10th April 2026 Pause.

A special thanks to DMH Stallard LLP for supporting us.

Dear Readers:

As spring is upon us, I want to take a moment to do something we don’t do nearly enough in this industry - pause…

Q1 is always demanding in financial services. The pace has been high, expectations higher, and most of us have had little time to come up for air. Spring is a genuine opportunity to reset - not just switch off email, but to reconnect with the things that actually sustain us….. rest, movement, good company and perspective.

This newsletter is focused on making the most of the spring season - both taking a break and as we move into Q2. I’d encourage you to read it, share it with your teams, and to lead by example and taking some time off.

Katherine x

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Pause

Mind & Connection: Resetting for Q2 - take a break to reconnect with intention.

Spring into Movement - draw from natural, sustainable energy sources.

YOO MUSE News

YOO MUSE Mentorship & Wellbeing Programme - sign up now for free! Or join the new cohort of Mentor & Wellbeing Champions.

YOO MUSE Events - subscribe to this newsletter to hear about our upcoming events.

Mind & Connection: Resetting for Q2.

The cost of carrying on

For senior leaders and managers in professional and financial services, Q1 rarely ends. It transforms into Q2 without a breath. The expectation to remain consistently high performing, decisive, and present for your teams is relentless. But sustainable leadership requires recovery, and recovery requires intention.

Burnout among senior professionals rarely looks like collapse. More often it looks like increasing cynicism, shorter tempers, poorer decision-making, and a creeping detachment from work that once felt meaningful. If any of these sound familiar, a break is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

Making a break really count

Taking a break only delivers genuine recovery if you treat it as such. Consider the following:

• Set an out-of-office that is real - and resist the urge to monitor your inbox ‘just in case’. If your team sees you emailing on a day off, they feel they should too.

• Protect at least one full day with no agenda. Not a productive day off…. genuinely unstructured time. This is where creative thinking and renewed energy actually comes from.

• Notice what brings you back to yourself. Whether that is time with family, solitude, being outdoors, or reading something unrelated to work - do that deliberately.

Coming back connected

The period immediately after a break is one of the most valuable opportunities for genuine team connection. Rather than returning to a full inbox and back-to-back calls, try to carve out a conversation with your direct reports in the first day or two back.

Not a performance conversation or a priorities update. Simply, “How are you?” and then actually listen to the answer.

In high pressure environments, these moments of genuine human connection are what build the psychological safety that makes teams more resilient, more honest, and ultimately more effective. A manager who checks in is not a soft manager, they are a smart one.

Spring into Movement.

Why this time of year matters

There is a reason people feel more energised in spring. Longer daylight hours increase serotonin production, cooler-but-mild temperatures make outdoor activity genuinely enjoyable, and the seasonal shift creates a natural psychological inflection point. A sense that change is possible.

For those of us who have spent January to March largely desk-bound, spring is an ideal time to build some momentum around physical wellbeing that can carry into the rest of the year.

Small steps, sustained change

You do not need to commit to a training programme or a dramatic lifestyle change. The evidence on behaviour change is clear - small, consistent habits built on existing routines outperform ambitious targets that fade by May. A few practical starting points:

• A 20-minute walk at lunchtime three times a week delivers measurable benefits for cardiovascular health, mood, and afternoon focus. And requires no gym membership or kit.

• If you have children or family visiting over the Easter period, use it as cover to get outside. Egg hunts, walks, cycle rides…. movement that does not feel like exercise is still movement.

• As the evenings lengthen, consider replacing one commute or car journey per week with walking or cycling. Even a partial route makes a difference.

Remember: Easter and chocolate are inseparable and that is absolutely fine. Wellbing is not about restriction. Enjoy it! There is nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence.

Energy management, not time management

We often speak about time management, but another concept is energy management. You can have all the hours in the world and still produce poor-quality work if your physical reserves are depleted.

Sleep, movement, and nutrition are not wellness extras, they are performance fundamentals. As you head into Q2, ask yourself honestly - are you operating on a sustainable energy baseline, or are you running on adrenaline and caffeine?

The best time to answer that question is now, before Q2 picks up pace. Use the break to build a physical foundation that will carry you through the months ahead.

Here’s a thought

A question to ask your team this week:

“What’s one thing that would make Q2 feel more manageable for you?”

Ask with genuine curiosity rather than as a preamble to a workload conversation. And then - where you possibly can - act on what you hear.

This question does three things at once. It signals that you care about your team’s experience, it gives people permission to raise concerns early rather than when they’re already struggling, and it gives you immediate insight about where the pressure points are before they become problems.

It takes five minutes. It costs nothing. And it is exactly the kind of leadership that makes people want to bring their best to work.

YOO MUSE Mentorship & Wellbeing Programme

Would you like to join as a YOO MUSE Mentor & Wellbeing Champion in April 2026?

Here’s what it’s all about: 

Benefits to you as a mentor & wellbeing champion:

• Positive impact on others and enhanced sense of purpose

• Fresh perspectives which could help you in your own business

• Leadership development - strong communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills can be further developed in this role

• Insight into what matters to people at work

• Reverse mentoring and increased self-awareness by reflecting on your own experiences

• Expand your professional network

• Increased awareness of your own staff and colleagues – a positive and supportive work environment can increase productivity and job satisfaction

Benefits to a mentee:

• Sounding board and confidante

• Draw on real life experiences from a senior person from a similar professional field

• Improved self-confidence

• Career guidance

• Boost communication skills

• Networking opportunities

• Connection and emotional support

• Increased self-awareness - through reflection and feedback, mentees can gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their goals.

• Enhanced wellbeing – from adopting healthy habits and a positive mindset

• Expand professional networks

• Gain fresh perspectives

Reply to this email if you are interested.

The YOO MUSE Mentor & Wellbeing Champions come from a variety of backgrounds in financial and professional services and bring a wealth of personal knowledge and experience. They have also navigated their own work-life challenges and understand that your challenges may be very different to their own. They are here to support, listen and inspire you, as well as encourage you to navigate your own 'unknowns' towards your career and wellbeing goals.

The YOO MUSE Mentor & Wellbeing Champions have backgrounds in:

• Corporate Law • Commercial Law • Investment Research • Compliance Advisory • In-house Compliance • Finance (Valuations, M&A, Fund Management) • Risk

A unique blend of career mentorship and wellbeing support, helping professionals in the financial services industry to achieve both their personal and career goals.

We have partnered with the EIS Association so the programme is now available to Corporate Members who are members of the Green Shoots programme. However, you do not need to be a Corporate Member of the EIS Association to join. If you’d like to know more about the Mentorship & Wellbeing Programme, or if you wish to become a Corporate Member of the EIS Association, please reply to this email.

🌟Free to financial services (or legal/accounting services) professionals

🌟Mentor & Wellbeing Champions are independent from your organisation

🌟A unique blend of career mentorship and wellbeing support

🌟Networking opportunities with peers who also care about wellbeing

🌟Join a community of like-minded people

YOO MUSE Events

At YOO MUSE we will be organising events throughout the year; some will be informal, some will be technical and some will be somewhere in between.

If you are reading this newsletter online, be sure to subscribe to our emails to hear about upcoming events.

We look forward to the getting together again soon!

Our Mission

At YOOMUSE we believe that mental and physical health are closely linked, and this plays a huge part in our professional and personal lives. We are passionate about empowering individuals to take control of their health and wellbeing, and believe that the work environment and culture can embrace this notion and benefit massively as a result.

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