The Season of Reflection: Why November Is the Perfect Time to Reclaim Your Agency
As the year winds down, life tends to speed up. Work deadlines pile up, inboxes overflow, and holiday plans compete for attention. Between caring for others, wrapping up projects, and keeping everything running, most people put their own needs last.
It’s easy to tell yourself you’ll slow down later: after the holidays, after the launch, after things "settle." But the truth is, this busy season is often when we most need to pause and check in.
Because when we’re running on autopilot, we lose sight of what we actually want, what we’re capable of, and what’s next for us.
That’s why this season, right now, is the perfect time to work with a coach.
For Sara, a leadership and career coach who helps women reclaim their agency, this is the moment when reflection turns into transformation. Coaching during this season creates space to step out of the noise, reconnect with your values, and make choices that align with who you are, not just what’s expected of you.
Backed by research and grounded in reflective practice, coaching helps you turn awareness into action. Here’s why this is the ideal time to begin.
1. Reflection Creates the Foundation for Change
The end of the year naturally encourages introspection. But reflection without structure can easily become rumination. That’s where coaching creates transformation.
Studies show that structured reflection significantly improves decision-making and performance. A study by the Harvard Business School found that employees who took just 15 minutes each day to reflect performed 23% better than those who didn’t (Harvard Business School, 2014). Reflection allows you to consolidate lessons and integrate learning, which are key components of sustainable growth.
In Sara’s coaching, reflection becomes a strategic tool. Clients are guided through frameworks that turn scattered thoughts into insight, helping them see patterns, uncover values, and connect the dots between who they are and what they want.
This process moves you from thinking about your year to actively shaping what comes next.
2. Coaching Helps You Reconnect to Your Values Before Setting New Goals
Most people begin January with goals, but few start from alignment. Coaching before the new year shifts that.
Research from Stanford University shows that people who align their goals with intrinsic values are more likely to sustain motivation and experience long-term satisfaction (Stanford Graduate School of Business). Without that connection, goals often become external markers of success rather than genuine expressions of purpose.
Sara’s coaching process focuses on reconnecting with your core values before setting goals. Through guided exercises, clients explore questions like:
What actually feels meaningful in my work right now?
Where am I saying yes out of fear or habit instead of clarity?
What would a value-driven version of success look like for me next year?
By starting here, Sara helps clients establish goals that reflect who they are, not who they think they’re supposed to be.
3. The End of the Year Is a Natural Energy Reset
Burnout rates often spike toward the end of the year. According to Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace Report, nearly 44% of employees report feeling stressed during their workday, with emotional exhaustion being one of the strongest predictors of disengagement (Gallup, 2023).
Coaching at this time provides the space to recalibrate before burnout deepens. Sara integrates reflection and boundary-setting tools that help clients notice where energy is leaking and how to restore balance.
One of her core teachings is that boundaries are not barriers; they’re bridges back to self-trust. When you work with a coach to establish supportive boundaries, you learn to protect your energy and make clearer, more aligned decisions moving forward.
In her Own Your Agency Packet, Sara offers exercises that help you assess your energy flow and identify the shifts that lead to sustainable motivation instead of burnout.
4. Coaching Helps You Enter the New Year with Clarity, Not Pressure
The cultural pressure of January "resolutions" often triggers urgency rather than focus. Many professionals start the new year sprinting, only to lose momentum by February.
Working with a coach before that rush begins allows you to enter the new year with clarity instead of chaos. Reflection in November or December creates the space to identify what truly matters and what can be left behind.
According to Forbes, people who engage in coaching and reflection before goal-setting report greater long-term success and personal fulfillment than those who rely solely on self-directed resolutions (Forbes Coaching Council).
Sara’s clients often describe this experience as a "reset" that helps them lead with intention instead of exhaustion. They step into the new year already grounded in their values, ready to make choices that reflect their authentic direction.
5. Coaching Builds the Confidence to Lead from Agency
Ultimately, the goal of coaching isn’t just clarity; it’s agency. Reclaiming your agency means recognizing your ability to influence, choose, and lead with alignment, regardless of circumstances.
Through Sara’s coaching, clients learn to replace self-doubt with awareness, perfectionism with purpose, and over-functioning with intentional leadership. This shift is what allows them to move from surviving to thriving.
Research supports this transformation. The International Coaching Federation found that 80% of people who received coaching reported improved self-confidence, and over 70% saw improvements in work performance, relationships, and communication skills (ICF Global Coaching Study, 2023).
When you work with a coach during this season, you’re not just preparing for a new year; you’re preparing to lead yourself differently.
Closing Reflection
This time of year may be full, but fullness doesn’t have to mean losing yourself in the noise. Coaching offers a space to pause, breathe, and come back to what matters most.
If you’ve been feeling stretched thin, uncertain about your next steps, or simply ready to reconnect with your own leadership, this is your moment.
Through Sara’s personalized coaching sessions and her free Own Your Agency Packet, you can begin reflecting with purpose, resetting your energy, and building momentum rooted in authenticity.
Start your reflection season with support that empowers you to lead from clarity, not burnout.
Download the Own Your Agency Packet or schedule a coaching session with Sara today to begin your next chapter with intention.
✨ Ready to take control of your life and build the career you deserve?
Sources
Harvard Business School (2014). Reflecting on Work Improves Job Performance.
Retrieved from: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/reflecting-on-work-improves-job-performanceStanford Graduate School of Business (n.d.). How to Find Motivation to Achieve Goals.
Retrieved from: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/how-find-motivation-achieve-goalsGallup (2023). State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report.
Retrieved from: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace-2023-report.aspxForbes Coaching Council (2021). The Importance of Reflecting Before Setting Your New Year’s Resolutions.
Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2021/12/20/the-importance-of-reflecting-before-setting-your-new-years-resolutionsInternational Coaching Federation (2023). ICF Global Coaching Study.
Retrieved from: https://coachingfederation.org/research/global-coaching-study
