Lessons from 12 weeks as a full time employee, and a business birthday!

Spring seems to be here in the most British way possible (i.e. with lots of rain) but also there’s a buzz in the air… people seem more excited for things, plans are being made, changes are being made, and new projects are being birthed – in my world anyway! How about you?

I’ve finished my full time contract now, and my god was it full of life lessons. 😆

I haven’t worked full time since my son was born – well, not for someone else anyway. And having done that juggle as a single parent, running a house and businesses at the same time, it’s made me realise I never want to do it again.

Here are my lessons from that period of my life:

Working full time for someone else is totally different to working “full time plus” for myself.

You can find me at my desk working on my business many evenings, but I don’t think I’ll ever find that level of commitment and joy for something that isn’t my own creation. Why?

Welll… to name a few… I wasn’t built to be told what to do (just ask my friends, family, boyfriend, and any poor soul who’s been my boss in the past). I struggle with the noise of an office (people talk LOUDLY on the phone – and what’s with leaving your phone with the ringer on when you’re away from your desk?!). And don’t get me started on all those people who sit coughing ALL DAY. 😆

Quite apart from that, it’s very hard to be as passionate and energetic about someone else’s vision, unless it’s very similar to your own. You might find that yourself if you work for someone else – and get that feeling of being out of alignment. –

Humans are not built for full time work.

This might sound in contrast to what I said above, but hear me out.

When the full time work week was invented, the way it would work for heterosexual couples was that the wife would stay home and look after the house, while the man went out to work.

There was a WHOLE other person at home cooking, cleaning, and all the other things that we are all now scrabbling to fit into the few hours we have around work.

Times have changed now, but the working week remains the same. It just doesn’t make sense. And instead of accepting that we can’t do it all because it’s physically impossible, we berate ourselves for not being able to do it all!

I’ve found discipline – because I’ve had to.

Having a finite amount of time for myself made me pick up my positive habits again. It’s partly thanks to James Clear if I’m honest – my weekly commute giving me time to listen to his amazing audiobook “Atomic Habits” – worth a read or listen if you haven’t already… but what struck me is that I already practice a lot of what he teaches, and that’s why it has stuck.

Without giving you a complete book review, he talks about tiny changes that add up to big results – and that’s what I’ve been preaching and practicing for a while myself – because it really works. He also talks about stacking habits for effectiveness – and this method also works wonders.

Anyway, back to those habits of mine. As soon as I’m at my desk, I have a big drink of water. As soon as it’s lunchtime, I eat, then take a 30 minute walk. As soon as I’m about to do my commute, I pack up healthy food and drinks. Those three incredibly simple habits made my 12 weeks of full time work pretty bearable.

There’s other stuff too, of course, but I thought it was a useful reminder that change in our lives starts with the smallest of actions, and those small actions add up to great big things, over time.

If you work full time (or even if you don’t, because life is a lot without work!), how do you stay sane?! I’d love to know your tips and I’ll share the best ones.

In other news, Shine turned one this week!

Yep – somehow a whole year has passed since I threw in the self employed HR towel & started my Coaching & Retreats business.

To say things haven’t gone how I planned is an understatement, with life throwing me multiple curveballs… but I am still SO proud of what I have achieved and grateful for all the support I have received.

Year 2 has much fun planned including my November retreat – and to celebrate Shine turning 1 I’ve got a special offer for the Shine Retreat.This weekend retreat includes workshops on topics like releasing anxiety, peri menopause, and self coaching tools, all your food (from an incredible private chef) and accommodation at the beautiful West Lexham, hot tub, wild swimming, silent disco, pamper day and MUCH more… so what are you waiting for? Book a call with me now to find out more.