I’ve always been quite a practical person – able to fix a blown fuse or repair a piece of broken china, or organise a kitchen to work well for the cook. And when I think about it, this actually pervades my approach to personal and professional change and stress transformation. As soon as I started specialising in stress and resilience for instance, ... Read On
Stripping things back to the essentials
For me, June has been a month of enjoying the simplicities of life; enjoying a thermos of fresh ginger tea on cold mornings, lighting candles in the early wintry evenings. With all the rain we’ve had here, I’ve been chasing the sun on the days it has appeared and soaking it up. I’m feeling like my solar battery has been filled up again. Sunshine is ... Read On
What’s your idea of an ideal week?
I have Wednesday’s off. With the odd exception, Wednesday is a completely non-work day for me. I’m a big fan of the four day week. It’s a shift I’ve seen a number of clients make over the years. I have a number of clients who have gone from a very strict 45-hour week running 8am to 5pm or thereabouts, to flexing their hours between work and ... Read On
Anyone else not ready to jump into busy-ness?
Are you feeling like you’d love another few weeks to play, hike, windsurf, go beaching, curl up with a book, hang out with loved ones, watch old movies (or binge Netflix) or my fave - lie on the grass under a tree? Or are you just taking a little while to step into the year or work with full gusto? I typically spend the 1st of Jan ... Read On
Top Hacks for Surviving the Rest of the Work Year
Every year I’m aware of this run-up to Christmas and what are New Zealand's main summer holidays. I find that some people during this time are virtually dragging themselves to the end. It’s a time when the busy year can start catching up with you, and where if you haven’t had enough time off through the year it starts to take its toll. Of ... Read On
Survival Guide for Working from Home
If you are working from home right now, and a few weeks ago you weren’t, I salute you. That’s such a huge transition and you are doing it. My hat’s off to you! If you’re doing it in conjunction with your other half, the kids, the dog and the budgie, two hats off to you! I think the transition has been variable for people because of logistics ... Read On
How to Make the Most of Your Holidays
Updated 15/12/21 One of my favourite tips to share with clients is this tiny but awesome strategy for getting the best out of your experience when you’re going on holiday. Whether it’s a long weekend or a month-long holiday, or anything in between, this simple practice can make a profound difference to how you experience your time away - and how ... Read On
Turning Work-Life Balance on its Head
You know, the expression ‘work-life balance’ is probably one of the most bandied about phrases of the working world? Of the entire Western world in fact? It’s also one of the biggest faux pas I can think of. We’ve been repeating it for decades now – without realising just what we’re doing to ourselves! Actually it reminds me of the ‘don’t ... Read On
There is never a ‘right time’ with your stress levels
I talk to people who are stressed all the time. This is partly because I specialise in stress and resilience, and partly because most of the planet is stressed. In this mix, I periodically talk to someone who is thinking of doing the Online Resilience Series I offer and lately it has been reminding me a lot of when I was in that stress cycle. It's ... Read On
7 Signs You May Be Experiencing ‘Stress Creep’
Not until I went through burnout did I know there was a thing such as ‘stress creep’. That’s the nature of chronic stress and burnout in many cases; it literally sneaks up on you. It can happen so subtly over time that it’s not until you hit the wall - or experience a few symptoms that precede hitting the wall such as sleeplessness, mental ... Read On