I like to see Friday’s as a decompression chamber.  The day when you start to wind down and clean up before relaxing into the weekend.  Today was the first Friday in a while when I’d recaptured that notion rather than still be hacking away at work in my office.  For once I enjoyed the routine of domestic chores as a theraputic way to expunge the working week away.  This is more like the true Domestic Executive balance I’ve come to expect and enjoy.

For all the pressures I put upon myself I’ve been counting my blessings today that life is good.  My coaching and consulting practice has grown to the point where I’ve closed my books of new business and focus now on enjoying the work I am committed to delivering this year.  Since Monday I’ve been squirming and looking through my diary multiple times to see if I could squeeze in a piece of exciting looking consulting work.  By Thursday I had to admit defeat – it simply isn’t possible to do without breaching my Domestic Executive “rules”.  Why have a lifestyle business if the business starts to dictate your lifestyle?

But working with a team of other people it gave me a small thrill to be able to pass on one of my clients.  This is something I’ve been doing rather a lot lately as the more people I work with the more requests you get. People tell me it’s a nice problem to have – being a “victim” of success.  I’m not sure I agree – I’ve felt a lot more stress learning to say no than I have saying yes.

Today I started coaching with a coach who is also a new colleague.  Yes, even coaches need a coach from time to time and for me it’s time to taste my own medicine.  As you’d expect me to say it was a liberating experience – but it truly was.  I downloaded from my head heaps of ideas and then the frustrations – it’s like a mental laxative that unblocks the thinking that was giving me a headache and keeping me awake when I should have been asleep.

So onward I go to achieve all those personal and professional goals I set myself at the beginning of the year.  First action I committed to doing was to a little more like Little Basset – spending more time contemplating the wider world.  Breaking away from the desk and sitting in the sun.  Unlike Mason, I do want to spend a bit more time outside and get back into a rhythm of getting out and about.  Friday is going to be the day I’ve earmarked for that and I’m looking forward to adding another day a week real soon.

It’s a luxury I know.  One I’m grateful for.  Now I just need to use is more productively (Oh dear, there I go again!) what I meant to say was that I would use the day to purposefully relax!