RELATIONSHIP
One of the difficulties with relationships is that they can coast along, with neither partner willing to admit there are problems until they become so serious that fixing them can be almost impossible.
With this in mind, the voluntary organisation Scottish Marriage
Care, which has offices on Whitehouse Loan, has started offering a relationship inventory and MoT.
These are available for couples who are married, thinking about getting married or who have just been together a long time, and can help couples learn more about themselves and the key areas of their relationship.
"Many people say 'love conquers all' but that's not always true," says Mary Toner, chief executive of SMC. "The romantic phase of falling in love doesn't always last. Good marriages don't just happen, they are constantly evolving and changing and need to be worked at."
Of course, for single people, sorting out their love-life probably means trying to find that special someone. Sean Wood, marketing manager for Edinburgh dating agency EasyDate, which runs the www.datetheuk.com website, admits spring is a very busy time.
"There is definitely something energising about this time of year. We've been even busier than usual recently," he says. "Over winter people just want to stay indoors, but now they are looking to get out there. Whether they try speed-dating or online dating, it is the people who are proactive and try new things who will have success."
CAREER
Unless you happen to be lucky enough to have landed your dream job, there is bound to come a point when you begin to wonder if it's time to move on.
"It doesn't need to be a crisis for someone to have a look at what else is out there, or whether there is something better suited to them," says Julian Hosking, of Edinburgh-based career consultancy Career Energy.
"It may be that someone is perfectly happy in their job, but by looking around and seeing what else is out there, it can help them visualise what they could be doing if they made some changes."
For those who do decide to switch jobs, there are plenty of services to help them track down the right position.
"A lot of people after the New Year do start looking around for a new job, perhaps because they feel it's time for a change," says a spokesman for Scottishjobs.com, one of many recruitment websites available.
DIET
With constant reminders about how poor our nation's health is, this is the ideal time for people to take a good look at their diet.
For starters, getting the five portions of fruit and veg a day is a must, and spring veg can be ideal to create colourful platters of crunchy salad, giving your body a healthy amount of vitamins and minerals. Cutting out junk food is an obvious suggestion, although one people find hard to stick to.
The best way to start is with a detox diet, which will clean out the toxins from your body and leave you feeling fresh as a daisy.
Fruit, vegetables, grains such as buckwheat, and easy to digest beans and lentils, as well as nuts and seeds can all help cleanse the system, while avoiding sugar, dairy products, wheat and gluten for a few days will give the body a much-needed break.
"With the milder weather this is a great time to detox the body, but there are a few bugs about so it's best not to overdo it," says nutrition therapist Emma Conroy, of Edinburgh Nutrition. "A detox diet can help give you better skin, more energy and improve your sleep patterns, as well as helping weight control. A five or six-day programme would be fine."
HOME
The idea of the spring clean is to bring a fresh, new feel to the home, something which can take a bit more work than simply dusting and hoovering.
But with just a little bit of effort and a few creative ideas, any house can be given a new lease of life.
"Moving furniture around can be a great idea, as most people will use their house in a different way during the summer," says Julia Neustein of Musselburgh-based interior design company Interior Motives. "Making sure a room is arranged to make the best of the long days will give it a new feel."
And when it comes to freshening up the look of your home, there are hundreds of easy ways to brighten up blank walls. "Artwork is a great way to give a home a new vibrancy. Au Natural do cheap blank canvases on which people can paint their own colourful geometric shapes," says Julia.
"Being creative is great fun and if it all goes wrong you can always stretch some more fabric over and start again."
"New house plants always bring a bit of life to a room. While carefully chosen accessories, like cushions, pictures frames, throws or mirrors can transform a house."
By GARETH EDWARDS
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