The journey goes on, uncovering the mindset and habits of exceptional leaders who’ve found the way to excel professionally without sacrificing their happiness.
Let these insights be your reminder that it’s possible to pursue bold ambitions and still protect what matters most: your well-being.
I believe it’s essential for you to have a good life, for sustainable success, and for thriving long term. Balance shouldn’t be something you strive for. It should be something that everyone has as a matter of course.
This interview features Dr. Laura Rees-Davies, Coaching Psychologist. She is someone who truly lives what she teaches. As a single parent, academic, and business owner, she knows firsthand how messy, beautiful, and challenging the pursuit of balance can be. Laura embodies the art of sustainable success, blending personal growth with professional impact. Her journey is a powerful reminder that real success includes space for self-compassion, learning through the hard days, and showing up for life with heart.
In her own words:
“My name is Dr. Laura Rees-Davies. I’m a Chartered Coaching Psychologist and a Senior Lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University. I’m also the Founder of Glide Forward, a consultancy specializing in workplace wellbeing, education, and leadership effectiveness.
I have over 20 years of experience in higher education and 14 years in coaching. My work primarily focuses on developing interventions that support people in areas of success, or perhaps areas where they are not doing so well and want to improve. A key part of my approach is helping people grow in a sustainable way, on how this is going to impact them over the longer term, professionally and personally.
I’m very passionate about living a balanced and fulfilling life. I try to make everyday count. As a single parent, academic, and business owner, I do my best to manage the different parts of my life, though it doesn’t always go perfectly. What I’ve noticed is that success isn’t just about achieving goals; it can be about making sure that you thrive in areas even when things aren’t going so well and that you make it through to the other, feeling like you’ve at least learned something.
I don’t think balance is a luxury; I believe it’s essential for you to have a good life, for sustainable success, and for thriving long term. Balance shouldn’t be something you strive for. It should be something that everyone has as a matter of course.”
Time to explore Laura’s story. Let’s jump right into the conversation and uncover the experiences that have shaped Laura’s unique outlook and path.
How do you personally define work-life balance, and why do you think it’s important?
I think it’s really important, I think it’s essential, and I think it’s fluid.
I don’t think that at any one time you can put a number of hours on a work-life balance, or think about it in terms of a very descriptive way of operating. If you’re in a situation where you’re feeling really enthused by work, then a work-life balance might be that your personal life is accepting that you’re excited about work and you want to give that your all.
And then vice versa: if work is a little bit quieter, and there’s something going on in your personal life that needs your attention, you are able to give that the time. Flexibility and a fluid nature of work-life balance is key for me.
Being able to manage the ambitions that I have in my professional life, whilst also feeling like my family life is going really well, this fuels a feeling of resilience, of being able to manage anything that throws itself in your way. Try to think creatively and have some innovation, and actually enjoying things in the moment, rather than doing it because you have to.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in maintaining work-life balance, and how did you manage to overcome it?
Probably the biggest challenge is managing being a single parent whilst also being really ambitious during my PhD, while my children were young. I would have to have a job as a lecturer, and then I was a researcher, and I was a parent, so I had to manage those roles effectively.
I didn’t always get it right, but it was definitely about having different hats on for each of the situations that I was in. That I could change the way I approached things depending on where I was and having a clear understanding of my role. It took a long time to get to that point, because obviously these things aren’t clear-cut. Sometimes you’ll have a phone call from the school while you’re at work and it crosses over. But wherever possible, being very clear about my boundaries so that I could then move between each of those, feeling comfortable that I left the other one behind.
One of the things that I found quite difficult is, due to technology, we have lots of different ways in which people can communicate with you, and it does mean that I’ve had to be strict about keeping email off my phone so that when I’m out with my family, I’m not looking at my emails. Or that if I said that I’m going to have some time in the evening, I make sure I put my laptop away and that I am the identity of the person or the role that I’m playing in at that particular time.
What misconceptions about work-life balance have you encountered in your journey?
A major misconception on my part is that it means doing less professionally, and that you don’t do as much, and that you give up certain things. It requires you to do better at the things that you do, being really strategic about the things that you choose to participate in, learning how to say no, delegate, get other people involved, and not being precious over trying to do things all on your own.
Work-life balance is being very clever about the way that you work and strategic. I think it’s a misconception that work-life balance is a static state of nine till five. I think it’s dynamic. I see it as you try and make sure that whatever is needed at that time is given attention, but in a way where you’re aware of the other parts. We’re all guilty of this in some respects: being drawn into an activity and forgetting about the other areas and getting so absorbed into that task that others start to suffer. Be consciously aware of the impact that it’s having, understand and continually check in with yourself about whether it’s worth what you’re actually doing.
How do you prioritize tasks and manage your time effectively? And could you share some personal strategies or tools that help you stay organized and focused?
I know that people are often fans of project management tools and using things like Trello, for example. I don’t use those types of things. I’m simply a calendar and a to-do list person. I use the function on Outlook where you can write a to-do list. I will put dates if there are deadlines, and then I insert the number of hours into the calendar. I try and order them in terms of priority. If I know that I’ve got a deadline coming up, then obviously that will take priority. If I know that something needs attention quickly, then I’ll put that in. If something is a bit more of a slow burner, like a project for example, then I’ll put time into the calendar regularly.
The only thing that interrupts is when I get emails that ask me to do even more. But I just keep adding it to the to-do list, and it does help me say no when I know I’m not able to complete any more work. Whereas if I hadn’t used the calendar and carved out that time in it, then I might, in my head, think ambitiously—like, “Yeah, I could do it all”—and not manage my time well.
I identify the three to five biggest priorities that are on my to-do list and then I schedule those first. After that, I just slot in other activities. I also make sure that I build in time where I’m not doing anything. It gives me a bit of time then if anything goes wrong. So, that I don’t feel overwhelmed and exhausted by the end of the day, and I have space in the evening when I’ve got my time with my family and friends.
I’ve recognized that professionally, never going to be a point where everything’s finished. I used to feel very stressed, and continue working into the night, and feel as though I needed to get everything done, and then I would wake up in the night worrying about what activities I needed to do. But now, for the most part, I’m just relaxed and chilled about work, because I know it’ll get done. I’ve worked out the deadlines. I’ve got a strategy. I know that I’m organized. I’ve put things into the calendar, and that stops me from having that kind of mental noise of trying to manage it all in my head.
I haven’t always been like this. It’s definitely a skill I’ve curated over time. And I don’t think it would be the same for everybody. It’s just about finding that way in which the noise calms down and you feel relaxed about your work approach.
I am being clear and confident that I take my work-life balance very seriously, and the importance of rest.
How do you encourage and support work-life balance among the people you work with?
I try and model it as much as possible, and I’m very clear then about where my boundaries are. I don’t mind telling people I’m not happy for you to contact me if I’m on holiday, I won’t be answering emails. I’ve gone as far as to block people who will email me or text me while I’m on holiday, because I just want to send a very clear message that my work life is something I give my time and attention to. I am being clear and confident that I take my work-life balance very seriously, and the importance of rest.
I do also talk about the value of working flexibly. I’m very lucky to have a hybrid role, where sometimes I need to be at work physically, and sometimes I need to work at home, the importance of being able to take a break if you’re feeling tired and then making the time up somewhere else. Also checking in with colleagues and students or people that I work with outside of the university or outside of coaching, just to see how they are, and to talk about personal life as well, so people know that I’m not just all about work.
Workload is really important. I think that is key to success, because you’re going to be able to do quality rather than quantity, and so I advocate for anything that makes that more possible.
How do you set boundaries between work and personal time, especially in a remote or hybrid work environment?
Communication is key, making it clear. I articulate it clearly to people, and I make sure I ask permission. If anyone shares their telephone number with me, I ask permission if they’re happy for me to communicate with them about work on their personal phones. I try and model that as much as possible, and I set expectations. I’ve told people that I don’t want to be contacted while I’m not at work. I don’t have email on my phone. I will log into it if I feel that I need to or say I’m out of office and I’m working somewhere and I need to check my emails, I’ll do that, but I always do it through a web browser rather than having an app where I get notifications. And I physically put my laptop away, I pack it into my bag, and I put my bag away so I can’t see it anymore. It’s about those kinds of rituals where you signify the end of a working day.
And things like doing a routine. An example might be I used to go for a walk straight after work. Or I would physically go into the kitchen and make sure I had dinner in the kitchen rather than in the living room, where I usually work from, to signify to myself, right, you’re out of that now.
The thing that I found most tough about that is that when I’m really excited about work, I feel really compelled to check my emails and to keep working and to do things because I’m just really enjoying myself doing that. I think sometimes you need to give in to that a little bit, but as long as it’s not at the sacrifice of everything else, and at least you communicate to the people that are in your personal life.
How do you ensure you make time for family, friends, and personal interests despite your professional responsibilities?
I’ve got a very full life outside of work. I do a lot. I love that. I’m the type of person that likes to do as much as possible, but I also really value doing nothing.
So, the doing nothing would be time at home where you could just sit on the sofa and watch TV or just go on your phone and do literally things that are not really there for a goal. I wouldn’t say I particularly schedule that time in, but I try and make sure that it’s present in my week. And I don’t schedule it in as such because I don’t want it to feel scheduled. I want it to just feel relaxed and normal.
I also have a shared calendar that helps me to figure out what we’re doing over the next year or so: if we’re going to see a concert or a musical or going on holiday. It’s more about protecting those times where we have connections with our family and friends. And I try to continually maintain that.
It’s not perfect. There isn’t really a strategy, but then when I’m in work and I feel like, ah, right, okay, I can focus on this now because I know I’ve got this exciting thing coming up as well outside of work that I’m going to be able to relax. It helps with the motivation side of things.
How important is physical health (e.g., exercise, diet, sleep, rest) to your work-life balance, and how do you incorporate it into your routine?
I think physical health is key to success. I’m by no means an athlete or going on a marathon run but there are always areas that you can improve on, and I’m sure that I can still learn a lot more about physical health. I do believe that movement and being active can take many different forms. An example would be I dance regularly. When I don’t go into the gym, I like the fact that when I dance, I still burn as many calories, and you might not have even realized that you did any exercise. While dancing, we’re also social with other people, and it’s a night out. It’s another set of friends, as far as I see it. I think those opportunities where you get exercise while doing something else are really good for your mental well-being.
I also prioritize things like making sure I drink enough water, and sleep is absolutely key to me. If I don’t sleep well, or my routine of sleep is put out, then it really does impact my physical and mental well-being and my productivity at work. I’m also careful about things like how much caffeine I have, and I make sure that I only drink caffeine in the mornings. Or, if I do make the choice to do it differently, then I have to accept that it is going to impact me in some way, and I’m consciously aware.
Self-care as well is important. Making sure you shower regularly and look after your physical health by making sure you go to your checkups.
Small pockets of time where you get to do something for you is key.
How do you manage and prioritize “me time” in your schedule, and what activities do you enjoy during this personal time?
I like personal connections, but I do need that time and space to recharge my batteries. I think I’m just lucky in the sense that that happens quite naturally. I don’t necessarily say, I’m having time on my own this evening. Just my diary seems to always work out that way.
Also, when I’m travelling back and forth to work, that’s really good time for me while I’m on my own. I’ve got no choice but to be there with myself and having a chat with myself, my plans and reflecting on things. I think the gym and walking my dogs—those are probably the two other things where I’m actually solo and spending time with my own inner thoughts.
I’ve got children. My children are 21 and 17. So I’ve been around my children for a long time, and any mum will know that it’s difficult to have me time without being interrupted. But my children like to go up and hide in their room, as teenagers, and they spend time with me as well. They need their recharge time too. It’s about knowing that we are okay to do that, and that it is okay for us to spend time alone and to not feel guilty about it.
I think it’s probably just recognizing that we need to spend some time alone or we just need some—we call it—recharging our social batteries. We need to just go away and have time on our own and be away from people and conversing. It takes a lot of energy.
As your career progresses and life circumstances change, how do you adapt your work-life balance strategies?
You regularly need to review it, and I’m as guilty as anyone else of going, ooh, I think my life balance is off now and I’m feeling uncomfortable here. Maybe I’m not feeling as well as I could do. And I try and recalibrate then, depending on how my circumstances have changed.
An example would be when I was younger, my children were young. I couldn’t work full-time. I was, like I said, a single parent. I used to have to pick my children up from school. So, the only way I could do that was to have two or three part-time jobs while I was doing my PhD. It seems like having two or three jobs and doing a PhD would have been really tough, but actually it gave me that flexibility to be there for my children when I needed to be. Times like Christmas and Easter, breaks in the summer, I had less work, and I had to manage my finances really well and make sure I had money over those periods when I wasn’t working. But it did mean that it was very flexible.
And when they got older and didn’t need me to do the school pickups, or maybe my circumstances changed, then I started full-time work, and I was a lecturer full-time. It’s about knowing what requirements are there and understanding all the different moving parts in your life at that particular time. Then, if those moving parts change, then changing the way that you approach things based on that. And you can change it and think, actually, this is terrible and being comfortable enough to admit that it was maybe the wrong choice, and doing something else then and trying a bit of a trial and error until it works.
Can you share a personal success story where improving your work-life balance led to better performance or greater satisfaction in your work?
Being driven, committed and ambitious is part of who I am. I’ve found that using the calendar approach and being strict with myself helped me as sometimes, you can let imposter syndrome get in the way, or maybe you can let your confidence, or your fear of things get in the way of doing things. I’ve had to say to myself, nope, you need to do it and you need to do it now. You can get it out of the way.
It also helped me recognize that the starting of the activity for me is the bit that is the tough bit to do. When I’m doing it, usually I’m all right, because I get into the flow of doing the activity. And I think about how great it’ll feel when I’ve finished it. I kind of have a self-coaching talk and think about how important it will be if I get this done and then remembering past success: I have done that, and it did work, and knowing how good it felt and how productive I was.
I think the scheduling of activities and then being stricter with myself to do them—that’s probably my success story. It’s a pretty simple one, but it’s really impacted my professional life.
What advice would you give to someone struggling to find balance between their work and personal life? What is the first step to start?
To me, it’s about honesty, and understanding where the parts of your life are currently very draining and where you’re getting joy. We get into a habit of saying, I have to do this, I must do that, instead of thinking about what you want to do. So, what do you want to do in your daily life, and recognizing that you do have a choice. You do get to choose what you do.
Now, I know that we’re forced in some respects, to do work because we need the money. But you have a choice over what you do for that. And sometimes it’s about the acceptance that you’ve made a choice to be in that situation. So, you either do it reluctantly, but you do it, or you make a choice to change something about it.
And also, I would say protecting your well-being—making sure that you have clear boundaries in place, that you understand the difference between work and personal life, that you spend time away from work, or you spend time away from being a mum, or you spend time away from your friends to do the bit where you get to recharge. Small pockets of time where you get to do something for you is key.
What is one thought you’d like to share with other leaders to inspire them to improve the work-life balance within their teams?
I think it’s the attitude that a sustainable way of working and balance is not a luxury. It’s a leadership responsibility to make sure that your team has a work-life balance. Nurturing a sustainable work environment or a sustainable culture where you model a work-life balance with the people that you work with—that you put those boundaries in place so that they feel comfortable then to be able to put a boundary in place—means that you show that you care about them. Caring about them is going to support their motivation to want to work for the company. But it’ll also give them the time that they need to step away and recharge so that when they come back, they feel energized, and they feel like they can reach their potential because they’ve got the energy to do so.
I mean, none of us can work at 100% all the time. So, giving that degree of flexibility for life balance is key and not trying to squeeze as much as possible out of someone. Recognizing that if you put them in an area where their strengths are, then they’re going to flourish. Or if you support them in an area that they’re not strong in, but you give them the flexibility to learn how to do it and to get to grips with something and make them feel safe while they’re doing so.
Laura’s insights were a real breath of fresh air, energizing and full of perspective. I hope they left you feeling as inspired as I did!
There’s so much more on the way, so stay tuned as more meaningful conversations and practical resources are on the horizon to help you grow, thrive, and lead with purpose.
