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Welcome to the ’Create Your Kindspace’ podcast, with me your host Caroline Laurenson. Create Your Kindspace is all about wellbeing and the different ways in which we care for ourselves and those around us. We’re here to offer companionship and practical tips to brighten your day. We’ll delve into the concept of kind spaces, chatting with an inspiring mix of people from across tech, wellness, and entrepreneurship. Let’s learn together and sprinkle some much needed kindness in the world. So, take a pause, relax, and let’s start the journey.
Episodes

Thursday Sep 05, 2024
Pei-I Yang Helps Us to Find Family Harmony
Thursday Sep 05, 2024
Thursday Sep 05, 2024
Welcome to another episode of the ’Create Your Kindspace’ podcast, with me your host Caroline Laurenson. Create Your Kindspace is all about wellbeing and the different ways in which we care for ourselves and those around us.
Today I’d like you to meet my wonderful friend Pei-I Yang from Rainbow Parenting Practice. We’re delving into the tricky topic of family relationships and specifically the tensions and issues that many of us face navigating the teenage years.
Timestamps:
00:01:11 Introduction and Pei-I's Background
00:04:07 The Importance of Seeking Help with Parenting
00:09:38 Understanding Family Dynamics and Inherited Parenting Traits
00:15:33 Pei-I's Approach to Helping Families
00:20:15 Success Stories and Transformations
00:28:19 Pei-I's Media Appearances and GB News Interview
00:34:26 The "Teen Talk" Podcast
00:42:15 Tuning into Your Soul and Self-Care
00:45:45 How to Connect with Pei-I and Rainbow Parenting Practice
Links:
Website: https://www.rainbowparentingpractice.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pei-i-yang/
Teen Talk Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4VZsroFmjmAyju7sHtDlkN?si=eca2ae1da3174d12
Transcript:
https://createyourkindspace.com/pei-i-yang-helps-us-to-find-family-harmony/
There is not a day goes by that I don’t feel grateful for my family and my kids. There is nothing that I wanted more growing up than to have a stable normal life. So it’s very comforting to know that there are people like Pei-I out there dedicating themselves to helping families through difficult times and allowing them to repair and rebuild those fragile relationships. If you are listening to this and you’re in need of support, I know Pei-I would be delighted to hear from you.
Thank you for listening all the way to the end, before you go, I have a little favour to ask, so if you’ve liked this episode, screenshot it, tag us on social media @createyourkindspace and maybe share what your key takeaway was from the episode. It would so wonderful as well if you could rate and review the podcast as this helps other people to find it. Thank you so much.
Disclaimer:
The information on this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. You should seek the advice of an appropriately qualified healthcare professional before making decisions about your own circumstances. You should not disregard, or delay seeking professional medical advice because of any information contained on this podcast.
Unless specifically mentioned on the podcast, Create Your Kindspace and Caroline Laurenson do not formally endorse or have any affiliation with any product or service mentioned in the podcast. The opinions and content provided and/or shared by any third-party guests, any third-party material or third-party website referenced in this podcast does not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Create Your Kindspace and Caroline Laurenson.

Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Catherine Ann Reid Helps Us to Conquer Life's Admin
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
If I say the words Life Admin, what feelings come up for you? Is it immediate overwhelm? I think at this time of year, when we’re thinking about getting back to school and realising how the end of the year isn’t actually that far away, it can cause a slight sense of panic when you realise how many balls you are juggling. My guest today, Catherine Ann Reid has created a super user-friendly digital solution called Doqit that brings together all that life admin into one place and offers timely reminders so you’ll never drop a ball again.
Timestamps:
00:01:21 Introduction and Catherine Ann’s Background
00:03:31 The Inspiration Behind Doqit
00:06:44 Solving the Life Admin Problem
00:09:29 Implementing Doqit and User Stories
00:19:50 The Role of AI and Future Possibilities
00:23:26 The Tech Founder Journey
00:35:23 Reflections and Lessons Learned
00:41:15 Inspiring and Being Inspired By Our Kids
00:48:38 Finding Balance and Creating Kind Spaces
Links:
Website: https://www.doqit.io/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherineannreid/
Transcript:
https://createyourkindspace.com/catherine-ann-reid-helps-us-to-conquer-lifes-admin/
It never ceases to amaze me how resilient people can be. I am so blessed to be able to have such beautiful guests on, who share their life lessons and passion for helping others. You can hopefully tell from this episode that I feel a deep connection with Catherine Ann and Chloe, I’ve walked a similar path with my own disability. My mum had five kids and had to juggle all my appointments and treatment and I know she would have loved something like Doqit to help keep her organised.
Can I ask you a favour? If you’ve liked this episode, please screenshot it and tag us on social media @createyourkindspace. It would also be so wonderful if you could rate and review the podcast to help other people find it.

Thursday Jun 06, 2024
Daring to Grow and the Power of Self-Coaching with Gemma Burns
Thursday Jun 06, 2024
Thursday Jun 06, 2024
Today on Kindspace I’m delighted to introduce you to Gemma Burns, a life coach and author of the book "Dare to Grow." Gemma shares her personal journey, including losing her brother at a young age, becoming a single mother, navigating her career and finding a path to personal growth through coaching. Keep listening to find out more about techniques to identify core values, self-reflect and define those small steps to achieve your goals.
Timestamps:
00:02:17 Gemma's Background and Path to Coaching
00:05:42 Challenges of Balancing Work, Studies, and Motherhood
00:08:51 Developing Study Techniques (Mind Maps, Memorisation)
00:14:41 Exploring Core Values and Self-Reflection
00:20:55 Imposter Syndrome and Accepting Positive Feedback
00:26:07 The Importance of Not Comparing Yourself to Others
00:28:51 Techniques for Goal Setting
00:32:35 Managing Grief and Difficult Life Transitions
00:39:38 Using the "Gap Analysis" Tool to Identify Growth Areas
00:41:43 The GROW Model and WOOP goals
00:47:40 Coaching and Building Resilience
00:57:28 Finding Contentment and Pursuing Passions Like DIY
Links:
Website: https://www.lilibetcoaching.com/
Dare to Grow book: https://amzn.to/3QDyWXE
What can I say to Alexa book: https://tltechsmart.com/what-can-I-say-to-Alexa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemmaburns-lilibetcoaching/
Transcript:
https://createyourkindspace.com/daring-to-grow-and-the-power-of-self-coaching-with-gemma-burns/
Now you might have heard us mention my book and be thinking what book? To support people on the smart home side of our business I’ve created a guide book for the Amazon Alexa smart speakers called “What can I say to Alexa?” Essentially, it’s a reference guide to help people learn about the different Alexa features and commands. If you want to check it out it’s on Amazon, you can type in the book title “What can I say to Alexa?” or just type in something like “Alexa commands” and you should find it in the search results. I’ll also pop a link in the show notes here as well.
As the podcast series continues, I encourage you to get in touch and share your stories and tips, I’d love to hear from you! Pop me an email at caroline@tltechsmart.com or message on social media @createyourkindspace

Wednesday May 01, 2024
Stories that Shape Us with Caroline Laurenson
Wednesday May 01, 2024
Wednesday May 01, 2024
It's not every day that you get the opportunity to share your story and do it on a day as meaningful as International Women's Day. Our life experiences have such a profound way of shaping our future selves and not always in the way that you might expect. There will be amazing people in your life that have gone through things and overcome things that you could never even imagine. I was honoured to share my story and also hear the stories of other brave inspirational women, but in all our stories what came out was how much our own mother's have influenced the women we have become. So this is my story...
Timestamps:
00:01:20 It’s Halloween 1989
00:02:02 The Chaos of Family Life
00:03:32 Leaving Home at 16
00:04:05 My Career as a Chemical Engineer
00:05:01 The Interesting Thing About Fear
00:06:12 Working with Your Other Half
00:07:34 Labels Don’t Define Us
00:09:19 Stories that Shape Us
00:09:53 Finding Kindspace
00:10:27 Honouring My Mum
Links:
TL Tech Website: https://www.tltechsmart.com/
Kindspace Website: https://www.createyourkindspace.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-laurenson/
Transcript:
https://createyourkindspace.com/stories-that-shape-us-with-caroline-laurenson/
As the podcast series continues, I encourage you to get in touch and share your stories and tips, I’d love to hear from you! Pop me an email at caroline@tltechsmart.com or message on social media @createyourkindspace

Thursday Apr 04, 2024
Understand Brain Health, Sleep and Nutrition with Dr. Clara Doran
Thursday Apr 04, 2024
Thursday Apr 04, 2024
Imagine you’ve just become a mum for the first time, but you’re struggling with your health. Appointment after appointment, test after test, you finally get the news you have Multiple Sclerosis. My guest, Dr Clara Doran, opens up about her diagnosis and experience of living with a long-term health condition. She also shares how writing about her feelings and the challenges of becoming the patient instead of the doctor and how has led to her forthcoming memoir, Dr Interrupted. I can’t wait to find out more, so let’s dive in.
Timestamps:
00:02:16 Pursuing Medicine and General Practice
00:03:38 The AccelerateHer Programme's Impact
00:06:13 Doing Scary Things & Funny First Times
00:08:19 Discovering Brain Health and Founding Noggin
00:13:25 Living with Multiple Sclerosis
00:16:41 Sleeping and Newborns
00:19:00 Prioritising Sleep for Brain Health
00:27:51 Nutrition Tips for Better Sleep
00:36:20 The Journey of Writing a Memoir
00:47:03 Creating Kind Spaces through Writing
00:49:54 Looking Ahead: Children's Brain Health Product
Links:
Website: https://nogginbrain.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NogginTheBrainPeople/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nogginthebrainpeople/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-clara-doran-mbbs-mrcgp-81667958/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nogginbrain/
X: https://twitter.com/NogginPeople
Curtis Brown Writing Courses: https://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/creative-writing-courses
Big Feelings: How to Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay: https://amzn.to/3J5k4gA
The Psychology Mum - A Toolkit for Your Emotions: 45 ways to feel better https://amzn.to/49qZ8Ls
Transcript:
https://createyourkindspace.com/understand-brain-health-sleep-and-nutrition-with-dr-clara-doran/
Outro:
I think there’s nothing more powerful than when someone takes a life experience and uses that to help others. Dr Clara is one of the most courageous, intelligent and kind people I’ve ever had the honour of meeting. I’m very excited for the book launch and I hope you’ll all get behind her to help broaden the reach of her amazing work helping others through difficult diagnoses and educating us about the importance of brain health.
As the podcast series continues, I encourage you to get in touch and share your stories and tips, I’d love to hear from you! Pop me an email at caroline@tltechsmart.com or message on social media @createyourkindspace

Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Darren Crombie Bridges the Gap to Support Unpaid Carers
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Would you believe it if I told you that unpaid carers do the equivalent of 162 billion pounds of work every year? But despite the vital role that unpaid carers provide, support is significantly lacking and the limited support that there is, can be so hard to navigate. My guest today has made it his mission to bridge this gap. Darren Crombie founded Bridgit Care and his resourcefulness and ability to adapt to the changing technology landscape shines through in our discussion. Keep listening for this fascinating insight into how human-centric tech can empower carers and communities.
Timestamps:
00:02:17 Darren's journey from management consulting to founding Bridgit Care
00:04:49 Why support for unpaid carers matters
00:05:47 Putting lived experience at the heart of Bridgit Care
00:12:34 How Bridgit Care identifies, supports, and connects carers
00:15:54 Partnering with charities and councils to enhance existing carer services
00:17:14 Using WhatsApp and AI personas to provide tailored support and advice
00:25:02 The role of AI in health and social care
00:28:03 Expanding the model to support other communities in need
00:31:08 Pivoting from hardware to software
00:33:43 A day in the life of Darren at Bridgit Care
00:37:35 How does Darren create his kind space?
00:40:49 Where to find out more about Bridgit Care
00:43:07 Supporting other social entrepreneurs
Links:
Website: https://bridgit.care/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bridgitcare
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bridgitcare/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgitcare
X: https://twitter.com/BridgitCare
Aster Foundation: https://www.aster.co.uk/foundation
Barclay Eagle Labs Health Tech: https://labs.uk.barclays/our-industries/healthtech/
Codebase Techscaler Start-up Support: https://www.techscaler.co.uk/
Transcript:
https://createyourkindspace.com/darren-crombie-bridges-the-gap-to-support-unpaid-carers/
If you’d like to be a guest on the show or collaborate on content, I would love to hear from you! Pop me an email at caroline@tltechsmart.com or message me on social media @createyourkindspace
It would also mean a lot to me if you could rate and review this podcast as it helps other people to discover our content.

Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Dr Jill Williams Helps Us to Find Light After Burnout
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
In this episode, with the help of the amazing Dr Jill William’s, we delve into the topic of burnout. There are many aspects to burnout. Contrary to popular belief, burnout is not working too hard. It’s about chronic stress and our bodies response to that stress. Often, it’s external factors, which are difficult to influence or resolve. Jill does such a great job of explaining the warning signs for burnout and the simple steps we can take to uptrain our brain to be more resilient to these pressures. And most importantly, make it out the other side.
Timestamps:
00:02:41 Jill’s journey, working in retail to lecturing at university
00:05:57 Experiencing burnout firsthand
00:10:01 Common warning signs
00:12:16 Burnout is multifaceted
00:14:06 Importance of confiding in a trusted coworker
00:15:45 Coming out of burnout with a new perspective
00:17:49 The stages of burnout
00:18:35 Self-employed and entrepreneurs
00:20:06 Jill’s road to recovery
00:20:50 That feeling of disconnect
00:21:38 The importance of taking time out
00:23:52 Peer support is a protective factor
00:25:34 Strategies for prevention
00:26:36 Doing the “opposites”
00:27:22 Societal factors, talking about our life outside work
00:31:50 Creativity and giving your brain space
00:37:50 The concept of rust-out
00:39:30 The uptrained brain
00:42:10 How to approach blocks and negative thinking
00:44:46 Unhelpful behaviours and risk factors
00:45:47 People pleasing
00:47:05 Putting a recovery plan together
00:52:18 Caregiver Burnout
00:55:43 How Jill creates her kind space
00:59:07 How to get in touch with Jill
00:59:37 Organisational changes are needed
Links:
Jill’s blog about her burnout experience; https://www.rethinktherapyconwy.com/post/if-a-psychologist-can-burn-out-my-personal-story-of-burnout
Uptrained Brain course & Book a discovery call with Jill: https://www.rethinktherapyconwy.com/uptrainedbrain
Free Recovery from Burnout Guide: https://www.rethinktherapyconwy.com/blog/categories/burnout-work-related-stress
Nick Petrie resources: https://www.nicholaspetrie.com/blog-1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUptrainedBrain
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jill-williams-92a907255/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uptrainedbrain/
X: https://twitter.com/UptrainedBrain
Transcript:
https://createyourkindspace.com/dr-jill-williams-helps-us-to-find-light-after-burnout/
If you’d like to be a guest on the show or collaborate on content, I would love to hear from you! Pop me an email at caroline@tltechsmart.com or message me on social media @createyourkindspace
It would also mean a lot to me if you could rate and review this podcast as it helps other people to discover our content.

Friday Jan 05, 2024
Let’s kick off 2024 with special guest… me!
Friday Jan 05, 2024
Friday Jan 05, 2024
Hi, it's Caroline here. This episode will be a little bit different. There's no guest. It's just me having a bit of a reflection.
There are many reasons for doing a look back, both for the podcast and for the year that's just passed. I thought this would be a good opportunity for you to get to know me a bit and learn a bit more about Kindspace and its origins. I also really wanted to have a quiet Christmas without any pressure to create or have to do any work.
Ah, but isn't it funny, you know, when you give yourself some downtime, just be bored and potter around and that's actually when you can be your most creative. I don't know if anyone else finds that but certainly my brain. seems to come alive with ideas. And I'm like, no, do nothing. Watch Netflix. So I hope you were able to switch off over the festive period and are feeling recharged and ready for 2024.
Timestamps:
00:00:40 Introduction to this slightly different episode
00:01:45 Did you miss our Tech the Halls bonus episode?
00:03:04 How did Kindspace come to be?
00:08:27 Why did I decide to start the podcast?
00:12:21 Who have we had on the show so far?
00:22:06 How do I feel about the podcast for the year ahead?
00:25:06 Do you have a word of the year for 2024?
Links:
Website: https://www.createyourkindspace.com/
Transcript:
https://createyourkindspace.com/lets-kick-off-2024-with-special-guest-me/
If you’d like to be a guest on the show or collaborate on content, I would love to hear from you! Pop me an email at caroline@tltechsmart.com or message me on social media @createyourkindspace
It would also mean a lot to me if you could rate and review this podcast as it helps other people to discover our content.

Start creating your kind space today!
What is Kindspace and why does it matter?
Kindspace is a holistic wellbeing support tool on the Amazon Alexa smart speakers, designed to empower people to better manage their self-care and help alleviate issues such as stress, anxiety and loneliness.
• A daily check-in that builds a picture of your wellbeing.
• Personalised tips and a large library of advice across different wellbeing topics.
• Interactive wellness activities such as journaling, affirmations, poetry, short stories and breathing exercises.
Mental ill health disproportionally affects people who are unpaid carers, older people, people with disabilities and people living in poverty.
• Nearly 1 in 5 adults in the UK provide unpaid care.
• More than 1 in 4 sandwich carers of children and older relatives report symptoms of mental ill health.
• A lack of support can have a significant impact on carers’ lives, with 78% of carers saying that missing out on support resulted in them suffering from increased stress and anxiety.
• 1 in 4 adults in the UK report feeling lonely “always”, “often” or “some of the time”.