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The longer days filled with the warm, bright sunshine have certainly lifted my spirits over the past week but, though I've gained in energy and a more positive outlook on work commitments, I've used the extra time and light to sit outside or walk by the river. My 'to do' list hasn't really been broached. 

Through my reading this week ('Time Anxiety' by Chris Guillebeau, see below) I've given myself permission to change my perspective, though. Instead of being ruled by tasks that never seem to diminish and therefore bring little sense of achievement or fulfilment, and in fact heighten tension and pressure, I've reevaluated.

There are thousands of books which promise to teach us skills to better manage our time but Guillebeau urges us to engage fully in our chosen activity without worrying about productivity or deadlines. He tells us to decide what is enough for today, or for the project, and to focus on that without being distracted. He suggests that we pursue time-expansive hobbies such as crafts, baking, gardening. And we should emulate the work patterns of famous writers and artists like Dickens and Picasso who pursued hours of concentrated work but then stepped away completely through long walks. 

Watching the coverage of the Boat Race this afternoon, learning about the young people who have dedicated themselves to competing in this extraordinary event, I was once again in awe of their achievement. For months, and years for some of them, they have pursued a simple but gruelling routine of sleep, row, study, row, sleep. And look what satisfaction it has brought them through building lifelong friendships, working as a team and a community, and realising their potential, physically, mentally and emotionally.

I don't plan to engage in elite sport but I'm going to try and keep my 'to do' list in check, at least this coming week.

Thank you for reading.

It's difficult to process all that's going on in the world today, isn't it? So it's good to find ways in which we can recharge, refresh and regroup.

We'll all have different routes to stepping away from the trials and worries of everyday life - spending time on the river, running, gardening, knitting, or reading, perhaps (if you pick the right book). 

This week I have been working on an article where I've been speaking to three women who escape the commitments and concerns of daily life through their campervans. 

One of these women told me how, having a very challenging job, her vintage VW van was her way of reconnecting and finding her self again.

Her joy and passion for her campervan, and the companionship and support she received from the community she had discovered as a result of owning it, was uplifting and quite infectious.

Though I don't plan to buy one yet, I have often thought how nice it would be to have a campervan as a base for a festival, a little home from home. 

Of course most events I attend these days are book and literature festivals and there's not usually a lot of camping involved in those. And we don't have to travel far either - we've got quite a few to choose from in Suffolk now. So, if you're ready, here are a few dates for your diary...

In a couple of weeks it's the INK Festival of short plays. In May, in addition to historian Alison Weir visiting us in Woodbridge, Suffolk Libraries is holding its DiscoveReads festival in Ipswich. In June we have Slaughter in Southwold, First Light in Lowestoft and the Felixstowe Book Festival (tickets went on sale this weekend). But we also have the new Leiston Book Festival on 20 September and the recently launched Ipswich Book Festival and Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival both in October. It's quite a list. Perhaps I need a campervan to tour them all.

Thank you for reading.

We may have lost an hour's sleep but we've gained longer days, lighter evenings and hope for more sunshine and warmth to come. Spring is here!

It's such a lovely time of year, isn't it? And we're enjoying glorious weather at the moment. Certainly makes me feel more positive and energetic, so I'm getting lots of jobs done and making plans for the coming weeks and months too. 

This evening I'm busy at The Riverside marking the release of the new book by David Wright and hearing all that he wants to share with us about bread and baking.

And tickets are selling well for historian Alison Weir who's coming to speak to us in a few weeks' time about her novel on Cardinal Wolsey. 

I think our ticket price is always good value but if you're keen for a bargain, reserve your seat for Alison Weir now as the Early Bird offer closes on Tuesday!

For other author talks, you might like to go to Ipswich on Friday to hear presenter and writer Zeb Soanes talk about his children's books for Suffolk Book League. Details here.

And it's only a few weeks until the INK Festival takes place in Halesworth, on 24-27 April. Celebrating new writing with brilliantly produced short plays, it's always an incredible occasion and you can read all about it in my article for Suffolk magazine here.

But in Woodbridge tomorrow we have our monthly book group meeting and we're back to our usual venue after a brief interlude. Do let me know if you're coming along. I hope to see you there!

Thank you for reading.

It's been a busy week this week. I've had lots of deadlines and meetings, but I'm pleased to say that I satisfied all my commitments so today I've been able to take things a little slower. I even sat outside with a book in the sunshine at one point (in between the showers).

I hope you have a good week ahead? 

We have our first author event of the year at The Riverside next Sunday evening, with baker David Wright, so I'm getting everything in place for that.

His book 'Breaking Bread' was released on Thursday and he's currently travelling from Scotland to Cornwall visiting bookshops and bakeries along the way, spreading the word, culminating in his homecoming event in Woodbridge. 

You can read more about his hopes for the book in my article for the East Anglian Daily Times, but do come along to meet him if you can. David has so much to say about food and farming, bread and baking, business and family. We are set for a stimulating and entertaining evening!

And, as we're reaching the end of the month, here's a reminder that it's our book group discussion a week tomorrow on Monday 31st March. If you're hoping to come along to share your comments about 'Hard by a Great Forest' do let me know.  

Thank you for reading.

While I'm glad I don't have to do a tiring commute each day, I have heard that this is when many people get time to read - and not just if they're on a train.

Listening to a book while you're driving, or experiencing any sort of downtime, has become very much 'a thing' and you'd think with the amount of reading I have to do each week, I'd be making the most of this resource. But it's not something I've found works for me - yet.

However I've heard a number of people's experiences recently which have made me reconsider.

A friend has told me she listens along when she's doing the ironing, cooking or cleaning. A boatbuilder chooses books to read while he's working. A potter chose audio books to distract her from noisy neighbours, and baker David Wright researched the history and culture of breadmaking using audio books. 

David worked extraordinary, anti-social hours as a baker. Starting work at 11pm he'd get home in time to take his children to school at 8am. He says he felt life was passing him by. He decided to listen to books as he baked through the night, to learn more about his trade. 

The result is his brilliant book 'Breaking Bread' which is released next week. He'll be in the press and radio talking about it (beginning with BBC Radio Suffolk tomorrow morning at 11am). And do come along to hear him speak at The Riverside on Sunday 30 March. I promise it will be entertaining and enlightening.

While I can see that listening to a book while undertaking a repetitive and familiar task can be an effective use of time, it's interesting that we feel obliged to be more 'productive', doing more than one thing at a time, and less inclined to be 'in the moment'.

And it seems this is only likely to increase. A recent survey has found that more children are listening to books than reading. It has been suggested, then, that schools should encourage the use of audio books as a means of 'sparking a love of reading and supporting literacy development, ... deepening learning and boosting wellbeing'.

Other research has warned against this being a substitute to the means of picking up a book independently, however, and being read to by a teacher or parent.

Listening to an audio book is 'something very different from having your parents read a book to you, which I think is a really, really good thing if at all possible,' said Professor John Mullan to the Guardian. 'An audiobook is unresponsive and implacable. There’s no possible exchange or rapport, however brilliantly read it is.'

Audio books can be 'a portal to a love of books' though they're not a substitute. But how fortunate we are to have so many means of accessing stories, research and opinion in great writing today.

Thank you for reading.