Kristen Birt

06/08/2026

This IS life ❤️

This afternoon Amelia decided she wanted her hair curled.

My first thought: "But we're not going anywhere, no one will even see it".

She'd already had an afternoon bath because that's what she fancied doing. She'd put on nice clothes, a bracelet, and a little lip gloss.

Then she smiled and said, "It's not for anyone else, Mum. It's for me".

That one sentence changed the whole afternoon.

I curled her hair. We watched a wonderfully silly zombie musical. We laughed. We chatted. I decided that beautiful hair deserved a fancy dinner, so I cooked sirloin steak and poured myself a rhubarb & ginger gin with frozen strawberries.

Halfway through the evening I realised... this is life.

Why do we wait for guests before using the good food?

Why do we save things for "special occasions"?

Why not curl your hair on a random Thursday afternoon? There will come a day when she won't ask me to do it anymore.

Today reminded me that some moments are worth choosing simply because they make today a little more joyful.

If you're finding the school holidays are highlighting your own capacity, old habits, or nervous system patterns: I have one coaching space available from September if you'd like someone to explore those things with.

06/08/2026

Anyone in the Exeter area ... I can highly recommend Emily

🌿 Still spaces available this August for Bowen, Holistic Massage, Lymphatic Bowen, Facials & more Zamora Exeter 🙌

05/08/2026

Our first week of the school holidays reminded me of something important...

Protecting your energy doesn't stop you living. It helps you enjoy living.

We spent the first few days at the caravan with friends. It was wonderful. Busy. Loud. Full of swimming, chatting, laughter, and children.

It also used a huge amount of social energy for both Amelia and me.

What I noticed was how quickly my old patterns appeared. Everything suddenly felt urgent. Putting the awning up. Making sure everyone was okay. Trying to do everything myself.

Instead of listening to that urgency, I paused. I asked for help. I slowed down. I enjoyed all the moments.

After our friends left, we both honoured what our bodies were telling us.

No more socialising.
No guilt.
Just recovery.

Coming home brought another familiar pattern. The washing felt urgent. The unpacking felt urgent. Work felt urgent. Money worries knocked on the door.

But... instead of rushing into productivity, I cooked us a lovely dinner, put one wash on, spent time outside with my journal and reminded myself that the rest could wait until I actually had the capacity. I completed my monthly reflection. One sentence stood out more than any other: "I stopped fighting myself". That's becoming one of the biggest shifts in my life.

Not asking, "How do I push through?", but asking, "What does my system need in order to keep going sustainably?".

If this summer is showing you just how much you're carrying, you're not alone.

I have one coaching space available from the beginning of September if you'd like some support understanding your own capacity, planning your energy differently, and creating calmer ways of working and living.

Send me a message if you'd like to chat.

27/07/2026

Today didn't go to plan.

Actually… this whole weekend didn't.

Saturday became what Amelia and I call a "cave day." No expectations. No demands. Just a chance to reset after a few very full weeks.

Yesterday, she decided she wanted to see her Dad, but didn't have the capacity to go out for the day, as planned. Watching an eight-year-old recognise what she needs still amazes me.

It also meant my own plans changed.

By last night, I realised something important - I'd planned a busy work day today. Lots of calls. Lots of jobs. Lots of things that felt urgent.

The old me would have pushed through. The new me knows that when I'm already running on empty, using willpower usually comes at a cost.

So instead... I rearranged my calls. Moved my to-do list. Asked Amelia how she'd like to celebrate the first day of the holidays.

Now she's bouncing around with a friend while I'm sitting with a coffee, my loop headphones, my journal, my book and a little bit of quiet.

The work is still there.
The emails are still waiting.
The house renovation is still unfinished.
None of that has changed.

What has changed is how I respond to it.

I'm learning that supporting myself isn't getting in the way of life. It's helping me enjoy it.

If you've been relying on willpower to get through lately, maybe pause for a moment and ask yourself: What would support me right now?

If you'd like some help answering that question, I currently have one 1:1 coaching space available from early September.

24/07/2026

It's been a little quieter here lately.

That wasn't an accident.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to stop trying to keep up with creating regular content while juggling everything else that was happening.

Instead, I gave myself permission to focus on what mattered most.
- The house renovation.
- Time with Amelia during the end of school year.
- Supporting my coaching and mentoring clients.
- Finishing another wonderful Riding for the Disabled term.
- A very rare weekend away with a friend.
- A little more breathing space.

Looking back, I'm really pleased I made that decision.

One of the things I often encourage people to do is notice when something isn't working quite as they'd like - and then give themselves permission to respond differently.

This time, I took my own advice.

The work isn't going anywhere. The ideas aren't disappearing. If anything, giving myself space has made them clearer.

Over the coming weeks, I'll continue sharing the real-life moments that shape my work, alongside the resources I'm quietly building behind the scenes.

Thank you for sticking around while life has been a little fuller than usual.

If you're finding yourself trying to hold everything together at the moment, maybe this is your reminder that you don't have to do everything all at once.

10/07/2026

I thought this week was teaching me about house renovations.

It turns out it was teaching me about myself (again).

While getting a wall ready to paint, I found that an old damp problem hadn't actually gone away.

Straight away I could feel my nervous system waking up:
I wanted to fix it.
Sort it.
Get someone round.
Find the answer.

Instead, I stopped.
The wall isn't going anywhere.
I don't need to panic.
I don't need to cover it up.
I don't need to make a decision today.

So instead, I've ordered a damp meter. I'm going to keep an eye on it, gather a bit more information, and then decide what genuinely needs to happen next.

That might sound like a small thing - but for me, it isn't. It's a reminder that clarity isn't about making faster decisions - sometimes it's about trusting yourself enough not to rush into one.

If you've ever noticed yourself reacting before you've really understood what's happening - you're definitely not the only one.

If you'd like some support making sense of something you're navigating, I currently have one coaching space available. Contact me to find out more.

08/07/2026

Last week I was a little quieter than usual.

Partly because the house renovation has taken over life for a while, but also because I wanted to give myself some thinking space.

One thing I've learned over the past year is that sometimes slowing down helps you see things more clearly.

I've realised I don't want to spend my time constantly trying to create the next post.

Instead, I'm starting to build something that people can come back to whenever they need it - a collection of short videos, practical resources, and everyday observations that explain my work and hopefully help people make a little more sense of their own experiences.

I'll still be here sharing the things I notice along the way, but it all feels much calmer and much more sustainable.

It feels like the right next step.

Watch this space...

03/07/2026

Have you missed me… or did you notice it had gone a bit quiet around here?

I've been a little absent from social media recently because I've been in the middle of project managing (and doing a lot of myself!) a house renovation.

To be honest, it's been a really good reminder that life doesn't always leave room for doing all the things.

The house is chaos.

There are still jobs everywhere.

The to-do list is never-ending.

And my capacity has needed to go somewhere else for a little while.

So I've given myself permission to step back from creating content and focus on what's in front of me.

The irony isn't lost on me that I've spent the last few weeks practising exactly what I encourage others to do:
✨ noticing capacity
✨ adjusting expectations
✨ letting things wait
✨ and trusting that not everything is urgent.

I'll be back soon with plenty of reflections from this season.

In the meantime, I also have something lovely to share.

One of my coaching clients has reached a point where she's feeling confident enough to coach herself and needs me less often. I couldn't be prouder of her.

It also means that I now have one coaching space available from next week.

To help someone head into the school summer holidays feeling calmer and clearer, I'm offering:

🌿 Get Yourself Ready for the Summer Holidays 🌿
4 x 1-hour sessions
£300 (20% discount)

If you've been feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or just know that something needs attention before summer arrives, send me a message and we can have a chat.

28/06/2026

I've spent a lot of years believing that I would feel better once everything was sorted.

Once the jobs were finished.

Once the decisions were made.

Once the house was organised.

Once life felt calmer.

This week reminded me that sometimes peace doesn't come from everything being finished - sometimes it comes from deciding that not everything needs to be finished today.

The interesting thing is that very little changed externally this week:
- The work is still happening
- The house is still chaotic
- The to-do list still exists.. but I feel very different about it than I did on Monday.

I think that's worth paying attention to.

What became clearer for you this week?

27/06/2026

One of the things I'm noticing more and more is that overwhelm doesn't always make me stop.

Sometimes it makes me speed up.

Everything suddenly feels urgent.

Everything feels important.

Everything feels like it needs dealing with immediately.

For years I thought the answer was becoming more organised, more disciplined, or better at managing my time.

What I'm learning is that sometimes the most supportive thing I can do is acknowledge that my capacity has changed and adjust accordingly.

Not forever - just for now.

This week gave me lots of opportunities to practise that.

And the interesting thing is that the moment I stopped treating everything like an emergency, I started enjoying the week a lot more.

What's one thing you're giving yourself permission to let wait this weekend?