Episode 55: #2 Ready or Not: Navigating Change as a Working Mom
ITUNES | SPOTIFY
In the second episode of the Ready or Not mini-series, Katelyn walks through how to prepare for and navigate change—especially the kind you choose to make. From shifting routines to bigger life decisions, she shares why waiting for things to "settle down" never works and how thinking ahead can make change feel more manageable. With relatable stories and a reminder of just how much change you already navigate, this episode will leave you feeling capable and ready to lead your next change with intention.
links & resources mentioned in this episode:
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Hey there. I've got a quick question for you. Do you ever feel like there's never enough time to do all the things that you need to do as a working mom? If you're anything like my clients and a lot of the listeners I've been talking to, I'm guessing the answer is yes, no matter what. You try from time blocking and turning off notifications to fancy planners or intricate lists, full of color coded categories.
Nothing seems to really have an impact on the size of your to-do list, let alone how you feel about how much you got done each day. If you resonate with that, I've got something for you. I am bringing back my popular training called Plenty of Time, four Steps to Create More Space in Your Working Mom Schedule.
During this class, I'm gonna walk you through exactly how to get things done in the time that you have, no matter what season of life you're in or how busy you are. It is happening on Thursday, July 31st at 12 noon Eastern time, 9:00 AM Pacific. No complicated tools or just double down mentality. This is just a simple, repeatable way to make progress on that never ending list.
Go to the mother nurture.com/class to get all signed up. Again, that's the mother nurture.com/class. I can't wait to see you there.
📍 You are listening to the Life Coach for Working Moms podcast, the show where we are talking about what it actually takes to make life work as a working mom. I'm your host, Katelyn Denning, a full time working mom of three and a certified life and executive coach. I'm so glad you're here and I hope you enjoy this week's episode.
Welcome back to the podcast. This is episode two in the miniseries that I'm doing on change. It's called Ready or Not Navigating Change As a working mom from Big Changes to Micro changes, I want you to feel capable as you navigate change and confident when you decide to make a change on purpose.
To invite change in from again, the very small to the big changes in your life. And in this episode, I want to help you think about preparing for and navigating change.
In the last episode we talked about when. Is it the right time to make a change? And we talked about our brain's desire for the familiar, to be so efficient with what we already know and how that contributes to us putting off change or yeah, just questioning if it is the right time. When you think about change, doing something different than you're doing today, adding something new and especially change that impacts your kids and your family and your rhythms and routines, many of us automatically assume that it's going to be hard.
It's going to take time and effort and energy. What I notice in myself and. In others as well, especially when I am coaching a working mom, it is this sneaky thought that maybe things will just change without you having to do anything, without you having to force the change or do it on purpose.
Maybe things will get better and you won't have to actually do anything about it. Maybe my son will just start sleeping through the night. Maybe my daughter will just outgrow this phase. Maybe my workload will get better once I get through this project.
Maybe my health will improve when my kids just need me less or are sleeping better, or when it's summertime and there are more fruits and vegetables in season.
The truth is the thought that no change feels safer or easier is a myth. Not changing is just familiar. And we can't avoid change even if we don't make changes on purpose, nothing stays exactly the same
and think about it, there are already so many changes that you navigate as it is without you having to do necessarily anything about it. We change our clocks twice a year and we navigate daylight savings for , many of us. We experience and navigate changes in seasons and with it different activities that come and go depending on the time of year we navigate work, changes, trips, and travel that comes up, projects, deadlines, staffing changes, things that often we do not instigate or have much control over.
And we navigate developmental milestones. Our kids are changing. All the time rapidly as babies and toddlers, and then emotionally as they get older as well. Now you might hear that list of changes. Maybe I reminded you of some that you had completely forgotten about, and maybe you're thinking, okay, well that list is plenty.
Why would I make any additional changes on purpose when I'm already navigating all of that change that just gets dropped in my lap? Well, I can tell you why, or at least my why. It's because I would much rather manage the change. I want to prepare for the change. I would rather that than be surprised by it, wouldn't you?
It's like controlling the narrative, the, the story I'm thinking about my kids even. It's so much better if they can just come forward and own whatever it is that they need to tell me, rather than having me find out about it after the fact. They can come into the conversation, own it, and control it in a way.
The same is true of the change that we instigate, that we intentionally decide to bring into our lives. We get to manage and navigate it more proactively. So how do you navigate change? I think the short answer is we navigate change by thinking ahead. Even the changes that we don't control, like the time change, that's not something that I choose to do twice a year, but it does happen.
And so in advance of the next one. You mark the date on the calendar and you think about that week leading up, what could I do to ease the transition with the kids? You also anticipate that the week following that time change is probably going to feel like a sleepy week as everyone adjusts, so where you can maybe reduce the additional events or the big projects if you can help it.
Or when the kids head back to school in the fall, you sit down with the calendar and you look at the new schedule, the extracurriculars, the drop off, and pickup times, how that's going to change, and you start to make decisions about how it's going to work. Then you make sure you have all the supplies that they need and you prepare mentally and logistically.
Or if you are thinking about a potential job change. You do your research, you talk to people, you even apply an interview because that's how you get the information you need, and then you think it through. You visualize the change, what the impact would be, and you listen to your gut.
I can't remember if I've shared this story before or not, but it's such a perfect example here. I'm gonna tell it to you again. Even if I already did a few months ago, I decided, and when I say I, I really did lead the change for our family.
I decided to switch piano teachers for my children. Two of my three kids take piano. I don't know about you, but I always feel more hesitant with changes that impact my kids.
My gut said we just weren't getting what we needed from our current teacher, and logistically it was just getting super frustrated. It was a long drive and the administrative stuff just wasn't working for me. So. I gathered some information, I got recommendations. I talked to other families that I knew had their kids in piano lessons, and I came up with some questions and some benchmarks that I was looking for in a new teacher based on what I did not like and and what I did like about our current situation.
Then we did a trial lesson. I had conversation with my kids about the possibility of changing teachers. They were hesitant. They, like so many of us with change, liked what was familiar, but
the trial lesson really helped all of us visualize. See what it was going to be like, and then I gave advanced notice. I gave us all a month to prepare for and just get used to the idea that this change was coming. Because ultimately we did change, and because I chose the change and navigated it by preparing, by thinking through it, and getting everyone on board, it went so much more smoothly than I thought it would.
My kids miss certain parts of working with their old teacher. Of course. I think that's natural. But they're so fine with the change and I am so happy with the change. Now, some changes do happen fast, and you have to go through these steps very quickly. But oftentimes, if you're thinking about changing a nap schedule or changing childcare or changing responsibilities around the house or a job or a routine, or adding in a workout class or whatever it is, you have at least a little bit of notice.
And the best way to prepare and navigate change is to think through it. How can you get on board with the change? What information do you need? What will it look like or what could it look like? And then ultimately you have to trust yourself. Remember that list earlier that I ran through of all of the changes that we're all already navigating?
Think about it. There were quite a few there, and I know it's not an exhaustive list.
You did all of that, you've done all of that. You've managed those changes already. You are so capable. You will navigate the next change and any other change that you choose to embark on. You'll navigate it just as well. And I wanna remind you that even if it feels like you can't unchange something, you absolutely can.
Almost everything is changeable. I can't tell you the number of times that we have changed childcare situations and every change. I thought I was making the decision that was going to last us through the rest of childhood. I thought they were permanent, but they weren't. When they stopped working, we just changed again.
One of the things that supports me the most in making confident, grounded decisions about change in my life from the small minute things to the larger impact changes is having a planning process that gives me that proactive insight into what is coming. It's what helps me feel prepared and confident knowing what's coming, what has to get done, and how changes are going to fit into our schedule.
I'm 📍 teaching this planning framework on July 31st in a free class called Plenty of Time. You can sign up if you have not already at themothernurture.com/class. I would love to have you there.
All right. I will talk with you in the next mini episode.
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