A day in the life of Nena Foster, WRKWLL Associate

I am Nena, a 45-year old mum and business owner. In 2023, I set up Circle. to provide strategic wellbeing and inclusion advisory and coaching services to organisations after years of work as an inclusion leader and consultant, functional health coach, and nutritional chef. 

My work can involve supporting organisations to upskill their leaders in EDI, supporting leaders with developing a workplace wellbeing culture, or running whole team learning sessions on wellbeing or inclusion, it depends. 

I also individually coach clients to help make health and lifestyle changes to support their wellbeing. In addition to working with individuals, the bulk of my work is with corporate organisations and charities of all sizes across a range of sectors, from healthcare, Edtech, to the legal sector and retail. I live on the Kent coast, in Broadstairs, about 1.5 hours outside London with my two children. 

As a new founder, no two days for me look the same. In the early days of setting up my business, I spent a lot of time connecting with people whose work or profiles I found interesting. Hundreds of virtual coffees in, and I have made some really great contacts, many of which have led to work.  

My day starts at 6:30 a.m., sometimes with a 20-minute cycle, but most days not. I wake up the kids at 6:50. While they slowly unfurl, I get ready for the day and head down to sort breakfast. Having trained as a nutritional chef and functional health coach, it's very important for me to ensure the kids have a nutritionally balanced start to the day. After breakfast, it's supplements all around before heading out the door.

I like to ensure the mornings run as smoothly as possible, so I make sure their bags are packed the night before and am out the door by 8 a.m. My eldest walks himself to secondary school, and I drop off my youngest. If I have time before morning calls, especially if the weather is nice, I walk down to the sea and grab a coffee. I walk back and start my day at about 9 a.m.

Some days I am writing or delivering workshops, other days it’s client meetings combined with coaching clients and admin. Whatever I’m doing, I really enjoy sharing what I know to ensure others feel equipped to take on the challenges that they are faced with; whether that’s how to embed their EDI policy impactfully, build organisational safety needed to support inclusion and wellbeing or even if it’s the challenge of how to get more leafy greens into their diet. I love having a varied skill set and supporting clients to meet their needs with evidence-based, creative, and impactful solutions. 

Evenings are a flurry of kids clubs, dinner, and fitting in exercise, if I haven’t managed it. Most days, I enjoy winding down in the kitchen by cooking dinner, but even for a trained chef, cooking dinner can feel like a chore. Bedtime is usually about 10:30 pm, sometimes with a bit of scrolling, other times reading, but always with a few sprays of magnesium oil spray to ensure I have a solid night’s sleep.