Unbelievably its twelve weeks until the kids break up for Christmas. And from the conversations I have had with clients in the last fortnight, the overwhelm is already starting to kick in.
Client work that has to land. Business development that keeps sliding down the list. A pipeline that needs feeding before January. And underneath it, I’m noticing a growing panic that comes from looking at everything at once.
If you are feeling this, I would encourage you to stop for a minute today and consider what your non-negotiable is right now. Not your to-do list. The one thing you consciously choose, and then commit to, no matter what, that anchors your week.
Why a non-negotiable works
Most things in our week are negotiable by default. They get moved when a client calls, when a deadline shifts, when someone needs something urgently. We don’t decide to drop them. They just quietly lose, over and over, to whatever is loudest.
A non-negotiable takes one thing out of that fight. You’ve already decided, so you’re not relitigating it every Tuesday when the week goes sideways. It stops being a preference and starts being a fixed point. And in a stretch of twelve weeks where everything feels urgent, having one fixed point does something quite unexpected – it makes the rest of it feel manageable, because you know that whatever else slips, that one thing holds.
What could yours be?
It doesn’t have to be big, and it doesn’t have to be about the business. Here are some of the themes that come up when talking with clients (with some examples – some may resonate with you – and others won’t!)
Health. The gym twice a week. A walk every lunchtime. Actually eating something at midday rather than working through.
Business development. Two conversations a week. One piece of outreach a day. A networking event a month that you commit to before you can talk yourself out of it. (Small enough to survive a bad week. Consistent enough to change a pipeline by December)
Family. Picking your child up from school every Friday. A date night, same evening each week. Home for dinner three times a week, phone in the other room.
Time management. One morning a week with nothing in the diary. Deep work before ten. No meetings on a Friday.
Rest and breaks. Finishing at three on a Friday. A proper lunch break. Booking the time off between Christmas and New Year now, before the diary fills up.
Phone and boundaries. No email after seven. Notifications off in the evening. Not taking the phone to bed.
Each client has a different non-negotiable. Each of them chose it on purpose, and each of them holds it.
So – twelve weeks. What’s your non-negotiable? What’s the one thing that will anchor your week?
If you’re not sure, or you know exactly what it should be and you know you won’t hold it on your own, contact me. That’s usually a conversation worth having.
