You're used to being busy, but...
ARE YOU WORRIED THAT SOME TIME SOON,
YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK?
You're used to being busy, but...
ARE YOU WORRIED THAT SOME TIME SOON, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK?
You're used to being busy, but...
ARE YOU WORRIED THAT SOME TIME SOON, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK?
Modern mums wear ‘being busy’ like a badge of honour.
Job, kids, house, partner, parents, school trips, sports days, inlaws, uni friends, doctor’s appointments…
Believing that being able to spin an ever-increasing number of plates shows strength of character. Celebs are doing it, your friends are doing it. Handling everything that’s thrown at them, and it all looks oh so effortless. Even your mum spun all the plates, back in her day.
But you can only give so much.
Eventually, right about now, you get to a space where there’s not a lot of yourself left. Where you feel dangerously spread thin. Where you’re only just about coping, and if one more thing landed in your lap right now...
...it might tip you over the edge.
What you’re feeling are the beginnings of burnout.
RECOGNISING THE SIGNS
You’ve probably heard it called "burnout" when someone is just unable to get out of bed one day.
That's rock bottom. The final stop on a long slope of symptoms. Burnout starts innocently though, creeping into your life as untreated tiredness. Then one thing builds on the other, until one day, you’ve acquired a bunch of unhealthy habits and struggle to cope with what life throws at you.
We usually associate burnout with high-powered executives in vastly stressful jobs, but it’s a lot more common than we think - especially in women. One in every four working women is struggling with various manifestations of burnout.
Do you recognise any of these symptoms?
• You’re often exhausted, even after a full night’s sleep
• You don’t sleep that well to begin with
• You find it difficult to unwind without a glass of wine (or three)
• You’re struggling to meet the standards you’ve set for yourself
• You find yourself short-tempered, cynical, disengaged or emotionally distant
• You feel guilty for not being ‘there’ enough for everyone
• You’re feeling generally unwell: frequent headaches, stomach issues, unexplained ailments
• You don’t know how to stop and switch off
• You’ve forgotten what you like to do just for yourself
If you’re nodding along to some of these, it’s a confirmation to what you already know deep down: something is seriously out of balance.
The time to act is now, before the last straw breaks the camel’s back.
The good news is that with a little guidance, stepping back from the brink of burnout is easier than you think.
Hi, I'm James
I’ve been helping people lead healthier and more fulfilled lives for over 20 years. I’ve worked in physiotherapy, occupational health, stress management and general wellbeing.
During this time, I’ve seen time and time again how easy it is for working parents to slip into overwhelm, and how simple techniques and fresh perspectives can pull them right back out – and into a happy and fulfilled life.
Our modern lives are good at keeping us on our toes. Add to that the odd curveball, and you can quickly get thrown off balance. When I separated from my wife a few years ago, life got complicated for us and our three kids. Then, just as I’d settled into my new reality, an unexpected serious illness threw up all kinds of new challenges.
Through it all, I’ve been able to use my clinical experience to create personal strategies – strategies that helped me absorb the changes, find silver linings, reflect on how I want to spend my life, and create wholesome habits.
Now I help working parents chart their course out of exhaustion and burnout and into brighter days ahead.
In my spare time, I enjoy a wide range of past times from painting, playing music, writing and walking in the hills, to surfing and motorcycling…
...and the simple delights of daydreaming.
UNDERSTANDING BURNOUT
Feelings of burnout are prevalent, and they are on the rise. In a survey of US workers, up to one in three women said they considered downshifting or leaving the workforce altogether due to feeling overwhelmed or over-extended.
(McKinsey and LeanIn.org’s 2023 Women in the Workplace report)
But work is only one side of the coin. Working mums navigate the delicate balance of juggling career demands with the responsibilities of motherhood – not to mention the expectation of being a perfect friend, daughter, sibling, and partner.
This unrelenting pursuit of perfection takes the same toll on body and mind as a high-stakes corporate job.
And since card-carrying members of the ‘proudly coping’ club are notoriously bad at asking for help, many don’t build a good support network.
Which means that almost a third of women are struggling through their overwhelm, alone.
RE-LEARNING THE ART OF REST
At the heart of burnout prevention is re-learning how to rest effectively. You may have forgotten how to do that, but it’s a skill that can be cultivated with practice.
I work with (borderline) overwhelmed busy people to help them design and live happier and healthier lives.
Together, we improve their daily habits and practices, explore the logic of balanced living, and look for new ways to achieve self-growth through honest and authentic self-reflection.
My program integrates evidence-based therapeutic techniques with practical lifestyle adjustments, empowering you to:
• Set and enforce clear boundaries to protect your time and energy without feeling guilty,
• Learn effective self-care, trying or remembering activities that bring you joy, relaxation, and fulfilment,
• Have more time to do things you love,
• Feel more present when you’re spending time with your loved ones,
• Build resilience by developing better coping mechanisms to navigate stressors more effectively, and through all those,
• Significantly improve your overall quality of life
Together, we'll create a personalized roadmap for your well-being.
"James was absolutely what I needed! His thorough and caring approach made the process very easy and I truly felt like he wanted to help me - he is a star!"
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
My program is designed to work around your individual needs, but overall you can expect:
4 sessions of one hour each, plus
Unlimited 15-minute focus calls
In each of the sessions, we'll have a conversation about one of the blocks, limitations or restrictions you're experiencing that keeps you feeling overwhelmed, unrested, and teetering on burnout - and how to overcome them.
These conversations open with a short exercise or tool that helps us to pinpoint areas to work on that will be most beneficial to your recovery.
Sample topics include:
- Who are you – Where are you – Why have you lost you
- Deep dive on the things that bring you joy
- Time for everyone and everything – What does ‘Time for Me’ look like?
- Big Secret No 1: How to slow down time
- Permission to rest – granted!
- Building your boundaries 101
- How good is your sleep?
- We are what we eat, drink and do
- Who put my fire out? Matches and kindling for the soul.
SO, WHAT NEXT?
TWO
Let's map your path back
to a fulfilled You
THREE
Re-learn how to rest
and how to enjoy life fully
You've probably tried everything you can think of already. You're still stuck, and it's unlikely to get better by itself.