9th May 2025 Habits

A special thanks to DMH Stallard LLP for supporting us.

Dear Readers:

I was chatting with Claire Rigby, one of the YOO MUSE Mentor & Wellbeing Champions, recently and she was telling me about how she blocks out approximately 15 minutes of time a day to focus on non-client matters. We were talking about how important it is to think about business development and strategy, yet this can be easily pushed down the priority list when we have client deadlines to work with. Claire said that 15 minutes per day works well as a starting point with the goal to increase the time spent going forward and is a good discipline to get a focused business plan started, for example. I thought this was a great idea and such an easy way to prioritise non-client work. This conversation inspired this month’s newsletter….

Habits form the structure of our days. Which habits work well for you? And which ones could be dropped?

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Katherine x

Habits

Recognising Mental Health Awareness Week - Let’s recognise Mental Health Awareness Week by assessing our own habits that contribute to our mental health.

Atomic Habits, by James Clear - Small, incremental changes that compound over time to lead to significant transformations.

The Four Pillar Plan - The 4 Pillar Plan – Relax, Eat, Move and Sleep your way to a longer, healthier and happier life.

YOO MUSE News

YOO MUSE Mentorship & Wellbeing Programme - A unique blend of career mentorship and wellbeing support for financial services professionals.

YOO MUSE Jobs Board - the jobs board which only lists positions by firms which are committed to employee wellbeing.

Recognising Mental Health Awareness Week.

Next week is Mental Health Awareness Week (12th to 18th May 2025).

This could be the perfect opportunity to assess our own daily habits and identify where we can lean into the good habits, and look to remove the bad habits, for the betterment of our mental health.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, shares an article with useful resources and tools to help you to form better habits and break bad habits https://jamesclear.com/habits. And, if you haven’t read Atomic Habits, check out the book review (see below 👇).

Atomic Habits, by James Clear

Peter Black, CEO of Snowball Advisory, has reviewed Atomic Habits (click on the image) and said “..if you want to learn more about these marginal gains and the ability to work on your personal and business habits and changes, then well worth the read.”

Snowball Advisory publishes a monthly newsletter covering the latest news impacting the industry around the subject of corporate finance and alternative finance; areas in which Snowball advises. Peter Black is also well-known for his large book collection so, if you wish to read a review on a business-related book, the chances are that Peter has this covered! Peruse the Snowball website and I am sure you will find what you are looking for.

The Four Pillar Plan by Dr Rangan Chatterjee.

What struck me the most about this book was how Dr Chatterjee has seen significant changes to the mental health as well as the physical health of those who adopted the plan.

No matter what our lives currently look like, or how busy we are, forming the positive habits (that work for us personally) that enable us to healthily relax, eat, move and sleep well will improve how we feel and perform at work as well as in our personal lives - why wouldn’t we want to feel fantastic…..it’s a no-brainer!

Side note: I was very happy to read Dr Chatterjee’s suggestion of reframing how we think about exercise and incorporating all forms of movement into our daily lives instead. This approach was also recommended in the YOO MUSE newsletter on Movement as a way to move more if you are not comfortable with conventional forms of exercise. And it really does work - if you detest the gym, you can be just as fit and healthy by trying many alternative ways to move and strengthen your muscles!

Here’s a thought….

Other News

YOO Mentorship & Wellbeing Programme

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

5 reasons to join the YOO MUSE Mentorship & Wellbeing Programme:

🌟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 Jobs Board}

The jobs board which only lists positions by firms which are committed to employee wellbeing.

For the job seeker:

As a financial services professional, you can apply for open vacancies in the knowledge that the jobs are posted by firms who support a healthy and positive work environment.

For the job hirer:

If you want to seek your new hires through YOO MUSE, there is just one condition, you will be asked to confirm that you have employee wellbeing policies in place, and that you are actually adopting those policies. Your vacancies will be posted free of charge on our website, in our newsletters and shared on LinkedIn with the YOO MUSE community.

Reply to this email and let’s discuss your next vacancy!

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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