The Power of Non-negotiables

29 Sept

The Productivity Secret No One Talks About: Non-Negotiables

You don’t need to wake up at 5am, take cold plunges, or have a colour-coded calendar to feel on top of your week.

What you do need is Non-negotiables 🙅‍♀️

Not trendy hacks or rigid routines, just simple, repeatable habits that anchor your day. So that no matter how messy or unpredictable things get, you’ve got something steady holding it all together.

Energy First, Productivity Second

Here’s what I keep coming back to (and the one I remind my clients of all the time)…

🪫 You can’t be productive if your energy is on empty!

You could have the best project management tool, the perfect planner, and a to-do list for every occasion, but if you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and stretched too thin, none of it works.

That’s where non-negotiables come in. They’re the boundaries that protect your energy and give you space to breathe, especially when life throws a curveball, the to-do list explodes, or someone pings you with a “quick favour” at 4pm on a Friday.

What My Non-Negotiables Look Like

None of these are revolutionary, but they’re intentional:

🧘‍♀️ A 10-minute morning routine before I check emails or scroll. I need a quiet moment to think before the world starts asking things of me.

🥗 A proper lunch break away from my laptop. Just 20 minutes to pause and eat without multitasking does wonders.

🚶‍♀️ Some kind of movement, even if it’s just a walk around the block or a few stretches between calls.

⏰ No meetings after 3pm. That’s when my energy dips, and I know I won’t be at my best.

📵 Work apps off after 8pm. Boundaries aren’t always about others, they’re often about protecting ourselves from ourselves.

Non-Negotiables Keep You Grounded

These little rules are the reason I can run multiple client accounts, support business owners, lead my team, and still feel like me at the end of the week ✅

They stop me from spiralling into burnout and remind me that how I work matters just as much as what I get done.