Strawberry Communications: Writing & PR

What Inspires You to Write?

March 26, 2014 By Johanna Leave a Comment

Festival of Golden Words panel for ‘What Makes Women Glad, Sad and Mad’ session. L-R: Nikki Gemmell, Wendy Harmer, Fiona O’Loughlin, chair Irina Dunn and Katherine Scholes.

The question of where inspiration comes from has been asked of me, and by me many times since I decided I wanted to be a journalist at seven.

Writers I admire were recently asked the same question at the Festival of Golden Words in Beaconsfield and their answers confirmed what I’ve always thought – inspiration is everywhere!

Bay of Fires author Poppy Gee commented that inspiration to her was like drawing on “scraps from many cupboards”, which I understand. Watching people, hearing snippets of conversation or even smelling a certain scent can evoke a series of ideas for me. I even created an entire personality around a man I followed to the bus stop one morning simply based on the click his shoes made as he walked.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: My Stuff Tagged With: Festival of Golden Words, Heather Rose, inspiration, Kate Gordon, Poppy Gee, writing

Interview Skills for Children

March 26, 2014 By Johanna Leave a Comment

Image: www.hcdconnect.org

Any parent knows children ask a lot (A LOT!) of questions.

Of course this is an important way for them to learn about the world around them. I encourage my two boys to ask whatever they want to know. And they do.

One of the reasons I encourage questions is that I have made a career out of asking them. I mentioned this to my eldest son’s grade 2 teacher and she asked if I would be willing to speak with the class (and their buddies in grade 5/6) about how I interview people as a journalist.

I spoke briefly about the types of articles I write as a journalist and how I would interview someone, and then set them some questions to ask each other. Both classes erupted in excitement and I could see this was going to be fun!

Guest post: Business Etiquette: How to Balance Disruptions and Productivity

March 21, 2014 By Johanna Leave a Comment

Image: businessgross.com

By Mark Kirkpatrick

When it comes to performing at our very best at work, the last thing anyone needs is distraction. While some employees can be easily thrown off by street or building construction, instantly sending them off balance, unscheduled meetings or frequent phone calls may be detrimental to the productivity of others.

Regardless of how productive your employees are, they are still subject to disruptions at one point or another. What types of distractions kill productivity? And what you can do you about it?

Types of Disruptions

There are many things that can disrupt a normally productive workplace:

1. The workplace environment. Many offices pride themselves in having a fun, open environment. However, not everyone works best in a group setting. According to a study by NewAsk.com, the majority of people actually accomplish more when they are allowed to work alone. Making sure every employee has the opportunity to work in a quiet environment can really help raise productivity.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Tips

A Change for the Better: Continuing the Office Makeover

March 13, 2014 By Johanna Leave a Comment

Sponsored post

The corner where the filing cabinet stood mid makeover

“Change in all things is sweet,” according to Aristotle, and when it comes to my office I have to agree with the Greek philosopher.

I spent a week over Christmas and New Year making over my office, the Strawberry Patch. I cannot tell you how much difference it has made to my work attitude and mindset. Changing the colour and starting to de-clutter the space in which I work has already done wonders for my productivity.

Sitting here in my calm, new blue-and-white space, writing while Travis plays on Spotify in the background, the dog snoring at my feet, I can see I’m still not quite there yet though. One of the reasons behind making over my office (something I talked about doing for about 18 months) was the fact I felt ill when confronted with the sickly yellow colour of the walls and the constant clutter I managed to create by dumping everything in (and around) my inbox in piles.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: My Stuff Tagged With: Affordable Office Furniture, declutter, office chairs, office makeover

Guest post: Organisation Inspiration For Working Mums

February 24, 2014 By Johanna Leave a Comment

Better organisation? Improved efficiency? Increased productivity? With your work load and family schedule, you’re probably thinking, “I need an assistant and a nanny.” Since most of us aren’t afforded these luxuries, here are three actual solutions for getting more done.

Paper & Pen

No matter how digitised our lives become, no smartphone app or Google calendar can replace pen and paper. If you’re an agenda book type of girl, you can update your day planning with the bullet journal. The bullet journal is designed for “the list-makers, the note-takers, the Post-It note pilots, the track-keepers, and the dabbling doodlers,” according to its website. It’s an “analog system” and “rapid logging” method for people who prefer to use a blank page while managing their data-overloaded lives.

Even as a working mum whose daily family responsibilities and business goals seem to always overlap, bullet journaling provides insights and identifies what’s important from what’s not. Your bullet journal’s tracking system will live in a Moleskin Squared Notebook that has grid pages perfect for indexing, migrating and collecting, as well as creating monthly and daily calendars. Check out BulletJournal.com for a step-by-step guide on how to replace being busy with being productive.

My Vision for 2014

January 31, 2014 By Johanna 4 Comments

As a visual person, nothing has been more powerful in helping me achieve than to have my goals in front of my eyes.

Last month I outlined my intentions for the year ahead and told you I would be spending a day with three special friends brainstorming and creating our vision boards for the year ahead. In preparation for this day we all completed Leonie Dawson’s Create Your Amazing Year workbooks. This made sure we had our goals, dreams and intentions right at the front of our minds.

As you can see from my board, there’s plenty of powerful images and a smattering of inspiring words. The board is divided into nine segments, based loosely on feng shui principles. From the top left and moving clockwise, the segments are spirituality, career, travel, creativity, relationships, aspirations, wealth and health, with my heart right in the middle.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: My Stuff Tagged With: goals, goals for 2014, inspiration, intentions, Leonie Dawson, vision board

Strawberry Patch Makeover

January 31, 2014 By Johanna 3 Comments

After spending so much time in the past few months thinking about how I would make every second of 2014 count, I realised the one big thing I’d been procrastinating over was painting my office. It was time the Strawberry Patch had a makeover.

Initially I thought of repainting the insipid yellow walls a warm white to make it feel more comfortable in winter (being the coldest room in the house is only good in summer!), but after consulting with my good friend and colour consultant extraordinaire Suse Henshaw, I realised a strong colour was the way to go. The Patch now has three walls of a beautiful, deep, luxurious peacock blue and one white (we thought that a better options for Skype and videos on dark days).

[Read more...]

Filed Under: My Stuff Tagged With: inspiration, new space, office makeover, painting, Strawberry Patch, Suse Henshaw

Children’s book app brings families less stress, more joy through creative play!

January 28, 2014 By Johanna Leave a Comment

Australian company Bizzibrains launched the I imagine book app today, with its unique, interactive and personalised story already proving a hit with kids around the world.

Bizzibrains owner Nic Lansdell said children who play tested I imagine loved putting themselves and the two other characters in the story by typing and recording their names, taking a photo face and choosing hair and clothing.

“Children have been engaging with the story and exploring the pages to discover loads of fun interactions,” Nicola explained.

“I love listening to them laugh out loud as they help their character play in the backyard, draw, dance and even jump on the bed!”

I imagine isn’t just for kids – parents will be impressed with the educational features of the app. Children listen to and follow instructions and learn to type their names. They are encouraged to explore the story pages to find interactions themselves.

“Parents love I imagine because it encourages active, independent, imaginative play for children,” the working mum said.

I imagine can be downloaded free from the Apple App Store and features include:

• Fun character creation stage for parents and children to enjoy together

• Activities including a drawing page and four fun games of hide & seek

• Story text that highlights as read

• Read to me or read it myself option

• Encouraged exploration on the story pages for discovery of interactions

• An award for parents print out and use as encouragement for their child

• No third party advertising

• A parental safe guard protects the $2.99 in-app purchase, which allows you to create and keep two extra sets of three characters.

“A passion for stories, illustrations, music and children inspired me to create this app. Once I had the idea of Bizzibrains clear in my head I was so excited about taking on the challenge of bringing it to life,” Nic said.

To watch a video about I imagine visit: http://youtu.be/KPSEddY5FN8 or download it directly from the app store at https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/i-imagine/id771569926?mt=8

For more information about I imagine and Bizzibrains visit www.bizzibrains.com

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: Bizzibrains, children's book app, I imagine, Nic Lansdell

Ushering Out 2013 and Welcoming 2014

December 19, 2013 By Johanna 2 Comments

I like to end each year reviewing the goals I set the year before, and making new goals for the one ahead. And by setting these publicly I’m more accountable.

It seems I didn’t do this last year, however, I do know that I wanted to achieve the following goals in 2013:

• Become an author – Business & Baby on Board was published in July of this year!

• Write fiction – I started with a short story that has now turned into 5000 words, so I might be writing a novella or a novel next.

• Add an Honours degree to my Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies) – I graduated with First Class Honours on Tuesday night and am now considering further study.

• Be fitter – an ongoing goal. My fitness levels could definitely improve!

• Find peace with my body – I’m still a work in progress there.

It seems I’m better at meeting my professional goals than my deeply personal ones, but righting this situation should be a goal in itself I think.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: My Stuff Tagged With: 2014 goals, goals, vision board

Easy Peasy Kids Launches New Website and Services

December 16, 2013 By Johanna Leave a Comment

Nathalie and her kids

Child behaviour consultant and award-winning blogger (Bupa Award) Nathalie Brown from Easy Peasy Kids has launched a new website to accompany her extended suite of services to support children and their families.

The reinvigorated website, designed by Swish Design, reflects Nathalie’s commitment to “Less tantrums. More smiles,” Nathalie said.

“We all want to be good parents and a child’s behaviour can sometimes confuse us and certainly push our buttons. Understanding the reasons behind certain behaviours creates better outcomes. Giving children and their families the skills to enjoy a happy, healthy and fulfilling life,” Nathalie explained.

What Inspires You to Write?

Interview Skills for Children

Guest post: Business Etiquette: How to Balance Disruptions and Productivity

A Change for the Better: Continuing the Office Makeover

Guest post: Organisation Inspiration For Working Mums

Paper & Pen

[Read more...]

My Vision for 2014

Strawberry Patch Makeover

Children’s book app brings families less stress, more joy through creative play!

Ushering Out 2013 and Welcoming 2014

Easy Peasy Kids Launches New Website and Services

Join Us on Facebook

Follow Johanna

Recent Articles

Blog Categories