Business coach and author of Just Start Now, Vicky Shilling works with ambitious solopreneurs who are ready to grow, but keep getting caught in spirals of self-doubt and overthinking. She shares with us her daily routines, off-the-clock rituals, and the value of planning for friction-free days.
My name is Vicky Shilling and I am the Trust Yourself Business Coach. I help high-achieving solo-preneurs build the self-trust to take bold, expansive action in their business—without overthinking every move.
I have helped service-based business owners, particularly in the health and wellness sector for the last six years with every aspect of their business, from goal setting and copywriting to marketing with and without social media.
What I realised in the last few years is that no matter what plan and clear steps you give to a smart and capable business owner, if they don’t have self-belief, there will always be goals left unachieved, ambition suppressed, and potential unfulfilled.
That’s why I added a Self-Belief Coaching accreditation to my practice and offer 1:1 coaching, specialising now in helping solo business owners build the confidence and self-trust to stretch themselves and make their next bold business move.
Daily routines
For anyone with small kids, you will know that you can live a whole lifetime before you sit down at your desk at 9am, and in this phase of my life I’m certainly testament to that!
Twice a week I wake up at 5.30am and get to a gym class at 6am as it’s the best time for my work-out with a busy day ahead and exhaustion by the end of the day. Otherwise it’s a 7am ‘alarm clock’ from one of my two children who are nearly five and two.
Once I’m up and about in the house I get everyone dressed and eating breakfast, unload the dishwasher and hang out the washing if there’s a load finished, start planning a dinner for the children so it’s one less thing to worry about later, and knock-back my supplement drink and have a protein packed breakfast – usually scrambled oats, boiled eggs on toast or an overnight oats topped with yoghurt and fruit.
It’s then the usual push to get everyone out of the house – my daughter started Junior Infants this year and my son is in creche so we’re all out of the door by 8.10am.
I like to come back to the house with as little to do as possible. If the washing is drying, the breakfast is cleared away, the lunch is planned or cooking in the slow cooker, then I can focus 100% on my work for the rest of the day without getting distracted.
In this phase of my life I no longer try to fit anything else into the mornings! Meditation and journaling just isn’t in the plan with children when you can’t predict their waking times or moods (or how many melt downs you’ll have to navigate to get them dressed).
It’s all I can do to regulate my own and everyone else’s emotions about the start of the day without heaping pressure on myself to add more in. I’m always grateful I’ve now got into the habit after 2+ years of getting to the gym early though, as I feel infinitely more resilient and able to handle the day once I’ve exercised.
I’m usually back to the desk from drop offs by 9am. As much as possible I try to map out the day first before opening my inbox – I have a big brain dump of everything that needs doing and I pick out my priority tasks for the day and roughly time block when I’m going to get everything done around calls or meetings.
A day in the life
I work from home currently and I love it and the flexibility it gives me. Having given up my lovely office to my daughter so she has her own room, I’m currently working from a desk in our front living room. It’s not a room we use regularly as a family so it works perfectly well and my husband who works from home four days a week is upstairs in a spare bedroom as his office. He brings me a cup of tea and a treat at 11am when he’s there!
However I am also absolutely obsessed with working from cafes or co-working spaces on a regular basis during the week. The brain definitely needs a change of scenery and I love the ritual of getting a matcha latte from my favourite café and settling in for a block of uninterrupted work time. I find I’m hugely productive out of the house so it’s a vital part of how I stay motivated.
My working days are pretty much desk-based and a typical day involves calls, emails, content creation and marketing planning, the same as many I’m sure.
As a solo business owner I wear virtually all the hats, though I do have an incredible Virtual Assistant who helps me with ‘back-end’ set up and scheduling and also an Accountant, because I absolutely do not want to do my own VAT returns or worry I will have a tax bill come out of nowhere, so I outsource to an expert!
I’ve been rebranding and creating new offers in the last year which has required a lot of work on messaging, positioning and copywriting and I’ve had some great support of coaches and a fabulous brand and website designer to help with that transition.
I’m looking forward to the rebranding being done so I can focus on attracting in more clients and hopefully now my children are older and in childcare, getting back to hosting events which I did in previous years and would love to do again: masterminds, co-working days and retreats.
I’m currently fitting my coaching business in alongside a full-time contract job back in the music industry which I left 8 years ago to go solo, which has been hugely helpful financially while I pivot my business and set up new offers and establish new income streams, but does mean my time is very full.
The introvert/extrovert balance
It’s the introvert/extrovert balance. I adore and am energised by working with my clients: hearing their shifts and reflecting them back to them, digging into the sticky stories or resistances that show up as they explore new paths for their work, and celebrating with them when things go well.
But also I get huge energy from that quiet time by myself, planning out a launch or content, or writing and immersing myself in a topic and how to communicate it as effectively as possible.
Through my work as a Self-Belief Coach I’ve come to learn that what actually is draining me in the day isn’t necessarily the tasks per-se, but rather my own resistance and fear around them.
What’s actually draining is procrastinating by re-reading emails, or passive behaviours like picking up my phone to browse Vinted, or getting stuck in perfectionism on a social media post.
When I am clear about what I’m doing, why I need to do it and I understand and am compassionate to myself about how I feel about the tasks and why I sometimes overcomplicate or avoid them, I don’t really feel drained so much.
And aside from that, bank reconciliation is totally draining, but necessary…!
I try as much as possible to get enough sleep – which is hard when the default becomes doom scrolling and calling it ‘me time’ after 10pm!
I’ve also recently discovered a cup of cacao at home in the afternoons is a real energy booster. I don’t drink coffee so perhaps this is the buzz and hit that coffee drinkers all talk about, but I’ve never experienced before!
Honestly, the highlight of my working week is getting to sit in a café with a matcha latte and a few hours to write a new Substack article, figure out something that I think would help my audience understand themselves and give them tools to grow in confidence and self-trust and talk about my own honest experience running my own business. It feels like the perfect combination of the freedom I’ve been able to create for myself and the happy place I like to get to in my head.
Healthy eating habits
I first came to work for myself after starting a healthy eating food blog which I started back in 2016. So my relationship with food and the amount I pay attention to it is very good. That’s coupled with the fact that most of my clients are in the health sector themselves, many are Health Coaches, nutritionists or dietitians – I also lecture at IINH teaching the business modules to new Health Coaches and Nutritional Therapists. So I’m surrounded by a lot of very experienced and qualified voices when it comes to what to eat.
I am obsessive about eating regularly and well throughout the day as I can feel if my blood sugar dips – I personally get light headed, snappy and even nauseous if I leave it too long. I don’t understand people who say they forget to eat!
I eat a protein packed breakfast because I’ve often done a workout and I always have leftovers for a quick and easy lunch in the fridge – things like roasted vegetables, pasta or couscous that I’ve made a double portion of the night before, and then a minute steak or pre-cooked salmon fillet for easy protein.
I try to make my own snacks like a banana bread or chocolate brownies for something sweet if I need it, and my cup of cacao at home or a matcha in the café gets me through 3-5pm slumps.
I wouldn’t say I have eating habit ‘lows.’ I’ve been around enough toxic diet culture and negative food messaging to understand that I shouldn’t feel guilty about what I eat, I don’t stress about UPFs or the odd chocolate or protein bar every so often.
For dinners my husband and I have found a subscription to Drop Chef has been game changing. I love cooking but the endless “what shall we have for dinner?” questions and the responsibility of needing a balanced meal at the end of the day with all the right ingredients in the house is just another job I don’t need right now. We have three Drop Chef recipes a week, I like that the ingredients are Irish sourced and there’s often leftovers or I bulk out the recipes to make lunches and extra portions I can freeze.
Off-the-clock routines
After work is all about the kids. We collect them from childcare and get them some dinner and then prioritise playing with them. Currently my 5 year old daughter is obsessed with colouring and drawing and we make birthday cards for her friends and family and my nearly-two-year-old son will happily spend the evening snuggled on our laps with a stack of Peppa Pig books.
We try to make sure the TV is switched off after 6pm to wind them down. Then it’s the wrestle of bath and bedtime before we collapse in a heap on the sofa!
Once the children are in bed it’s usually 8pm and my husband and I will cook dinner and watch a couple of episodes of something we’re enjoying together (The Diplomat currently, sometimes Task Master for a giggle!) and then go to bed around 10pm.
As much as possible I try to set myself up for the next day. I make my daughter’s lunchbox so that’s one less thing to do in the morning and check my schedule for calls and important tasks so I know exactly what I’m going into the next day. I’m also training for a HYROX competition at the moment so if I’m not in the gym then I’m looking at where in the day I can get a run in.
Self-care essentials
Oh gosh I’m sure most people would be appalled with how limited my beauty routine is! I’m turning 40 this year but I don’t do Botox or any injections or fillers and I don’t expect I ever will, I’m happy to try to embrace ageing naturally.
I keep it incredibly simple with skincare: I used to suffer with acne as a teenager and have eczema and sensitive skin so I’m very fussy and careful about what I put on myself.
I use a day time moisturiser with SPF in the mornings (CeraVe or currently trying a Neutrogena day cream I got at an IMAGE Business Club event) under make-up, and then a basic Boots make-up remover and then night cream – I alternate between Skin Formulas Night Cream and a Neutrogena Retinol cream, all IMAGE Business Club recommendations!
I’ve also recently started trying out an Anti-KP shower gel as I have KP (keratosis pilaris) on the backs of my upper arms, which has helped reduce redness and raised bumps – it’s something I’m a little more aware of currently as I’m in the gym a lot and wearing sleeveless tops more.
I also take collagen as, at my age, I know it will help boost skin, hair and nail health alongside the varied diet I try to eat. I’ve been to the amazing Ciara Darcy Skin Coach before for micro needling which I found great for improving skin smoothness, she’d be my first port of call if I ever started to worry about my skin.
My most important self-care ritual is time by myself. With two young children that demand a lot of attention, it’s the windows of time for exercise (which I love the gym for with a structured time and class), seeing friends, grabbing brunch or having a quiet solo matcha or shopping run, that bring me a lot of grounding and replenish me for the challenging days of work and parenting in the week.
I’m lucky my husband understands this and is a great parent capable of taking both of our children for days at a time if needed. We try to give each other space to see our friends and get exercise and have our own interests outside of all being together as much as possible.
The daily juggle
I would say the biggest challenge of juggling business and life is managing energy levels and motivation. When I was in my early 30s pre-kids I could work all day and night and felt like there was boundless possibility. Now I have two children, it’s hard not to end the day, even with all the best will, nutrition and planning in the world, feel exhausted and wiped out.
I know I have so much potential and have so many ideas and strengths I could bring to so many businesses. But with two children currently under five I am having to surrender to the season I’m in and accept that perhaps my biggest successes are still to come in the second half of my life, once I have prioritised the care and attention they need from me for the next few years.
An ideal weekend for me is one that has a little bit of everything and structure with the family. I like to get to the gym a couple of times, have a couple of hours to myself to catch up on my content creation or other business (yes I have another one!) and then uninterrupted time with the family.
We try to get the kids out of the house so whether that’s a playdate, soft play, playground or activity like the theatre or the funfair, we try to plan something so we don’t all go stir crazy in the house for 48 hours.
I always love it when a weekend includes some time to cook and host friends or family as that’s a big passion of ours and a way I like to unwind. I travelled a lot in my old job and so we love to prepare a Chinese hot pot for friends as it’s a great sharing meal and something a bit different from your mid-week meals.
Staying creative and planning for friction-free days
In terms of what keeps me feeling energised, the boring but classic answer of getting away from the desk.
Talking to people, watching documentaries, reading books, listening to podcasts, attending events and meeting new people, going for walks and allowing my brain to wander. Travelling and getting away from the daily grind and reminding myself of the multitude of ways there are to earn money and live life on this planet, all of this gives me a new injection of energy and creativity, whenever I can achieve it. It’s not always easy in the day-to-day, but I try and find ways to create pockets of change and newness to inspire me, and then scribble notes and content for hours afterwards!
Sharing tips makes me feel like I’m someone to emulate and aspire to be like, and I want to reassure any woman reading this that despite everything I have in place, I can still feel chaotic, angry, overwhelmed and stressed at many points in my week!
I think my best advice is to plan as much as you can and make your days as friction-free as possible – lay out the clothes for the gym, have the lunch ready in the fridge, have the plan and top priority tasks ready written the night before. And then notice and be kind to yourself when those natural resistances occur in tough moments.
From my own coaching work I know now it’s not because of laziness or disorganisation if you aren’t getting things done, but usually because of a fear or belief attached with completing a task. My daily rhythm is much more easily restored and supported if I’m kind and understanding about this in myself, I think we could all do with cutting ourselves some slack!
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