HOW can routines help anxiety in our teens?

As adults we make a lot of decisions every day.

Decision fatigue has been present for so many of us over the last few years. Even the simplest of things took a whole series of decisions during the pandemic.

We are not the only ones making decisions.
Teens have lots of decisions to make everyday too.

Smaller decisions like:

What to wear
What to eat
Whether to have a shower in the morning or later
Which piece of homework to finish first
Which messages to reply to first

And bigger decisions:

What options to take
How to revise for a test
Whether or not to go to a party
Who to meet up with on the weekend

Too many decisions to make = an increase in anxiety

Reducing the number of smaller decisions you make leads to being calmer and less stressed giving you time to focus on the other tasks.

One trick for our teens is to have some "certainty anchors” built into your day.

These are things that make parts of our day solid, anchored and...

What is happening in Ukraine is devastating and we can’t imagine what their communities are going through. There may be some of you reading this who have family or friends there who are having to leave their lives behind to seek safety and refuge.

There are no words. 

Although you will see some of our usual content this month, we thought it was important to address what is currently happening in some way even if there is no way we can do it the justice it deserves.

As well as taking the opportunity to support those in the midst of the conflict, we also know that many of our young people are struggling with the worry and anxiety that the news is bringing.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time recently that the news has caused worry and, sadly, it won’t be the last and many of you may be finding it difficult to explain these events to your children whilst dealing with your own concerns and worries.

Sometimes knowledge and understanding can make it easier for...

Changing schools.

Starting a new club.

Volunteering .

Going to university for the first time.

A new job.

A month of work experience.

Eeeek.

We totally get it.

Doing something new.

Doing something different.

This makes everyone feel a little bit uncomfortable.

There aren’t many people who relish that idea of doing something new without feeling a tiny smidge of discomfort and anxiety.

Our confidence is drawn from evidence of the things we’ve been able to do or achieve in the past. Once you have done something once or twice you are more sure you can do it again.

To do something we haven’t done before, we need to draw on something else in our armoury.

Self Confidence.

This is the part of us that makes us secure about ourselves and our abilities.

To know that we will do our best, turn up with a smile and have a go.

This week we are going to be sharing our top tips and ways to deal with these situations that we will all find ourselves in at some point.

#doingsomethingnew...

Doing something new is not easy. A new job. Changing schools. Starting a new club. Going to university for the first time. A month of work experience. We are sharing some tips, tricks and hacks to make this just a little bit easier. 

How does doing something new feel for you? 

Eeeek.

We totally get it.

Doing something new.

Doing something different.

This makes everyone feel a little bit uncomfortable.

There aren’t that many people who relish that idea of doing something new without feeling a tiny smidge of discomfort and anxiety.

Our confidence is drawn from evidence of the things we’ve been able to do or achieve in the past. Once you have done something once or twice you are more sure you can do it again.

To do something we haven’t done before, we need to draw on something else in our armoury.

Self Confidence.

This is the part of us that makes us secure about ourselves and our abilities. To know that we will do our best, turn up with...

When you’ve been working hard at something for a while, that you are passionate about, you can get a bit lost in it it all.

Totally immersed in the doing.

There are some words that just make it all make sense and that, as cofounders, we need to hear.

Not because we are needy and have to be reassured but to make us focus on who we are helping and how we help them.

Yesterday, on our empty, off sauna Zoom meetings (it’s a standard at the moment) we spoke to journalist Stephanie Conway, Abi from Festival of the Girl and Natalie from Girl Be Club about up and coming collaborations.

Like minded people doing amazing things.

That was a huge encouragement and a great start to 2022.

Amanda Morgan Thomas is a great friend, confidente and mentor to us and her #testimonial is something we often refer back to at times like this when we need people in our corner. 

"Looking back at my time transitioning to high school - I was lost.

A careers teacher got us to take a quiz. I was...

Highs. Lows. Funnies.

Every week on our membership we talk about our highs, lows and funnies. Those moments, big or small, during the week that we reflect on and share with others.

2021 has been a full of lots of examples but today got me thinking about what have been the highs, lows and funnies for us both in business #thehowpeople #cofounders

High: presenting into school classrooms up and down the country with the brilliant Emma Clift at the helm. Live Friday lessons to schools up and down the country plus 3 free workshops including a Christmas special to 300 year 6 classrooms at the same time. Loved them and can’t wait to continue in 2022

Low: losing Scully, the very lovely old family dog who was as loved a regular resident at Crook HQ and regularly hugged and often ridden like a horse by all of our kids.

Funny: a very funny and spontaneous game of London bingo on bikes when we should’ve been networking before our first big awards ceremony in London which was another...

If you haven’t seen “Our mental health crisis’ on BBC iPlayer then this is a must watch for anyone with teenagers, in healthcare or in the education space.

Alex George is an A&E doctor and the first youth mental health ambassador. His programme ‘Our mental health crisis’ on BBC iPlayer is a frank and honest report of the crisis that is going on in young people and the importance of early intervention.

This is something we are so passionate about.

Stopping things early.

Giving young people a tool box for their teenage years and dealing with any issues as they emerge not once they have taken hold.

Lack of resources, a stretched education sector , an overwhelmed healthcare system and difficult access are meaning that is often only in a crisis or when a problem is so deep seated that young people are accessing help. 

This is really important stuff.

During the programme you get to meet his incredible family who live just down the road from us in...

Fear and adventure

Two powerful and inextricably linked things.

Last week we welcomed one of our brilliant original HOW speakers Mikaela Toczek back to our membership to chat about adventures and microadventures.

Those smaller adventures right from your doorstep and reasons why these are so good for your soul. Alistair Humpheries talks about flipping the 9-5pm and getting out after work for an over night microadventure to be back at your desk at 9am the next day! 

Click here to find out more and watch his short film on Microadventures.

Elizabeth Gilbert, from her book Big Magic writes about how she addresses her fear when unknown outcomes are in the horizon:

Dearest Fear.

Creativity and I are about to go on a road trip together. I understand you’ll be joining us, because you alway do.

There’s plenty of room in this vehicle for all of us, so make yourself at home, but understand this: Creativity and I are the only ones who will be making any decisions...

Consistency is something I have only grasped in middle age. 

It is a powerful thing so thought we should share

Having both been lucky enough to travel a lot over the years we have friends and family across the world.

Prior to March 2020, it had felt that the world was a pretty small place and that any one of these people were just a quick flight away with the big barriers being cost, environmental impact plus the practicalities of travelling with young children.

Then came along a pandemic to shake that all up.

Not being able to visit family, see friends, explore different places, plan trips, deepen those connections with others that live away from our local area made us realise how important that was to us and grew our appreciation of the travel industry and our love of adventures.

Yes, this has lead to more micro adventures at home and making sure we know and love the wonders that are on our doorsteps but, as we creep out of this last 2 years of social isolation, we are looking forward to spreading our wings again, recharging and reconnecting with those who live around the world and...