July 2023 - How does your energy flow?

June has been quite a reflective month for me in terms of self-growth and self-awareness. I have completed the second week of my next coaching qualification which involved an in-depth week of self-reflection, lots of time being coached and obviously new concepts and coaching practise. This alongside an ADHD diagnosis has made me reflect on lots of things including how I get the best out of myself and how I approach things.

It has also given me a good dose of self-compassion and acceptance. I have learnt that above all else I need to work with myself and not against myself and that means tuning into my own energy levels and needs. I need my schedule and activities to work for me and despite not being the best at planning my time, I have found that by taking an overhead view of the time I have and what I want to do has been pretty useful and also calming in terms of knowing what I can get done.

I am a morning person (despite not always wanting to jump out of bed!) and am definitely more eager to work and get things done in the mornings. This includes being creative as well as being more productive in general, so I have tried to keep mornings clear of meetings and keep it time blocked for focussing on specific things – i.e. planning, idea generating and working our first and next steps on projects. I find it difficult to both get started on things (more so when steps are not defined) but also to complete things so having time dedicated to this is very helpful. I keep a big list of all the things I want to achieve and then will focus on one at a time to make sure I complete it.

Something I do to enable me to get started- or finish - things when I am procrastinating, is body-doubling. This is where you work in parallel to someone – usually on completely different things but just having a presence helps me focus. If you feel this is something you could use, then try www.focusmate.com for an online buddy or ask a friend!