It's nearly half nine at night and I'm sat here wide awake, waiting for the England v France game to start. Now, anyone who knows me knows this is unusual because I'm normally well on my way to bed by now. The boys have a friend staying over tonight and, for reasons known only to them, they decided to make me a coffee at about 6pm. They seemed pretty proud of themselves, using the coffee machine like little baristas, so of course I drank it. I mean, I have no idea how many coffee pods they used or what they actually put in it, but whatever it was... it's done the job. I'm wide awake. So, while I wait for the football to start, I thought I'd write a blog post. 

Last week was my first proper week back at work since my operation. Well, my first week of face-to-face meetings anyway, and I think it went okay. By Thursday I started to feel a bit wobbly, although I think that might have had something to do with the ridiculous amount of caffeine I'd consumed that day. I was also excited about seeing the receptionist at work because I hadn't seen her for ages. Clearly the combination of excitement and caffeine was just a bit too much for me! Anyway, an early night did the trick and by Friday I felt much more like myself again.

Recovery is funny though, isn't it? One minute you're thinking, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm back!" and the next your body rudely reminds you who's actually in charge. It doesn't care what's in your diary or what you've convinced yourself you're ready for. So, lesson learnt... maybe fewer coffees, a little more rest and accepting that sometimes doing less is exactly what your body needs.

Yesterday evening I caught up with Jessie and, honestly, I could talk to her for hours. We ended up talking about investing, money, life and all sorts, and when I came off the call I found myself thinking that there are some universal principles that seem to apply to everything. Whether it's investing, building a business or just trying to navigate life, the basics are often the same. We just have this incredible ability as humans to overcomplicate absolutely everything.

It got me thinking about how we deal with problems. Whenever something isn't working, our first instinct is nearly always to add something. Another system. Another habit. Another step in an already overcomplicated process. We seem to think that if we just do more, it'll somehow fix it. But what if the answer isn't to add more? What if it's to take something away instead? Instead of automatically asking, "What else do I need?" maybe we should be asking, "What can I remove?" Sometimes the best solution isn't adding, it's subtracting.

I've come to believe more and more that, in life and in business, less is often more. The simpler things are, the better they tend to work. The more we clutter our lives, our diaries and our minds, the harder everything feels. The more complicated we make things, the harder they are to understand, stick to and actually follow through on. It's almost as if we keep adding layer upon layer, convincing ourselves we're improving things, when in reality we're often just making them harder. Sometimes the smartest move isn't building on what's already there, it's stripping things back to what truly matters.

Talking of keeping things simple... I think the next six weeks are when I'm going to need that reminder the most. The school holidays are nearly here, which means the juggling act officially begins. My boys finish school on Wednesday. I have no idea where this year has gone. It feels like they only went back a few weeks ago. Now it's six weeks of trying to juggle work, keep them entertained and somehow remember what day of the week it is.

As parents, we put so much pressure on ourselves to do everything. We try to be amazing parents, do a great job at work, keep the house tidy(ish), remember every school event, keep the kids entertained, reply to messages, stay on top of life admin and somehow still have enough energy left to be a halfway functioning human being. 

But the reality is, you can't do it all. You just can't. At some point you have to stop trying to be everything to everyone and decide what's actually important. Because if you try to keep every single plate spinning, you'll eventually be the one that comes crashing down.

I heard someone explain it once by saying life is like spinning plates, but some of those plates are china and some are plastic. The china ones are the things that really matter - your health, your family, your relationships. The plastic ones are the things that will bounce if you drop them. Maybe the washing waits another day. Maybe the emails don't get answered until tomorrow. Maybe dinner comes out of the freezer for a few days. And do you know what? That's absolutely fine. We spend so much time trying to stop every single plate from falling that we end up exhausted, when actually it's okay to let the plastic ones hit the floor every now and then.

I've definitely felt guilty in the past for not spending enough time with the boys. I think most parents have at some point. But I've realised you've got to give yourself a bit of slack. You can't be everything, all of the time.

Focus on the things that really matter. Be present when you're with them. Let go of the guilt over the things you can't do. Because, at the end of the day, they won't remember whether the house was spotless or what they had for dinner. They'll remember the moments you were truly present with them. Life doesn't need to be anywhere near as complicated as we make it.

Right, enough of my late-night ramblings. The football's about to start, I'm still inexplicably wide awake thanks to whatever the boys made me, and if I'm still staring at the ceiling at midnight, I'll know exactly who to blame. 🩷