Why rhythm matters for visibility
Build a visibility practice rooted in steadiness, not stress
This is the third article in a series exploring the relationship between visibility and the nervous system. (Here’s where you’ll find article 1 and article 2.)
Showing up - whether it's online, in your community, at work, or in your relationships - requires a regulated system. Visibility isn't just about being seen. It's about feeling safe enough to be seen. To speak. To take up space. To bring your full self into the world.
And one of the most powerful (and overlooked) ways to support that sense of safety? Rhythm.
The nervous system thrives on rhythm, but our lives rarely give it that.
We live in a world designed for speed, novelty, and constant stimulation. Alarms jar us awake. Calendars ping. Notifications pull our attention from one thing to the next before we've had a chance to land in the moment we're in.
Our brains become addicted to the novelty, and then we are not only reacting to all the stimuli, we start searching it out. Which puts us into a loop. A pattern of overactivation. One that pulls us away from presence, away from our bodies, and away from the steadiness our nervous systems are quietly longing for.
But our nervous systems are ancient. They don't operate on the logic of efficiency or urgency. They respond to rhythm, to repetition, to the slow and steady signals of safety. They settle when we give them patterns they can predict.
In a dysregulating world, rhythm becomes a radical act of care.
Rituals - especially the small, everyday ones - are some of the most accessible and effective ways to bring that rhythm back. They don’t need to be grand or complicated. In fact, the most regulating rituals are often quiet, consistent, and almost invisible to anyone but you.
They’re also one of the simplest ways to build a nervous system that can handle the vulnerability of visibility.
1. Morning and evening rituals to bookend the day
Your body needs to know when it's time to rise and when it's time to rest. Rituals can help create that signal.
It might be lighting a candle and stretching before the rest of the house wakes up. Or sipping your tea slowly before checking your phone. In the evening, it could be turning off overhead lights and switching to lamps. (This, and slowly pouring myself a cup of tea, are my two favourite daily rituals.) Washing your face with warm water. Journaling. Reading poetry. Letting your system know: it’s safe to let go now.
These aren’t routines to perfect. They’re invitations to land in your body again, at the start and end of each day.
2. Creating nervous system sanctuaries in your calendar
Not everything needs to be scheduled, but some things do need to be protected.
Think of nervous system sanctuaries as sacred pauses: five minutes of quiet before a Zoom call. A short walk after a long stretch at the computer. A ten-minute window between childcare and work. These in-between moments offer your nervous system space to recalibrate.
If your calendar is back-to-back, your system will be too.
Recently, I had a day with seven back-to-back meetings. It was a lot. Most of the time, I was closing off one and immediately entering the next. To make sure I wasn’t completely drained by the end of the day, I gave myself a micro-ritual: closing one meeting, grabbing the next set of papers, taking three deep breaths, a sip of water, and then stepping into the next conversation. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to come back to myself.
Sanctuary isn’t only found in forests or yoga rooms. It’s in the space you carve out between meetings, or on an ordinary Tuesday at 3:15pm.
And when you build these moments into your day, you’re not just supporting your nervous system, you’re making space for your full self to show up. In meetings. In your work. In your voice. Visibility flows more naturally when you’re not running on empty.
3. Anchoring practices to ground your day
Repetition doesn’t just calm your system - it also connects you to yourself.
A few gentle stretches before sitting down to work. Standing outside for a moment each morning to feel the air on your skin. Playing the same instrumental playlist every time you settle in to focus. A hand on your heart before opening your laptop.
These small acts become more than habits. They’re touchstones. Cues of continuity. Signals to your nervous system: I’m here. I’m safe. I’m with you.
They tether you to something steady in a world that’s always shifting. And in that steadiness, your voice has more space to rise.
4. Protecting transitions
Transitions are vulnerable moments. The shift from rest to responsibility, from screen time to conversation, from parenting to work. If we’re not careful, we rush them - dragging the energy of one moment into the next.
This is one reason I love time blocking. I don’t want to be constantly switching between subject areas, projects, or tasks. It’s too jolting for my system.
If the nature of your work makes that kind of structure difficult, look for smaller ways to protect your transitions. A breath between tasks. A short walk between work and home life.
I work in a garden studio, so there’s no commute. Instead, I consciously close my working day in the same way each afternoon: turning off the computer, setting out papers for the next day, and tidying my desk. Taking those small steps helps me smoothly transition out of work mode and into mum-life mode. Most precious of all, it means I’m then ready to be fully present with my kids.
5. Loop-closing as a nervous system practice
I also have a closing ritual after client sessions. My calendar automatically includes a 15-minute buffer at the end of each 1:1. In that time, I send a follow-up email, jot down topics to revisit, file away notes, and send them a little love. Only then do I move on to the next task.
What you’re doing in these moments is marking a line between what was and what’s next and sending a message to your brain that it doesn’t need to keep thinking about that thing any more.
I remember when my nervous system didn’t want to do that. It didn’t want to slow down enough to close one loop before opening another. But once I realised how much stress I was creating for myself, I set myself a new goal: to close every loop I open. It took time to build the habit, and I had to clear the inner resistance I felt to slowing down, but now that it’s woven into my working rhythm, I never want to go back.
Closing loops brings mental clarity. It frees up space. Not just in your calendar, but in your mind. And in that space, your voice can express itself.
Final thoughts
There’s no one-size-fits-all ritual. The question isn’t what you do, but how you do it. With care. With intention. With the awareness that your nervous system is always listening.
You don’t need to overhaul your life. Just choose one rhythm to return to. Let it steady you.
Because in a world that pulls us in every direction, there’s quiet power in creating your own beat.
And from that steady beat, your visibility can begin to rise - not from pressure or perfectionism, but from presence.
If you're ready to build a visibility practice that honours your nervous system, your energy, and your unique voice, The Visibility Studio is for you. I’ll be running a live round in August, and enrolment is now open. Click here to learn more and join us.
Samantha x