Own Your Time Sarah Philp
On Own Your Time this week, I’m joined by Sarah Philp. Sarah is a Psychologist and Coach with almost 20 years of experience in Education.
What if rest wasn’t something you had to earn? And what if planning didn’t need to feel like pressure?
In this beautiful, slow-paced conversation, I’m joined by the quietly bold Sarah Philp - psychologist, coach, and founder of Saorsa Psychology (Gaelic for freedom). Her work supports educators and leaders in making space for reflection, renewal, and a more seasonal way of living and working - yes, even within the rigid structures of the school year.
We talk about so much more than education here. This episode is an invitation to reconsider how you approach time, rest, leadership, and the rhythms of your work year especially if you’ve been caught in a cycle of “go-go-go” and can’t remember the last time you actually felt spacious.
Sarah also shares the story behind her stunning seasonal planner, Your Woven Year, designed especially for educators - but honestly? Anyone craving a slower, gentler approach to productivity will find so much wisdom in her words.
In this episode we chat about:
What it means to be quietly disruptive and how powerful that can be
Sarah’s take on leadership as an introvert
The intense, rigid rhythms of the school calendar and how that affects wellbeing
Why rest and renewal aren't just for holidays and how to make space for them during the workweek
The story and intention behind her seasonal planner, Your Woven Year
How connecting with nature can become a tool for time awareness, not just self-care
Why she chose the Gaelic word for freedom as her business name and what freedom means to her
What we can all learn from teachers when it comes to presence, burnout and the power of rhythm
Resources mentioned in the episode
Sarah Philp’s website & planner: https://www.saorsa-psychology.co.uk
Follow Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saorsapsychology
The books she loves:
Time to Think by Nancy Kline
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
The Yearly Almanac by Lia Leendertz
Nature’s Calendar (micro-seasons from Japanese tradition)
Read the transcript:
Please note - this podcast episode was transcribed by an AI tool, there may be some typos or errors.
00:00 What if running your business didn't mean sacrificing your time, your health, or your weekends? Welcome to own your time, the podcast where we trade hustle culture for mindful, sustainable success.
00:14 I'm Sarah Stewart and around here we're all about getting more time for what really matters. Today I'm chatting with Sarah Philp, psychologist, coach and the heart behind Saorsa Psychology which is Gaelic for freedom.
00:31 Sarah helps individuals and educators make space for slow, meaningful change in their work and lives and she does it with a gently bold approach that invites ease instead of urgency.
00:44 She's also the creator of your woven year, a beautifully crafted seasonal planner designed especially for educators who are craving rest, rhythm and realignment across the school year, not just the holidays.
00:58 Her work is refreshingly human in a world that can feel a bit to go, go, go. Let's dive in.
01:07 Welcome to Own Your Time. It's great to have you here. Thank you for having me. It's good to have the opportunity to chat with you.
01:15 And what's lovely is that you and I spoke just yesterday and I was against on your podcast, so it's nice that we can reciprocate and so for the listeners who maybe are not aware of you and your business and what you do, do you want to maybe just start by giving us a little bit of an introduction
01:37 about you, your business and how you got there. Yeah, so my business is Saorsa Psychology. My background is educational psychology, so I was an educational psychologist for a number of years and then moved out of that into working with an organisation that was working with schools across Scotland and
02:00 England. And well, and indeed, for other field as well. And I was working with those organizations to work out their training needs and then delivery and training in those circumstances.
02:12 But the travel was just got a bit crazy and I found myself away so much. And so often that when I was at home, I didn't want to do anything at all other than recover to be able to go again the next week.
02:26 And that's what got me to thinking about starting my own business, which is not something I ever planned to do, never did I ever think that would be something that I would say.
02:36 And even now six years in, I still go, oh, that is what I do and that is interesting to say out loud because it's never been something that I kind of aspired to.
02:47 And so I am both an educational psychologist by background, but also a coaching psychologist and qualified coach as well. So the majority of the work that I do is coaching either one to one Small groups are working with teams and organisations, quite often schools around leadership, around learning,
03:11 and quite often around kind of group coaching and group dynamics as well. Yeah, so interesting. It's such a great niche as well.
03:20 I mean, I bet what you do is very much needed in that space. Yes, it's the world of education is complex, it's complex work, even one on one, you know, a teacher with a pupil, a student of any kind is complex work, but then at that kind of wider system level as well, it is complex and relational work
03:45 as well, so it's not just about imparting knowledge, but it's so much about the relationship and the emotions that are attached to all of that in the experiences we have, so it can be quite an intense space to work in at times as well.
03:59 Yeah, but um and you describe yourself and I think also you know maybe also to say like we've been in each other's orbits for a few years and I do you know get a sense of your sort of quiet but powerful energy and and you you have described yourself as being quietly disruptive, which I absolutely love
04:24 . And so how does that sort of show up for you and show up for you in your work? It's an interesting one because I think it's always been there in my work.
04:35 I think it's how I've always worked with people in that sense of working along side people. And I would definitely describe myself as introverted rather than extroverted, although I can dial it up.
04:53 I can dial up my extroversion when required in the context. But actually, I guess what I've learned about myself and what works for me and what works for me in relation to others is it is that quieter, more gentle, but bold, and clear approach.
05:11 So in the questions that I ask, or the way that I ask questions, look, the time that I ask questions, that in itself can be quite disruptive, but not necessarily loud.
05:25 You know, we know that questions are really powerful and I've always said, as I particularly as an educational psychologist I used to say, the the biggest tool and the most important tool I have is the questions I ask.
05:35 They don't need to be intricate, clever, designed questions, but just the timing of a question can change the direction of a conversation completely.
05:46 And it also goes back to a book that I read when I was training as an educational psychologist as well and it was about complexity and chaos in organisations.
05:57 and the essence of the book was about having the conversation now rather than what we often do is we need to have a meeting about that but sometimes we don't actually need to have a meeting about it or we don't need to do a workshop about it.
06:09 We actually just need to have the conversation we started and the conversation we're in as well. So there's something I think disruptive about just staying with it now rather than trying to kind of formulate and formalize things and have like neat boxes for things.
06:27 There's something about just being in it and using the capacity and the energy of being in it to create the change.
06:36 Interesting. Whereas I think I would probably be the opposite and like wanting the structure, maybe wanting the space to do my own thinking before coming back to it so that yeah, that's interesting about sort of staying staying with it.
06:56 Yeah. And so you touched there on the fact that you would see yourself as being introverted and maybe not being loud.
07:10 Is that always then sort of being your way like, you know, leading more gently? Yeah, definitely. And in fact, you know, I say it was a surprise to be able to stay out of my own business.
07:25 And I don't say it easily either. I almost don't want to say it sometimes. But I think also finding myself in leadership positions, again, wasn't really a plan or intention or a goal.
07:39 It was more around circumstances and the way things evolved. And I think that sometimes people say to me, you know, she do things you're quite brave, you're quite bold and yet you're also really quiet.
07:51 So, you know, moving into leadership positions quite early on in my career was, you know, from many people's perspectives, quite a bold move, given I was relatively kind of quiet and different perhaps to the way other people led or the types of other people in those other leadership positions as well
08:12 . And I think for me that comes back to one of my favourite concepts, which is the Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development and this idea that we have this sort of capacity, if you like, within ourselves, but when we are with others or others are alongside us, there's that space where we can do more than
08:34 we could do alone. And I think for me that is often, it was so much of what trying to understand as an educational psychologist, whether it was about an individual child or young person, a family, or working with a teacher to support as well, but also through coaching as well, it's about helping to open
08:53 up that capacity. And that's a unique capacity. So the zone of proximal development you have with me is different to the one you would have with somebody else, you know, because we bring different things to it.
09:05 So for me, it's about trying to understand what that capacity is or understand what the potential is in that space and how we can maximize it and being loud and determined about my own way doesn't actually help to open that up in the other person and I suppose that's always just been the thread of how
09:29 I do what I do. So interesting and that's a new idea that I haven't or or a new sort of concept I haven't heard of before and I like that.
09:42 Yeah, it's yeah, it was always one that I connected with right from the early days and then it fed into so many parts of the work that I did and how I approached the work that I did because it was really about opening up that capacity and other people, whether that was the adult or the young person.
10:07 I'm so relevant to coaching and working with people in that space as well. People will often say that the gift of coaching almost is what happens between the sessions, rather than in the sessions.
10:20 For me, that's about understanding what that capacity is. we have together in the conversation, but then enabling that person to be able to go and utilize that from that conversation and name between times.
10:36 Yeah. Yeah, really powerful. And I suppose I haven't thought about it just in that way. That's, yeah, that's really nice.
10:48 And you're going to need to pronounce the name of your business for me again. I try to write it down sort of, is it sure, sure?
10:59 Sure, sure, sure, right? Okay, gosh, I might have to re-record my introduction. And so the, and it means freedom. Yeah, which I also love like, again, I read like, you know, for me, I would say freedom is probably a value of mine.
11:23 What does freedom look like or feel like for you? Yeah and I guess that's an interesting point isn't it that you say it's it's probably a value of yours and I bet we probably have quite different interpretations and ways of living that out which is always the case with with values.
11:43 For me I see when I hear the word freedom I get that kind of image of Mel Gibson in Braveheart or something shouting freedom, and it's not that, she's not that version, and that one's surprisingly perhaps.
12:01 For me it's really about that freedom within ourselves actually, it's the knowing ourselves really well to be able to make the choices and the decisions and to align the choices that we make with who we are, whoever we are.
12:19 So it's not about a particular version of freedom or a particular version of being a person or whatever it might be, but actually just having that freedom that comes when you know yourself really well, it gives you the freedom to make the choices and to be intentional and that's not about perfection,
12:38 that's not about getting it right all the time or you know having the perfect life in any way, but actually freedom for me sits more in that kind of inner space rather than the freedom to go and do lots of different things, although I do like that as well, but it's that inner freedom, I think.
12:56 Yeah, I love that. And how does that sort of interpretation of freedom sit with, you know, if we then think about things through time or, you know, time management or using your time.
13:12 How would that sort of sit together? Yeah, I guess it's about being able to make those decisions of how you spend your time.
13:24 And when we chanted just yesterday, we talked about that idea that I often come back to from Oliver Burkeman who talks about trade-offs and trade-ups.
13:33 And I think when you know yourself really well, you can see where you need to make trade-offs. And some of those will be more pleasant trade-offs than others, but that also is life.
13:44 There's still stuff we all have to do, like do the shopping and the washing or the, you know, whatever it might be, take your car for service.
13:51 All of these kind of things have to happen, and they're not necessarily the pleasant things we would choose to spend our time on, but they are also a part of enabling us to spend our time in certain ways as well and do the things that we enjoy.
14:05 but the idea of trade-ups is then being able to know that actually if I can spend more time doing, I don't know, one-to-one conversations, that really feeds me and energises me compared with standing in front of a group of 100 people, for example.
14:24 So there's that freedom in knowing yourself well. There are times when I still need to stand in front of a group of 100 people, But actually, when I know myself well, I have the freedom in that that actually I am still making choices, even though it might not be the absolute ideal perfect scenario, if
14:45 that even exists. Yeah, I don't know that there is a perfect, there's always something, isn't there? Yeah, always. Many things usually.
15:00 When we think about your work and you've touched on the fact that you sort of mainly support educators or people in that space, what patterns do you sort of see with them when we think about time, and rest, self-reflection, those kind of themes.
15:23 I suppose the overarching theme often is one of self-sacrifice. So I think it's Richard Biasis talks about the cycle of self-sacrifice and the cycle of renewal and so often adults in the education system fall into or pushed into this cycle of self-sacrifice, because the education system works on a very
15:52 set routine and pattern and rhythm and once it starts there's no getting off. You've got to go to the end of term.
16:00 You've got to, you know, when you start on Monday you've got to finish on Friday. You have no flexibility within that.
16:08 So often it's a case of the phrases I'm so often here, you know, if I can just get to the end of the week, if I can just get to the end of the term.
16:16 And there's this kind of intensity that builds often. And what's interesting is, and it's, don't think it's the same in most workplaces, everybody's at the same point.
16:31 So everybody is the same distance from the end of term. Everybody is the same distance from the end of the school year.
16:39 And in most other workplaces people are at different stages so people have just come back from a holiday or people are just going on a holiday or people are halfway between their holidays or you know and there's a flexibility with taking a day off and and in the education system for the majority of people
16:56 there isn't that flexibility so everybody is in the same kind of bit and sometimes that feeds unhelpfully those feelings of kind of burnout and overwhelm and there's quite can be quite a strong narrative.
17:12 On the flip side of that, when I spoke with Oliver Burkeman about that he was saying that the other the other side of that is everybody's on holiday at the same time and and research has tended to show that when when you're in those kind of circumstances it can be easier to switch off because you know
17:32 everybody's doing the same thing and so I think the research shows that for example if you're retired we can still feel like they are different because more people are off at the weekend so even though you're not working.
17:48 Are we Ken still feels like are we Ken whatever that means to you? So yeah it's an interesting one in education in that sense and often I think as well it sometimes that rhythm jars a little bit with the seasonal kind of rhythms and the way that the natural world flows as well.
18:11 We slightly don't we jar against that a little bit. Interesting. There's so many things there that I like I would not have maybe quite picked up on the fact that everyone is on that same rhythm but yeah you're right and and I do think it probably is true in terms of if everyone is off then it's much
18:33 easier to switch off and within the pharmaceutical industry some of the companies that I've worked with and for they do have across the board shutdowns and and and and people will then be off and even just recently a couple of clients you know we're recording this in August and they've sort of they had
18:58 a summer shutdown and everyone was off and so I you're right I think there is then that you're not then pressured to I'll just check my emails or I'll just, you know, dial in for that meeting to see what's happening because there's actually nothing going on.
19:16 As opposed to, and of course there's always nuances in there and there is nuance to that as well that I think increasingly, particularly for those in perhaps leadership positions or pastoral support positions.
19:29 It's less the case that nothing happens because sometimes a lot can be happening but you're not there. So then some people got the challenge of missing out on that but that's that's more of a nuance to perhaps some of the roles I think.
19:43 And of course it's the same all the children and young people in our education establishments are also on that same timeline as well.
19:51 So they're also exactly the same distance from a holiday as well. So it can create a real intensity of experience.
19:59 Yeah. And they, I mean, the thing I noticed, so my kids are teenagers and the, you know, for me, it's sort of leading up to the holidays.
20:13 I don't think we make it any easier on ourselves because then it seems to be in the lead up to summer.
20:19 There's all, you know, there's like tests or there's sports days and there's all of these things and then like Christmas time it just like amplifies even more and there's just more pressure and more things that we seem to want to try and like cram in so that then you're all exhausted because it's very
20:39 near the end of term but then all of a sudden there's all these other things. Yes, we don't, we don't often really wind down into a holiday and I guess, you know, we could all have views on that as well, but you know, there's a different, we tend to build up to the holidays rather than wind down into
20:59 the holidays, you know, people often talk about like coming into land for a holiday was almost like we're really taking off when we hit a holiday and then of course, as is often common, people get ill or they struggle to switch off and to ease themselves into the holiday as well.
21:19 Why do you think, I mean, thinking about people within the sort of the education system and things and there maybe is this and, you know, we switch off it's the holidays and we'd rest when it's the holidays.
21:35 Like why do you think it's hard to prioritise that just in the general rhythms? I think it's a similar thing in a way that there's an intensity to the school day, for example, if we call it that and we think of it like that.
21:56 So, there's an intensity, there's a core period of that day where if you're a teacher, for example, you are, you're teaching, you're in a classroom, you've got a group of children with you all the time and you are the person facilitating and enabling their learning and that is complex, relational work
22:18 . So, it's not an occasion to just deliver the thing and there you go, done. It's much more interactive and dynamic than that, much more relational than that, and children come into our educational settings with all their own life experiences and needs and wishes and aspirations and goals and things
22:42 have gone well in the morning or they haven't gone so well in the morning. So there's a lot in the sphere of a classroom, for example.
22:50 And then as you scale that up to a school, there's a lot there to be held, to be responded to, to be engaged with, to be heard, to be resolved, to be explored.
23:07 So there's so much there, and really in that time, that is where the time goes. So there isn't time for other things in that day, you know, checking emails or making phone calls, all of those things kind of need to happen at another point in time, and then there's, you know, the things that happen around
23:31 the school day, like your staff meetings, training sessions, parents evening, you know, there's there are lots of things that happen around that core part of the school day, there's a preparation, the planning, the marking, you know, all of these things, the meetings about children's needs, all of these
23:49 things, the catch-up conversations with parents. So I think there's a real intensity to the day and to the week. And then that goes to the term and then to the school year.
24:01 And so it can be very difficult to create time and space within that for taking a breath, for pausing, for resting, for learning, for reflection, and all of that does happen, but those are the things that probably get squeezed because the rest is not negotiable.
24:21 Yeah, yeah. When you think about priorities in terms of the eyes and how we're matrix, and if we look at it, urgent versus important, it is normally the important stuff, but it's not urgent that yet gets squeezed or gets pushed down the list and puts it aside.
24:42 And often it's, you know, the learning development or personal needs and things that, yeah, we sort of push to the side.
24:51 Yes, because the children, the young people are in front of you and they are the urgent and important. I maybe hadn't just quite anticipated or understood exactly what it would be like if I was to put myself into the shoes of a teacher, but that's been quite eye-opening, I think.
25:20 The word that so often comes up for me is the intensity of it. I think if many of us were to think of our working days and think about the level at which we are present and function within those days, it's probably not at the upper level all of the time.
25:43 There might be a meeting you go to where actually you're kind of functioning at 30% and that's okay. Yeah, that's appropriate for that scenario.
25:51 But actually, if you're a teacher, pretty hard to drop to 30%. You're probably much more always up near 100% for pretty much all of the day.
26:05 Yeah, wow. So then also your capacity to reflect at the end of that is reduced in some ways, because you've given so much to the being present for it, so then having the capacity to then reflect on that is quite hard as well.
26:23 Yeah. Yeah, wow. You had mentioned earlier, and I forget the exact freezing that you would use, but you'd touched on sort of the seasonality element of the education, schooling system and so on.
26:44 Which I think maybe leads us quite nicely in to talk about your planner. Do you want to maybe share a little bit about the planner that you've created?
26:54 Yeah, so I came from some work that I've been doing a group that I facilitate that meets across the school year.
27:05 So we started in September and it was about really creating that space for people to pause and reflect a protective space for them.
27:16 So we meet monthly, for 50 minutes the first Wednesday of the month and then we have seasonal workshops. And as I started to sort of plan and engage with this idea, I realised and partly through the feedback from the people in the group as well that actually they felt so disconnected from the seasons
27:36 because the life of the school has a very set rhythm and it is not really connected to the seasons in any particular kind of way and so many were saying particularly as you go into the winter months as well there actually they as many people will in work but they go into school in the darkness, they're
27:57 in fluorescent lightings, they may or may not have windows, they may or may not have windows that open and then they come back out again and actually what's happening in the natural world is so so closed to them because they're not seeing it, they're not connecting with it, they're not participating
28:17 it with it really in any particular way. So it was from the experiences with working with that group that the idea for the journal really emerged or started to take and take shape.
28:32 And I guess it is about offering an alternative lens or an alternative experience of the school year because it is one of those things I often used to describe.
28:42 It's like the train is coming and once you're on it that's it until you get off at the other end and you know exactly the route that it's going to take, but that just creates that pattern of this is how we do it, and actually taking a more seasonal approach and using the seasons as a guide to help us
29:00 think about the world around us to think about how we rest, to think about how we connect with nature, to think about our own creativity in different ways, to think about the rituals and the routines that sustain us, but also, you know, you touched on that idea that we go as we come towards end of term
29:21 at Christmas, it's full with all sorts of events and celebrations and there's a loveliness to that as well, but there's also a lot of expectation that comes with that.
29:32 You know, winter is one of those times when seasonally it's about kind of gathering in and cozying up and and actually in the life of a school it's almost the opposite, it's like you've got to be out every night at something and there's a celebration for this and there's an event for that and it's that
29:48 kind of contrast between perhaps what we instinctively feel drawn to do at that time of year versus what's expected within the school and so the idea with the journal is about helping people to notice that first of all and then to find small small things that they can do that help them to find some of
30:09 that more seasonal space within the rhythm of an academic year. I love that. I really love it and there is definitely something around like nature and the power of nature that I think is really underappreciated.
30:29 I think certainly post-COVID I've been out in nature a lot, lot more than what I would have done before and I think, yeah, like I feel it in my mood if I've not been outside or you know I'm fortunate that now I'm like looking out my window right now and I can see the trees and so on and I can notice
30:56 with the seasons how they change and and and everything. And so I still, you know, there's an element of nature even without necessarily leaving the house.
31:06 But yeah, there's definitely something about like being outside. Yes, yeah. And something else that I built into the journal as well was really helping people to think about those opportunities for rest and renewal.
31:20 So there's the obvious cycle and spaces for that in terms of weekends and school holidays. So really helping them to think about how, how do they shift from one into the other and then come back in as well.
31:35 So it's a really kind of giving people the opportunity to think about how do I need to rest and renew whether that is a weekend or whether that's a longer holiday as well so that they can rest into this base that they have even if it's not at a time of their choosing but is given to them at that particular
31:55 time. Yeah, rest into this way. Yeah, I really like that. How was the journal shifted your approach to time or planning?
32:10 I really wanted it to be something that was flexible and gentle but gave enough structure. So the spaces within it are not filled with things.
32:26 I'm not a big fan of journals where there's like loads of stuff to fill in. I wanted it to have a spaciousness to it to allow people to find their way.
32:36 But I think the whole experience of working through the year with this group and then creating the journal as well has really dialed up my own awareness of the seasons and how I feel in the seasons and how I can use that time differently as well and think about when am I most, when do I have my most
33:00 kind of creative ideas or when am I most likely to be able to follow through on the ideas that I have.
33:07 And it's not the summer annoying way which is when I have most time. It's probably more in the autumn and the winter for me are the times when I'm probably most kind of creative and get stuff going rather than the spring and the summer which perhaps intuitively feels like that would be a time you know
33:30 when things are emerging. So I think as well as having that awareness of the seasons it's also really helped me become more aware of my own inner season.
33:40 I'll flow if you like. That's a thing. Yeah super interesting. If we think about, you know, some listeners, maybe, you know, they're maybe not necessarily in the educational space, but there may be stuck on that sort of hamster wheel.
34:04 There may be always chasing the next thing, or, you know, maybe, I guess, akin to how the teachers might feel in terms of the rest or the holiday seems far away.
34:18 What might you suggest in terms of maybe something gentle that they could think differently on or change to feel a little bit more grounded?
34:32 I think sometimes getting clear on what rest and renewal is. For us, on those two things are different. So rest can mean many different things but I think it's really helpful to know for yourself what kind of rest actually does help you feel rested.
34:53 And it's not necessarily an early night. It can be many different things. And I think that's where we get, can get stuck in a rut of habits and routines and I'm a big fan of habits and routines because I think they're enable so much, but sometimes we have to check in and go actually, is that doing what
35:10 I need it to do at the moment, and if not, how can I adjust that? So sometimes the rest can come in different forums.
35:19 I talk a lot about the idea of active rest, so what are those things where you need to maybe move the body in some way?
35:27 Not necessarily physical activity like running or cycling or walking even but just some kind of physical movement that allows the mind to process the day in order for you to properly access the rest that you need whether that is sleep or or you know time with friends or whatever.
35:48 So something around those kind of transition activities that help us to come out of the work day and into a more restful space and likewise thinking about what are the activities that renew me?
36:01 So what do I feel energized from? And it could be something like, you know, baking, it could be cooking a recipe you've never cooked before, it could be reading a book for half an hour, you know, all of these things, although they are activities in some way actually also reenergizes and give us that
36:24 space of actually feeling better than we did before. So and those things don't have to take loads of planning. They don't have to require expense, you know, they can be things that we can fit into our day.
36:40 And I spoke about the cycles of self-sacrifice and the cycles of renewal, and that whole, you know, getting to understand your own cycles of renewal, what are the small daily micro-moments and what are the bigger moments over time that we need?
36:56 Because I think we can get really hooked on the holidays being the time, the thing. And then that's a lot of pressure on a holiday as well, to do everything you need it to do.
37:06 And so often what I find is we need to come back and look at those micro-daily moments of the things that we can build in that do help to help us to access rest and to build in that renewal as well.
37:19 Yeah, I love that. I think, and I can't remember what they all are, but there's seven types of rest. Yeah.
37:30 And yeah, I can't remember them all off the top of my head. I'll maybe put in the notes a link to an article with them all.
37:39 But it is right, I find sometimes that I need to be doing something to just help switch off the thinking.
37:54 I quite like, I think it's Susie Redding, her approach to rest. I think she's got eight pillars of rest. But what I quite like about her framework is it's say the pillars have got like, let's say, plus and minus.
38:13 So you might have had a day where you've had loads of social contact or a day where you've had almost no social contact.
38:19 And it's almost like looking using those pillars as a framework. So if I've had a really heavy day in terms of social contact what's the kind of rest or what do I need in order to access the rest and it might be to actually remove myself from people.
38:33 I need some silence and some quiet time. But maybe I've had a day where actually I'm feeling quite tired or the thargic in some way because I've not had enough social contact.
38:43 So my rest actually needs to be making that social contact with people. And that's where it comes back so often to like knowing yourself as well and being able to make those adjustments or make those calls on a day-by-day basis.
38:57 Yeah, I love that. What? This is great. I could talk and talk and talk with you, Sarah. Tell me a little bit about what's next for you in your business.
39:14 Oh, that's a good question. What's next? Definitely more of the same. So continuing with what I have, I guess what I've built and what I've become known for.
39:29 And I've been really pleased with the journal and how that has gone. So my first print run, I only have three copies left of that.
39:39 So that's amazing. Yeah, so I'm really pleased with that. So I guess I'm exploring and considering and playing around with ideas of what next with with that.
39:48 Is it more of the same? Is it slightly different? What else does that tell me about what I could create or what people might be interested in and what people might want as well.
40:00 I am never anticipated to have something that was a physical product and never expected it would be so complex as it was as well as a process.
40:10 So I've learned lots along the way. So I guess it's how can I use some of that learning to figure out what's next.
40:20 Okay, and before we wrap up, I shared with you before we started recording my son came up with a name for a little lightning round, so it's called the Time Crunch.
40:33 I'm actually thinking how I create some sort of jazzy marketing for it. I'm sort of in my head thinking like a cereal box, like with time crunch on it or something.
40:47 Anyway, I'm going to hand the creative reins over to him and he can come up with something. But I have got three quick questions for you.
40:57 So do you have a quote or a phrase that helps keep you grounded? it. I do. It is from Nancy Klein who wrote Time to Think and the quote is that the quality of every human action is underpinned by the quality of our thinking.
41:18 So good. I love that. Yeah, that's a great one. What about, so next question, a book or a resource that you often returned to?
41:33 I do often return to Nancy Klein's time to think, but in addition to that one that has, there's two that I've really been holding close over the last year, 18 months, and the first one is the Creative Act by Rick Rootbin and the second one is The Yearly Almanac by Lea Anders, I think is her surname,
42:02 the name is Gates, they just know, but it's The Yearly Almanac, so I've got 2024 and I've got 2025 and I believe 2026 is on its way.
42:11 Oh nice! Now there that's two books that I have not heard of, so I will go and do a little bit of research after this and investigate.
42:23 I love books. I absolutely love them. I have hundreds. I mean like everywhere in the house, you know, there's like bookshelves in most rooms and like shelves in the hallway filled with books.
42:36 I think I've even got two sets of shelves in the hallway. And my daughter always comments when there's packages arrive for me and she's like, is that is that another book, mom?
42:48 I'm like, yes it is and I'm okay with that. Sometimes I need the audio version and the actual version and sometimes I have it on my Kindle.
42:58 So yes, I can relate. Yeah, yeah. I do quite like having a physical thing to hold. Yeah, I never really connected with a, I do have a Kindle, but I just, I don't know, I quite like tangible book in my hands.
43:18 Anyway, and then this meant to be like the quick thing and I'm like, chatting away. So the third question is, one gentle invitation that you would offer to listeners today.
43:33 So this comes from the group that I mentioned and one of the things that we've spoken about that various points through the year is having a place or a space in your home where you can represent the seasons.
43:44 So I, for example, have a very beautiful little wooden board for one On that I have some shells and some stones, I have a little vase and at the moment I've got some honesty that was green when it went in and it's now turning beautifully, kind of iridescent and see through.
44:11 I've had cones on there, various things that I've picked up, a leaf or whatever, but just having a little space or a place within your home where you can just represent and recognize the seasons as they as they change and build back connection with nature and the outdoors or indeed it could be on your
44:31 desk at work it doesn't have to be in your home wherever you feel it is required. Oh beautiful it's such a nice idea yeah I really like that I'm trying to think if I have I probably don't have an equivalent in my house I will, I will ponder that as well and see what I can weave in.
44:53 I certainly have lots of plants and things dotted around, you know, and dried wreaths and flowers and all sorts of different things, but yeah, I quite like that idea too.
45:08 Things that you pick up, that's nice as well. things that you pick up and things that change just the seasons move on just to help bring the connection back in because so many offers are a bit disconnected in some ways and removed from that seasonal change.
45:30 Interestingly there's another book I'm pointing because I know where it is just next week. Another book which is Nature's Calendar which is actually that in I think it's Japanese culture, there are 72 seasons, I'm like, oh my goodness, so it breaks down all the micro-season that we experience, so that's
45:52 another way of kind of looking at that lens as well, so that's really interesting just to see begins to emerge when and what's relevant when.
46:03 that is interesting and that's a lot a lot of seasons that and an idea that I would not have been a way off either.
46:17 It's a lovely read actually and it's really interesting. It's got a little bit about maybe like the folklore behind things so I'm thinking about their brambles and black braises what we're currently in the middle of at the moment and true enough I've started to spot them around in the bushes and things
46:35 and yeah just talks a little bit about where we find them and interesting one in particular I think because we often find those brambles and blackberries in what they call the scrublands so that in between space between like agriculture and human development if you like and it's often a messy kind of
46:56 looking space but actually a really fruitful space as well. I love that. I have actually also spotted some brandels and I've been out on my walks and things.
47:11 I mean, there is just, I think there's so many difficult things going on in the world, but there's also beauty to be found if you if you can open your eyes and notice.
47:29 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh say thank you so much for joining us. Where can the listeners find you? So I am on Instagram, Saorsa Psychology which of course nobody can spell.
47:47 And through my website as well probably way the easiest ways to connect with me. Perfect, I will make sure that all the links and things are included in the show notes and all of the places.
48:02 So yeah, thank you again so much for joining me. No, thank you for having me. Lovely to chat. Twice in two days.
48:09 I know. Twice in two days in the two say this. Okay, bye for now. Thank you. If you're an educator or simply someone craving more rhythm and rest in your year, you can explore your woven year over at Sarah's website, I'll put the link in the show notes.
48:29 And please do follow Sarah for gentle guidance on navigating your work with more space, presence and care. Thanks for listening to On Your Time.
48:38 If you enjoyed today's episode, maybe you've been nodding along, scribbling some notes. Please do me a favor and leave a quick review, it really does help.
48:48 And please share this with someone who needs a little bit more calm in their calendar. Until next time, bye for now.