MARGIN TIME
Why Stepping Away is Apart of the Work
OCTOBER | SECOND WIND LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
​This week's One Thing: a single tip to help you lead well and stay well.
Do you work through your lunch? Do you eat at your desk, skip your breaks, and take work home, maybe even into bed, to answer one more email before you fall asleep?
If so, you're in good company. And I want to respectfully challenge the belief underneath that habit.
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If I don't do it, it won't get done
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Stepping away is not laziness
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You bring yourself to the work
How to build margin into your day
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Schedule it. Put margin time on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone. Treat it as seriously as a meeting with your boss, your board, or your direct reports. You matter just as much as they do.
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Move for 10 minutes. Take a walk outside, ideally in nature. If it's too hot, walk the halls of your building. If that isn't possible, consider a gym nearby. The goal is to let your eyes, your mind, and your body shift away from the pressure for a little while.
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Take your lunch, away from your desk. Eating is not optional, and neither is a real break. Eat your lunch away from your desk.
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Drink water. Aim for about one 8-ounce glass every hour.
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Set a reasonable cut-off time. As my client and I discussed, the work will never be all done. Decide when your workday ends.
Your best self shows up rested!
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➤ Click here to read the full article: “MARGIN TIME”
Self Awareness
C.L.E.A.R. model, this is the L — Learn About Yourself
JULY/AUGUST FEATURE | SECOND WIND LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
Learning about yourself means cultivating and improving your self-awareness — a foundational principle of strong emotional intelligence. Self-awareness is the capacity to recognize your emotions, thoughts, and values as they're happening, and to understand how they're driving your behavior.
In the movie War Room, we see a visual example of our battle — how the enemy comes for us, and how we can successfully combat his strategies. One key: self-awareness. In the opening scene, a group of generals stand around a table with a large tactical map laid out like a battlefield. On one side, plastic figures represent the enemy advancing. On the other, figures represent their own troops. The general’s study where the enemy is most likely to strike and build their strategy around it.
That's exactly what you need to do. As Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, our struggle isn't against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, powers, and spiritual forces we can't always see.
Self-awareness means knowing your own battlefield. What thoughts bring you down or discourage you? What beliefs cause you to shrink or minimize your worth? What emotions tend to take you under — depression, anxiety, fear? What is the enemy of your soul used to prevent you from living in your purpose?
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➤ Click here to read the full article: “SELF AWARENESS”
JUNE FEATURE | SECOND WIND LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
COMPASS
Finding your way in the woods
I love to hike, and I never head into the woods without my compass. Here’s why: when you’re surrounded by trees and underbrush that all look alike, it is remarkably easy to drift off course without even realizing it. A compass keeps me anchored to where I’m headed.
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Your goals are your compass. Regular reviews are the moments you stop, check your bearing, and make small corrections before a slight drift becomes a major detour.
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“If you’re an inch off on landing, no big deal. If you’re an inch off on takeoff, you miss the moon by a million miles.”
— Buzz Aldrin, NASA Astronaut
Don’t miss your “moon” by a million miles simply because you haven’t been checking in. Small, barely noticeable drifts have a way of compounding over time. A few intentional check-ins now can redirect your entire second half of the year.
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➤ Click here to read the full article: “COMPASS”
MAY FEATURE | SECOND WIND LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
Don’t Be a Martha — Be a Mary!
What one woman’s quiet decision can teach you about leading well.
Last month we talked about Martha — the busy leader who couldn’t stop moving long enough to receive what she needed most. I asked you: does that sound familiar?
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This month, I want to talk about her sister.
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Mary made a choice that day that cost her something. She risked her sister’s frustration. She risked looking like she wasn’t pulling her weight. In a room full of urgent needs and a to-do list that wasn’t getting any shorter, she sat down and listened.
And Jesus said she chose what was better.
“Doing the next thing is not the same as doing the next right thing.”
In this month’s full article, I break down the three leadership lessons hidden in Mary’s simple decision — and how you can apply them the next time you feel pulled in every direction at once.
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➤ Click here to read the full article: “Don’t Be a Martha — Be a Mary!”
APRIL FEATURE | SECOND WIND LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
In my full article, I share:
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How to diagnose whether you have the Martha Syndrome (and why it matters)
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The one leadership question you should ask yourself every single morning
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A simple, proven time management tool — the Pomodoro Method — that protects your priorities
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How to stop reacting to fires and start intentionally moving the needleThis isn't about doing less.
It's about doing what matters — and doing it with the clarity and focus of a leader who knows who she is and why she's in the room.
Ready to get your Second Wind?
Read the full article — plus find out how to work with me as your executive coach or take my self-paced coaching program.
👉 www.secondwindcc.com
You were not called to carry this alone. You were called to lead.