My client said with lowered head and shoulders this week, when I asked her how she was feeling...
We all know about the end of year exhaustion, but October felt a bit early in the year to be at this point. However, this is the year she's been having. Frankly, this is the year a lot of people have been having.
We talked about causes, actions she might take, self-care, yadda yadda yadda - you've seen these things a million times on Google. What was different in this situation was the single action she started, even while we were talking.
These conversations are always a bit of an exploration and I am led by the client, what they are interested in, what they want to commit to, what has worked for them in the past. In this converstaion, we ended up at the "What's the one thing?" conversation. The full question is "Imagine you are at Christmas day, glass of bubbles in hand, surrounded by people you love, the sun is shining. Heaven. When you think back over the last few weeks, what's the one thing you are really happy (proud, relived, delighted - insert the word that works for you here) to have achieved?"
This was a tricky point because, like all of us, she had 47 things on her to-do list and getting it down to one felt scary and reductive. However, with some pressure and awkward questions from me, we got it down to the one thing. That doesn't mean she won't work on anything else between now and Christmas, let's not get crazy. What it does mean is that she knows what counts. And often we don't know what counts at work. We are so busy jumping to emails, turning up at meetings that have turned up in our diaries, responding to questions, providing reports... When you know what matters, the weight of being on a hamster wheel running as fast as you can but not getting anywhere just lifts. Instead, she mapped out what she would achieve on her one thing each week over the next ten weeks and agreed we would catch up each week for a quick check-in on progress. She even printed out a picture of her goal while we talking and popped it on a vision board by her desk. Suddenly, she was seeing a roadmap instead of a mountain to climb.
So, if you're feeling super ready for Christmas (aka a lie-down and no pressure), then maybe identify and prioritise the ONE THING. And if you need someone to ask you super awkward questions to help you on the way, give me a call. Here's to a focussed and satisfying ten weeks!