MT Coaching and Mentoring - Steps to Success

09/01/2026

You aren’t lazy. You’re just carrying a "Backpack of Bricks." 🎒🧱

Ever sit down to start a project, only to find yourself frozen? You have the coffee, you have the time, but for some reason, you just... can’t.

Most people will tell you that you need more discipline. They’ll say you need better time management or a new "productivity hack."
But what if the struggle isn't about effort at all?

When we are stressed, our mind fills with "bricks":

• The fear of failing.

• The pressure of the deadline.

• The "what-ifs" about the future.

We try to start the task while carrying all those heavy thoughts, and then we wonder why we feel exhausted before we’ve even typed a single word.

Here is the "Unscattered" secret to try today:

Stop trying to "fix" your motivation. Clarity is like a glass of muddy water—the more you stir it (by thinking harder), the cloudier it gets.

If you're feeling stuck, don't try to change the task. Just notice the "noise" for what it is: temporary weather. When you stop fighting the waves of thought, the water settles on its own.

Clarity isn't something you earn through struggle; it's what's left when you stop the inner battle.

The next time you’re frozen at your desk, try this:

Ask yourself, "Am I dealing with the task, or am I dealing with my thoughts about the task?"

Set the "backpack" down for just sixty seconds.

The work will still be there, but you don’t have to carry the weight of the entire result while you're just trying to take the first small step.

In this book The Unscattered Mind, I share a radical realization: Procrastination isn't a character flaw—it’s a response to mental noise.

08/01/2026

Hey everyone, can I ask a small favour 🙏

I’m on a mission to help ask many students as I can navigate the "chaos" of university life without the usual burnout and overwhelm. If you know any students—whether they are freshers just starting out or final-years staring down at their dissertation - could you please share this with them?

I’ve written two books, specifically designed to help them find a bit of peace in the middle of the madness:

1. The Inside-Out Guide to University Life 🎓

This isn’t a "how-to" manual for passing exams. It’s a guide to staying present and stressed less. It helps students realize that their stress doesn’t come from deadlines or social pressure, but from their own internal weather. It’s about finding that "quiet light" of resilience that’s already inside them. (Something I only learnt in th past year - thank you David Key and everyone in this group)

2. The Unscattered Mind 🧠

For anyone struggling with procrastination, this book turns the usual advice on its head. It explains that procrastination isn't a character flaw or laziness; it’s just a response to a "scattered" or noisy mind. It’s about learning to stop fighting your own thoughts so focus and motivation can emerge naturally. (Again something I only learnt in the past year)

University is a "wild maze," but it doesn't have to feel like a constant struggle. If these could help even one student breathe a little easier today, it would mean the world to me.

I plan to write another soon on another key challenge students face at university - identity and self discovery (keep a look out)

Here are the two links for the UK, but are available worldwide:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0GF9HZWJC/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Au0CpU76eqlaO8sYpKABA4qaRDOTgzA9ukk7PWbAJ-g.lco7gsIlp_KJ6b-N3Q2GHXRUpyNPSH_PBLCSwVu5810&qid=1767803631&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Out-Guide-University-Life-Present/dp/B0G543SP43/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZOHn1LOdeRiN0OfzDVQM7V27B3CrjUIZh2PB76n0XZGh55cn8I_tlWchXnpm29VV8T_k67UtnRc9EMNvIPSD1rFcl33mtajH-Xnf2Xg7np-vxzPid463hkiwSEkD--stEKYIBNHDjCBFcPqSdC7BWw.PhttQUxGyDv-jRLuTrYrKGtntYIiRya7eujY-29QnB4&dib_tag=se&qid=1767873251&refinements=p_27%3AMatt+Tapper&s=books&sr=1-4&text=Matt+Tapper

Thank you for the support! ❤️

06/01/2026

Does the constant cycle of "try harder, do more" leave you feeling more stuck than when you started?

Many of us have been taught that procrastination is a character flaw—a sign of laziness or a lack of discipline. But what if that’s a complete misunderstanding of how our minds actually work?

In my new book, "The Unscattered Mind," it invites us to look at procrastination, overwhelm, and focus through a radical new lens. Drawing from years of experience supporting students through their most intense mental battles, I suggest that clarity and motivation aren't things we have to manufacture through force.

Instead, they are our natural state.

Key takeaways from the book:

• Procrastination isn't laziness: It is often a response to mental overload and "noise"—the pressure, self-doubt, and imagined consequences we carry into our work.

• The "Backpack of Bricks": That heavy, physical exhaustion we feel when facing a task isn't about the work itself; it's the weight of our own thinking about the result.

• The Power of Settling: Just like stirred water clears when left alone, our minds return to clarity when we stop fighting our thoughts and allow the pressure to drop.

• You Are Not Broken: You don't need "fixing" or complex productivity "hacks." You simply need to understand how your internal experience is created.

If you're tired of the "hustle" and ready for a softer, more effective relationship with your work, this book is for you.

Stop fighting your mind. Start uncovering your natural clarity.

Take a look on the link below:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0GF9HZWJC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3H0XO81C93IOE&psc=1

28/12/2025

Coming soon, Christmas has been chaotic, so much going on and a potential catastrophe in the works. People in hospital, a whole family infected with flu and hundreds of pounds worth of food at risk of being wasted.

In between all that chaos, I found some focus in all that and have been working towards another book. Don’t know how but hey another positive

21/12/2025

What an interesting year it has been, from the creation of MT Coaching and Mentoring, a fully functioning website with almost fully developed courses and a book fully writtten and available on Amazon.

A year ago I wouldn’t have seen this happen, what does the next year hold.

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, NOT LONG TO GO, AND HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR

14/12/2025

Quick reset for students: take 30 seconds, close your eyes, and notice your “snow globe” mind. If it’s swirling, do nothing. Let it settle. Now open your eyes and pick one tiny next step.

If that felt lighter, you’ll love The Inside-Out Guide to University Life I wrote. It’s a compassionate, practical read that shows how stress, procrastination, and pressure are thought-created, not personal flaws. When your mind settles, study gets simpler, friendships feel easier, and decisions come with less drama.
Perfect for freshers and finals alike.

Grab your copy and start thriving from the inside out.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.

11/12/2025

Over the past year on and off, I have been in the process of trying to write down what I do as a mental health mentor (university profession in uk).

This has then formed in the creation of this book which I’m hoping will be another form of supporting more students than the students in my caseload

Take a look, if you have kindle unlimited it’s free. Hope it helps anyone who reads it

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.

02/12/2025

Keep your eyes open guys, I’m in the process of publishing a book (something I never thought I’d say 2 years ago)

so long as it passes all the internal checks there will be a book available very soon 😊😉🤯

25/11/2025

Imagine you’re driving across a long bridge.
Halfway across, thick fog rolls in.
You can only see 3–4 metres ahead.

You can’t see the end.
You can’t see the water.
You can’t see the sky.

Just fog.

Now ask yourself:

Do you:

stop the car and panic?
accelerate blindly and hope for the best?
or slow down, breathe, and move forward at a safe pace?
Obviously the third one.

But here’s the truth:
When students feel overwhelmed, they choose option two.

They mentally accelerate.

Your brain goes faster.
Your heart goes faster.
Your breathing goes faster.
Your thoughts go faster.

But fog doesn’t fear your speed.
Fog only clears with stillness.

That’s the paradox.

The more you speed up mentally, the worse the fog becomes.
The more you slow down mentally, the clearer the road becomes.

09/11/2025

Uni can feel like jumping into the deep end. New city, new rules, no one telling you when to study, sleep, or show up. That rush is independence. And it’s messy and brilliant. You’ll burn pasta, oversleep a 9 a.m., fall for the wrong person, and still surprise yourself with what you can handle.
Here’s the deeper truth I want you to see: you’re not building a new you from scratch. You’re uncovering the real you beneath noisy thinking. In the quiet between deadlines and deals with yourself, you notice an inner compass that already knows the next wise step. Thought creates feelings in real time, and when your head clears, confidence returns without forcing it.
Practical moves: • Pick one small responsibility and own it daily: cook, budget, or 25 focused study minutes. • Ask, what’s my next kind step here, not my perfect plan. • When stressed, pause. Breathe. Let the snow globe settle. Then act.
Self‑discovery isn’t a destination, it’s reps. Each choice you make for yourself grows freedom. Keep showing up. You’ve got more in you than you think.