Reclaim Your Energy

When did we go from chasing dreams to just chasing Saturdays?

I feel you! So many of us are trying to break free from the corporate burnout, but it’s not just the golden handcuffs shackling us to our 9-to-5s.

It’s the insatiable hunger for more, and not necessarily our hunger.

It’s the exceptional effort that becomes ordinary expectation. It’s the way we’ve gamified ladder-climbing by putting on unsustainable personas. It’s the encouragement to blend work and life, even when work isn’t our passion (while feeling the pressure to pretend that it is).

And it’s the definitions of success that we adopted from others, because we weren’t encouraged to look for it within ourselves.

We work in a well-intentioned system that rewards how much energy we can give, but can’t be responsible for how much we keep for ourselves. Only we can protect that.

You’re tired. I’m tired. Let’s catch our breath together.

My background is in public accounting, and although I loved many aspects of my career, I also became quite familiar with the ins and outs of stress, overwork, and corporate burnout. Here I’ll share posts containing lessons learned over the last 13 years about self-care, strategies to minimize burnout, finding balance between work and (the creative) life, and creating space for joy at work.

If we can be more at peace with the demanding roles that pay our bills, we can find more space to create – and this is where the real gold is.

Ready to reclaim your energy?

⏰The 5-minute reset

This quick routine will help you get grounded, declutter your mind, and move forward with clarity. It’s great for first thing in the morning, transitioning between activities (I use it between school drop-off and sitting down to work), or any time you need a little reset.

You can grab the free one-pager here: 5 Minute Reset (It’ll also add you let you join the newsletter for monthly updates, creative tidbits, and other good stuff. I’d love to connect! Of course, unsubscribe any time.)

You can also read the companion post, The 5-Minute Reset: A Simple Routine to Declutter Your Mind and Refocus Your Day, for more on this topic (or to get some ideas to build your own reset routine).

🌿Mindset + mental clarity

We all have a frame of reference within which we process our experiences. That framework can be influenced by ourselves and by the world around us. If we let too much in, the chatter of the world can muddy the waters for us.

Whether your experience of work leans more positive or negative, the reality is that both exist and deserve space.

These posts offer yet another perspective while encouraging you to gain clarity on your own:

Finally, one mindset that deserves its own category: the way we think about work-life balance.

⚖️Work-life balance

Balance isn’t a mathematical equation, nor a pie chart of your day. It’s the feeling that you have adequate autonomy, accomplishment, and authenticity, whatever work or life throws your way.

Let’s go deeper, change how we think about work-life balance, and find it for ourselves:

🛡️Boundaries + authenticity

In theory, we know what “healthy boundaries” are, but knowing it and living it are two very different matters! Here are some posts to help navigate boundaries and authenticity, particularly in the context of your work environment:

🍵Rest + recover

When I think rest, I tend to think “sleep, sip and spa”. It was only when I moved beyond the basics that I discovered the real key to rest: intention. That means looking inside, seeing which parts of us are the most strained or ignored, and giving them some much-needed care.

Look here for self-care ideas:

🎨Recharge through creativity

One mental framework many of us have adopted is that hobbies and creative projects are frivolous wastes of time. But creativity isn’t just indulgent – it’s necessary and restorative! In fact, I strongly believe that consistently engaging your creativity not only helps you recover from burnout, but it can improve your experience at work.

Musings on this topic:

📓The Busy Season Survival Guide

My swan song project. In (ironic) honour of my 13th (and final) tax season in public practice accounting, I wrote this guide to help you stay resilient and creative, even in your busiest seasons.

Busy season is always a looming period of intense work demands, with the most pivotal months being February through April (speaking for us in Canada). So we tend to spend January preparing (bracing ourselves), and May recovering (re-emerging). This guide was written to walk through all stages, from preparation to recovery.

Start here: The Busy Season Survival Guide

Where is your energy calling you to?

No matter where you are in the process, you can trust that you’re on the path back to clarity, balance, and a deeper connection with yourself.

Ready for more? Let’s listen for that voice within – and reconnect with yourself.