Finding flow in your career and life
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Credit: Mushaboom Studio
I’m sitting at my desk in Belgrade, listening to autumn jazz on Spotify and sipping my second pour-over coffee. Red, yellow and brown leaves blanket the ground, and it’s finally cold enough for slippers and to switch the heater on.
It’s been ages since I last wrote a newsletter. A few years ago, this would have triggered guilt—that I wasn’t sticking to my original plan or being as consistent as I “should”. But over time, I’ve learned that battling my natural energy is a losing game. When I force myself to write, market, network, or even coach while in the wrong headspace, nothing flows. So, I’ve embraced a new way of working—one that’s aligned with my natural seasonal rhythm and energy.
So, what have I been up to? A whole host of things. I met my co-founder of Emotions at Work Tomomi in person…for the first time, spent two weeks hiking 95 miles on the Tour du Mont Blanc, completed my first 10-mile solo hike, introduced my parents to Belgrade, and enjoyed some fresh air and respite from city life in Croatia.
Today, I’m sharing a few things I’ve been noticing and learning and some new experiments I’m trying on for size.
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Embracing flexibility, joy and flow
Over the past few months, I’ve embraced more flexibility, joy and flow. I’ve said yes to fewer online commitments and more in-person connection and time outside. I’ve also swapped rigid to-do lists for following what energizes me in the moment. I’ve found that planning too far ahead tends to overwhelm me—what felt exciting in June may not align in September, and what felt manageable last week can feel like too much this week.
One thing I’ve found helpful is pausing before making decisions or commitments. I’ve noticed that when I say “yes” in an emotional high (spur-of-the-moment excitement) or an emotional low (guilt or fear), I often regret it later. Instead, I’m experimenting with waiting 24-48 hours (riding my emotional wave) before deciding from a more neutral state.
A big part of this practice is getting comfortable with saying “no” and setting boundaries—which is not easy! In fact, it’s such a hot topic that Tomomi and I dedicate an entire Navigating Emotions at Work session to exploring our relationship with saying “no” at work.
Shaping our experience of work
I can hardly believe Tomomi and I are in the middle of the fourth round of NEAW! What surprises most people is that we built the entire program over Zoom and WhatsApp. In June, we finally met in person in the Chamonix Valley to hike and dream up the next phase and evolution of our work.
As we reflected on the last three years, we became excited about intentionally shaping the program as a professional development opportunity—one focused on improving people’s experience of work.
We’ve always wanted to work with teams and in August we had our first opportunity: a 2-part in-house workshop on effective requests for smoother team coordination. 🥳 Often, we don’t think about how we make or receive requests because it’s such a regular part of our daily work. And yet, unmet expectations and broken promises are frequently the source of frustration, confusion, cynicism, guilt, disappointment, and even resentment.
During the workshops, the 10-person team explored the emotional impact of unmet expectations in their office and the importance of precise communication—clear requests equal clear responsibility. We taught them a practical tool for making more effective requests, and they practiced in real-life scenarios.
One key takeaway I found useful was the reminder that there’s always room for a constructive conversation about distribution of work, even amidst a sense of urgency. Taking three minutes to make a clear, specific request can save you time and help prevent misunderstandings. Additionally, how you speak to someone is just as important as what you ask of them.
What do you think? Could this benefit your team? The idea is to take NEAW sessions and wrap an org-specific layer around it, inviting the team into hands-on learning on a super specific topic that impacts daily work. We’ve got about ten topics lined up!
An experiment in podcasting
After a great jam session with Tomomi and Alicia from Greaterthan about the emotional lens of collaboration, I felt inspired to finally start my own podcast. I’ve always known I enjoy speaking and being in conversation more than writing or posting on social media, and yet, my fear of judgement and perfectionism kept getting in the way.
With a good dose of encouragement from my peers and a commitment to embrace messiness and experimentation, I finally hooked up my microphone, created some cover art, and hit record.
If you’re also procrastinating on something, here’s your friendly nudge to take the first step! Keep an eye out for the launch of Emotions at Work (the podcast) soon… 🎙️👏🏼
Shout-outs
I’m grateful to be building my business in community with brilliant individuals. Here is some of their work that may intrigue you, too:
Gayatri offers sleep coaching. Check out her services if anyone in your life needs to heal their relationship with sleep.
Kathleen is hosting a 5-week online program for solo UX researchers seeking camaraderie and strategic guidance. If this sounds like someone you know, check out her upcoming group in November.
Ida runs Playground, an anti-procrastination platform designed to help you get unstuck. I participated in the pilot program back in 2020 and it gave me the boost I needed to start down the path of coaching!
Alright, it’s time to log-off for my daily afternoon walk. As always, if something resonated or sparked curiosity for you, leave a comment - I’d love to hear!
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