How do I contact you?
Please email coaching@laurapremack.com or use this form.
Do you specialize in working with certain kinds of people?
I work with people who want to live intentional, meaningful lives. My clients include academics, professionals, creatives, educators, parents, career-changers, and people who wear multiple hats. I specialise in working with feminists, and I enthusiastically welcome clients of any nationality, race, gender, religion, ability, immigration status or sexual orientation.
Do you have experience working with people with ADHD?
Loads. I’ve been learning about ADHD since the 1980s, when my brother was diagnosed with it. Many of my family members have it, including my daughter; many of my coaching clients have it; and it is quite likely I have it myself. I help people implement best practices like breaking big jobs into really small tasks; implementing systems and structures to manage overwhelm; and harnessing hyperfocus so that it works for you rather than against you. I find that many of these approaches are useful not only for people with ADHD but for neurotypical people as well.
Can you help me be more productive?
Yes, I can help you be more efficient with your time, more intentional about your commitments, less distracted by your devices, more aware of your self-talk, and better able to prioritise and get stuff done. At the same time, I will also encourage you to consider your expectations around productivity, and help you see that you are not a machine and need not behave like one — you are a living, breathing human being.
Can you help me finish writing my book/thesis/dissertation/article/novel?
Yes, I can. I’ve developed strategies for establishing a consistent, healthy writing practice that I’ve shared with hundreds of people one-to-one and in workshops. You’ll find some of them right here on my website.
Can you help me decide whether I should leave my job?
I’ve helped people change jobs, change careers, and retire. I take an approach that combines deepening awareness of the reasons you are considering making this change with taking actions that allow experimentation and learning. People often think they have to have the next move totally figured out before they can even consider leaving their current role, but this is not the case. Career transition is an iterative process. And sometimes, the decision ends up being not to take a new job, but to do the current job in a new way.
What if it’s not my decision?
If you are about to lose your job, or fear you might, my heart goes out to you. I was forced out of my last career for standing up to bullying, a career I’d made great sacrifices to establish. It felt like the world was closing in on me. And now I am on the other side, more fully myself, doing work I love. I have helped others make the same transition. It takes grit, it takes courage, and it is fully achievable.
Can you help me figure out how to do my job now that I have kids?
Oh, this is a good one. It’s totally different now, isn’t it! Yes, I have two children, and their arrival slowly and irrevocably altered my relationship with work. Reorienting to work as a parent is partly a matter of time management — you need to become much more efficient, and probably already have; partly a matter of expectations — you need to reckon with how your capacity has changed; and partly a matter of values — what you care most about may have shifted, with success meaning something different than it did before. We can dig into all of it and help you figure out how you want to navigate this new terrain, confidently and unapologetically.
I feel like I’ve lost sight of what I really want. Can you help me find it again?
Values work is a mainstay of all the one-to-one coaching I do. In order to figure out what changes you need to make, whether in your work or in your life, we need to know what really matters to you. There are some things that will be constant throughout your lifetime, and others that will shift and change, often without you realising it. Through exercises, conversations, and experiments, I’ve helped many people find their true north and shift their path towards it. Sometimese this involves gentle tweaks, and sometimes big life changes.
I’m working on my PhD and I’ve totally stalled. I’m afraid I’ll never finish. Am I a lost cause?
No, not at all! I have helped many PhD students of all ages to the finish line, including those who thought they’d never make it there.
I’m a woman in a leadership role at work, and I’m trying to figure out how to implement my vision, support my team, and not burn out. Do you work with people like me?
Yes, I love working with people like you! We focus on leading by example, creating more efficient systems, reframing delegation, maintaining boundaries, and developing a leadership style that suits who you really are and what you and your organisation really need.
I feel so depressed by the state of the world and I’m not sure where to put my energy. Is that something you can help me with?
I can. I work with people to strengthen their sense of equanimity — which is the ability to feel all sorts of emotions, both positive and negative, while retaining their equlibrium. We can allow the difficult and learn to give it the space it needs, and we can also cultivate the joyful. Then we figure out the steps you need to take to increase your sense of agency and community, which is the antidote to despair.
Can you help me feel more confident in my work?
I often work with people on this. We get to know the voices of doubt that get in the way (to say there is just an imposter oversimplifies things in a way that’s not very helpful) and figure out what kind of reassurances they need. We also get to know the voices, quiet though they may be, of belief and confidence, and we figure out how bolster and amplify them. It’s really powerful work with long-term results.
I have a sabbatical coming up. Can you help me make a plan for it and keep me accountable?
Yes, I often do this. I can support you with the transition back to work too.
I’ve been using an app and trying to meditate, but I’m not sure I’m doing it right. Can you help me figure out if meditation is for me?
Apps can be a good place to start, but I can help you develop a personal practice that suits you and your specific needs. We can consider not just seated meditation but walking, standing, lovingkindness practices and more — there are many more ways to practice than just focusing on your breath. We can also figure out how you can best fit meditation into your daily routine and commitments.
I try to meditate but I can’t stop thinking!
That’s totally normal! I can teach you to use awareness of thoughts as a way into meditation practice, not a barrier to it.
Could you facilitate my team’s away day?
I’d be delighted to be asked.
Will you travel to lead workshops and retreats?
Yes.
Do you offer residential retreats?
Yes, I offer bespoke residential retreats. I collaborate with your team to design it; typically, you arrange the logistics with my support, and I deliver the retreat experience.
I see you used to be an academic. What is your background and experience?
You can see my short academic cv here, updated through 2019, when I left academia to coach and write full-time.
I see you are a writer. Can you help me get an agent? Do you offer copyediting? Will you read my manuscript?
No, no and no, but I can point you to Jericho Writers as an excellent resource. For fiction and creative nonfiction developmental editing, I highly recommend Melanie Viets.
Will you help me with my cv and job application package?
No, but if we work together to help you figure out how to make a career change, I will point you to some people who can.
What is your training as a coach?
I am trained in the Co-Active Coaching model and professionally supervised by a faculty member of the Co-Active Training Institute. I am an Associate Member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council UK and an active participant in the EMCC Career Coaching & Mentoring and the Higher Education special interest groups. I completed Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield’s two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program and am certified as a mindfulness meditation teacher by both the Awareness Training Institute and the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley. I also draw on my training as an educator (EdM Harvard) and historian (PhD/MA UNC, BA Wesleyan); my nearly three decades teaching and mentoring students; my longtime study of meditation and yoga; and my experience as a writer with a daily writing practice.
What kind of yoga and meditation do you practice?
I have practiced Iyengar, Ashtanga, Jivamukti, vinyasa flow, Kripalu, kundalini, yin, and other styles of yoga. My preference is to learn from teachers with a strong focus on alignment. My formal meditation practice began with four years of Soto Zen. After that, I transitioned into Vipassana, which remains my current practice, though I study teachings from other schools as well.
What do you write?
I write creative nonfiction about history, nature, politics and ideas. My forthcoming book, Botanica, is about plants and empire — it decolonises the English garden by providing deep historical context about flowers, shrubs, and trees from the Americas. My next book will be about wool, sheep, landscape, weaving, Luddites, creativity, and productivity culture. I am represented by Ludo Cinelli of the Eve White Literary Agency in London.
What languages do you speak?
I speak English, (both British and American ;-), Spanish and Portuguese. I coach in English.
How much do you charge?
My fees are comparable to those of other coaches with my education and expertise, and I accept payment in both British pounds and US dollars. Terms are agreed with each client, and payment in instalments is welcome.
Do you offer discounts?
I offer a 10% discount to students and fixed-term employees (eg contingent academics, postdocs, etc). I also reserve at least one pro bono slot for those who find themselves at a challenging point and do not have the means to pay for the support they need. My Enough! programmes are offered at a sliding scale.
What’s the best way to choose a coach?
Talk to a few that you like the sound of and go with the one you feel the best chemistry with.
You’re in England. I’m not. Could I still work with you?
Of course!