Faye McDonough

I set out this year giving myself permission to slow down. Not to force things. Not to control. To take some of my own advice and most importantly, find a pace for everything in my life that feels right for me.

That has meant tuning into myself more. The lessons of persistent productivity die hard and when your career and professional persona have been a source of achievement and validation, it’s a difficult one to wind down. But I’m taking it step by step. Being realistic about the to-do list and not working beyond the limits of my energy. Perhaps as evidence of this, I still haven’t finished my Year Compass!

But it also links to what I wanted this place, my own corner of the internet to be. I wanted to write in response to true inspiration. When the tingle is there. When it feels like bliss to put pen to paper. I also wanted to listen to my gut more. To write what was really on my mind. To capture what I was thinking and reflecting on.  

As a result, I’ve published less frequently. Pen to paper is still a big feature of my day-to-day life but publishing here has gradually shifted from weekly to monthly. Pieces are taking longer to percolate and come together. I still write a shorter post each week for LinkedIn, but this space has become something different. Something slower but also, something more personal. 

It might not be forever, but it’s where I’m at right now. And it feels about right to me.

Where it started 

I wrote weekly through most of 2025, partly because I had a massive backlog of articles to publish – remember, I’d bought fayemcdonough.com in summer 2024 and it took me a LONG time to build the courage to create and publish here. 

But it was also partly because I was building the habit and figuring it out. What do I want to write about? What do I have to say? What do people want to read? The ideas initially came thick and fast and it still surprises me how many people have stopped by here. 

But since last autumn, I’ve found a new rhythm. A better sense of what this place means to me. It’s somewhere I can write freely, away from the noise and from the heart. With no care for an algorithm or a dopamine hit. It took me a while but I got there. I love plotting what I’m putting pen to paper about and I’m enjoying what it is becoming. A slower burn. An antidote to the super fast pace of everything else around me.

I’m pleased that’s where I’ve landed. I think I’ve finally stopped building it for an audience and started writing for the person I needed to hear from when I was earlier in my career. The older, wiser friend I was missing. 

What I’ve noticed while I’ve been paying attention

An approaching milestone at work, a growing interest and practice in meditation and some important family moments have left me prioritising rest when I get home rather than more screen time. Firing up a candle rather than my laptop.

But that slower pace has also given me time to reflect on who I’m writing for and where I’m heading here. 

I built this for me but I keep writing because of the messages I get from people who tell me it’s helped them too. It has prompted them to ‘do the thing’ or to share their own experiences through change in conversation or online. 

I hope readers find a path through the transition they’re experiencing and inspiration for their next steps. And maybe, if that involves funding a business, learn from someone who knows a thing or two about doing that well.

If you’re missing something in your life or career for your own enjoyment or fulfillment, you don’t need to wait for someone else to create it. You can build it yourself. 

I have plenty of things going on at the moment that started as very small ideas, are pretty much free, and that I’ve created for myself to support my development, wellbeing and support the realities of leading in an entrepreneurial business. I’m sharing them in case they are the inspiration you need: 

Peer coaching group – long in the design (first mentioned in 2022?) and finally happening. I’m very excited about this and the group I’ve brought together to share leadership challenges in work and life. Big thanks to Stefan Powell for running with an idea and putting a framework around it.

Writing accountability group – I wanted a way to continue what I’d learned doing UPFRONT in 2024, to keep in touch with the brilliant women I’d met, and stay accountable to writing regularly. Still going over a year later, and helping me do all three of those things. All yours for a Zoom subscription and some light email/WhatsApp admin. 

My own quiet space at home – What started as the office has become a makeshift yoga studio, reading spot, meditation corner, guitar playing nook and favourite cat hangout. Now officially known as ‘Mum’s room.’ I love it.

My most-read articles

This felt like a good moment to look back at what’s resonated most since I started writing here and how that fits with my own reflections on what my writing means to myself and others. I often share my articles on LinkedIn, which can lead to more readers, but not always. Some of my sleeper hits have genuinely surprised me.

The LinkedIn wins

These are the articles that got the most traffic when I shared them on LinkedIn:

• I Took a Week Away from My Family (and you should too) – Why every parent needs solo time away from family. I stand by this and I’m doing it again (twice!) this year. 
• Professional Coherence series – An honest insight into rebuilding your career to one of purpose after redundancy.
• A celebration of 10 Years of Working Parenthood  – Reflections on those whirlwind years of early parenthood, identity and what actually matters. 
• 25 things I’m Grateful for in 2025 – This one surprised me but I guess everyone loves a list and lots of friends shared theirs in return.  
• Using AI When You’re Not Sure About AI – My story of navigating the tension between concerns and practical use. 

The sleeper hits

These are the ones that found their audience more quietly, through search or the site itself. They’re more niche, more professional, and they tell me something about who finds me through my site rather than through LinkedIn or knowing me in real life:

• My Origin Story – Starting a new chapter at Greater Cambridge Impact got me reflecting on how I got there and that (alongside a picture of 5-year old Faye) seemed to generate a lot of interest. 
• Slowing Down to Speed Up – Slowing down has been a theme for a while and this is about how it got me out of a well-being rut 
• What I Look for When Reviewing a Business Plan – Putting the many emails I write on this topic into one article. Super useful for me and it seems for a lot of readers too. 
• Business Advice I Wish I’d Known Earlier — I honestly think it’s the boring basics that make the real difference. 
• 10 Practical Actions for Delegating Well – Delegation is so often underrated but in leadership, it’s essential. These are my top tips on putting this into practice. 

What this tells me

That top 10 list reads like me.

A working parent. A reflector. Someone interested in new ideas and focused on health and wellbeing. A professional who’s open about redundancy. And as a colleague described, someone who brings technical precision and empathy together at work. 

It’s taken me a long time to feel comfortable putting this much of myself out there – and there’s plenty I’d change about some of those articles but I’m not going to. They’re a record of where I was at the time. 

But reviewing that list tells me it was worth it. Writing has helped me to articulate what I’m about whilst also helping others. What’s not to love? 

I’m creating what I set out to do right from the beginning here. Something that is a true representation of me and is mine and mine only. 

But it’s also been leading me somewhere I didn’t expect. More real life connection. Mentoring conversations. A more connected network of friends and colleagues. The kind of things that start with writing but don’t end there.

What’s brewing

I have a new article about creativity and connection that isn’t quite ready yet. Two words that seem to be framing my year so far. I’m letting it develop rather than forcing it, which feels like the right approach given everything I’ve just written about slowing down! 

Because ultimately, that’s what this website is. An outlet for my creativity and a way to connect. In real life too.

Some of my favourite conversations this year have started with someone saying ‘I read your article about..’ and that’s led to something I never expected (usually from the most surprising of places). 

Questions for your own reflection

• What are you creating just for you right now?
• What have you been wanting to do for a long time but keep putting off? How could you get started today? 
• Where could you slow down and trust the pace you’re at?
• What would you build if you stopped waiting for someone else to create it?

Thanks for reading

If you’ve been here from the beginning or if this is your first visit, I’m glad you’re here. I’d love to hear what resonates with you, whether that’s a particular article, a theme, or something you’d like me to write about next. You can email me at hello@fayemcdonough.com

You can subscribe on the homepage to be notified when I publish, and if you’ve read something that you think a friend or colleague would value, I’d be grateful if you’d share it.

This piece has been heavily inspired by Amanda Baker’s ‘Who am I now?’ workshop two weeks ago (the credit for ‘trust the tingle’ is all hers) and a day spent development planning with Lulu Minns in January. Picture included is the moment just before the day began with Lulu.