Hey folks,

When Rachel and I first spoke, she was three months into a senior director role.

She’d just hired five people, she cared about doing right by them, and she could already see where her pace was heading.

She wasn't in crisis, but work was crowding out the life she wanted outside it. Plans with friends got cancelled. The book club and the exercise class kept getting pushed to next week.

One question she asked stayed with me:

I think that's a question worth asking before you hit your limit, not after.

Maybe you've taken on more responsibility.

Maybe you're getting plenty done but finding it harder to switch off.

Or maybe you keep waiting for a quieter season that never quite arrives.

That's where Rachel was when she joined The Inner Operating System.

When we spoke after the program, she had a new boss and was in a tough stretch at work. Here's what she told me:

She was making time for exercise she enjoys and finding new ways to meet people.

She'd also changed how she ends her day. She used to stay until 8 or 9 p.m. trying to clear her list. Now, she stops just before 5 pm, notes what she got done, and writes out tomorrow’s plan.

As she put it: "It'll be there for me at 8am."

Perhaps the biggest change Rachel experienced wasn't in her calendar, but in her relationship to the pressure she often put on herself.

She shared one line in our integration call that stuck out to me:

That's the kind of change we work toward.

It's less about squeezing more out of your day and more about building a rhythm and pace you can sustain for years.

If you’re curious what we’re doing inside The Inner Operating System

We start by helping you understand your brain, body, and nervous system — because once you understand how you’re wired, it becomes much easier to change what you do.

Then we build practical ways to manage your attention, energy, and working days, so you make progress on what matters and still have energy left at the end of the day for your life.

It's a practice-based course you move through at your own pace, with a live weekly coaching call with me, and a small group working toward similar changes.

If you can feel your current pace becoming unsustainable, this might be a good time to explore a different way forward.

The first step is a 45-minute conversation with me to explore where you are, what you'd like to change, and whether iOS is the right fit.

→ Book a conversation with me here​

The last day to book a first call is Wednesday, October 14.

Start Together begins on Monday, October 26.

Thanks for reading,

Connor

P.S. If you're looking for a place to start, I recently shared 7 things I do to stop feeling drained after work. They're simple practices that help me protect my energy so there's more left for life outside work.