Your First Week Back

Your First Week Back: Return to work with Confidence, On Your Terms

Coming back after illness, burnout, parental leave, bereavement or redundancy isn't a test of toughness - it's a transition that deserves structure and compassion. Your First Week Back is a practical, reassuring guide that helps you re-enter work with clarity, sustainable pace, and renewed self-belief.

Grounded in coaching, leadership psychology and lived experience, this five-day workbook replaces pressure and anxiety with a plan. You'll learn how to set intentions, reset expectations with managers and teams, pace yourself using the 60% Rule, turn lived experience into superpowers, and create a personalised "New You" plan you can keep using long after week one.

Inside, you'll get:

• Short daily lessons + reflection prompts that calm anxiety and build momentum

• Conversation scripts for managers, peers and teams (no more mind-reading)

• The 60% Rule and micro-boundaries to protect energy and decision quality

• 3×3 journaling pages (gratitude • intentions • wins) to anchor each day

• A fillable Return-to-Work Agreement (working principles, support system, triggers, reset rituals)

• Weekly Self-Check to keep you on track + an Early Wins Matrix to build credibility without burnout

Who it's for: People - particularly professionals - returning after extended leave who need confidence, clarity and boundaries, not another cycle of overwork. (HR/OD teams can also use this as a structured reintegration toolkit.)

Why now: Typically, 1 in 5 returners leave within 12 months, not for lack of ability, but lack of support. This book gives you the tools. the mindset and the language to return from a position of strength, not apology.