A day in the life of a Change Consultant

It’s been almost 2 years since I moved from day rate contracting in Change Management to becoming an independent consultant in Change Leadership - and I’ve never looked back! My life and lifestyle have completely transformed, with the ability to own my own time and the flexibility and flow of my day in ways that I never thought possible. And also that I never knew I needed, since experiencing endometriosis for the last few years.

Here’s how I spend my time and what a typical weekday as a Change Consultant looks like for me:

5.00am-8.00am

I’m an early bird so I tend to wake up fairly early to exercise: to swim, do yoga, or go for a walk. I try to do 1-2 active activities a day when my energy allows. Having endometriosis means some days I’m exhausted or in intense pain through the day and night. So I simply listen to my body - if it wants to sleep in and rest, I may sleep until 8am or even later, or get up and stretch or take a long bath. I’ve been writing my memoirs and some quiet mornings I sit in bed with a coffee and write my book, journal, or draft blog posts, workshops, capability sessions or trainings. I’m not always creative and I don’t always feel like writing so I like to use the inspiration when it comes. I’ve also started guesting on podcasts based in the US and the recording time is often early in my local time so I’ll jump up, shower, throw make up on, and record a podcast episode, moving my exercise to the afternoon. 

8.00am-10.00am

Most days this is when I shower and have a cooked breakfast, watching something light and funny on Netflix while I eat. Occasionally I might attend a coaching call for a business course or spirituality course I’m on. Every second Monday morning I drive out to Parramatta for my physio appointment, and often do a grocery shop at the suburban supermarket on the way home. I live in the heart of the city of Sydney so all our supermarkets are little metros with limited range so it’s nice to wander through a quiet, empty massive supermarket and get the shop done in a heartbeat. Something that used to feel like a chore now feels like a novelty and is actually a lovely experience! Fridays my cleaner comes at 8.00am so I set her up with the laundry and cleaning tasks I’d like done that week.

10.00am-12.00pm

I pretty much never start work before 10am unless I’m in the middle of a launch, have an international client meeting, or am super inspired and energised about something and I just want to get into it right away. Fridays my cleaner is here so I might start work earlier to get out of her way haha. Because I’m a morning person, most of my creative and innovative energy comes in the morning so sometimes I have to feel into what’s a better use of that time: exercising or creating. I’ll trade off depending on what feels right. Between 10am and 12pm, I’ll do tasks for my own business and courses and for consulting clients. Mondays I set up all my blog posts and any scheduled social media posts for the week ahead. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my consulting client meeting days. Wednesdays I tend to keep for presenting - running workshops, webinars, new consulting client clarity calls, and the monthly coaching calls for my program, Leading Successful Change. 

12.00pm-2.00pm

I’ll stop and have lunch at some point, depending on how late I’ve had breakfast (which can be 9.30am or 10am sometimes). In summer, I sit out on our garden terrace in the sun amongst the trees and flowers and our home veggie garden. In winter, I’ll watch a Netflix show while I eat. I’ll usually go back and do more work or meetings. Once a week, I’ll take the afternoon off and go out for lunch with a friend, business buddy, or on my own, or hang out with family or friends staying with me. If I’m running an afternoon workshop for a client, I’ll travel to their site.

2.00pm-5.00pm

The circadian rhythm runs strong for me and I always have an afternoon slump (no matter what I’ve eaten for lunch!). If I’m trying to create or write or prepare workshops or capability, I often find it takes longer to get anything out on the page. It’s actually a great time for client meetings or running client workshops or capability because I have an external stimulant doing something I really love. As a trained presenter, I’m very good at switching on my energy instantly so I can use the time effectively, have amazing conversations, and get outcomes for my clients. If I don’t have any client-facing meetings, I’ll take a break, have a nap with a guided meditation, and in summer go for a swim at the beach. I also use this afternoon time to have sessions with my business coach, with my wellbeing psychologist, or any health or dental appointments. 

5.00pm-7.00pm

I get a big burst of energy after 5pm so I make the most of it. I’ll often post my “From the Light” story posts on LinkedIn in the evening, and scroll and see the news and achievements in my LinkedIn feed from the day. Once a month I hold my LSC Coaching Call, occasionally I’ll run a webinar, or sometimes have a networking event or a business or spirituality course session in the evening. On Mondays I walk down to our local farmers’ market and buy fresh fruit and vegetables, organic and grass fed meats, specialty cheeses, and baked goods. Every second Monday (alternate to my physio) my sports massage therapist comes to my apartment and I get a 1 hour full-body massage. In summer I might go for a walk; in winter I might do a swim and sauna as we have a pool, spa, sauna and gym in our apartment building. And once a week, usually Friday, I’ll do yoga on Zoom with my sisters who live in Perth and Austria - sometimes there’s more talking than yoga-ing!

7.00pm-10.00pm

This is usually dinner with my partner (he cooks) and chilling out watching Netflix. I try to avoid exercising too late at night because I can find it hard to sleep or I go to bed with still-damp hair, but I might do some stretches or journalling before starting my processes for bed which include brushing my teeth, flossing, taking asthma puffers, and putting in my ortho-k lenses (hard contacts that correct my eyesight while I sleep). I need lots of sleep to wake up early so 10pm is bedtime. 

And that’s a typical weekday. My previous Day in the Life Of a Change Manager, NLP Practitioner and Career Change Coach blog post was based on a Sunday because I worked full-time and had a side hustle. But now that I work in my own business full time, my weekends are for me. Saturdays are my social day and if I’m in a launch or batching my content for the quarter ahead, I’ll do all my writing on Sundays when it’s nice and quiet and I can focus. But I mostly take the whole weekend off to bake, cook, hang with family and friends, go on trips, exercise, and chill. 

And the flexibility and flow doesn’t stop in my week - because I work for myself, I plan out my annual launch calendar and client services in line with major breaks in the year. As well as taking off 1-2 half-days per week, public holidays and long weekends, I usually take off 1-2 months over summer to hang at my parents’ beach house, and this year I’m also taking 2 months off to live in a Tuscan villa with onsite cooking classes, sail the Greek Islands with a small group, and visit my sister in Austria.

And the most interesting thing? I make triple what I earned as a day rate contractor, help a variety of clients and students from across the world, and work flexibly and fluidly through the week with my general hours 10am-4pm, in line with my health and my energy and my values of enjoying my life. It all started because I decided to shift to being a Change Consultant, working for myself in my own business. 

If you’d like to learn more about the skills, tools and mindset I use to be a trusted advisor in Change Management, I’ll be opening up registrations for my free brand-new advanced-level Change Advisory & Consulting Bootcamp in just a few days. Let me know what you’d like me to cover in my short 2-minute survey (click here to complete it) that closes Wednesday 26 April at 8.00pm AEST (Sydney time). I’m going through all the survey responses to make sure I really cover what’s top of mind for you.

CLICK HERE to complete the 2-minute survey for my free advanced Change workshop

Lata xx