Causes of stress:
The morning programme took a bit of getting used to. I always managed to shy away from doing breakfast shows over the years: they seemed like too much work. I get up at 4.15 a.m., or that's when the clock goes off. I get up sometime between then and 4.45 a.m. then try to find my bits without waking anyone else up.
There's not really any stress involved in being on air. Anything new is planned the day before. It would be very stressful if you had to do something you hadn't planned. From a stress angle, it's not so much the daily performance as the overall performance that affects you. It's the constantly trying to keep up with what's happening and trying not to be a boring old fart on the radio.
Julie, my partner, was working full time. We had a baby last December and she went back to work in April. It turned out to be a very stressful situation, and we were both just deadbeat half the time. We made a decision that she's going to give up work for a while. It's not a forever decision. Maybe some people could stick it, but we decided we wanted a bit more quality and to spend a lot more time with Lauren.
Coping with stress:
I have two older kids, who live with me part-time. Because of my hours, during school terms I'll pick them up. I've always been into being around my kids. At the weekend, we make up our minds about what we'll do at the last minute. I've never been hugely into anything sporty. I find if I was to take up something, I'd have to stick at it. I try to walk a lot, purely to get exercise. The ideal way to wind down is to go out for a meal with friends, or just the two of us. I listen to music, but probably not what I would play on the radio. I will try anything. If I was let loose to play my own tastes, it would sound awful and make no sense.
Chilled out:
Stress-free? I aim to be. I have had stressful moments. When I feel myself getting stressed, I will stop what I'm doing. As a friend of mine said: "Life's too short. It's not a dress rehearsal - it's one performance only." I like to be happy wherever I am, but I don't like to make plans too far in advance. Julie says: "At the end of the day, we have each other, we have our kids and we have our health - what's the worst thing that can happen?"
In conversation with Elaine Edwards