Blog
The Impact Of Burnout On Our Creativity
Apr 22, 2022
What impact can burnout and high stress levels have on our creativity?
Problem solving
Our perspective
Seeing the bigger picture
Ability to generate new ideas
I believe all of us have the ability to be creative and when I think back throughout my career, I’ve always been a creative person. The way I work, the way I have recruited people into teams, the way that I have led induction programs, was all about creativity.
Throughout school, although I loved contemporary dance and got an A* for it in my GCSE’s, I hadn’t thought of myself as a creative person. But I loved the movement and the stories you could tell and being able to partner that with powerful music. However, art class wasn't my strong point and I wasn’t artistic at all. If you were to ask me to just draw or paint something right now, I just couldn’t draw anything that resembles anything. But sometimes after my meditation class we are asked to create a...
What Does It Mean To Be A Core-Led Woman And A Core-Led Leader?
Apr 15, 2022
How can living and leading in this way, help eliminate guilt, help avoid burnout and define and create success on your terms?
Being core-led is as simple as; who are you at your core? If I was to cut you in half like a stick of rock, you’d have that writing that goes through the centre from the bottom to the top, that’s what I mean by your core. If we strip away all of the labels that you have been given, assigned and accrued over the years. The boxes you have been placed in or jumped in yourself over the years, if we strip all of that back, that’s who you are at the core.
When I first start working with my clients, the initial message from them is they are out of alignment, lost, burnt out, they want to feel more successful and alive. Many of these women are highly successful, but they just feel something is out of sync for them. I always start with the same question. Who are you?
We usually start with their age, are they a...
Taking A Break
Apr 08, 2022
I want to share the benefits of taking a break and here is a quick reminder of the 7 different types of rest that we need:
Mental
Physical
Emotional
Sensory
Creative
Social
Spiritual
When I talk to new clients we talk a lot about taking time and doing things for yourself. That can be self care, learning or anything that involves taking time out. In the start of my sessions with clients, I often hear them say that they don’t have the time to take a break.
We know that our brain and body needs breaks and rest. We need to mix things up daily with different scenery and give ourselves different things to focus on, or just take time out for ourselves. Time comes up a lot with the women I work with and in particular as to why they can’t or won’t take breaks. In not giving ourselves the time and space to take regular breaks, we’re not doing ourselves any good.
Our workplaces and society have conditioned us...
Does Burnout Recovery Always Require Radical Change?
Apr 01, 2022
When I deliver talks about burnout and how to come through the other side, I’m often asked to give 5 or 10 things that people can do to recover from burnout. Well, if you know me and my work, you’ll know I believe there are 3 things that people can do to prevent and recover from burnout.
- Get really clear on who you are at the core
- Implement boundaries
- Take time for yourself
But I have noticed that when we are clear on who we are at the core, that can become a catalyst for radical change to be made within our lives. So for me personally I don’t believe burnout recovery always requires radical change, but perhaps radical change is the outcome of getting clear on who you are at the core.
Of course if what we are doing today and continue to do tomorrow and the day after and the day after that, has got us to the point of burnout; continuing to do what we have been doing, is clearly not going to be enough to get us through...
Mental Health And Me
Mar 25, 2022
I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2019.
I wanted to share my experiences and I am hoping it will be educational and break down the stigma of mental health issues. Mental health issues were something that I grew up around with my mum suffering quite a bit from depression and anxiety. My sister also had some mental health problems growing up and at the time I could never really understand it. I thought there was an element of attention seeking and I couldn’t understand why they couldn't just pull themselves together?
What was the issue?
What was going on?
Why couldn't they just sort themselves out?
The truth is I really just did not understand it at all.
My first real experience of mental health issues was after the birth of my twin sons and I started to experience postnatal depression. After having my sons, every couple of years I would spiral. Anxiety would pretty much be with me all the time on a slightly different scale,...
Sleep
Mar 18, 2022
How can improving our sleep help us be even more successful and how can we ensure that by having more sleep, we can create these guilt free boundaries and prevent burnout?
We know that life, circumstances and different stages of life can all impact our sleep, whether it's partying too much in our teens, whether it's illnesses, mental health issues, anxiety, depression, menopause, perhaps your monthly cycle impacts your sleep, babies, caring responsibilities, parenting; all of these things can impact our sleep.
Since the pandemic a lot of women are stopping work, picking up more responsibilities in the house, doing what needs to be done at home, and then getting work done later in the evening. They are going to bed later and getting up earlier to get more things done. So their sleep window has been deleted.
You may have heard me talk about mental health before or if you've completed my masterclass called Mindset: What Got You Here, you'll know how...
Combat Burnout And Beat The Bias
Mar 04, 2022
Today, and every day we can break the bias.
Imagine a gender equal world, a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together, we can forge women's equality, collectively we can all break the bias, individually we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions all day every day. We can break the bias in our communities, in our workplaces, schools, colleges and universities.
The theme for International Women's Day 2022 is #breakthebias. I want to combine the theme of International Women's Day this year with how women who do it all can combat burnout and beat the bias at the same time. I want to talk about this from the perspective of women lifting and supporting other women.
Let's start with forms of bias that may come into play:
Invisibility
Stereotyping
Imbalance and selectivity
Unreality
Fragmentation and isolation
...
Stop Trying To Manage Time
Feb 25, 2022
How many of you have tried varying different time management techniques? Over the years I have tried diary blocking, time blocking and I've tried varying different colour coding ways of blocking out my diary. In 2020 I trained with Paul Holbrook (check out his book) to become a diary detox practitioner, which I found very helpful. Certainly in terms of looking at where I spend my time, making sure that I'm not wasting it and giving as much value as I possibly can to myself and to my clients. I have also tried Pomodoro techniques and varying different egg timer techniques. I've tried everything!
I think a lot of my family and friends are always amazed at how much I can actually get done in a day. One of my friends is amazed at just how many Netflix series I can get through and still manage to get so much done throughout my day. But I've recognised that for me, it's not so much about managing my time, it's actually about managing my energy.
We all have 24...
Permission Slips
Feb 17, 2022
Permission slips.
Self kindness, self love and self compassion are not selfish, they are necessary.
I hear so many women talking about how they know they need more self care and that they need to be kinder to themselves when it comes to their self-talk. And yet, they're still not creating the time to make it happen.
They're still not changing their thought patterns, their behaviours and they’re still not setting boundaries.
They’re not doing this because they think that by putting themselves first, or even just putting themselves on their own list of priorities, that this is in some way, selfish. Because what they feel they will be doing is taking that time away from others and giving it to themselves.
How could this be reframed in a way that more women get it! Reframed in a way that more women understand it! Reframed in a way so that more women make the changes that they need to make for themselves!
“Taking...
How Super Achievers Can Avoid Burnout and Celebrate Success
Feb 11, 2022
Do you see yourself as a superachiever?
I didn't for many, many years and I know that a number of my clients and probably the majority of women in my programmes, also don't see themselves as superachievers. And because we don't see ourselves as superachievers, we also find it quite difficult to celebrate success. This is because:
There's always something else to do.
There's always something else to achieve.
There's always something else that wants our attention.
Therefore we don't celebrate success, because we don't see ourselves as achieving.
Some examples from my earlier years; I was moved up a year at school and I was involved in helping other students to improve their reading and literacy. When it came to my exams, I was supporting other students in getting their exam prep done, but I didn't see that as anything extra. That was just me! That was part of what I did. That was part of who I am.
When I joined the world of work, even as a trainee, I was...
