Our Story

OCCO exists because burnout isn't a personality trait. Ambition shouldn't need one.

We met on Bumble, on a Sunday. Then we met on Tuesday. And Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Seven years on, we run a company together. We're Ollie and Clare, two designers. We both learned the hard way what a fast, busy mind costs without the right structure.

Before OCCO

We didn't know each other yet. We were both working in London, at the top of our fields.

Ollie designed sets for West End and touring shows. They included Bat Out of Hell: The Musical, Dreamgirls: The Musical and The Nutcracker Ballet. The deadline never moves. 1,500 people have a ticket, and the curtain goes up regardless.

Clare designed shops and brand spaces for Lacoste, Cadbury, Tanqueray and Sipsmith. Real budgets, real limits. The client changes everything at 5pm on a Friday, and it still has to open on time.

Neither of us saw burnout coming. We were too deep in our own version to spot it in anyone else.

What burnout looked like

Clare was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Ollie burnt out. Then came a depression he didn't recognise for a long time.

We both kept going for too long. That's what ambitious people do when nobody gives them a better option.

Our industries treat pressure as part of the job. We both believed that. We both paid for it.

If this sounds familiar, you're who we built OCCO for.

What helped

An app didn't fix it. Nor did a perfect morning routine. Therapy, coaching and CBT did.

So did reading the research on how busy brains work, and why they burn out. We've written it up, with sources and honest limits, on our evidence page.

What worked was structure. The right question at the right time. A way to get the mental load out of our heads and onto paper. Then our brains could do their real work, instead of looping at 2am.

The first version

We started printing our own worksheets. A4 sheets in a stack on the side, grabbed when we needed them. That pile of paper was the first OCCO.

We looked for proper tools built this way, and didn't find any. There were strict time-blocking systems that assume you control your whole diary. And there were pastel journals with blank pages, for people who wake up calm with 45 minutes spare. Nothing was built for fast, busy minds doing real work.

Friends saw the sheets and asked for copies. They came back saying the sheets helped them too.

That told us 2 things. The method worked for more than 2 burnt-out designers. And loose paper was the weak link. It curls up and goes missing. If a tool feels like admin, you stop using it right when you need it.

Why it had to be well made

Our design backgrounds became the brief. In theatre, "it mostly works" isn't good enough. The show works or it breaks.

In shop design, the object carries the meaning. If the material feels cheap, the whole idea feels cheap.

So we brought that standard to scrap paper. A tool that holds your worst Tuesday has to be well made. Picking it up shouldn't feel like one more chore.

OCCO

OCCO stands for Ollie, Clare, Clare, Ollie. It's our initials, and a reminder that 2 people reached the same answer from different directions.

There are 4 tools: the Morning Mindset Journal, Weekly Planner Pad, Priority Pad and Could Do Pad. Each one is built on published research into how busy minds work, and what goes wrong when they don't.

Each one is undated and works on its own. Use the one you need, when you need it. A difficult Tuesday in November is exactly what they're for.

No diagnosis needed.
No label on the box.

We don't do wellness clichés. We make practical tools.

What we use now

We use our own products less than we used to. That's the outcome we hoped for.

Ollie still starts most mornings with 10 minutes and the Morning Mindset Journal, before he opens his laptop. It's the quickest way to know what the day needs before the noise decides.

On a loud week, Clare reaches for the Priority Pad. Everything goes on the page, and she can see what to do first.

We're not cured. Burnout comes back in smaller doses when work gets loud. Having something physical to get it out of your head still works.

The team

Clare runs creative and product. Ollie runs commercial and strategy. Squiggle the Spaniel runs morale, and is the most consistent member of the team.

This page is personal. Every claim about how the tools work is sourced. Read the research behind them.