Guest article: Ann-Marie Goodbody, Goodbody Wellness Co.
It’s September already. Diaries are filling, inboxes overflowing and the new season vigour of Autumn is colliding with client events, conferences, budgets and year-end targets, all on top of business as usual.
What begins with a sense of renewal, quickly turns into the most demanding stretch of the year: the Christmas run-up, sixteen weeks with barely a pause. Many tackle it at full throttle, fuelled by adrenaline, caffeine and late nights, forcing their way through on grit alone. But the reality is different: this isn’t a dash, it’s sustained effort. Without pacing, the crash often comes long before the holidays.
The good news is that a few small adjustments now can build the staying power you’ll need for the season ahead.
Strategic stamina: Train for the long haul
The final quarter is performance season in professional services. Like elite athletes, success isn’t just about effort, it’s about pacing and recovery. They know when to surge and when to step back.
Start by mapping your biggest deadlines and events between now and Christmas, your “big rocks.” Once those are anchored, smaller tasks can slot in more easily. Skip this step, and the small stuff rapidly floods your calendar, leaving you firefighting, dropping balls, and pushing priorities into nights and weekends.
A practical tactic: colour-code your calendar. Red for big-rock output days (pitches, conferences, deadlines). Blue for lighter days (admin, space to think). Even one lighter day every fortnight helps. That cadence prevents the mid-November slump and keeps you sharp through the year-end push.
Digital hygiene: Clear the noise, protect your bandwidth
The real drain isn’t always the work itself; it’s the constant noise. Teams’ pings, reply-all emails, endless notifications, each one fracturing your concentration. Research shows it can take up to 20 minutes to refocus after switching tasks. Multiply that across a day and it’s no wonder you feel permanently hyper-busy, exhausted and never truly productive.
Treat digital boundaries like brushing your teeth: simple daily hygiene that protects your headspace and supports your health.
Quick wins to try:
— Two 30-minute “notification blackouts” daily for deep work.
— Batch-check emails at set times instead of drip-feeding distraction.
— Set your Teams/Slack status proactively: “Focus mode, back at 3pm.”
— Turn off low-value notifications altogether, do you really need every LinkedIn alert?
Tiny tweaks protect bandwidth, reduce decision fatigue and give you back control of attention.
Rituals for resilience: Anchors that carry you through
Autumn is like a second New Year, the perfect moment to embed rituals that sustain you through the busiest season. Think of them as stabilisers: small, repeatable actions that keep you steady no matter how hectic things get.
Three to start with:
— Morning cue: daylight and water before screens. (To upgrade it, add electrolytes or a pinch of sea salt for sharper hydration and focus.)
— Midday practice: five minutes outside, breathing or walking is a powerful nervous system recharge that clears brain fog and stress.
— Evening ritual: a 30-minute digital sunset before bed. Screens off, let your mind downshift, and set yourself up for restorative sleep.
These habits aren’t about perfection, they’re about consistency. Repeated daily, they compound into resilience and vitality that lasts all season.
Finish the year strong
The Autumn stretch doesn’t have to mean running on fumes until December. By pacing your calendar strategically, cutting digital noise, and embedding simple rituals, you’ll build the staying power to finish strong and make the Christmas party.
Because sustainable performance isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about having energy in the tank when it matters most. Don’t crawl to the finish line, drowning in mulled wine, cross it with clarity, presence, and even a little sparkle left over. January will be here before you know it.
Ann-Marie Goodbodyis a health & wellness coach, consultant and speaker. She draws on 25 years in the legal sector to help professionals thrive without burning out. Visit www.goodbodywellnessco.com.
