each element to help you set more meaningful goals that make a difference, not just when you reach them but at each step along the way.
Mar 12, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 20
For today's episode I'm joined by TV star Vicky Pattison, I'm a Celebrity winner, Masterchef finalist, author and host of the Vicky Pattison: The Secret To podcast. Our conversation revolves around the subject of the inner critic - that niggling, annoying little voice inside your head that chastises you, judges you and puts you down. We talk about her relationship with her inner critic, how it's evolved over the years, and how she deals with real life critics. Check out @vickypattison on Insta!...
Mar 09, 2021•57 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Why do some of us struggle to perform at our best when the pressure is on, whilst others seem to thrive? How is pressure different to stress, and how can we change our relationship with it so that it becomes a force for helping rather than hindering us? I caught up with accredited psychotherapist and performance psychologist Sam Bishop (sambishopcoaching.com), to discuss all of this, and he shares some fantastic insights, metaphors and strategies to help us perform at our best, under pressure....
Mar 05, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 18
I’m keeping it in the family for today’s episode, as I’m joined by Kenneth Keavey, my brother-in-law and founder of Ireland's largest organic box delivery scheme Greenearthorganics.ie. We talk about repairing our relationship with food, understanding where it comes from, the benefits of keeping it local and what lead to the breakdown of the supermarket supply chain 12 months ago.
Mar 02, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 17
There are 5 Roles that we all have to play in our lives. Not roles for other people, but roles for ourselves - Director, Manager, Worker, Coach and Administrator. I've been using this basic framework to help me get clarity on which of the roles needs attention or support. In today's episode I explain each of them, and discuss how articulating your principles can help you more closely stick to them.
Feb 26, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Today's interview with co-founder of Wolfhound Fitness in Mullingar, Katie Murphy, is absolutely jam packed with insights and nuggets of wisdom to give you a bit of a boost of motivation and positivity. We talk about how our values can influence our resilience, what it was like being given a life expectancy of just 13 years, and why the biggest compliment Katie ever received was ‘I didn’t notice you at all’. Follow Katie on Instagram at @Wolfhound_Katie and check out her website wolfhoundfitness...
Feb 23, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 15
If you drop your toast on the floor and it lands jam side down, do you automatically assume that this is how the rest of day is going to go? Are you a glass half full or glass half empty kind of person? Today’s we're getting into the topic of optimism. What is it, why it is helpful, and how can we build a more optimistic mindset? In this episode I explain the '3 dimensions of optimism', and how a pessimistic or optimist mindset might view positive or negative events
Feb 19, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Ultra runner and co-founder of 33Fuel, Warren Pole is one of the most positive and optimistic people on the planet. So when he suggested 'embracing negativity' as a topic for our conversation today I was intrigued! Turns out that throwing yourself a private pity party and having a bit of a moan, can actually be a great way of giving you back your mojo! Although this technique comes with plenty of warnings, Warren manages to turn the subject of negativity into something incredibly positive. 33Fue...
Feb 16, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Is it possible to become more positive? Is it a habit that we can cultivate? I believe that it is! Nothing can guarantee that you'll never have another negative thought or emotion (and neither would you want it to), but there are certain things we can do to boost our positivity, optimism and sense of hope. Here, in this episode, are 5 such habits.
Feb 12, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Nutrition expert and author Jenny Tschiesche talks about building confidence in the kitchen. How do you get started with cooking healthy food? What are some of the time saving short cuts? What equipment do we really need? How can we avoid the cook book overwhelm (that has been my problem in the past!)? I could talk to Jenny all day about food and cooking, and we slide into chatting about gut health, the rise of popularity of plant-based diets, and asking Siri to convert cups to ml, but largely w...
Feb 09, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Freddie is a coach, speaker, and host of the Over The Influence podcast. In our conversation today he talks candidly about his mental health struggles, and own transformation from stressed-out city boy with an alcohol addiction on a fast track to oblivion, to an ultra running, world-record holding adventurer. We talk about these polar opposite lives, but crucially I wanted to find out how he started to make the changes in his life. Check out freddiembennett.com for more inspiration
Feb 05, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 10
Today’s episode is a little different, as I’m the one who is being asked the questions! A friend of mine and host of the ‘Focus on Why’ podcast, Amy Rowlinson, offered to come on the show and interview me. Amy’s super power is her ability to hear what’s not said, and then ask questions to dig deeper. After a few stock answers I was disarmed by Amy’s questions and curiosity and find myself sharing stuff that doesn’t come up very often! Check out Amy's 'Focus on Why' podcast, and her website amyro...
Feb 01, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 9
If you've ever got to the end of the day feeling wrung out and tired despite spending most of your day sitting down, you'll know what I mean when I talk about emotionally or mentally drained! Energy isn't just physical, although our approach to our physical wellbeing has a significant influence on how we feel. In this short episode I discuss a few practical strategies and mindset approaches that may help give your energy levels a bit of a boost.
Jan 29, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 8
I was introduced to QiGong last Summer by a friend of mine, and started doing a regular class over Zoom. I've really benefitted from this very practical way to slow down, and I've my preconceptions blown away by it! My guest on this episode is Tom Watson, a practitioner and lecturer in acupuncture and Chinese medicine in North London, who has been teaching Qigong for over a decade and has been practicing Taoist arts for almost 20 years having first come to the practice through martial arts. I as...
Jan 26, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 7
