I work using a pomodoro timer. My brain sometimes gets happily distracted by shiny things, so this helps me focus on getting jobs done.

Today, I have a long check-in with a client I’ve spent the past three weeks working intensely with. Her crisis has broken, but I like to keep following up to check on how she is feeling and managing the stress of the crisis. Some crises are really “corporate”, but others are deeply personal and involve truly the worst-case scenario. In this case, there was a complex death in her workplace.

Noon: It’s a great lifestyle being on the Gold Coast, but it’s important to do some face-to-face meetings, so I time organising my upcoming monthly Sydney visit. I will fly down and jam-pack the day with a mix of clients and contacts.

2pm: A messaging exchange for about 10 minutes to a preferred psychologist to see if she’s got any availability for a client. I’ve got a network of people like this, so my clients have every single support they could possibly need.

3.30pm: I think it’s important to discuss the unpaid work that we fit into our days. On my turn for school pick-up, I am beyond excited to see my boys, and we do family time for the rest of the day.

The nature of running a crisis business is always being on call and being flexible if it’s urgent. If I get a call and it’s not urgent I follow up and set a time for either a night-time call when the boys are asleep or the next day.

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