From the Coach's Desk

Today is my birthday.

Birthdays are a good time to reflect on the year that passed, and to set intentions for the year ahead.

I've been lucky with a birthday that comes towards the end of summer. I can make these intentions for the upcoming year with the space and clarity of mind that comes with taking time off.

If you had the chance to take some time off this summer, I'm sure you came back with some great ideas for new things you want to upon your return. But all that intention setting is for nothing if you just dive back into your routine and catch up with what you missed while you were gone.

Today's articles explores the pitfalls that I see many leaders fall into when they return from a break, and how to avoid falling into them yourself.

I wish you a year filled with intentionality and success.

Wissam

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The Illusion of Catching Up

Every September, I see the same scene repeat. Leaders return from summer break with fresh clarity, only to watch it evaporate within days. The culprit? The overwhelming urge to “catch up.”

It feels responsible to clear the backlog, reply to every email, and revive every pending project.

But here’s the paradox: the harder you try to catch up, the further you drift from the impact that really matters.

The Paradox of Catching Up

Your job isn’t to return to where you left off, it’s to decide what will define what comes next.

While you were away from your work routine, you had the chance to disconnect from the daily noise and demands on your attention and energy. This provides the ideal conditions for fresh thinking, innovative ideas, and the kind of clarity needed to breakthrough in the coming year.

And yet upon returning, most leaders become obsessed with catching up with what they missed, scheduling team meetings and responding to every email and request in their inbox.

Inbox zero may look neat, and organizing an all-hands meeting might feel productive, but neither equal progress. What's important is anchoring yourself in your intentions for the coming year, and what those require from your attention now.

The Invisible Undercurrents

Why is “catching up” so seductive? Because beneath the surface, powerful dynamics are at play:

• Anxiety and control: We process everything to reassure ourselves we’re still in charge.
• Guilt and atonement: Having stepped away, we feel compelled to prove our commitment.
• Habit and repetition: We revive projects simply because they existed before.
• Fantasy of completion: We hope that clearing the backlog will restore inner calm.
• Avoiding the transition gap: We rush back into old familiar routines to escape the discomfort of beginning something new.

These impulses are human, but left unchecked, they drag us back into the past.

The Leadership Move

The real work of leadership after a break isn’t catching up. It’s acting with intention.

That means building on the great ideas that came to you during your vacation, and then pausing to ask:

• What genuinely matters for the next 90 days?
• What can be declared complete? What needs to be cancelled?
• What new initiative should come from the clarity of time away?

The end of summer is more than a continuation. It’s a chance to re-open with purpose.

Practical Shifts

Here’s how to make the shift from backlog to impact:

• Declare completion: Archive or close what no longer serves.
• Name your new intention: Choose one initiative that reflects your renewed clarity.
• Anchor in future impact: Frame the next quarter around 2–3 priorities that truly move the needle.

Catching up looks backward. Leading looks forward.

Don’t return to re-inhabit the old. Return to initiate the new.