Hey gang! Another week, another Weekly Balance. Let’s have a look back at the past seven days in my life and what I’ve learnt from it.

What went on in my doctor life…

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, I’m going to leave out this section of The Weekly Balance for now. I can’t share the specifics of my day to day work – its not appropriate for many reasons, but confidentiality is the main one. I would also guess that many of you, like me, enjoy taking time to switch off from all things pandemic, and I hope these weekly posts might help with that a little. I hope you guys can understand that, and thank you! I am continuing to share COVID-19 update posts on my Instagram at least once per week – you can check those out here.

What I’m thinking about…

My first publication as a lead author! Some of you might know that I did my Masters in Public Health in 2018/2019, and my thesis was on shift work, dietary behaviours and physical activity levels. I’ve been the last 9-12 months working on developing a research paper from my thesis research, and after a lot of hard graft and teamwork, plus wonderful support and guidance from my supervisor, this week my paper was published in the British Medical Journal Nutrition Prevention and Health journal. I’m absolutely chuffed, and haven’t had a moment to celebrate it as I’ve been working this weekend, but I feel both proud and delighted to have the paper finally over the line. I’ll be sharing an Instagram post on it this week.

What I’m reading…

I recently finished The Giver Of Stars by Jojo Moyes, and I ADORED it. This book is set in a town called Baileyville, in Kentucky in the 1930s, with two main female protagonists – Alice Van Cleve, a young women from England who has recently married and moved to Baileyville, finding life isn’t quite what she thought it would be, and Margery O’Hare, a woman who has lived in the town all her life with a dark family history, but a strong, compassionate and inspiring personality, who does what she likes and likes what she does. As the book begins, a travelling library is being set up in the town, whereby volunteers travel on horseback to residents in the town and wider mountainous area, delivering books as a lend and collecting them over days and weeks. Alice and Margery meet when Alice, fed up of her lonely life with her new husband and his domineering father, volunteers to help the travelling library, and is taken under Margery’s wing.

This is a book about the power of female friendship, doing the right thing even and especially when it’s the harder thing to do, love and loyalty. I absolutely loved it, couldn’t put it down, and would 110% recommend adding it to your reading list!

As always, let me know what you’re reading in the comments below! Currently I’m reading The Break by Marian Keyes.

What I’m listening to…

This week, I really enjoyed the latest episode of the Brené Brown podcast which was an episode titled ‘On My Mind’, focused on our emotional ‘surge capacity’ in the face of the pandemic, the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and using play as an energy source. It is always with Brené Brown, a really inspiring listen, particularly the part about surge capacity.

I’m also loving the Wake Up Wind Down podcast by Niall Breslin. I may have mentioned it before, but it’s such a lovely way to start and end your day. With two episodes each week day, it’s a calming listen for me morning and night, and I would recommend checking it out.

Recipe of the Week

The recipe I’m loving this week is my Creamy Yoghurt Overnight Oats – a breakfast recipe favourite for me, and ideal for a new week ahead! You can find the recipe here.

And that’s a wrap for this week gang! If you want to get in touch, you can find me @theirishbalance on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I hope you have a lovely week ahead folks – remember, stay informed with the advice from your local health authority, stay safe, wash your hands, keep your distance and be kind!

Ciara  x