If you’ve been here a little while, you’ll know that I sometime share parts of my end of month reflections here. I do this as a bit of gentle encouragement for you to do the same, as well as to share openly some of the things that I do as part of living and working beyond burnout.
Reflecting like this is one thing that I encouarge my clients to do as part of building their own self-coaching skills. It helps us to learn about ourselves, our patterns and our blind spots. And it also helps to slow down time a little - by savouring the good things and remembering the joy within the everyday that’s otherwise too easily missed.
So, here’s some of the things that have energised me this month:
Seeing friends - old and new
Making new connections online and meeting for zoom coffee chats (I hate traditional ‘networking so I’ve been experimenting with different ways of meeting new work connections with the minimum amount of cringe and awkwardsness possible
Lighter mornings - this is making it so much easier to get out for a pre-work run - my favourite time to exercise - especially with all the colourful spring flowers starting to pop up (see photo!)
I’ve discovered Vinted (I know I’m late to the party) - not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet!
Realising that I can choose to let go of some the ‘shoulds’ that I have about work
What’s challenged me and what I’ve learnt:
I had an important meeting that I wanted to go really well and was spending a LOT of time preparing for it. I ended up booking a session with a coaching colleague of mine which really helped me to get out of my own head and understand what I wanted to share and how, without needing to over-prepare. I just wish I’d asked for help sooner - it would have saved me a lot of time and energy.
I had a nasty bug at the end of January and it frustratingly took me far longer than anticipated to get back to firing on all cyclinders, which was a huge reminder for me to listen to what my body needs rather than what my brain wants me to be doing.
My priorities for the month ahead to keep my energy topped up:
Prioritise, prioritise, prioritise how I’m spending my time - not in a time efficient way, but more in terms of prioritising how my time and actions relate to my values - and to make sure I’m prioritising time for joy, especially when I’m busy!
To keep connecting with people, and keep challenging the story that I tell myself that I’m not good at meeting people!
What about you? Feel free to share in the comments all or part of your reflections - I always love to hear what’s going on for everyone!
Have a great week,
Rachael x