How often do you make time for the fun stuff without a niggling thought telling you that you should really be doing something productive instead?
I’m notorious for declining invitations with the usual response “I‘m too busy” . Which is completely true but only because I don’t manage my time as well as I could.
As a result I don’t take full advantage of all the lovely gifts that Los Angeles has to offer us.
But surely I’m not the only one with an internet browser full of bookmarked daydreams and an ongoing mental list full of things to do ‘one day’ purely for pleasure ?
20 years on I still don’t take a wander down to the beach regularly, no matter how many times I’ve really promised myself that this weekend I would.
If any of this resonates with you then you will probably be interested in a Ted Talk I recently stumbled upon. Presented by Laura Vanderkam , author of “Off the Clock : Feel less busy while getting more done”.
She puts forward a new approach of looking at your week ahead by dividing it in to a blocks of 168 hours. She even provides free spreadsheets on her website (lauravanderkam.com) to keep track, then once you’ve figured out where your time goes you can make changes that will help you spend more on the things that matter, (and less on the things that don’t!).
Reading Craig’s column last week on local rooftop hangouts filled me with inspiration to get cracking and make a dent in my ever-growing playtime menu. Brits in LA member Wendy Meredith Bain shared a brilliant travel app on our Facebook page this week, it’s a fabulous guide to the beaches in Malibu.
‘Our Malibu Beaches’ was developed & funded through a Kickstarter program back in 2013 and five years on it is still just as relevant and necessary. Detailing Malibu’s secret accessways and beaches plus lots of parking info and tips on the ‘ private beach’ signs, as apparently not all are legitimate. KPCC hailed it as “ The beach app Malibu residents really don’t want you to have“. You can download it for free on itunes.
Now I’m going to have all this extra time on my hands thanks to Laura Vanderkam I’ve no excuse not to book in at least one beach visit before the month is out.
Congratulations to Lorraine Wilkinson whose impromptu performance of Yellow Submarine at this week’s Pub Quiz won her a pair of tickets to see English electronic artist Jon Hopkins with Daniel Avery at the Fonda on September 19th – we have one more pair of tickets to giveaway so email us at BritsinLA@gmail.com if you fancy your chances. The winner will be picked at random on August 6th.
Visit us at www. Britsin.LA for details on all of our upcoming events and giveaways.
Cheers!
Eileen
