Well-being Policy — Beth Clare Mc

My Well-being Policy

Last reviewed: 11th November 2026

This well-being policy is a statement of intent about looking after myself in my work. It is both a personal commitment and a way of making visible some of the conditions that help me to work well.

I believe that looking after ourselves is an important part of how we look after others. The quality of our work is shaped, in part, by the conditions in which we do it, our capacity to be present, and the attention we give to our own needs.

I originally developed this policy because I recognised that, without giving my own well-being the same consideration as other professional commitments, it was too easy for it to slip down the list. By making my intentions explicit, I create a degree of accountability to myself.

The ethos of this policy is to remain active and alive. It will change as my circumstances change and my understanding of my well-being evolves.

1. Context and foundational principles

Time for others first requires some time for myself

I love working with and supporting other people. I'm also conscious of the privilege and responsibility that comes with the professional spaces I occupy. I've often talked about wanting to do more than simply hold the door open for others; I want to help take doors off their hinges so that others can enter more easily.

But this work requires energy. I need to resource myself if I'm going to continue contributing in ways that feel meaningful and sustainable.

Some of the things that help me do this include:

Spending time with my partner, family and friends, and being truly present.
Making things, particularly through printmaking, illustration, bookbinding and ceramics.
Wandering around art galleries and museums without a particular destination or time limit.
Going to the cinema, reading for pleasure and discovering new things.
Spending time outdoors, noticing the world around me both in nature and the built environment.
Making time for rest, sleep and doing very little.

My work is emotionally and cognitively demanding

The work I do involves sustained attention to other people, their experiences and the complexities of their professional lives. It requires me to listen, think, reflect and remain present, often with difficult or uncertain material.

Setting aside time to do the work isn't enough. I also need time around it to prepare, reflect, decompress and recover. Rest and reflection aren't rewards for having finished everything; they're part of what enables me to work well in the first place.

I need to plan around my health and energy

I live with a long-term health condition which requires ongoing treatment and affects my energy and capacity in ways that aren't always predictable.

For a long time, I didn't properly account for this when planning my work. I would make commitments as though my capacity were consistent and then try to accommodate my health around them.

I need to do the opposite: recognise my own rhythms, plan for periods when I may have less energy, and allow sufficient time for treatment, rest and recovery. This means accepting that my capacity isn't unlimited or necessarily the same from one week to the next.

I have multiple professional identities

My work spans coaching, coaching supervision, organisational psychology, research and creative practice. I also contribute to the wider profession through voluntary and professional roles.

These different identities are important to me, but they also create competing demands on my time and attention. I need to be deliberate about what I take on, what I prioritise and what I have the capacity to do well.

My time is not more important than anyone else's, but it is finite. Being helpful and accommodating shouldn't come at the expense of my own well-being or the quality of my commitments.

I have a life beyond work that needs tending to

I don't want my professional identity to become the whole of my identity. My relationships, creative practice, interests and experiences outside work matter in their own right.

I want to have time to make things, spend time with people I love, explore, learn, rest and be curious about things that have no particular professional purpose.

I sometimes need reminding that these things deserve the same attention and protection as the commitments I make to other people. I think of this part of my life as a garden: it needs regular tending, not just attention when everything else is done.

2. My commitments

In order to look after my well-being, I make the following commitments to myself. I deliberately think of these as intentions rather than rigid rules. I want to take them seriously while recognising that life, work and capacity don't always unfold as planned.

Making time for myself

I will protect time for creative practice, exploration and activities that resource me, rather than treating them as optional extras.
I will make space for experiences that have no productive purpose: visiting galleries, going to the cinema, reading, making and spending time outdoors.
I will pay attention to whether I'm genuinely resting or simply filling my non-working time with other demands.

Working sustainably

I will allow time to prepare for and recover from coaching and supervision sessions, recognising that attentive work requires space around it.
I will be mindful of the emotional and cognitive demands of my work and avoid treating every available hour as an opportunity to take on another commitment.
I will protect time for reflection, professional supervision and my own development.
I will take breaks and holidays, and resist the temptation to continue working simply because something could be fitted into the time available.

Respecting my health and capacity

I will plan my work around my treatment and recovery needs, rather than expecting myself to work around them.
I will avoid making commitments that depend on having energy or capacity that I cannot reliably guarantee.
I will allow myself to change plans when circumstances require it, without interpreting this as a failure of commitment.
I will recognise when I need to pause, seek support or do less.

Protecting my time and boundaries

I will be more deliberate about what I commit to, including voluntary work and requests for my time from others.
I will explore alternatives before moving time that I've already protected for myself or other important commitments.
I will maintain boundaries around my availability and recognise that being accessible doesn't mean being available at all times.
I will communicate when I'm unavailable and resist the urge to over-explain or apologise for having boundaries.

Making room for life beyond work

I will protect time for my relationships and the people who matter to me.
I will continue to nurture my creative practice and interests outside my professional work.
I will take time away from work without feeling that I need to make that time productive.
I will allow myself to be a person with a life, rather than always being a practitioner with a diary.

3. Reviewing this policy

This policy is intended to be active and alive, rather than a statement that I write once and forget.

I will review it at least every six months, considering how well my commitments are working in practice, what has changed in my circumstances and what I might need to do differently.

I recognise that there will be times when I don't meet my own intentions. The purpose of this policy isn't to create another set of expectations against which I can judge myself, but to help me notice when my well-being needs attention and take responsibility for responding.

I also invite others who read this policy to ask me how I'm looking after myself, just as I might encourage them to consider how they are looking after themselves in their own working lives.

Looking after myself isn't separate from my professional responsibility, it is the heart of it.