It is easy, in the pace of life right now, to lose your footing. To forget how, or when, to slow down and take time for yourself, especially as a marketer. I am one of those people who finds it genuinely difficult to do nothing. And I am not alone in this. I meet and work with people who show me their calendars stacked with meetings, no space between them. "When do you eat? Or go to the loo?" I asked a close colleague recently. They laughed. It stayed with me.
Because taking time to stop, pause and think is not a luxury, it is essential to our mental health. And it helps us show up more intentionally, in our work and with each other. Especially when it comes to reconnecting with our values, beliefs, passion and purpose. The things we really care about. The things that guide the choices we make and the decisions we take.
Not just a to do list - a to be list
Over the years I have come to know the importance of keeping not only a to do list, but a to be list. This second list is made up of my values and how I want to show up in the world. It reminds me to be intentional, not just in what I do, but in who I am. What I have noticed is that the very things marketers do brilliantly for others, being creative, thinking strategically, making connections, can be the hardest things to do for ourselves. Making time for our own creativity matters deeply, both to our mental health and to the quality of our work.
Go outside to go inside
I have recently started describing myself as a thinking partner to executives, leaders and their teams. This feels right, because the need to stop, pause and think has never been greater. And in my experience, thinking is often best done outdoors. For many years I have woven going outside to go inside into my work with leaders and their teams, using walk-and-talk and side-by-side conversation to deepen connection. The research increasingly supports what we have long known intuitively: being in nature supports our mental health.
I am also learning to embrace silence, and sometimes to create it by inviting a team to reflect quietly on their own. Whether outdoors alone, or alongside another person, this kind of stillness grounds us. It is the questions that matter too. The ones that invite deeper reflection and reconnection with what really matters to you. For a long time, I have been guided by three core values: kindness, courage, and generosity. They help me navigate complex situations and conversations. They are my steer. They shape not only my motivation but my intention, and they help me show up as myself, for myself and for others.
The power of micro-moments
So what makes this possible in practice? I am an early riser, something made a little easier by the longer, brighter mornings here in the Northern Hemisphere. I do some of my most creative thinking and writing before the day becomes about me with others. That early morning time sets me up for what follows.
"The key, I have found, is not finding large pockets of time but learning to value small ones. Micro-moments, each day, for thinking, reading, writing and walking."
Anni Townend
These are what help me reconnect with my values and purpose. And they help me make better decisions, for my work and for my wellbeing. This year, that sense of shared reflection feels especially alive for me. Earlier this Spring at Anthropy26, I was reminded again how much we need spaces to think together, to slow down and reconnect with what really matters in our leadership and our lives.
A highlight of my year is The Marketing Leaders Programme 2026 which starts at the end of this month. A partnership between the Marketing Society and Accenture Song, this residential programme is now in its 22nd year. It is held at Tewin Bury Farm hotel and co-led by Russ Pocock and myself. The programme gives today’s marketing leaders an opportunity to accelerate their marketing leadership, learn from each other, and from leading industry figures; and crucially to step away from their busy lives to reflect, and connect with themselves, nurture relationships with each other and in nature.
