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Happy Sunday 👋🏾,

It's 3:35am and I'm in Bermuda.

I'm lying in bed, wondering why I'm awake this early. Actually, I know exactly why. It's the pain.

It's woken me at 3 every morning since we landed. It's always worse after a flight. And it doesn't care that I'm abroad trying to switch off, or what island I'm on.

I toss and turn, trying to get back to sleep, until I get fed up and give in. Right, let's have a banana and take some painkillers.

Well, I'm up now. There's no point going back to bed, and the whole house is quiet.

So I'm sitting here asking myself, what do I do now? I promised Sheriden I would completely switch off on this holiday. I could read a book. But then I'm thinking about that email I need to send, and that bit of work that's coming in.

Let me explain.

We've come out to Bermuda as a family for a week, visiting one of my good friends. And before we flew, I set myself a rule to go with that promise. No work at all for the first week. Laptop stays shut.

I broke it on the second morning.

I'll hold my hands up. But I pivoted and adapted. The new rule became no laptop and no emails while the family are awake.

And honestly, no one is losing out. If I get my two hours in before they wake up, I'm fully present for the rest of the day. I've been putting my phone in another room when I'm with the family. Some days I've even forgotten to take it out with us, although that could be the fact that I've got no data out here.

At the pool, I've been in the water with Zeek, getting him comfortable. The first time he went in, he was having none of it. Now he's getting there. We definitely need to sort him out with more swimming lessons when we're back.

So far, so good.

Then one afternoon we were at the beach. The water in Bermuda is honestly stunning.

And even looking out at that sea, I caught myself running through my to-do list. No phone on me, laptop back at the house, and it still didn't matter.

If I'm being honest, the truth is I just don't know how to switch off. My mind is always going.

But is that a bad thing?

Because when I'm relaxed, some of my best ideas come to me. Content ideas, business ideas on how to scale. And every idea comes with the same itch, go and get the laptop, write it down, start actioning it. Maybe it's just about writing it down and dealing with it later.

Some days I do think, is there something wrong with me? I'm on this beautiful island. Why do I keep thinking about the business?

I think, honestly, it comes down to wanting to provide the best life I can for my wife and son.

So should I beat myself up about it? It's a blessing and a curse, I guess.

And let me be clear, I'm blessed and I'm asking no one to feel sorry for me. The problem is with me. I've got this beautiful beach, great hospitality from my friends, and I still can't switch off. These are nice problems to have. Trust me, I know this.

Besides, if you asked my family, they'd tell you they've seen a lot more of me this holiday. So maybe I'm being too harsh on myself.

Tomorrow, Zeek and Sheriden fly back home, and I'm staying on for another week because I'm delivering AI training at a school out here.

Hold on. That just sounds crazy, right?

The boy from Bermondsey, delivering AI training at a school in Bermuda. And what got me here? That same hard work and determination. The same mind that won't switch off.

So this is where I've landed, sitting here in the early hours. I'm up anyway and in pain, so I might as well make use of itM

aybe the goal was never switching off. Maybe it's finding the balance we're all after.
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Do I feel angry that I'm working? No. It excites me and brings me joy. I enjoy running my business and growing it. I enjoy solving the problems.

I think I've got it now. On holiday, I get my little fix early in the morning while everyone's sleeping, and as soon as they're up, I'm all in.

I don't have it mastered. I'm still learning where the line is.

So over to you. How do you switch off and stay present?

Reply and let me know.

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