Life and work with M.T. O’Donnell

We’re back with our Life and Work conversations and what a great one to relaunch with. M.T. O’Donnell shares her passion for gardening and how she shares this with gardeners across Scotland.

M.T. is the editor and producer of Scotland Grows magazine, a digital magazine celebrating Scottish gardens and gardeners.

Here M.T. talks about how she shares her love of gardening and the many benefits it brings.

Tell us about your work

I’m M.T. O’Donnell, editor and producer of Scotland Grows magazine, a digital title dedicated to celebrating real gardens, gardeners, and gardening in Scotland, set in a visually contemporary reading experience, with fully responsive text and images across all device sizes.

Conscious of the global race to net zero emissions by 2050, I wanted to launch as a digital magazine which uses no paper or ink in production, and covers no physical distribution miles, making it a carbon neutral publication.

As the magazine is not limited by distribution miles, it instantly reaches across the length and breadth of Scotland and beyond at exactly the same time, helping to spread the message that we in Scotland, know a thing or two about gardening!

Can you describe your typical week?

I wish I could! Depending on where we are in the magazine production cycle, the week can be divided by writing, editing, creating graphics, and liaising with the 16 columnists who write for the magazine, readers, community or charitable initiatives, and businesses, all of whom can be featured in an issue.

Every week sees time spent on content creation for our social media feeds and email newsletters, and engaging with readers across our social media platforms.

I’ve finally launched a podcast, the Scotland Grows Show, and it really has been the steepest learning curve in a long time! I’m so used to writing and editing text, that editing audio has been a whole new ball game!

The best part of my week

Getting out of the office and networking with people in real life is always my favourite part of the week, and although it can be so easy to let that slip due to impending deadlines, there’s a real energy that comes from in person events!

My proudest moment is…

At the moment, I’d have to say it’s finally getting the podcast launched as it’s been on my to do list for a very long time!

Skills I could offer

I offer proof-reading and copywriting skills - I love being given a piece of text to transform to sound better for the reader!

I often give business, and gardening, talks to group which I find very rewarding, and I do some business and social media coaching for small businesses - we all need a fresh set of eyes sometimes on our business to help generate new ideas or provide accountability!

Skills that would help me

Like everyone else, more time in the day would be great thank you! Short of being able to grant that, outsourcing aspects of business can be a real game changer. I outsource a few things, some to fellow Kesero members, and it frees up my time

Self-care for me is…

I read, write, edit, and talk all day about gardening but, getting time out in my own garden is the best therapy there is! The health and well-being benefits of gardening are well-publicised, and getting time out in the garden is good for physical, mental, and emotional well-being. There’s no problem in my head that can’t be worked through with an hour’s weeding.

If you would like to hear more from M.T. head over to Scotland Grows Magazine or listen in to the podcast here.

M.T.