Winning the Second Half Together

The operating shift your most senior leaders need to do the best work of their careers.

Susan Pearse and Matt Elliott — co-authors of Winning the Second Half — on the operating-model shift you need to make from 40 onwards, and the small daily practices that turn the second half into the most powerful chapter of your life and career.

Hosted by Susan Pearse & Matt Elliott

Five things to take from this episode.

1. 01

   Start the day with a 5-minute check-in

   Before the inbox, before the news, before anyone else's agenda lands — five minutes alone with three questions: How is my body? What is my state? What is the one thing today is actually about? This is the single highest-leverage habit in the second half. It costs nothing, takes five minutes, and changes how every other minute of the day lands.

2. 02

   Put one recovery block in your calendar this week — and defend it

   Recovery is the work, not the reward. Block 30–60 minutes this week — walk, swim, sit, breathe, no phone — and treat it as a meeting you would never cancel on a client. Do it once and notice what changes. Do it twice a week and it stops being optional. This is the practice that prevents the system overloading in the first place.

3. 03

   Catch the Tormentor. Choose the Mentor

   The loud, sharp, judgemental voice in your head is the Tormentor — and it is excellent at telling you what you haven't done. The Inner Mentor is quieter, kinder, and more useful. Practice this week: when you catch the Tormentor mid-sentence, stop, take a breath, and ask, "What would my Inner Mentor say right now?" Then act on that one instead. Repetition is the whole game.

4. 04

   Stop saying "when". Pick one thing and do it now

   Most people in the second half have a list of "when" deferrals — I'll do this when the kids finish school, when the quarter closes, when I have more time. Pick one this week. The phone call you've been meaning to make. The booking you've been meaning to put in. The conversation you've been avoiding. Take the action today. Momentum lives on the other side of one decision.

5. 05

   Match your hardest work to your peak window

   Energy moves in phases — you are not the same person at 7am, 2pm and 7pm. Notice when your sharpest two hours are this week, and ruthlessly protect them for your hardest, most-creative work. Move the email, the admin, the low-stakes meetings to your lower-energy windows. You don't need more hours. You need to spend the right hours on the right things.