Dyslexic Diary...or is it Dairy?!

I love writing lists, every Thursday night I come home and sit down to write my list for the weekend. Depending on how that day has gone I might do this while drinking a fine cup of Earl Grey tea or a nice cold beer! I start with looking at my list from the last week, there are some things which are always recurring – clean the house, iron, food shop etc. Then I add what I didn’t get round to doing the previous week, followed by what needs to be done this weekend. I see a list as having multiple uses: It helps me to remember the things I need to do. Helps me plan and organise my weekend, otherwise I think I would put off doing certain things until it’s late on a Sunday night and I’ve run out of time. Motivates me - I enjoy looking at a list, deciding what to do next, going away and doing it -then going back and ticking it off. That’s the buzz, drawing a line through the item and putting a big tick at the end! In fact I’d go as far as saying I think I have an obsession with lis...

Just had what I'm now going to refer to as a dyslexic moment - for those of you who are dyslexic I'm sure your know what I mean! But basically it's when you are suddenly confronted by information that your brain can't process quickly enough - and you kind of freeze or have a mind blank, although you try to style it out. This often happens in the most every day event/ occasion - I'm not talking about huge amounts of information, it's often just something so simple that can throw you. So my dyslexic moment today....on the phone trying to make an appointment with the doctor. Receptionist: 'yes tomorrow at ten to ten' Me: 'that's great thanks' Receptionist: 'what's your name? how do you spell your last name?' Now this is where my moment happens, I'm trying to write down on a piece of paper the appointment time, but ten to ten - I'm struggling to visualise it (I'm differently a visual learner and unless I can see i...

I have to question, who come up with the idea of open plan offices? It was obviously someone who: Didn't have any learning difficulties or physical disability Thought it would improve the working environment  Was trying to getting more desks onto the space Didn't trust their staff!   There's nothing worst than sitting row upon row of desks, people either side of you, looking at either the back of someone's head or the back of the computer screen in front of you. How does this improve anything? It just makes you act or feel like a robot or like your working on a production line. Its cold and unfriendly. You can't make it personal, and I don't mean have photos of your cat all-round the work space! I mean it's hard to adjust the working area as you have very little space. If you need to have lists or useful notes pinned around your desk- there on full view of other colleagues. No harm it that, other than they might find the odd word I have written o...

You may have guessed from the title of this blog I’m dyslexic and can never tell the difference between the words Diary or Dairy – when reading them or writing them. So why have I decided to create this blog I hear you ask? Well like many others out there (it might even be you reading this) I wasn’t diagnosed as dyslexic until the grand old age of 21 and just about to leave university, now in my mind 30’s I’ve decided that there’s nothing I can do about, I’ll never be the best speller or reader or have confidence to express my views in social spaces. I’ve spent many days and night struggling to do what comes normal to others, and feel at times it holds me back. I’ve experienced many different emotions from anger, fear and weakness through to full on anxiety attacks. I always try to hide how I’m feeling, put a mask on so others don’t see this side of me – well now I’ve decided it’s time to face this head on and write about it – YES write! And not in a private journal but a public space...