Your hot EF is the part of your brain that gets involved when the stakes feel high, or when you’re doing something that feels emotionally charged. Because of that, it isn’t always helpful when it comes to getting things done.

How would you feel if at the start of a planning session, the person leading it said, “This is not about creating the perfect plan that you’re going to follow perfectly”?

Would it make you question what you’re doing there? After all, isn’t the whole point of investing in planning so you can learn how to do it correctly?

I help people land their ideas in reality, reach more people and make a bigger impact, whilst taking care of everything they’re juggling day-to-day and being kind to themselves along the way.

But is it really possible to make an impact and grow your business whilst also being kind to yourself?

I’m always talking about why taking calm, quiet space to think and make good decisions about where to invest your precious time, energy and attention is not just a nice to have, it’s essential if procrastination, perfectionism, distractions and impulsivity are getting in the way of you getting things done.

One thing I’m not always great at, though, is giving you real-life examples of why I know that to be true.

Over the years, so many people have referred to what I do as magic, I’ve often joked that the reason people who work with me are suddenly able to finish what they start and get so much more done is witchcraft.

But there’s actually a far more scientific explanation for why my approach to productivity is so effective, and it’s all to do with how your brain works. More specifically, your executive function.

I once worked with someone who was very popular and got invited to many things. She’d check her diary and if she was free, she’d usually say yes.

But as the thing she’d said yes to got closer, a tiny bit of remorse would often creep in.

She’d start thinking ‘do I REALLY want to take a day away from my desk to go do that thing?’

Towards the end of last year, I had an identity crisis.

I've always been good at the detail. It's why I was good at my job before I set up my own business. It's why I was such a great VA for the first few years of running my business.

But at the end of last year, I suddenly found myself making lots of silly mistakes.

I've been helping solo business owners be more productive for years, and when I ask people what they've got out of working with me, you think they'd be shouting from the rooftops about all the amazing things that they've got done, wouldn't you?

According to our old friend Google, procrastination is defined as, "the action of delaying or postponing something." According to Tim Urban a more accurate definition is, "the action of ruining your own life for no apparent reason".

A little over-dramatic?

As we move into the second quarter of the year, it’s a good time to pause and reflect. To look at your plans for 2026 and get curious:

How are things going?

What’s been working well for you so far?

A little while ago, one of my Make It Happen Club members emailed me letting me know she was feeling utterly depleted (life had been dealing her some pretty crappy hands all year) and wasn’t sure how to go about making a plan without making a pressure-filled plan.

Many of us solo business owners – it might even be fair to say most of us – are impatient.

When we first start out in business, we might know logically that it can take time to reach the point where we’re bringing in the income we need. But still we get despondent and frustrated that it’s not happening quicker.

10 years ago, I discovered the slow living movement. Since then, I’ve been on a mission to keep “slow and simple” front of mind, both in my business and in life outside work.

Every now and then, though, things begin to creep. The calendar fills up, life starts to feel a little noisier, and I notice that familiar feeling of busyness returning.

When we're busy, it's not always easy to take a break and we push through, telling ourselves we don't have time to stop.  I can tell you how important it is to press pause. But in the heat of the moment, when you're stressed and overwhelmed, having someone tell you why you should take a break isn't always that helpful.

Maybe what you need instead is a list of fun ideas you can play with. Practical suggestions about what taking a break might look like in reality.

A few times a year I run a 12-month planning workshop where I guide people to decide what they want to make happen, and map out their year so they can see which projects they’ll be working on when.

An important part of that process is to figure out what needs to go in the rhythm section.

Have you ever had an idea that sat on your list for ages. An idea you hadn’t really mentioned to anyone, and kept putting off?

For a lot of people, when an idea exists only in your head, you have no reason to do it (beyond it being a great idea). There’s always something more important or urgent to be done, so that idea – however brilliant – never makes it to the top of their list.

Some people are naturally inclined to rebel against structure, preferring to go with the flow and see how the mood takes them. For others, structure is what grounds them, keeping them calm and focused.

I definitely fall into the latter camp, but the former is equally valid. The key is to find a way of doing things that feels good to you, leaving you confident that the important things will get done.

Procrastination and prioritisation. In my mind, the two are connected: when we’re not clear on our priorities, procrastination often follows.

Of course, it’s one thing to be told, “you just need to get your priorities straight”, but quite another to know where to start.