Tell us more about the post it notes… What do you write on them?

All sorts of things – go for a run today, do some yoga. Persistence is the most important thing. The stakes are high. I stick them around my house. When I don’t feel great, I find tactics to make me get stuff done – for example, “write the book, this is what I want to do”.

I’m terrible at telling myself off so, rather than bullying myself, I try to keep things positive. I have a really loud and critical inner voice sometimes. Exercise massively helps to quieten that down – it shuts it up a little bit. One difference in me now is that when I’m going out to run I’m doing it to make me feel good. It releases endorphins and makes me happier. Rather than going out there thinking ‘I have to run this far, and do this time’, I’m exercising purely to feel good about who I am.

Do you turn to different forms of exercise depending on your mood?

I shake it up all the time because I get bored quite easily, and I like to do different things and entertain myself. I used to box a lot when I was younger – I was quite an angry teen, mainly at the self-critic in my own head.

Exercise really helps me manage things. We all have things we’re scared of and if we don’t deal with them then they can come out in negative ways. I did some yoga at the beginning of the year, and sometimes I need to run or go outside. The latest thing I’ve gotten into is meditation. There was a moment recently where I was feeling really anxious and I did 10 minutes of it and it absolutely completely changed how I was feeling.

I was having one of those head fogs that sit at the front of your head between the eyes, and stop you being able to think. I was trying to get a piece done but I couldn’t concentrate, so I sat down for 10 minutes and the pressure at the front of my head just went and I could think straight. There are so many incredible things we can do, but we don’t promote the connection between the mind and the body enough.

“How running helps me cope with post traumatic stress disorder”