On overwhelm, the skills we already have for managing it and why changing location doesn’t always change the pattern. Is it us or have you noticed that holidays have a way of never quite living up to the long-awaited break you needed? You’ve done all the right things like make sure that the out-of-office is on, the diary is genuinely clear and yet, your tiredness hasn’t lifted the way it was supposed to. We have seriously looked forward to this period of switching off! But

Why 2026 feels different – and what to do about it. Something has shifted this year. You can feel it in meetings – a sharper edge to conversations, a restlessness that wasn’t there before. Decisions that used to queue politely are arriving all at once. People who are usually measured seem more reactive. The pace of change, already fast, has accelerated again. You’re not imagining it. And it’s not just your organisation. In Chinese zodiac tradition, 2026 is a Fire Horse year.