Laurel Boivin at Flux + Flow Coaching

Lately, I've been noticing a new habit.

Almost every morning, I reach for my phone shortly after getting out of bed.

Not because there's an emergency.
Not because someone urgently needs me.
There never really is.

Yet somehow, checking email, messages, and notifications has become part of starting the day.

It has me wondering how many of us begin our days focused on what other people need before we've even checked in with ourselves.

The more I think about it, the more I realize this isn't really about my phone.

It's about availability.

We've become so accustomed to being available all the time that we rarely question it.

And while there's nothing inherently wrong with staying informed, connected, and responsive, I wonder what happens when we rarely give ourselves a chance to disconnect.

I've come to realize that one of the differences between surviving and thriving is space.

Space to think.
Space to be present.
Space to disconnect from the news, noise, information, and obligations so that we can reconnect with ourselves.

So I'm curious:
* How available are you?
* How often do you give yourself permission to disconnect?
* And what might become possible if you created a little more space in your day?

If this resonates, join me on June 15 at 6:30 pm ET for our next Deep-Dive Conversation.

The Cost of Constant Availability: Protecting Focus, Presence, and Decision Quality

We'll explore how constant availability impacts wellbeing, focus, clarity, and performance.

DM me to get the Zoom link.

Have you ever noticed just how often life unfolds differently than you planned?

Maybe a door closed unexpectedly.
Maybe a dream took longer than you thought it would.
Maybe the path you've been walking looks nothing like the one you imagined.

This week's episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life explores a question I've been sitting with lately:

Can we trust life?

Not because everything happens the way we want it to.
Not because we have all the answers.
But because we can learn, adapt, grow, and keep moving forward even when life feels uncertain.

In this episode, I talk about:
✨ Trust vs. certainty
✨ Trust vs. faith
✨ Unexpected detours and what they teach us
✨ Why self-trust matters
✨ Simple practices for navigating uncertainty

One of the questions I leave listeners with is:
➡ Where in your life are you looking for certainty, and where might life be inviting you to trust the present moment?

🎙️ Can We Trust Life? is available now wherever you listen to podcasts.

I'd love to hear your answer in the comments.

What do you think when you hear the term nervous system dysregulation?

Most people imagine someone having an emotional outburst or falling apart under pressure.

But more often, it is much less obvious than that.

Nervous system dysregulation can look like:
➡️ Snapping at a colleague and then feeling bad about it later.
➡️ Reading the same email three times because you can't focus.
➡️ Avoiding a difficult conversation you've been meaning to have.
➡️ Feeling overwhelmed by decisions that would normally feel manageable.
➡️ Constantly checking your phone, inbox, or Teams notifications.
➡️ Saying yes when you want to say no.
➡️ Struggling to be present in meetings.
➡️ Working longer hours but accomplishing less.
➡️ Feeling impatient, cynical, or emotionally exhausted.

Many high performers don't recognize these as signs of dysregulation because they are still functioning. They're still showing up, getting things done, and meeting expectations.

But, functioning and thriving are not the same thing.

I know this from my own lived experience and my clients’ experiences.

When the nervous system perceives ongoing pressure, uncertainty, conflict, or overload, it shifts resources toward protection and survival, and away from creativity, connection, and strategic thinking.

It's simply biology.
An indication that your nervous system is functioning properly.

When you become aware of how your nervous system responds to everyday situations, you have more opportunity for choice.

You can pause, regulate, recover, and respond more intentionally.

That’s what sustainable leadership is all about.
Being more present. More regulated and having more choice in how you lead.

Sustainable leadership isn't about never feeling stressed.
It's about noticing when stress is starting to run the show.

What signs do you notice when your nervous system needs care and attention?

I took seven hours off yesterday... and although that doesn't sound like a big deal, it was!

I relaxed in a salt cave, in silence.
I enjoyed two hours outside in the sun, overlooking the river, sharing good food and conversation with friends.
I browsed shops and treated myself to a few unnecessary and unplanned purchases.

Seven hours away from work, my to do list, my laptop, my phone.

It's not something I do very often.

Seven hours that made me realize just how "on" I am all of the time.
How much thinking, speaking, planning, working, doing and caring I do every single day.

I left the house with a racing mind, a jam-packed calendar, and a long list of tasks waiting to be done. Wondering how many calls and emails I would miss, and who might need something from me, while I was "out of office."

Not thinking anything of it. It's just the way life is these days.

I came home calm, refreshed, inspired, and energized...proof that a change of scenery and routine can really calm the nervous system.

Constant availability has become a way of life, hasn't it?

Sometimes we have to step away to see it, and the role we play in it, more clearly.

If you want to learn more about the cost of constant availability, join me on Monday, June 15 at 6:30 pm ET for our next deep-dive conversation about burnout.

We will explore:
➡️ how constant availability impacts performance and wellbeing
➡️ why presence and focus matter, and
➡️ how to improve clarity, decision-making, and performance.

Want the Zoom link? Message me!

Many of my clients come to me for coaching support during times of transition.

Times that have us feeling wobbly, uncertain, less than confident.
➡️ When job searching, after several interviews but no offers.
➡️ When coming home to an empty house, after children move out.
➡️ When having too much unstructured time, after decades of working full time.

Seasons of change …
those times between who we have been and who we are becoming.

Having support during times of transition can really make a difference.

It did for one of my clients who had just retired but was having a hard time.

She had worked long enough and saved enough to retire. Her husband had retired and was looking forward to her retiring too.

But she struggled because she didn’t know who she was without work.

Her identity had become deeply connected to helping, contributing, producing, and being needed.

So much so that she retired quietly, without notice or celebration.
Even after retiring, she kept it quiet and filled her days taking care of others.

Then one day she came into a coaching session smiling and said:
“You’re going to be so proud of me. I told someone I was retired today.”

“That's great! Who did you tell?” I asked.

“The person at the YMCA who hands me a towel when I check in,” she laughed.

We celebrated because that was a big step for her.
A step away from who she once was. A step closer to who she was becoming.

Sometimes retirement is not just a career transition.
It’s an identity transition.

If you are navigating a season of change, transition, reinvention, or wondering who you are beyond your roles and responsibilities, I’m here for you.

I'm currently accepting new coaching clients and would be honored to support you.

Maybe reclaiming your voice doesn’t start with becoming louder.

Maybe it starts with:
* pausing before you automatically say yes
* telling a small truth
* speaking up in one uncomfortable moment
* simply noticing how often you hold yourself back

In this week’s episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life, I’m talking about the practice of reclaiming your voice.

Not perfectly.
Not all at once.

But one small moment at a time.

This conversation is about:
• self-trust
• honesty
• visibility
• discomfort
• people-pleasing
• overthinking
• and learning to stay connected to yourself while using your voice

I also share some personal reflections about podcasting, visibility, and what it’s been like to step more fully into my voice this year.

Because after all these years, I’m still practicing too.

And maybe that’s the point.

Your voice is not something you suddenly find one day.
It’s a relationship you keep returning to.

🎙️ Episode: The Practice of Reclaiming Your Voice

Beautiful Work Beautiful Life Podcast
A new episode drops every Monday.
Available wherever you listen to podcasts.

It’s been 7 years since I founded Flux+Flow Professional Coaching.

And that anniversary has had me looking back and looking forward.

Back in 2018, when I was toying with an "early retirement" from Eversource, my business was little more than an concept, That's when I enrolled in the Business Lab program at the The Hannah Grimes Center.

At the time, I knew nothing about being an entrepreneur or a small business owner. I needed to figure out what this business could become, whether I could really do it, and how to begin building something meaningful from the ground up.

Participating in the Business Lab became the launching pad for my business and the work I do today.

So it feels especially meaningful to now return to the HGC community as one of their coaches.

There’s something really special about coming back to a place that supported you early on and having the opportunity to contribute in a new way.

I’m grateful to support entrepreneurs, businesses, organizations, and individuals as they navigate growth, uncertainty, and the very human side of leadership.

Thank you to the Hannah Grimes Center team for welcoming me back in this role. It’s an honor to be part of this community again.

You can learn more about HGC and all that they offer at https://hannahgrimes.com/

What if your voice is the very thing standing between you and the life you want?

In this week’s episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life, Laurel Holland and I talk about the ways our voices get shaped over time—and how fear, conditioning, past experiences, and silence can quietly hold us back.

We explore:
✨ The things we were taught not to say
✨ The emotions we learned to suppress
✨ Why speaking your desires out loud matters
✨ How to begin rebuilding trust in your own voice

One of my favorite moments in the conversation is when we ask:
“Does anyone actually know what you want?”

Such a simple question.
And such a powerful one.

If you’ve been feeling disconnected from your truth, hesitant to speak up, or unsure how to express what you really want, this episode is for you.

🎧 New episodes of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life drop every Monday.