New Survey Launched on Kindness Day Reveals London as the Kindest Region in Britain (Penguin Random House Children’s)

New survey launched on Kindness Day reveals London as the kindest region in Britain

 Friday, 10^th June 2016: A new national survey carried out by YouGov and released today by Penguin Random House Children’s UK and The Diana Award reveals over 63% of Londoners have received a random act of kindness from a stranger over the past 12 months, making it the kindest region in Britain. London, often considered one of the loneliest places to live in the UK, came out on top of other regions in research released today to mark Kindness Day. 

The survey, which was based on a representative sample of 2,060 adults in Great Britain between the ages of 18 and 55, shows that over the last twelve months, receiving a compliment (34%), directions when lost (20%), and strangers listening to problems (16%) were the most popular types of random act of kindness received by British adults.

A 'random act of kindness' was defined as a selfless and spontaneous act which one individual performs to a stranger, with the intention to help them in any way.

Kindness Day, now in its second year, was founded by Penguin Random House Children’s in partnership with The Diana Award in 2015. A nationwide campaign, Kindness Day encourages kindness in schools and was inspired by the internationally bestselling novel WONDER by R. J. Palacio, soon to be released by Lionsgate as a major film in April 2017 starring Julia Roberts. 

Author R. J. Palacio commented: ‘The idea of having one day where everyone can take time to think about kindness and celebrate those who are kind is truly inspiring. Over the last few years I have been blown away by readers’ reactions to WONDER. Auggie’s story has been life-changing, not only for me but for millions of adults and children around the world who understand this really isn’t just a book about a kid with a facial anomaly: it’s a celebration of kindness.’ 

To support Kindness Day, Penguin Random House Children’s and The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Campaign launched a social media campaign kindness trail (#KindnessDay) asking users to vote for

the UK’s kindest person, school and celebrity.  The winners are today announced as: Kindest person: Jackie Costello. Jackie is 48 years old from Hanley in London. Not a day goes by when she doesn’t demonstrate kindness, whether it’s taking elderly and vulnerable people out for the day or inspiring children in schools. 

• Kindest celebrity: Ed Sheeran. In March Ed Sheeran raised money for a number of charities near his hometown by donating his whole wardrobe, including outfits he took to the Grammy Awards, to be sold off for charity.

• Kindest school: Waddington Redwood Primary School in Lincoln. The whole school will be celebrating Kindness Day with various activities, including giving compliments and sending kindness cards.  The school has Diana Award Anti-bullying Ambassadors and playground buddies who support students and encourage kindness all year round.

Alex Holmes, Head of the Anti-Bullying Campaign, commented: ‘Whether you’re in a school, a workplace or out in the street- kindness is something we are all capable of. WONDER is an inspiring book that celebrates kindness and can help us realise that we can all do something to make someone’s day. We’re delighted to be shining a light on individuals and schools with our new Kindness Day Awards.  We hope they inspire everyone to choose kindness.’

The Diana Award has trained over 18,000 young people as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors who each day promote kindness throughout their school.   Supporters of Kindness Day include James McVey from the Vamps, Kodaline, Danny O’Carroll, and Jedward.

WONDER has been published as both an adult and children’s book and has sold in 38 territories across the world. It has sold almost 5 million copies worldwide and continues to be a #1 New York Times bestseller. This week Lionsgate announced the Wonder film will be released on 7^th April 2017, starring Julia Roberts and rising star Jacob Tremblay.

 Hollywood actress Julia Roberts said of the book: ‘I recently read WONDER, a young adult book that blew me away. I bought it for my eldest son, and ended up reading it myself. It gives you such a clear picture of people’s lives and misunderstandings… As a grown-up, I was reminded that there are ten sides to every story. But for a child, especially a boy, it’s nice to see different points of view.’

Guest Post by Stephen Bennett - Writing App Goes Free as Survey Shows Internet Leading Distraction for Writers‏!

A survey of 1000 US writers has found that the Internet is the biggest distraction preventing them from writing.

The survey undertaken by Stop Procrastinating, the website blocker and productivity tool, found that 42% of writers claimed to have turned to browsing the internet for inspiration only to be lose hours reading articles or watching YouTube videos.

The survey found that digital distractions such as emails, social media and the Internet were also most likely to prevent them from writing.

Most interesting is what they were viewing. Most writers didn’t turn to the great works for inspiration, but were more likely to watch YouTube videos of comedy acts or cats and other animals doing funny things. 45% of those who said they were distracted by the internet from writing said they had watched a funny animal video at least once to help get them through a creative block.

32% of respondents claimed the level at which the internet distracted them from writing was significant and worrying.

Of all respondents 42% said they had tried to concentrate on writing for more than a week only to be distracted at some point by the internet.

45% said they had lost their chain of thought because they checked and responded to an email or social media alert while they were trying to write.

Some 33% said visiting distracting websites or social media cost them at least an hour a day in lost productivity or writing time.

Tim Rollins, Stop Procrastinating director, said: "We have made Stop Procrastinating free today in order help writers beat their Internet distractions and get more writing done. The Internet, social media, emails are pervasive and eating into our quality time. We need urgently to put ourselves back in control. 

"Writers have always had distractions, but they have never had to deal with a technology that is everywhere at once and influences every part of our lives. It is unprecedented the level of intrusion and distraction that today's writers have to cope with," he said. 

About Stop Procrastinating:

Stop Procrastinating is an Internet blocking and productivity application. It is compatible with Mac OS and Windows. It allows users the option to block the Internet for a period of time in three ways, depending on how much self-discipline they have.

Option 1 allows users to block the Internet for a set amount of time, but they can get back online if they reboot their computer.

Option 2 allows users to block the Internet for a set amount of time, but prevents access to the internet even if they restart their computer. They have to wait until their chosen time is up to reconnect.

Option 3 allows users to input into a black list specific websites they wish to block, such as Facebook or Twitter, and to stay connected to the Internet.

Stop Procrastinating also gives users the option to write down their works goals before disconnecting from the Internet. Research has shown this to be a powerful aid to motivation. It also allows users to chart their progress over time, which helps users see how much more work they are getting done.

Guest Post by Stephen Bennett - Is writer's block a curse or a fiction?

Writer’s block: 25 proven tips for how to cure writer’s block used by writers.

Post by Stephen Bennett.

The productivity website Stop Procrastinating conducted a survey with 2000 writers to find out what techniques they use to beat writer’s block. Yes, writer’s block does exist. In fact it exists for more than 60% of writers, according to the survey, and is caused by high expectations, fear of failure and pressure of unrealistic deadlines.

But as with most conditions there’s a spectrum where some writers may find it difficult to write for a few hours or days and all they need is to adjust their way of thinking, while for other writers the problem may have set in for longer.


The the good news is no matter where they were on the spectrum, all the writer’s beat their writer’s block though a combination of creative motivation techniques and unorthodox routines.

From talking to your cat to having a cold shower or doing the West Wing Walk and Talk, the survey resulted in 25 strategies to help writers be more creative and motivated about their writing. And it’s all in the infographic below: 

Courtesy of: Stop Procrastinating