How to email like a boss

If you’ve been subscribed for a while now you’ll have noticed that I recently took a few weeks off sending my regular email newsletter.  Recently, I have been reassessing what is working with my post-burnout career, and facing up to what isn’t.  

With this in mind, I’m now testing a new name, a new format, and a new audience for my email newsletter!  The newsletter will focus now on helping working mothers.  However, a lot of the advice I’ll be sharing will be relevant to anyone that works a stressful job, so you are very welcome to stay part of the community if you are not a mum yourself.  

I will be sharing lots of practical and actionable tips about the following: 

1. How to successfully manage stress that aren’t ice baths and 5am starts- this newsletter is officially a no bro zone

2. Evidence based advice about how to overcome burnout- because no-one has the time or energy for things that don’t work, least of all mums

3. How to create a kick-ass work life that works for you and the little people in your life.  

I’d love to know what are your biggest barriers to building an incredible work life as a busy mum.  Please reply directly to this email and your response will land directly in my inbox!  

 I’ve also decided to break up with my OG platform Instagram because waves arms at the algorithm.  I know what it would take to regain visibility and growth again, but quite frankly it involves so much work and consistency that it would be a full time job in itself.  

 You can still find me on TikTok- please do follow or connect with me!  I will be doing a regular live at 9pm every Friday called Margaritas and Mentoring.  Do come and join. Everyone is welcome.  If  you don’t drink feel free to bring a mocktail or cup of tea instead!  We will chat about our week and I will help troubleshoot any stress, burnout or work issues you have. 

Becoming A Phoenix, Part One:

This week was back to school after half term, which means a welcome return to routines, and getting stuck back into work.  It also means dealing with an overflowing email inbox!  

Have you ever considered how you respond to your emails, and how your language might be affecting your career prospects? 

Inspired by a post by Sophie Deen on LinkedIn, today’s email focuses on how the language you use in your emails matters.  I’m also going to share 4 swaps for phrases that you can use immediately, so that you can change your language in work emails and boost your credibility. 

 → Studies show that women apologise twice as much as men at work.  

→ The Harvard Business Review found that confidence in communication boosts credibility at work by 20%. 

 How often do you say “sorry” at work?  Do you notice that you do it out of habit?

 If this is something that resonates, then here are 4 email swaps that you can use this week in your emails to help you communicate with confidence: 

 “Sorry for the delay” → “Thank you for your patience” 

“Can I leave early for an appointment?” → “I need to leave at…”

“I’m sorry about that” → “Thanks for bringing this to my attention” 

“No problem” (I use this all the time!!) → “Happy to help”

 If you found this list helpful, please feel free to forward it on to your friends! 

 Are you thinking about a career change or break?  If yes, I have a gift for you! 

 Yesterday, I received a voice note from a doctor friend of mine who has just been fired from their long term locum post with no notice (I KNOW 🤬). They have not been able to find alternative work yet. The job market in primary care is wild and there is scant work available. They wanted to ask my advice on how to manage work and whether they should look for another role whilst they were in the process of setting up a private clinic. 

My answer was to look at their finances to see if they had any flexibility to take some time to navigate this transition period. If they have a minimum of 3 months before the money runs out, then my advice was to crack on with setting up the new business. Anything less than 3 months would mean that they need to get a job- pronto.

The conversation reminded me that earlier this year I had created a free guide to prepping your finances for career change. My own career changes stopped me putting it out there, but it's now done and available to download. It's been written for anyone looking to diversify, develop multiple streams of income, leave your current job entirely, or prepare for a career break (such as maternity leave).

The 5 essential steps are:

1. Knowing your finances inside out

2. Working out your burn rate

3. Working out what you can dial up and dial down on

4. Working out your bottom line

5. Working out your personal runway

 You can download your free guide by clicking HERE to read a more detailed explanation of the 5 steps.

If you don't know how to work out your personal runway then my soon-to-be launched career change spreadsheet is perfect for you.  

Your runway is the length of time you can go without additional income whilst living on your bottom line.  When I started thinking about leaving clinical medicine at the start of this year, working out my runway was the first step before I made any career decisions. 

I worked out my runway by creating a spreadsheet that allowed us to work this out quickly and easily.   When we looked at our finances using the spreadsheet, we were able to do the following: 

1. Work out exactly how long we had until the money we already had would run out if things continued as they were

2. Play around with our expenses to see the impact if we cut back on some of them 

3. See how changes in income would affect how long we had until the money would run out

4. See how much we needed in savings in order to stay comfortable

Once I’d worked all this out, my career choices became so much clearer because I knew exactly how long I had before I needed to start earning again.  I also knew exactly how much I needed to be earning, and when.  

 Join the waitlist now to be the first to know when it's launched- click here.

 Have a wonderful week,

 Claire