Moment: The Life You Didn't Choose

Making part-time work arrangements successful requires more than just reducing hours – it demands unshakable confidence built from the inside out rather than being dependent on external validation or productivity.

• Unshakable confidence is essential for setting and maintaining boundaries in part-time roles
• Women often try to prove themselves by maintaining full-time workloads in part-time hours
• Finding your voice is crucial for negotiating appropriate workloads and expectations
• Clear boundaries around meetings, email responses, and availability prevent work creep
• Strong focus and the ability to disconnect completely are non-negotiable skills
• Companies implementing four-day workweeks often see increased productivity and creativity
• Assess your readiness for part-time work by examining your boundaries, confidence, and focus

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Balance and Beyond Moments.
Your weekly dose of insight,wisdom and mindset shifts all in
10 minutes or less, whetherit's a powerful truth, a fresh
perspective or a spark ofinspiration.
This is your space to pause,reflect and reset.
Let's dive in Now.

(00:24):
We talk about boundaries,disconnection and focus.
One of the other pieces that Ihave found must be in your
toolkit and really must beembodied in you is you must have
unshakable confidence ifpart-time is going to work.
Confidence if part-time isgoing to work.

(00:48):
And where I see this rear, it'sugly head, is people feel like,
because they've got flexibility, well, I've got to prove that
I've still got it.
I've got to prove that myoutput isn't going to suffer.
I'm going to prove that I'mstill a senior or I can delegate
and I'm on top of things.
And so these women, because youdon't have unshakable
confidence, lean in to feelinglike they have to get more stuff

(01:15):
done and thinking that doingmore is going to make them feel
better.
They're so focused on everybodyoutside of themselves, without
having what I call inside outconfidence, or unshakable
confidence, that they actuallyget into a spiral of eroding
their confidence.
So if your confidence is basedon how much you can get done.
Well, then, when you can't doenough, you don't feel good.

(01:37):
If your confidence is based onwhat somebody says about you or
feedback that you get, well, ifthey can give it to you, they
can take it away, and so youmight have a bad meeting, or
something doesn't go the way youwanted, or something a project
you're running goes off therails.
Well, now you start shakingbecause oh, oh, I've got to do

(01:58):
more.
And then you dive in and you domore.
Unshakable confidence is notrelated at all to how many hours
you work or how much you getdone.
It is not outside in.
That's based on what you canproduce.
It's based on external markers,it's based on positions, it's
based on titles.
It has to be built from theinside out so that you don't

(02:22):
feel like you have to proveyourself, so that you don't feel
incredibly grateful for theflexibility, and so that's okay.
I'll come to this meeting onFriday when I'm not meant to be
working.
No, from a place of unshakableconfidence.
You say no, from a place ofunshakable confidence.
You are able to hold theseboundaries.
So, once again, these all stacktogether.

(02:46):
Now the last piece that makes areally, really big difference,
and I see this play out in somany different ways is part-time
will not work if you have notfound your voice yet, and you
usually won't find your voiceuntil you have unshakable
confidence.
What this means is, if youhaven't found your voice, you

(03:10):
aren't able to have that perhapsdifficult conversation with
your boss or your team aboutyour workload to say, all right,
I'm now making the shift topart-time, what are we doing
about my workload?
So many women go that's okay,I'll keep it, take off this one
project off me.
But then, because they're stillyes people, they still say yes

(03:30):
to other things and so theirworkload ends up being just as
big.
And now they're doing afull-time role in four days and
just getting docked 20% for it,and they don't have the ability
to speak up and ensure that thestructures are set up well for
success for them.
So by this I mean what are yournew KPIs?

(03:54):
What are your targets?
What are the check-ins you'vegot with your team or your
manager about?
Is this working or is this not?
Have you got a lot of clarityon when you're in the office
versus when you're not?
About what you're on, aboutwhat you're off?
What meetings are you preparedto take?
What are your boundaries aroundphone calls or meetings on your

(04:14):
days off?
What does urgent mean?
How do people escalate thesethings to you?
Have you found your voice andsaid to a project that you know
schedules a critical meeting ona Friday Sorry, I'm unavailable
on that day?
Have you told your voice andsaid to a project that schedules
a critical meeting on a Fridaysorry, I'm unavailable on that
day?
Have you told everybody thatyou won't be responding to
emails?
Or because you don't haveboundaries, you respond to them
anyway.
So you train them how to treatyou.
And then you get upset thatthey've emailed you on a Friday

(04:38):
or they've given you a call whenyou're with the kids and you
train them how to treat you andso many women feel happy that
they've you know they've beenable to drop a day and still,
you know, retained a seniorposition and whether they're in
management.
But that if this is what youwant, well then you have every
right to it, but you have toclaim it and when you've really

(05:03):
found your voice.
I know women who build all ofthese things and they are so
productive that they managed tonegotiate working a four-day
week with no drop in pay andwithout now thinking well, I've
got to do 10 to 11 hour daysbecause I've now got to do my 50
hours a week in four.
There is so much data nowcoming out, with many companies

(05:27):
actually shifting to thispermanent four-day week and
still paying staff for fivearound productivity, around
creativity, that there are hugebenefits to this.
But if you aren't focused, ifyou are still procrastinating,
if you are still being aperfectionist, well then this
isn't going to work for you.
If you can hand on heart, sayI've got strong boundaries, I

(05:56):
have learnt to disconnect, Iknow how to focus, I'm not going
to fall victim toprocrastination, I completely
back and believe in myself, andI mean not just in the meeting,
but I mean you're not beatingyourself up, I mean you're not
second-guessing yourself, youhave access to your intuition
and with all of this, you canfind your voice, you can deliver

(06:18):
the zinger, you can say thatpiece.
Well then, I wish you all thebest on your part-time journey,
and I know that this can be awonderful way to set up your
environment for success.
However, I see too many womenthat don't know how to do these

(06:39):
things and don't know how to putthese strategies in place
because of a lot of beliefs anda lot of inherent lack of
worthiness.
So it's only once you can buildall these things up and, as you
can see, these all are going towork together.
If you can't learn to focus well, then you're not going to be
able to set your boundaries.
You need to disconnect as partof your uncheckable confidence.

(07:01):
This is this crazy soup ofwonderful things that, as women,
we get to work on.
So, if you are consideringgoing part-time, if you've been
banding around the idea, I wantyou to have a really hard look
at yourself and make sure thatyou are able to tick all of

(07:24):
these boxes and if so, you'regoing to have a wonderful
whatever time you've selectedoff for you.
If not, it's time for a reallygood heart to heart and a really
good understanding of where nowyou need to put your energies,

(07:46):
what support you need, so that,if you are making this decision,
you are making it with the bestchance of success, however long
you're working.
I wish you all the best Thanksfor taking this moment for
yourself.
If this resonated, share itwith a friend who needs to hear
it today, and don't forget tosubscribe to Balance and Beyond
for full episodes and more ofthese bite-sized breakthroughs.

(08:07):
See you next time.