Overthinking is a common affliction characterised by going over and over a scenario in our heads in an unproductive way. It is often mistaken as problem-solving but as we replay imagined scenarios and their outcomes, more hypothetical “what if?” problems arise which require solutions, thus compounding and enforcing the pattern. Continue Reading
Sleep Learning – my plan to read the entire works of Shakespeare via overnight audiobooks
I’ve recently made my peace with sleep. I used to resent it, and tried hard to avoid it. It seemed like a waste of time when I could be awake doing stuff. I couldn’t fathom why anyone would go to bed at 11pm unless they had an early flight to Continue Reading
News induced angst
I used to feel anxious in the mornings – a mild existential dread that got steadily worse for the first hour of the day. Upon reflection of the possible causes I narrowed it down to too much morning news. I woke to news bulletins from my radio alarm. I checked Continue Reading
Pomodoro concentration technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a simple and effective way to help concentrate on tasks for intense bursts of time. It’s named after the tomato (‘pomodoro’ in Italian) shaped kitchen timer the technique’s inventor used. The average concentration span has seen a steep decrease in recent years with many studies citing Continue Reading
Gratitude
Published in Shetland Life magazine in February 2018 entitled “Count your blessings” Editorial: Bryan Peterson is perhaps better known as a party animal than a self-help guru. In recent years, however, he has developed a more reflective approach to life which he will be sharing with our readers over the Continue Reading
Christmas music (I wish it could be breakfast everyday)
Published in Shetland Life magazine, December 2016 I don’t want to come across as a grinchy humbugger. I really do like Christmas. What could be a finer way to spend time than relaxing with friends and family with good food and some drams when the weather is fierce outside? But Continue Reading
If music be the food of love: a journey from fry-ups to Freeform Jazz
Published in Shetland Life magazine in November 2016 During my stint as an electrician on Glaswegian building sites I was party to several conversations with colleagues who had an even shallower appreciation of food than I did. Debates included, “Why does milk hae a cow as a logo. Is there Continue Reading
The Wise Monkeys live at S.A.E.
Inness Thompson on guitar and vocals, Bryan Peterson on bass, Mark McGuiness on drums. Recorded in 2005.
A-Z of Shetland
A peerie bairn asked me for my autograph because he recognised me from this film. His mam told me that he ran back to her and said I was the most famous person he’d met since Mickey Mouse at EuroDisney the year before.
Curse of the Bruck Monster
A work of genius from JJ Jamieson. Here’s some background info on the project.