I am writing this whilst taking a break with the family in Scotland and this week away from home is reinforcing what I already know but often fail to apply to my busy life: "Me-time" has enormous value.

Whilst keeping abreast of e-mails, I am not doing any work as such. Instead, we have been shopping, taking trips to beautiful places like the Isle of Bute, building sandcastles and I have been finding time to read. Reading books, eh? Whatever next!

And the remarkable bit for me is how much I've achieved on the work front whilst not actually working! Playing with the girls, watching "Monsters vs Aliens" on DVD, taking photographs of the fox in Mum and Dad's garden have all played a part in switching off the left-side of my brain whilst allowing thoughts to drift in and out of the bit responsible for unconscious thought. Allowing the creative juices to effortlessly ebb and flow means I am now feeling quite relaxed and at the same time mentally prepared to hit the ground running next week when I return to work. Problems have been solved, ideas have sprung up from nowhere and I woke this morning with the answer to a question I've been wrestling with for some time.

So, for anyone reading this feeling overwhlemed with the challenges of the day, I urge you to take time out of the time you think you haven't got. If you do, you may be surprised at what you'll actually achieve.

Off to Culzean Castle now....now where is that brolly, just in case...?