Research has been done about how trying or learning new things together strengthens a relationship. It's a new shared experience where you get to see each other in new ways. And for parents, where it's all too easy to just talk about your kids, you're forced to put your attention on the experience itself. On figuring out or learning this new activity and therefore you're not talking about the kids or the logistics of life. You get to just BE together.
Read MoreWhen life feels tough, you know what you don't need to hear? "This too shall pass" or "It could be worse" or "What're you gonna do?" What you need to hear is something more like that sucks. Or maybe - that’s so hard. That might not be what you thought I was going to say but hear me out. This is actually grounded in parenting psychology.
Read MoreThe reality is that doing things that stretch you, rarely feels good at first. But that doesn't mean you stop. It means you sit with the discomfort knowing that this is exactly how it's supposed to feel. Nothing has gone wrong. It WORKING! So when I'm trying to help a client break a habit, make a change, and stretch themselves into a new self-concept, I assign small, but uncomfortable homework challenges.
Read MoreQuestions are just your brain being curious. And that's a good thing! It's when you let those questions fester and sit unanswered, that's when you start to question yourself. So if you're feeling doubtful or guilty about anything in your life right now, find the question that needs to be answered and answer it.
Read MoreMaking decisions in advance about how you want to spend your time, makes it so much easier to say yes or no to things that come up along the way. You can always change your plans or change your mind, but for now, you're creating a tentative map. And that feels so good!
Read MoreBut what if you could incorporate just a sliver of your vacation life into your everyday life? What if you could read for 5 or 10 minutes a night? Or spend an evening playing cards or puzzling? How would that change the way you felt about work and all your responsibilities? Maybe then, you wouldn't need a vacation like you need a lifeline. Maybe you wouldn't have to spend the week decompressing from the stress of your everyday life.
Read MoreIf you're in a season where things have changed, where you're giving up something to create more time and space or ease in your life, remember that it doesn't have to be forever. You're choosing what's best for you, for now.
Read MoreA time audit is something I regularly do for myself and something that I ask my clients to do as well. It's data and information that we can use to either recommit to how we're spending our time or change it. When you have to track something, you pay more attention. And when you pay more attention, you start to notice all of the things that you're doing without even being aware of them. And from that awareness, you can start to make decisions:
Read MoreInstead of being this thing that felt so hard and so outside my reach, I narrowed my focus to what was within my reach. Some people call them "lead indicators" and the larger goal itself, the "lag goal". I love this concept and have been thinking a lot about that with other goals in my life and the goals that my clients are working toward.
Read MoreCreating a simple and realistic meal-planning routine is the most common topic that working moms bring to a Planning Intensive. After working through dozens of these meal-planning routines, each one slightly different from the last (because no routine is one size fits all), I know that all it usually takes is 30 minutes and we can have a plan mapped out so that you'll know exactly what to do next to put it into action.
Read MoreAny relationship that you have or that you've seen that's deep, strong, and vibrant, is the result of a lot of work behind the scenes. Good work. Fun work. Fulfilling work. But work nonetheless. Are you doing enough to cultivate the friendships you want?
Read MoreAs I was coaching a client recently on her feelings of mom guilt, we decided to try out a different word. One that doesn't come with so much weight and the thought that you've done something wrong. We swapped guilt for doubt. Mom doubt. (or just doubt because not everything we experience as moms has to be labeled with the word "mom". No one ever says "dad guilt".) Doubt doesn't mean you've done something wrong. It means you're unsure.
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