Confession

Heeeeyyyyyy Yaaaaaaaa

Welcome back to 5 Minute Refresh, the weekly refresh for awesome humans on the clock.

Short on time?  Skip the warmup, and jump straight to the question at the end.

The Warmup

Confession time.

This past week was a roughy.

Mornings were my Dawn of the Dead.

Dragging arse out of bed feeling like death warmed up.

Hungry for brains, but finding a dead head instead.

Trudging around like my muscles had been replaced with rotting flesh.

Wishing it was 28 Days Later and I was back to scratch, instead of swinging between exhausted, numb and overwhelmed.

I didn’t need The Cranberries to tell me what I was becoming.

Because yes, even coaches who support people navigating burnout can get bitten by the burnout monster too.

The difference?

I know how to stop the infection from spreading.

So it’s a quick trip to Zombieland rather than a full-blown Resident Evil.

Want to know my strategy for keeping the World War Z at bay?

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I reflect on the way I’m feeling through three lenses:

1. Self and Identity (my inner life)
2. Work and Purpose (my mission)
3. Living Well (my outer life)

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Note: If we’re in The Walking Dead, these are your first aid kit, your map and your chainsaw.

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For each, I:

• Diagnose what’s dragging me down
• Think big only once a week, work small every day
• Set a plan that’s fully within my control
• Celebrate every small win

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Let’s break it down!

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SELF & IDENTITY

I noticed my self-talk had turned toxic.

Old loops resurfacing - not doing enough, not being enough, not worthy of love.

So, I set out a week’s worth of intentional and targeted daily journal prompts…

…yes, the same ones I give to clients…

…and wrote one page each morning.

Discovering objectivity.

Embracing the positive and true.

Each day I do my 5 minutes of intentional and reflective journaling?

It’s a day I stay a few metres ahead of the undead inner narrator hot on my heels.

Not today, my flesh-munching friend!

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WORK & PURPOSE

I’m so grateful for all the incredible work flowing through- coaching boards and exec teams, running consultations, training teams, supporting people bouncing back from challenging times…

…all while building The Big Refresh into something I’m deeply proud of.

But the irony isn’t lost on me - the 80-hour weeks I’ve been pulling lately are starting to burn me out.

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So I spent a few hours:

• Reviewing my objectives and goals to help metriage the work, then parking all big-picture strategy for the week
• Breaking every task and deliverable into 60-minute chunks
• Scheduling each one hour block into my calendar (and etching a list onto my infamously giant whiteboard)

The relief was immediate.

The work is scoped. It will get done. I do have time.

And scratching each one off my board?

At least as satisfying as a clean zombie headshot.

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LIVING WELL

When burnout bites, I bunker down.

Family, friends, fun and fitness – everything besides the work is chucked on the back burner.

Because it’s too overwhelming!

I don’t have time for the 90 minute gym sesh, the half day mate hang, the Luna Park trip with my daughter.

So, it’s back to micro-basics.

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Each day I schedule in minimums of:

• 5 mins of learning a silly skill (follow @thebigrefresh on Instagram to see my daily ‘learning to juggle’ updates).‍
• 5 mins of hard physical exercise – and if things are feeling good and I have time, can extend to no longer than 30 mins.
• 5 mins to compose a meaningful text message to a friend.
• 15 mins of absolutely present conversation with my daughter.

This is 30 mins total that nourishes me, fulfils me, buoys me, carries me forwards.

And funnily enough, this 30 min investment probably buys me back three hours of energy and clarity across the day.

The positive mindset shift of going from OVERWHELMINGLY HUGE to achievably small can’t be overstated.

It’s not, what a waste of time doing 5 mins of exercise.

It’s BOOM! I knocked off my 5 mins of exercise and it’s a WIN.

And a person flying high on wins, rather than crushed by the weight of unrealistic and unrealised expectations?

No Army of the Dead stands a chance.

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The 5 Minute Refresh

If you're new, here's the drill – this is your 5 Minute masterclass in YOU.

Set a timer on your phone or computer. This week, you have EXACTLY 5 minutes to answer the following questions.

Smash out your response, hit send (if you want), then have a marvellous weekend. I'll write back to you in the next few days 😊

Questions:

• ‍What's one 5 minute action you can commit to take each morning this week - exercise, journaling, planning, meditation, food prep, juggling, drawing, letter writing, craft, anything - which will give you energy and buoy you for the day ahead?
• Why does this action feel important, and how will you remain accountable to doing it each day?

Have a lovely weekend everyone - and don't forget to celebrate your wins!

Nick

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PS: If you find Five Minute Refresh useful, please feel free to forward onto your colleagues, friends or family members – I’ll reply to anyone, once per week 🙂