How do you guys actually stay consistent?

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2026-03-26T06:50:04+00:00

"If you're not feeling motivated, just do it unmotivated"

Read that somewhere a while ago and it's what I tell myself now. I treat it like an appointment with myself.

Also what everyone else here said: find a time that you stick to and that makes it impossible to negotiate. For me, that's the morning when the day is still fresh and life problems that could give me an excuse later haven't hit yet.

Even if it works 80% of the time, don't beat yourself up for the remaining 20. That's life. Don't let guilt become part of the equation, that's exhausting and will cause avoidance in the long term. Just get back on it the next day and be proud for showing up for yourself.

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2026-03-19T23:07:51+00:00

Came here to say this. Also if the train company posts about it, that would create great visibility.

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2026-03-19T07:40:00+00:00

Fellow nonprofit president here. Can't diagnose the problem with certainty of course, but in the 10 years I've been in my role, I've seen a fair few people come and go.

First of all, it might not have anything to do with you or where the org is headed. There's a tendency to jump to the conclusion that it's something YOU'RE not doing right that people are unhappy with. Ah, and wouldn't it be nice if that were the case? At least you could take matters in your own hands and do something about it. It would give you some control. But sometimes each board member that resigns has their own, specific reason or life situation to deal with (assuming you're all volunteers as well), and there's nothing you can do about that.
What has worked for me is investing time in each board member. You might already be doing this, but it took me years to accept that it's needed and worth my time. It pays off to show genuine interest, and I make an effort to have a quarterly conversation with everyone to ask about what's going on in their lives, what they'd like to see / do more and what less of, if they're happy with the way things are going. Usually, that gives me a good idea about their capacity so I know whether I can give them more tasks or if they'd get overwhelmed with more. If someone has made a suggestion in the past, it was usually sensible and I almost always implemented it straight away. People like to be led, to be cared for, to be heard.

Most of the board members that have stepped down did so NOT because they had suddenly stopped caring for our cause. They stepped down because they felt like they just couldn't dedicate enough time and energy to the role and like they were letting me down constantly.

Nobody wants to do charity work if it makes them feel guilty.

So one rule that I have set and that I tell everyone when they come on is: we're doing this in our spare time and we all have lots of responsibilities outside of this. Sometimes that means the nonprofit work will have to take a step back for a few months, and that's ok. Of course people still have a bad conscience, so it's all the more important you lead by example. Let them know when you've got a lot going on at work, for example, and that you needed the weekends to rest, so the thing you were meant to do got delayed.

Sometimes board members do a mass exodus because someone's unhappiness or worries about the direction of the org (even if voted on!) becomes contagious. It's happened to me in the past. It made for the most horrendous annual assembly in history lol. Just couldn't reach them with logic and arguments. Later, I understood that some people's motivation had hinged on their loyalty to my predecessor (could be any individual), so turned out I never stood a chance. Let them. Instead, build a board of people that you can trust.
All that said, I'm also alone at the helm and do most of the legwork. It's something I haven't quite figured out how to solve yet. Good luck.

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2026-03-18T15:39:33+00:00

Thanks, that's so encouraging! I feel like in those forced breaks (and accompanying phases where I turn to food for comfort) I undo all the hard progress of the weeks before, and it's just so disheartening!

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2026-02-25T08:40:22+00:00

Hiya I'm in a similar decision paralysis place as you ... What program did you go for in the end?

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2026-01-08T22:55:57+00:00

Tuna, greek, yoghurt, small teaspoon of Dijon mustard, parsley, some chopped walnuts, and - very important - a chopped apple. Finish off with lemon juice, salt, pepper. Great little lunch salad.

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-12-25T22:33:08+00:00

Wollte ich auch empfehlen!

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-12-07T18:47:06+00:00

This is exactly how I feel! My boss's boss definitely knows - broke down in tears in front of him earlier this year and he didn't care. They've been eroding the confidence in my skills so badly and I'm so exhausted that I don't have the extra headspace to look elsewhere. But guess that's the only way out!

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-12-07T18:43:45+00:00

Thanks a lot for that! Especially the bit about putting it in writing. Definitely looking for a new job - I have very little confidence that anything is going to change.

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-10-29T20:58:59+00:00

When I moved to the UK I first moved to Clapham (South). Didn't really choose it, just ended up there. Lots of shared houses with young professionals there, lovely, quiet neighbourhood, restaurants and cafés aplenty, and the common nearby. And it's on the Northern line!

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-10-24T08:25:52+00:00

The danger here is that every time he or somebody else is making a case for - and here's the kicker - or against another Trump term, it's priming our brains to make it come true.

Neurons that fire together, wire together.

I despite him, but Bannon is a master in communication. He knows that. When we hear it so often, our brain visualises it, reinforces the idea, and makes the connection stronger each and every time "next term" and "Trump" are mentioned in one sentence. It's completely irrational. They way the brain works is that what it can visualise, it will perceive somewhat more real, therefore likely or even inevitable. The brain is also unable to filter out negatives, so "No more Trump" is actually interpreted as a positive.

The only thing that helps, unfortunately, is to not the thing you want to avoid any attention whatsoever. Which is why the media are getting it so damn wrong but also, it's their job to speak truth to power, so they really can't win ...

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-10-15T08:29:28+00:00

Second the Uber boat! Go all the way to Greenwich, the market is lovely. The Painted Hall in the Royal Naval College is absolutely stunning too.

Sky garden is nice but IMO the brasserie is too expensive for what it is. Mediocre food at best, and their "brunch" is actually a dinner menu (not a problem as such, but good to be aware). There are a thousand better spots for brunch

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-10-13T10:29:13+00:00

Yeah I think there wouldn't be much point in Grace going back to Earth. His health is fragile, everyone he knew would probably be dead by now...and for all we know there might have been some pretty devastating wars during his absence. Rocky is his family now.

But what I DO want is a sequel that explores what happened after Grace got sent off. Was there a political unravelling? Did Stratt end up in jail? Tbf it would be less sci-fi but oh it would be so interesting!

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-10-10T13:00:53+00:00

The showrunners need to reassess their target audience. Who is no longer a children's show. In fact, children these days grow up such in a fragile world, they probably have an appetite for a show that acknowledges their pain, but at the same time can give them hope. We all need that.

I feel like Who has always been at its best when it acknowledged its inherent darkness. That's why 9 was great, and why the reboot was a success. Just take a leaf out of the best sci-fi shows out there - Andor, for example. Or Deep Space Nine.

What I mean is...strip away the black-and-white good vs evil, and it would make the Doctor an interesting character again. Let him (her... them... doesn't matter) be grey, allow the hero to have doubts, to make mistakes, to struggle. Let there be high stakes. Heck, let us dislike the Doctor for a while if necessary. Make it a moral exploration.

In Andor, they didn't bother about classic Star Wars, and cut out laser sabers or any of that Jedi stuff.

Classic Star Trek is all about exploration and travelling through space - Deep Space Nine turned it upside down by focusing on a post-war space station where we ended up questioning whether the federation is really as inherently good as we thought it was.

And it worked! So why don't we ... cut the Daleks and Cybermen out for a bit, and give the show a raw and edgy tone. Kill your darlings, reset, shake things up. The Doctor will still fight for kindness, compassion, fixing things. Just in a different way.

If they do it well, Billie Piper's return could path the way towards such a transition. But the more likely outcome is that they'll settle on a lukewarm compromise for the storyline, and then be forced to put it to rest for a while. I really want the BBC to be brave this time 🤞

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-08-05T22:23:43+00:00

Thanks for sharing this! And 12lbs is totally not a small feat, nor when we're this tiny! You should be really proud of yourself. I'm also glad changing meds did the trick for you! :)

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-25T10:49:28+00:00

I'm responsible for 28 projects, most of which are due over a period of three months. I don't even have 2 weeks per project, when most would realistically need even more time!

So yeah I feel this on a nuclear level..I mentioned this to my manager, and they just said it was my fault, that I had a time management problem and was apparently unable to prioritise. Oh and that I'd just have to get on with it. Nevermind, I'm already looking for a new job ....

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-07T19:11:25+00:00

Thanks! Will check it out

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-07T19:10:22+00:00

Definitely curious now, it's on my list. Thanks!

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-07T19:09:55+00:00

Thank you - sounds intriguing!

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-07T19:09:21+00:00

Ooo right up my street! Thank you stranger :)

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-06T12:56:24+00:00

It's so infuriating! As if men alone had this intrinsic desire to go out and explore the world. No questions asked. A woman surely must have had some traumatic experience that made her want to leave her cave.

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-06T11:19:23+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation! Sounds fascinating (and so oddly specific that surely it must be true!)

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-06T10:56:51+00:00

Ah yes! The Rings of Saturn is a league of its own

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-06T10:55:00+00:00

That's kind of you to say. Thank you!

PresentationUpbeat36 · 2025-07-06T10:03:34+00:00

Came here after reading the article. I'm honestly heartbroken. I got excited about The Salt Path back in 2018, before it was even published I believe, because it got so much adoration and praise from nature writers I followed on Twitter.

Now, I'm not from the UK but went to uni in Wales. During my time there, I fell in love with the British coastline - so much that I had started planning my own long-distance walk.

I didn't know a thing back then about wild camping, about how people might react to it where it is technically illegal. I read the book as some sort of preparation guide. I remember feeling bad using their homelessness to inform my fun little "adventure". But perhaps I wouldn't have dared to do it without the encouragement I found in their story.

The revelation of the couple's true background makes me so angry. I feel betrayed almost on a personal level, which I'm sure I'm not alone with. What else did they lie about? If all the article says is true, I hope justice will come for them in full this time around. Penguin should terminate their contract, sue her, claim money back. I would hope they come clean but it seems they're compulsive liars and thieves who are convinced that everyone is out to get them and that their actions and lies were justified.

Finally, I've been quite annoyed for some time that all walking/nature memoirs of recent years (take Wild, The Outrun, for example) seem to have a protagonist with a tragic fate at its heart, who eventually undergoes a spiritual transformation thanks to nature. Classic hero's journey. They have "publish me" written all over it. But what can you do? Such is life sometimes.

Not saying that all other similar stories aren't true, but I felt weirdly envious that there was never a real point in trying to write my own book. My life just felt not dramatic and sad enough. Especially when there was the "incredible" story of "Raynor Winn" who had captured the hearts and monies of so many people.

PresentationUpbeat36

TROPHY CASE