How to create successful New Year's resolutions

With another year, and another decade, coming to a close, it's the time of year where a lot of people evaluate their life and any changes they want to make. But how can you ensure you are successful with making these changes? You can guarantee success by setting great goals, and here's how you do that...

1. Make big goals

If you're making the effort to make a change, make the goal a big one. While it may seem intimidating, by setting a big goal you may not always get to the goal itself, but you will be in a much better position for trying! As they say, if you shoot for the moon, you'll land somewhere among the stars.

2. Break them down into chunks

One way to make a big goal look less intimidating is to break it down into chunks, including daily to-do lists which get you one stop closer to that goal. By taking it in smaller pieces, you can set mini-goals, and hitting these mini-goals will keep you motivated throughout the process.

3. Commit yourself

Don't go into it half-hearted, as you know deep down you will not achieve the goal, and feel even worse. If you're going to set a goal, commit yourself to making the changes needed. If you don't feel like you can commit, maybe you're not ready to make the change, and that's OK! Maybe give yourself some more time so you feel completely in the zone.

4. Reward yourself

We mentioned mini-goals above, and with hitting any goal, big or small, rewarding yourself is key. We don't recommend rewarding yourself with the thing you're avoiding (for example, if trying to lose weight, to reward a pound loss with chocolate), but having a reward will keep you motivated and happy in the process. Even if it's taking a long leisurely walk in your favourite park, or treating yourself to a face mask, there's loads of ways to reward yourself without hindering your progress.

5. Learn from past failures

If there's a particular goal that you go for every year, but fail every time, have a really good look at why you're failing. Is it your environment, the people around you, or is it actually you that are preventing yourself from meeting your goal? You may need to tweak the goal in some way to make it practical, and feasible, for you to hit it. By setting unreasonable goals every year, you only make things harder for yourself.

6. Be thankful for what you can achieve

Don't worry about perfection, just remember why you are making the change. No one out there can do things right 100% of the time, so if you find yourself getting frustrated with yourself, just be grateful that you are able to make the change that you are, and remember that not everyone has the inner strength to attempt the same thing as you.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Did you make any resolutions for 2020? Let us know @office_fruit! 

What Have We Been Up To in 2019?

It's almost the end of 2019, and the end of another decade! We hope 2020 is a brilliant year for all our customers!

So what have we done this year? 

After receiving feedback from clients regarding our environmental impact, we decided to start working with the carbon capturing charity Forest Carbon who plants trees to offset the emissions from our vans. We are currently at 124 trees! You can always keep up to date here.

We are making adjustments to our packaging, including not using bags in our boxes when customers ask. We are in the process of changing our packaging, so stay tuned!

We sold over 700,000 bananas!

We also have an exciting launch in the New Year, so keep an eye out on our website...

Photo by 🇨🇭 Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash

What are your plans for 2020? Let us know @office_fruit!

Profile On: Plums

In this update of our Profile On series, we focus on the plum! Plums are a staple fruit and are hugely popular, so let's find out all about it!

What is it?

A plum is an oval fleshy fruit, which is reddish, purple or yellow, with a flat stone inside, which  makes it a member of the stone fruit family.

Where is it from?

Plums are grown on every continent apart from Antarctica, but China is the world's leading producer of plums!

Where does the name come from?

The name plum comes from the Old English word "plume".

What are the different colours of plum?

The skin can be red, yellow or purple (black), and the inside flesh can be red or yellow.

When is it in season?

As they are grown around the world, they are always in season somewhere!

What are the health benefits?

They are low in calories, and fats, and are an excellent source of Vitamin C. They can help control blood sugar as they have a low glycemic index. They also contain potassium.

Did you know?

A dried plum is called a prune! Prunes are often eaten as an aid to digestion.

Do you love plums? Let us know @office_fruit! 

What To Buy This Christmas - Christmas Gift Guide 2019

Stuck for ideas this Christmas? Take a look at our guide and see if there's anything that might be perfect for that certain someone...

For her

Under £10

Next - Celestial Desk Diary - £3.50

I want one of those - Pineapple Bottle Opener - £6.99

From £10 to £50

La Menagerie - Sloth Necklace - £24

Anthropologie - Travel Gift Set - £48

Extravagant

Virgin Experience - Castle Hotel Escape for Two - £250

For him

Under £10

Find Me A Gift - Personalised Engraved Glass Tankard - £9.99

Prezzybox - Arm Chair Caddy - £9.99

From £10 to £50

Not on the high street - Classic Kits Football Team Print - £23.50

I want one of those - F1 Grand Prix Simulator Race Experience - £39

Extravagant

John Lewis - CREED Aventus Eau de Parfum 100ml - £265

What are you buying your loves ones for Christmas this year? Let us know @office_fruit!

A day in the life....Head of Admin & Marketing

For this week's blog, I decided to let you in on how my day works here at Fruit For The Office. My name's Rachel, and I'm the Head of Admin & Marketing - the beauty of a small team is you get to wear many hats! So what does my typical day look like?

9am 

I get in and start my day by reading through my emails, either from our Dispatch Unit overnight, or from any eager customers wanting to adjust their orders. I enjoy a lovely (decaf!) coffee, and settle in.

10am 

As my job is so varied my main tasks for the day can be quite different, but usually I'll be helping the admin team with orders or queries; answering customer emails; or getting down to some marketing tasks! I usually grab a banana or a pink lady apple around this time too.

12pm 

I'll usually write a blog (as I am now!) or other content, I find this time of day the best for being creative. If we're recruiting (which we are at the moment!), I'll use this time to contact candidates and arrange interviews.

1:30pm

Lunchtime! I usually spend mine with a homemade chicken and salad wrap, and a good book :)

2:30pm 

Back to work! I reply to any emails sent over while I was on my lunch, and get back into the rhythm.

3pm

This is  my favourite time of the day, as the main part of the day is over, but there's still enough time to get some productive work in! I'll usually take a look at our social media, or start planning blog posts or other projects. If I'm flagging I'll usually grab have some nuts or dried fruit to keep me going until dinner.

5pm

One of my lovely colleagues will finalise all our orders and reports, and then it's home time! Another successful day done.

Photo by Matheus Cenali on Unsplash

What is your favourite part of the working day? Let us know @office_fruit! 

What is vomit fruit!?

You may have heard of vomit fruit from I'm a Celebrity... but what on Earth is it!? Read on to find out...

What is vomit fruit?

Vomit fruit is a fruit that is native to southeast Asia and Australasia. It is part of the coffee family, and its proper name is Morinda citrifolia.

It is also called great morinda, Indian mulberry, noni, beach mulberry, cheese fruit, dog dumpling and starvation fruit.

Where does the name "vomit fruit" come from?

It has a particularly strong smell and taste. It is said to taste like "rotten cheese", although the taste changes as the fruit ripens. When unripe it is said to be "spicy and grassy, with hints of horseradish and parmesan". When ripe, it tastes likes "sharp cheese, lemon and vomit".  It is so bad that it is claimed that in Polynesia, shamans use the fruit to ward off evil spirits.

It has such a strong smell that it is recommended not to eat the fruit on its own.

Have you eaten vomit fruit? Let us know @office_fruit!

Profile On: Nectarines

In this update of our Profile On series, we focus on the nectarine!

What is it?

Nectarines are a type of peach, and are part of the Rosacae family. They are a type of stone fruit. Their skin colour can vary from red, orange and yellow, and they have a pit (or stone) inside. Their flesh can be yellow or white. They are round, and look very close to a peach. There are over 100 varieties of nectarine.

Where is it from?

It most likely originated in China more than 2000 years ago, and were cultivated in ancient Persia, Greece and Rome. They are now grown in California, the Mediterranean, South Africa, China and Australia.

Where does its name come from?

The name nectarine comes from a literary adjective from the early 17th century, nectarine, which means "sweet as nectar", or "nectar of the Gods".

How can I tell between a nectarine and a peach?

Nectarines resemble peaches in their colour, size, and the shape of the pit, but there's a very easy way to tell between them at first glance - peaches have a fuzzy skin, whereas nectarines are smooth.

When is it in season?

They are at their best in Summer between late April and late August, but they are available from Chile from December to March

What are the health benefits?

Nectarines provide vitamin A and C, as well as Vitamin E, K, B1, B2 and B3. They contain calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper. They are low in calories, but have 5 calories more than a peach.

Did you know?

They are NOT a cross between a peach and a plum, they are a type of peach.

Photo by Ove Tøpfer from FreeImages

Do you love nectarines? let us know @office_fruit!