My body has an annoying little habit of tapping me on the shoulder when I have been doing too much. Late last year, on a Sunday, my back went out. Not in a ‘get me to the hospital now’ way, but everything was tight (in weird directions), it hurt to move, and there was that familiar feeling of “Ah, this again.”
While it wasn’t technically urgent – I was still moving around, and could do what I needed to if I ignored the pain – first thing Monday morning I was on the phone booking the earliest treatment appointment I could get.
Because I already know what happens when I tell myself it can wait.
Years ago, I slipped two discs in my lower back – separate incidents, both incredibly painful, both with long recoveries.
The second time, I felt the warning signs. But I was too busy, so I kept telling myself it could wait ‘til the timing was better.
Until one day, my back decided for me.
After what should’ve been an innocuous everyday movement – picking up something small from the floor – I was nose-down on the carpet feeling like a knife was in my spine.
No one else was home so for a long time I lay there thinking, “Cool, guess I live here now.”
That was the start of a long, slow, extremely painful and very un-fun recovery.
That’s why now I don’t wait until it’s “bad enough.” I prioritise treatment while I can still walk into the clinic under my own steam, instead of crawling there later.
how this shows up in business
This pattern shows up in business too, especially for solo service providers who are juggling a lot. You hit a busy period and suddenly everything feels urgent and important. Client work ramps up, your inbox fills faster than you can clear it, and the mental load grows heavier each day.
From the outside, you look like you’re holding it together. You’re delivering on deadlines, showing up, handling it.
But inside, it feels like you’re just staying ahead of the wave.
For you, this might look like:
- waking up in the middle of the night remembering something that slipped through
- feeling overwhelmed by your inbox before you even open it
- snapping at people you love over things that usually wouldn’t bother you
- catching yourself thinking “this can wait” about everything except client work
- starting to drop some balls and hoping no one notices
It’s the business equivalent of “pretty sore, but still walking.” And if you keep pushing, telling yourself I’ll deal with it when things settle down – you might find yourself on the metaphorical floor.
early intervention is not failure, it’s strategy
One of the biggest shifts for me has been treating those early twinges as a sign to call in support, and soon.
If your workload, stress levels, or mental load are whispering “this is getting to be too much,” it doesn’t mean you’re failing.
There’s no medal for waiting until everything hurts before you take action.
You are allowed to act before it gets paralysing. In fact, I’d recommend it, because there’s still enough space to breathe and make considered decisions.
If any of this feels close to home, here is your invitation.
one small choice that makes space again
Pick one small, proactive step that future-you will be so grateful you took before everything hurt.
That might be,
- booking a strategy session to untangle your systems or plan what’s next
- handing off that task you’re just quickly doing every week
- pressing pause on that project, instead of squeezing it into the cracks
- actually blocking time for rest, and treating it like a client commitment.
You don’t have to fix everything at once. You just have to stop pretending that “this is fine” is working when you know in your bones it’s not.
