In a recent coaching session with the brilliant Sue Belton, I realised that my to do list had lost its way.

It was no longer a summary of the key actions to take to move forward.

It had turned into a long list of things I could do, a faffing-around-the-edges list.

It wasn’t useful any more.

It used to be. But I’ve spent the last 18 months working through it, and also added a lot of useful structures and systems in place (hello scheduling!).

I still have things I want to focus my attention on, but so much more of what I do has a consistent rhythm.

I’m keeping things moving rather than starting from scratch.

It feels VERY weird. And quite uncomfortable too.

Are you out of alignment?

After a few niggles resurfaced recently I booked myself in for a physio MOT.

I was expecting to have a few small adjustments.

A once over to iron out any little things before they became bigger. A self care top up.

It turns out my ribs were completely out of alignment!

For a long time I’d been walking around slightly twisted to the left. Compressed on one side, with my poor neck constantly stretched to try and keep my eyes level.

Yikes.

And yet it hadn’t felt ALL wrong.

It hadn’t felt completely right either, but my body had adapted and was doing a brilliant job of keeping me upright.

Until it got too tired and started to send out some signals.

How do you know when it’s time to take a break?

It can be so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of life.

To keep going, even when we feel exhausted.

To bounce from high to low with the support of sugar and caffeine.

To not even realise that we need to stop until it’s too late.

The topic of how to manage energy - both physical and mental - has come up a lot in coaching recently.

How to be productive without burning out?

How to know when to push on and when to take a break?

And how to do so in a sustainable way?

It’s a topic that’s close to my heart.

I love to read.

It’s one of my favourite ways to spend time and I am often found curled up in a favourite chair, book on knee, mug in hand. Not to be disturbed :-)

It’s also one of my favourite ways to learn. To absorb ideas and to filter them through my brain. What really stands out? What brings a different perspective or opens up a new way of seeing something? What do I know now that I didn’t before?

Some books have changed my thinking and perspective in an instant - Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott comes to mind, recommended to me by my first coach well over a decade ago.

Some have had a slower burn.

Some I read once and some are well thumbed and underlined in a million places.

It’s these books - the ones that have changed my life - that I love to share.

Who are your energisers?

The people who you love to spend time with?

The friends who leave you feeling lit up after being in their company?

Where there is a natural reciprocity - of sharing and listening, of give and take, of uplifting and supporting?

I’m just back from a walk and talk with coffee in the park with someone who I feel this way about.

She’s a relatively new friend, from a short overlap in a volunteering role, and we meet up every few months.

We spent the whole time chatting away about everything and anything. I feel happy and connected and energised, and ready to take that into the rest of my day.

What a gift.