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One day, I will be the next person in the world to die.
This is not a reassuring thought.
I feel like one of the dodos in Ice Age, desperately trying to evolve the power of flight before I reach the front of the line and it’s my turn to fall off the cliff.
I’m trying to change myself gradually, one bit at a time, to have a happier, more successful, more rewarding life. Every change is a slight improvement – and I hope that one day I’ll spread my wings and soar across the sky instead of landing with a thud.
This could be my last chance to send my words flying across the internet to immortality, so…
Welcome to the opinionated and slightly peculiar realm of Emily the Dodo!
My mission is to solve all the world’s problems and have a crack at some of my own if I can find the time. I’m here to help you find a better life.
I hope to entertain my readers with witty, imaginative and insightful prose. But I’ll probably end up having a go at harmless strangers who can’t use apostrophes correctly or complaining about the price of cheese.
You have been warned.
Dodo Diary Jan 2019: new year, new dawn
Another New Year, and of course I’m taking stock of my self-improvement efforts. Well, perhaps ‘efforts’ is a rather strong word. What with Christmas choccies and party food, my good intentions have been going downhill on a skateboard all through December! The trouble with the slippery slope is that there isn’t a sign saying, ‘STOP!’ We have to exercise a bit of self-discipline and decide to stop ourselves. Well, this is my Stop sign. The moment has come to set some new self-improvement targets. It’s...
read moreDodo Diary Dec 2018: a better life, two years on
Since I last wrote my Dodo Diary, a wonderful thing happened… and two terrible things.
If you’re wondering why I haven’t been updating Emily the Dodo lately, let me explain.
One of the terrible things happened first. My sister Lucy told the family some sad news – she’d been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Words cannot express my horror and despair at the thought of losing her, but fortunately so far I haven’t had to face that dreaded day.
Lucy’s still alive, but the use of her hands was damaged by the chemo, so she won’t be drawing more pictures for my Dodo Diary. Instead, she has taken to blogging, as she can still just about type on the computer. Take a look at Lucy’s blog.
The wonderful thing came next – we sold our house and achieved my heart’s desire by moving to a Victorian cottage on the beautiful Isle of Wight. It’s the place I’ve always wanted to be – and now I’ve made it!
read moreQuote: The only fortune worth finding
So many of us struggle through life with no clue where we’re going – or why.
We buy lottery tickets, hoping to get lucky and win a fortune.
Or we destroy our health, staying in jobs we hate, worrying about paying the bills but suffering from work-related stress – and smoking and drinking too much to cope with that stress.
Because we don’t really know what we want out of life, we spend our lives trying to get money.
read moreHow to fix your sleep problems for a better life
Is every day one big yawn?
Tackling your sleep problems can improve your motivation, build your energy levels and give you a better life.
Most people feel better and function more efficiently when they get around 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night. How much sleep are you really getting? How much do you need?
read moreDodo Diary August 2016: Self-Improvement Challenge update
Six months ago, I quit trying to improve my life.
I’d tried so hard for a year, setting myself targets, working on all my problems together and aiming to go From Dodo to Dynamite in a Year.
And, to be honest, I’d done OK, but I certainly hadn’t achieved everything I’d hoped.
Which was kind of depressing.
At that point I read some interesting advice from James Clear: forget about setting goals and focus on systems – concentrate on the day-to-day processes you use to work towards the things you want to achieve, and you’ll find you make progress towards your goals.
I’d just set myself a whole load more goals for the next year, but you know what I did?
read moreDepression: the stranger danger I didn’t expect to suffer
I don’t suffer with depression.
Not me.
Sure, I get miserable at times. But who doesn’t?
And let’s face it, over the last few years, my life has been so crap that anyone would feel depressed. But that’s not the same as being diagnosed with clinical depression, right?
So I got a shock last year, when a debt assessor visited to talk to me about why I couldn’t pay the electricity bill.
(Umm… because I haven’t got enough money. Duh! I could have told you that on the phone!)
And she looked at me and said, “I think you’re suffering from depression.”
There she was, this random stranger, telling me I need medical help. Looking at me and seeing a person who’s not normal. Excuse me?
read moreDodo Diary February 2016: Self-Improvement Challenge, Month #12
One year ago, I took the first step in changing my life.
I was overworked, desperate for money, hugely stressed and in despair. My personal relationships were falling apart, I had no opportunities for self-expression, my health was suffering and I had nothing to look forward to.
I felt as if everything I tried was doomed to failure.
So I decided to give myself a self-improvement challenge: I would attack my problems all together, over the course of a year, and aim to go From Dodo to Dynamite in a Year.
That year is up, and now it’s time to take stock.
So – how did I get on?
read moreFriendship Quiz: what kind of friend are you?
What kind of friend are you? Try the Emily the Dodo Friendship Quiz: the answers are at the end!
Just follow your immediate response, rather than trying to figure out why the question was set or which choice will bring you to one particular result. If you can’t decide, choose two answers.
read moreYour amazing life: why luck is just a view from a hill
Life sucks, doesn’t it?
You get nothing but bad luck.
No one appreciates you.
You don’t have enough money.
You’re bored and lonely.
Every day is another struggle, or another disappointment.
But if you try seeing your life as a view from a hill, you start to get more perspective on things.
read moreDodo Diary January 2016: Self-improvement Challenge, Month #11
Just one month to go!
The finishing line is in sight at last. Here I come, puffing and panting up the final stretch.
I don’t think I’ll reach all my targets by the end of my Dodo to Dynamite in a Year self-improvement challenge, but I won’t give up yet. I’m going to run as fast as I can until the last second.
There’s one target I know I won’t reach – Make 3 new friends.
I’ve had time to think about this target, and although I haven’t made any new friends, I don’t feel I’m failing; I just have the wrong target. To be honest, I didn’t particularly want more friends, but I convinced myself I should want them.
Everyone needs friends, don’t they?
But I truly don’t feel lonely and want friends around me all the time. I’m a quiet, introverted person, and having uproarious nights out with my buddies three times a week is not something I crave. I have plenty of laughs with my family, and that’s enough.
I’d certainly enjoy the mental stimulation of mixing with a wider group of people, but I don’t believe it’s possible to find true friendship by treating relationships as if they are trophies to be won, so I’m going to cancel this target and let it happen naturally.
If I concentrate on being a happier, more interesting person and enriching my life with new experiences, friends will come. Or not. It doesn’t matter.
read more