Thoughtful things

Things we like here at Thoughtful

thought starter

Rise up: The world can’t fix itself

Do you despair at the news? Deplore those in power? Dream of a future that’s not quite so apocalyptic? Cool. Then what are you doing about it? It’s your fault the world is broken. And mine. It’s our friends’ fault, and their friends’. Our families’ fault, and lovers’ and neighbours’ and colleagues’… it’s all our fault. As a child of… Read more →

love mornings

Rise and shine: How to love the mornings

In Thoughtful’s first (and only!) listicle, I share my 10 top tips for falling in love with the morning. Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who make the morning and spread it over the fields and into the faces of the tulips and the nodding morning glories, and into the windows of, even, the miserable and crotchety– best preacher… Read more →

rise playlist

A playlist you’ll want to turn up to 11

Raise the volume on these songs while you plot how to stick it to ‘the man’ (no offence, chaps). Click on individual songs, or listen to the entire playlist on Spotify.   Follow Daianna on Instagram at @daianna.thoughtstarter.  Photo credit: Ted Major (header); Finland Lakeland (featured) Read more →

connect creativity thoughtful workshops

Connecting the dots: How to solve bigger problems with better creativity

Commercial creatives are learning to get to better solutions faster by partnering with mission-led startups.   What happens when you combine a social mission with commercial ambition? It’s a question that’s fascinated me for ages. For me, there’s no inherent conflict between purpose and profit. In fact, given the influence it has on every aspect of our lives, I think… Read more →

connect without alcohol

Make friends with sober: How to connect with people without alcohol

Choosing to be alcohol-free no longer means you’ve signed up to sit home alone drinking tea.   I have a confession to make, I don’t love drinking. I’ve never been a big drinker. While I drank plenty—in college, when I studied abroad, in my twenties—most of the time, I didn’t like. it. I didn’t like how it made me feel.… Read more →

connect wishlist

Wishlist: Items to help you feel more connected

Creatively designed and compassionately made, the items in our wishlist will help you reconnect with yourself, others and the world around you.   Connect with your community Connect with other communities Connect with yourself Photo credit: Bogdan Dada (featured); Rubén Bagüés (header) Read more →

connect playlist

A music playlist that really connects

Can anything be more important than connecting—with people, with places, with emotions, with memories and with feelings? (Apart from Leeds United getting back into the Premier League after fifteen long years in the doldrums, obvs. Oh… and treating the planet with a bit more care.) I hope you connect with this music. Click on individual songs, or listen to the entire playlist on Spotify.… Read more →

slow consumption

The cure for impulse buying? Slow consumption

Buying fewer, better things can help you lead a more fulfilled, less wasteful life.   “Don’t care how, I want it now!” Looking back, I have the uncomfortable feeling that as a child I might have channelled a bit of the irredeemably entitled anti-heroine Verruca Salt. My parents, being rather more British than normal British people (due to the fact… Read more →

slow media

Slow media: Why unhurried forms of communication are worth the wait

A ‘slow media’ movement is, so to speak, gathering pace.   Once up on a time, you could stay on top of current events without being distracted by clickbait headlines, listicles and notifications. You could keep up with the news, full stop. There wasn’t a 24-hour firehose of tweets and trolls, posts and pundits. Anything described as viral was to be… Read more →

pexels-photo-248440

Slow food: How to savour life like a Spaniard

Eat food that’s good, clean and fair.   In recent years, there’s been a glut of recipe books to help us cook meals in 30 or—god forbid—15 minutes; with five ingredients or just three. Food in a hurry; grub on the go for busy people. In our time-poor world when we all seem to be in constant competition as to who… Read more →