Ik water is jus.... water but sometimes after exercising or waking up in the middle of the night it tastes ridiculously good buh other times it barely tastes like anything.
is that just my brain making it seem better cuz my body needs it or does water actually taste different depending on how dehydrated you are?
I've been trying to choose a business account for a new venture and it's been more confusing than I expected. every thread seems to recommend something different, and once you start comparing features, the just use x advice doesn't really hold up.....One thing that kept coming up for me was making tax digital. I noticed starling has mtd income tax filing built into the business account, which seems useful if you're trying to keep costs down and avoid paying for extra software. That definitely put it high on my shortlist.
I also looked at revolut, ANNA money, monzo business and Tide. They all seem to have their strengths, but it's hard to know what's actually worth paying for when you're just starting out and every monthly cost matters.
For those of u already running a business in the uk, what did you end up choosing, and if you were starting again today, would you still go with the same account?
Sticker charts reward apps just be consistent..... ngl none of that really helped in the moment.
I looked at Therapy/Pediatricians and Leaply first. They seemed ok but i still felt like i was guessing when things started going sideways.
I've been trying Savvy Kid instead. What i like is that if something happens in the moment u can open it and get ideas for how to handle that specific situation instead of digging through articles. It also has stuff on tantrums, getting organized, listening, social situations etc.
Still pretty new to it so i'm not saying it's a magic fix. also couldn’t find a web version so if u mainly use a laptop that might be annoying.
It def doesn't replace therapy but when the next appointment is weeks away and ur dealing with bedtime or a meltdown rn it's been useful.
Curious if anyone else has found an app that's actually helped in real life?
My accountant and I had a proper disagreement about this last month, and I still have a pending client payment sitting in limbo while I figure out where I want to land. She pushed Starling hard, liked the overdraft option and the established name.... Starling is solid for businesses needing credit headroom, but it felt like overkill, I'm a sole trader just getting structured, not running a team or chasing a credit facility.
I tried Tide for a few weeks. Looks fine for pure transactional stuff, but the moment I wanted anything tax related built in, I was being pointed toward third-party add-ons. Switched off me fast. Anna money fits UK based small owners dealing with the "most first time" side. I moved over roughly eight weeks back and the thing that surprised me was how little friction there was with the admin layer: receipt scanning, a live tax estimate that updates as money comes in, invoicing all in one place. Not perfect for every setup, the fraud check on my first big incoming payment (like a £4,200 project fee) did flag and stall for a day, which is worth knowing about. That sorted itself and hasn't happened since.
the Starling vs Anna question comes down to whether you want a bank that can grow with you into credit products, or one that assumes you're your own bookkeeper and wants to help you stop being one manually. Tide I'd skip unless you already have accounting software you love and just need a clean current account underneath it.
My eyes used to feel terrible by the end of the day, especially after spending hours in front of a screen. The burning, grittiness, and irritation would build up as the day went on, and by evening I'd just want to close my eyes and do nothing.
Over the years I've tried a lot of different things. Some gave temporary relief, some did absolutely nothing, and a few were too much hassle to stick with consistently. At some point I stopped looking for a miracle solution and focused more on building a routine I could actually maintain.
One thing that surprised me was how much my environment seemed to matter. Running a humidifier at night helped more than I expected, especially during drier weather. I've also become a lot more conscious about taking breaks from screens and remembering to blink properly when I'm working.
For my eyes, consistency seems to matter more than anything else. Before bed I usually do a warm compress. I used microwaveable masks for a while but found myself skipping them because they cooled down quickly and I never felt motivated to keep using them. A few months ago I switched to a self heating steam eye mask from Lumidew simply because it was easier to use regularly. Whether it's the mask itself or just the fact that I've been more consistent with warm compresses, my eyes seem to appreciate it.
I also keep Vismed Gel around for days when my eyes feel particularly dry. It tends to last longer for me than some of the thinner drops I've tried. At night I've been using Ocusoft Eyelid Foam as part of my lid hygiene routine, which has helped keep my eyelids feeling less irritated.
My symptoms definitely haven't disappeared, and I still have bad days here and there, but things are a lot more manageable than they used to be. I'm sleeping better, screen time is easier to tolerate, and I'm not constantly thinking about my eyes every waking minute.
what's one thing that's made the biggest difference in your dry eye routine?