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The Rhythm Journal
If you've ever wondered why you can feel motivated one week and completely exhausted the next...
Why some routines stick while others never seem to...
Or why you keep blaming yourself when your energy changes...
You're in the right place.
The Rhythm Journal is where we explore the many rhythms that shape everyday life—from your menstrual cycle and sleep to stress, work, nutrition, movement and the season of life you're in.
No guilt.
No perfect routines.
Just honest conversations, practical ideas and the small mindset shifts that help you understand yourself instead of constantly trying to fix yourself.
Because when you understand what's influencing your energy, everything starts to make a little more sense.
All Posts
Why Do I Treat Everything Like A Military Operation?
Apparently going to the supermarket with two children requires a full tactical briefing. I’ve realised I don’t take my children to the supermarket. I deploy them. Before we go in, there’s normally a briefing. We’ll be standing outside and I’ll go through exactly the same things I’ve said approximately 400 times before. Where are we going? The supermarket. And what is the supermarket not? A playground. Do we run off? No. Do we touch everything? No. What do we do if we get lost
Leanne Harrison
5 days ago5 min read
How Is It Thursday And We’re Still Recovering From Sunday?
One late night, one chaotic Monday morning and a reminder that our cycle is never the only thing affecting our energy. We had a BBQ on Sunday. Friends over, food, kids playing, everyone having a lovely time. Before I knew it, it was ten o’clock and our guests were only just leaving. Now, we live in Italy, where children seem to have a completely different operating system when it comes to bedtime. You can walk past a restaurant at half ten at night and there’ll be a five-year
Leanne Harrison
Oct 14 min read
Apparently My Brain Still Finishes School At 3.30
I thought I needed to sort out my afternoons. Turns out, I might need to update the routine that created them. I've realised something slightly ridiculous about myself this week. Apparently, part of my brain is still at school. Not academically, unfortunately. That would probably be more useful. It just still seems to be following the timetable. When I was at school, we'd finish at around 3.15 and I'd be home by half past three. And somewhere in my brain, that seems to have b
Leanne Harrison
Sep 245 min read
Turns Out, “Back To Normal” Takes A Minute
Last week I introduced you to October Leanne. If you missed it, she’s quite impressive. Up at 6am, diary done, yoga done, meal prepping on Sundays, exercising while dinner cooks, reading in bed by 9.30 and not drinking until Christmas. She’s got plans. I decided not to unleash her all at once though. After fifteen weeks of summer holidays, I was going to treat September like the children’s return to school — a phased return. Add a couple of things at a time, see what works an
Leanne Harrison
Sep 183 min read
New Leanne Is On A Phased Return
This September, I’m trying something different with the whole “new season, new me” thing. This September, I’m trying something different with the whole “new season, new me” thing. I think I’ve spent the last couple of weeks preparing for the arrival of a woman who doesn’t technically exist yet. I’ve cleaned the cupboards, packed away the swimming pool, sorted the garden, got everything ready for school and, as of today, even the bloody weather has changed. It’s about ten degr
Leanne Harrison
Sep 166 min read
Why Do My Old Habits Come Back When I’m Tired?
I’m late writing this week’s conversation. And when I realised I was late, my immediate thought was that I didn’t really have an excuse. It’s been my daughter’s birthday and my parents are over, but it’s not like either of those things came as a surprise. I knew they were coming. I knew this week would be busy. I knew the blog needed writing. I could have got ahead. Instead, I chose my other highly effective organisational strategy: bury my head in the sand and hope for a mir
Leanne Harrison
Sep 45 min read
Am I Resting… Or Have I Just Given Up For The Day?
Because apparently Netflix, beige food and “I’ll be better tomorrow” isn’t always the recovery plan I think it is. I've realised I have two very different versions of rest. There's the version I know would probably actually do me some good. Read my book for half an hour. Do a yoga nidra. Maybe even have a nap, although the chances of my brain agreeing to switch off in the middle of the day are roughly once in a blue moon. And then there's the version I actually do. Netflix go
Leanne Harrison
Aug 285 min read
Why I Don’t Chase Consistency Anymore
Maybe consistency was never about doing the same thing every day. I’ve always been very good at starting again. Monday. The first of the month. After the holidays. When the kids go back to school. January, obviously. “Right. That’s it. I’m getting back into a proper routine.” And I meant it every single time. The problem was never starting. I could start brilliantly. Give me a fresh notebook, a new week and a bit of motivation and honestly, I’m dangerous. Workout done. Health
Leanne Harrison
Aug 207 min read
The Expectations We Never Question
The invisible pressure women carry every single day. I've been thinking about something since writing last week's conversation. Actually... It wasn't something I planned to write about. It was something I caught myself doing. I'd written my usual to-do list for the day. Nothing outrageous. A bit of work. Answer some emails. Put a wash on. Do a workout. Cook dinner. Tidy the house. Just normal life. Then I looked at it and thought... "Hang on a minute..." Who exactly am I tryi
Leanne Harrison
Aug 124 min read
The Invisible Rhythms We Never Notice
What else is influencing your energy today? Some mornings last a week. Others disappear before you've even had lunch. How is that even possible? One day you glance at the clock, convinced it must be nearly lunchtime... It's 9:17. The next, you're wondering what to cook for dinner because somehow it's already half past five and you genuinely can't remember where the day went. Same house. Same family. Same job. Same you. Completely different day. I've noticed myself thinking ab
Leanne Harrison
Aug 55 min read
I Think We've Misunderstood Cycle Syncing
Why understanding your energy is about more than your menstrual cycle. When I first discovered cycle syncing, I honestly felt like someone had handed me the missing piece of a puzzle. For years I'd wondered why some weeks I felt like I could conquer the world... ...and other weeks I wanted to wear stretchy pants and hibernate indoors. I'd spend one week making plans, starting projects and feeling full of motivation. Then the following week I'd look at the exact same to-do lis
Leanne Harrison
Jul 308 min read
Why I Stopped Planning Perfect Days
The small mindset shift that completely changed how I think about productivity. Every morning starts the same. I make a coffee. I sit down with my notebook. I write a to-do list full of good intentions. And every single morning, a tiny part of me genuinely believes… “Today’s the day everything goes exactly to plan.” This is it. Today’s the productive day. The washing will get done. The emails will be answered. I’ll finally finish that project I’ve been moving from one to-do l
Leanne Harrison
Jul 226 min read
Why Do I Suddenly Hate Every Outfit I Own?
No, your wardrobe didn’t change overnight. Yesterday, you wore that outfit and felt great. You caught your reflection walking past a shop window and thought, "Actually... I look alright today." Fast forward twenty-four hours... You're standing in front of your wardrobe in your underwear. The bed has disappeared under a mountain of rejected clothes. You've already changed four times. You've tried the same pair of jeans on twice, just in case they magically fit differently this
Leanne Harrison
Jul 164 min read
Why Do We Suddenly Want To Change Our Whole Life At 9:47pm?
No, you're not having a life crisis. Have you ever found yourself lying on the sofa at about 9:47pm, phone in hand, convinced your entire life needs a complete overhaul? You've just spent forty-five minutes watching women on Pinterest decant cereal into matching glass jars. You've somehow ended up researching the "perfect morning routine." You've watched three videos about resetting your life. You're convinced a new planner is finally going to be the one. You've added storage
Leanne Harrison
Jul 85 min read
How I Plan My Week Around My Energy (Instead Of My To-Do List)
For years I thought the secret to getting organised was finding the perfect planner. You know the drill... I'd buy a beautiful new notebook. Write colour-coded lists. Use highlighters. Maybe even buy matching pens because, obviously, that's what was missing from my life. For about ten days I'd become that girl. Then life would happen. I'd miss one workout. Forget to tick something off. Move three tasks onto tomorrow... ...and before I knew it, the planner was living in a kitc
Leanne Harrison
Jun 284 min read
The Day I Realised Rest Was Productive
I was standing at the edge of a thermal pool in Tuscany. The sun was shining, the water was warm, the hills stretched out in front of me, and for the first time in a very long time... I wasn't thinking about what I should be doing. No emails. No to-do list. No content plan. No mental checklist running through my head reminding me of all the things I hadn't done yet. Just me, standing there, enjoying the moment. And honestly? It had taken me years to get to that point. For mos
Leanne Harrison
Jun 194 min read
The 4 Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle Explained
Ever looked at something you enthusiastically agreed to three weeks ago and thought: "Who on earth signed me up for this?" Just me? You know the feeling. One week you're booking social events, planning a new fitness routine, deciding to redecorate the spare room and meal prep for the entire month. The next week you're hiding from your phone, eating snacks over the kitchen sink and wondering if everyone could just leave you alone for five minutes. For years I genuinely thought
Leanne Harrison
Jun 113 min read
What Is Cycle Syncing? A Beginner's Guide
If you've recently stumbled across the term cycle syncing and found yourself wondering what everyone is banging on about, don't worry—you're not alone. A few years ago, I was exactly the same. I'd heard women talking about planning their work around their cycle, eating different foods during different phases and adjusting their workouts depending on where they were in the month. Honestly? I thought it all sounded a bit "woo woo". Then I read Do Less by Kate Northrup. The book
Leanne Harrison
Jun 114 min read
Why Women Struggle To Stay Consistent (And What Your Menstrual Cycle Has To Do With It)
Why can't I stay consistent? Why do I lose motivation? Why am I productive one week and exhausted the next? If you've ever asked yourself these questions, you're definitely not alone. Do you ever find that phase just after your period when you're full of energy? You're eating well, smashing your workouts, tackling your to-do list and genuinely feel like you can take on the world. Then suddenly you feel it creeping in. That drop in energy. You try to push through for a few day
Leanne Harrison
Jun 113 min read
Why I Created This Planner
This planner actually started as something just for me. No big business idea. No strategy behind it. Just me trying to figure out why I felt so all over the place all the time. I’d have weeks where I felt amazing — motivated, clear, on top of everything. And then weeks where I felt slower, more emotional, easily overwhelmed. And I used to hate those weeks. I’d try to push through, do more, “snap out of it”…but it always made things worse. So I started paying attention. Not in
Leanne Harrison
Apr 83 min read
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