How Working Moms Get Sh*t Done

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Hello everyone and welcome to our weekly Power
Lounge.
This is your place to hearauthentic conversations from
those who have power to share.
My name is Amy Vaughn and I amthe owner and chief empowerment
officer of Together Digital, adiverse and collaborative
community of women who choose toshare their knowledge, their
power and connections.
You can join the movement attogetherindigitalcom, and today

(00:31):
we are tackling one of the mostreal conversations that we have
within our community, which wehave a lot of them, but with
working moms and how theynavigate the brutal chaos of
building careers while raisingfamilies.
And I am really thrilled towelcome Kate Reed.
She's a partner at Project 300who refuses to let anyone say I
am just a stay-at-home mom everagain.

(00:53):
Kate's journey from theUniversity of Cincinnati English
major to a nonprofit dreamer,to marketing powerhouse and
agency partner is anything buttraditional.
After becoming the mom of three, including surprise twins, she
faced the challenge so many ofus know how do you balance
career ambition with the realityof childcare costs and family
needs?

(01:13):
What makes Kate's story socompelling isn't just that she
figured it out, but she isredefining what having it all
actually means.
Starting with just a few sparehours contracting with Project
300, means Starting with just afew spare hours contracting with
Project 300, she is now afull-time partner helping lead
what they call a non-agencyagency, which I'm excited to get
into and learn more about, onebuilt on flexibility, trust and

(01:35):
the courage to do businessdifferently.
Kate proves that women don'thave to choose between personal
growth and professional ambitionand yes, she is also a two
times eras tour attendee.
In fact, we already talkedabout T Swift, already done
check that box, who can alsoname almost any Taylor Swift
song in five notes or less.

(01:56):
That sounds like a fun game wecan play later, because working
moms contain multitudes.
Welcome to the Power Lounge,kate.
We're thrilled to have you here.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Hi, thanks for having me.
I'm excited to be here.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Absolutely All right.
Let's start with that curiousphrase I had within your intro
and bio, which is never wantingto hear again I am just a
stay-at-home mom.
What's behind your passion forchanging this narrative?

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Yeah.
So I don't have a problem withthe phrase stay-at-home mom.
It is the phrase just astay-at-home mom.
I think that that qualifiertotally and completely
diminishes the immenseresponsibility that comes with
being a stay-at-home mom.

(02:41):
There's the physical load ofcaring for the kids, managing
the household, running theerrands, doing the yard work.
If you're taking care of yourkids 24-7, you're in charge of
educating them and making surethat they're socialized.
And then there's the mentalload that is invisible but

(03:02):
equally, if not more, heavy.
There's the doctor'sappointments and the dentist
visits and the school scheduleand the restocking of the
necessities because you can'trun out of diapers.
And you know, I watched my mombe a stay at home mom my entire
life.
She was the one that got us onthe school bus, the one that was

(03:22):
there when we got off the bus,the one that got us on the
school bus, the one that wasthere when we got off the bus.
She was the one cooking dinnerwhile quizzing us over spelling
words, and I never realized howhard of a job all of that is
until I did it, like she was thesole provider for the kids
during the working hours of nineto five.

(03:42):
And that is a job, so to sayjust a stay at home, mom is.
It's insulting and it'ssomething that I think needs to
change, because it is a career.
It just doesn't take placewithin the walls of a company.
It takes place within the wallsof the household.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
I love it.
I agree, yeah, you're the CEO,you're the CFO, you're the CMO,
but you're also the admin youknow, and you're the janitor.
It is.
It is a lot and it is a hugeload and I love that you know
again.
It is one of those things,those modifying words, only just
to feel.
I think there used to be and itprobably is still around a
plugin that when you werewriting emails it, it would

(04:24):
identify all of the modifiersthat you would place into your
language, and it's so surprisingat how little credit we give
that kind of language.
But it really does begin tominimize and marginalize the
work that stay at home parentsdo.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Right, absolutely Love it, and kudos to your mama.
She did a good job.
All right, take us back to themoment when you became the mom
of three, including those littledelightful surprise twins.
How did that shift yourperspective on what your career
could look like?

Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yeah.
So I forgot to ask if we cancurse on this.
So I'll tell you the minutethat I found out we were having
twins.
Um, first of all I joke um, Iwanted one kid, my husband
wanted two, so we compromisedand had three.
Um ended up here, but it wastotal disbelief.
Um, my husband was grinning earto ear and I looked at the

(05:19):
ultrasound tech and said, shutthe fuck up.
And I didn't say a word.
The rest of the appointment, mytraining as a project manager
immediately kicked in.
I don't think I ever trulyemotionally processed that I was
having twins, because I wentstraight to the logistics.
How do you fit three car seatsacross the back of a Honda Pilot

(05:40):
that we bought when we had ourfirst kid Because it was going
to be big enough?
Do they share a room?
Oh, my God, we have to getanother crib.
I immediately started trying toproject plan this life.
That was suddenly differentfrom everything I had been
thinking of, and twins, kids ingeneral.

(06:01):
But twins quickly showed methat you can't plan everything
with tiny humans.
Um, yeah, I mean like you're attheir mercy.
It's not a project.
The twins came five weeks early.
Um, they were creamies.
We had a 10-day nick.
You stay that, everything wasfine, they were just early.

(06:25):
But when you're in it that's alot to think about.
We have new logistics to figureout of who's going to get Mason
from daycare and Carter.
He is one minute older thanSadie and he just had some
health problems in his earlyyear.
He had a heart murmur, he hadplagiocephaly, which just means

(06:48):
that his head was shaped alittle strange, because I'm one
person and there were two humansin me.
He caught strep at age threemonths and it developed into
mastoiditis, which is aninfection of the mastoid bone,
and so he had a hospital staythat then resulted in physical

(07:10):
and occupational therapy and eartubes, and there was just so
much that happened.
That was absolutely doable,like we were able to do it.
But the things that we hadprioritized when we had just one
kid, which was we're stillgoing to be career oriented,
we're just going to be parentsdoing it that kind of had to

(07:32):
shift.
I didn't want to have to figureout how to handle all of the
appointments, all of the careand somehow make up my missed
hours, you know, regardless ofwhether or not you get your job
done when you are working.
A nine to five, the expectationis that they have you for eight
hours a day minimum.

(07:53):
Yeah, and so I didn't want tohave to try to figure out.
I'm going to be gone three,four hours for doctor's
appointments, which means atnight, my time is no longer mine
, it belongs to the company.
So, in terms of how it shiftedmy perspective, I realized that
the things that I had oncevalued and thought were really
important titles, promotions,happy hours, being the first one

(08:18):
in and the last one out, makinga name for myself inside this
community, outside of my homethose didn't really matter, like
at the end of the day, it wasmy family that was going to
matter, and it was a hardrealization, but as soon as I
made it, it was obvious that itwas the right one.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
Yeah, now that makes a lot of sense.
I often joke and say there's noway I could go back to who I
was before I had my kids andreally kind of explain what you
just shared, which I mean youstill did beautifully.
But it is really hard to get.
It's like the mental load.
I think that's what's thehardest to explain.
You can definitely explain likethe physical work, labor,
sleepless nights to some degree,although we're not usually

(08:57):
super transparent about them.
We all kind of mask it.
When we get to the office wedon't say you know, it's good
morning, how are you?
It's not.
Oh my God, I literally got anhour of sleep last night, right,
and my nipples hurt because Iwas feeding and nursing all
night, yeah, and now they'reswollen and hurting because I'm
not nursing, because my kid justwon't get off me.
Like there's just so much wedon't talk about in the realm of
parenthood in the workplace,and so I think it is really hard

(09:21):
, when we don't do that, to helpthose who are maybe not parents
or parents yet really trulyunderstand sort of like that
fundamental shift.
And it's funny.
I mean you got it twice as hardwith, you know, twins coming,
but you know we, we have two,and so my daughter was born
first.
And then, you know, we decided,oh, a second kid.
And I remember thinking afterone, I'm like, what's two?

(09:43):
After we got one kid, what's asecond kid?
Right, we got this.
Oh, twice the work.
It's twice the work Now.
It's twice the diapers, it'stwice the daycare costs, it's
twice the cars everything thatyou said.
But you got it.
You got a doubly so.
So I can really imagine andempathize with how that, you
know, really hurt.
And then you know, we'll getinto this more too.
But you know you alreadytouched a little bit on it of

(10:05):
that idea of, like, the idealworker and oftentimes it's those
who are not in caretaker rolesright, we know that, like, there
is wage discrimination forwomen specifically, it's, I
think, somewhere between fourand 7% per child in the US for
women when they have children.
However, when it's a guygetting having kids, we got to
give him a raise.

(10:26):
He's got a family to support.

Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah, it's suddenly like somehow makes you less than
, whereas I feel like if youreally knew what went into it,
it should make you more than mygosh.

Speaker 2 (10:40):
I'm so much more efficient with my time, my
energy.
I can get shit done Like thewhole title of this, this
conversation today, like I nevercould before.
Sometimes I look back and Ithink what did I do?

Speaker 1 (10:53):
Yeah, I look back and I'm like God, I feel like I
should have saved my screen timereports from before kids,
because I had to have just livedon my phone or I know that I
was reading a lot, I know that Iwas going to the gym more, but
like, and there are women whoare still able to do that, and I
look at them and I'm just likeyou guys are incredible people
because I just like, for me,like those are things that kind

(11:17):
of had to go to the wayside andI have so much respect for moms
you know we talked about respectfor the stay at home mom I have
so much respect for moms youknow we talked about respect for
the stay-at-home mom I have somuch respect for the working mom
who is in a typical nine tofive making it happen because
like it's way harder than itneeds to be for them.
Just it is.

Speaker 2 (11:39):
Absolutely.
And then there's obviouslystill a ton of stats and
reporting out there that showsthat, while like the balance is
coming into play right of likehouseholds that have like parity
in the sense of like parentingskills, caretaking, housework,
but still women predominantly Ithink it's like 70% still of
like the housework and childcareis still on us, you know, not
kudos and shout out to thehouseholds and to the guys that

(12:01):
show up in that, and thenactually actually you know a few
stay athome dads that haverecently made that choice to be
like I don't want the career, Iwant to stay at home and I'm
like I want to see more menmodeling that for other men to
make that okay as well, becausereally either should be good.
Let's talk a little bit aboutProject 300.

(12:22):
So you started contracting withthem, just a few kind of hours
here and there.
I'm guessing that was becauseit's what fit your schedule and
what you felt like capacity-wiseyou could do.
What gave you that confidence?
Because your kids are stillyoung, what gave you that
confidence to make the leap?
And how did you make the hoursthat you had count when you are
dealing with two newborns andanother little one?

Speaker 1 (12:43):
Yeah, with two newborns and another little one,
yeah, so when this came to be,mason was two and a half and the
twins were four months, fivemonths, I think, like very young
, and I just I couldn't do it.
I couldn't go back to workAgain.

(13:03):
It was that fear of I wouldliterally only be working when I
wasn't taking care of the kids.
Um, to be clear, let's get thisout of the way right away.
I was not confident that thiswould work.
It was just something that myhusband and I sat down and said
is this possible?
And he was, like, we'll figureit out, take a chance.

(13:26):
Like, let's do it.
Um, you know, part of it wasand we'll get into this, you
know, I think a little bit laterdealing with childcare costs,
but that was a big part of it.
Um, so I realized, during theextended mat leave um, you know,
first of all there.
So the conversation was couldwe do this, you know, first of
all.
So the conversation was couldwe do this During extended mat
leave?
I also realized that I am not amom who can spend 24-7 with my

(13:52):
kids and feel fulfilled andhappy.
That's okay.
People who love like beingtheir kids, people and amazing.
I love that I am a better momwhen I have something of my own

(14:13):
to focus on.
So I needed professionalresponsibilities.
Um, I remembered, um, a friend,anthony Sama tacos, who started,
who started Project 300 duringthe pandemic, and when he
started it he had said to melike hey, if you ever want to
side hustle, like, give me acall.
So I reached out to him and Isaid you know, years ago you

(14:35):
asked me if I, you know, everneeded help to reach out to you.
So how's that going?
He was like, listen, I can giveyou maybe 10 hours a week right
now.
My husband and I calculatedwhat that would be and we were
like well, we'll try it, we'llsee.

(14:55):
So that's where it started.
It really started as a fun sidething for me.
That was meant to be mentalstimulation while I was home
with my kids and while I wasprioritizing Carter's healthcare
.
That's really what it was, um,so how did I do it Worked before
the babies um got up while theynapped after everyone went to
bed at night?

(15:15):
Um, if I had things to do whilethe babies were up, uh, I
probably should have set up acamera and just like recorded it
, because I would set them up ontheir like play gym or you know
, because at that point theywere adorable little potatoes
who couldn't really move likethey were great time, put them
somewhere and they can't go,they can't.

(15:36):
I would sit on the floor and Iwould send emails.
Um, if I had a call while theywere awake, I would go off
camera, on mute, and I wouldliterally dance, do exercise
moves, make faces, anything tokeep them quiet enough that I
could listen and then jot downnotes after the call.
And it was fun, like not onlywas I spending time with my kids

(16:00):
, but I was also doing something.
But I was also doing somethingas they got older.
They would sit on my lap and Iwould put my laptop on an
ottoman and just go to town.
But the thing that made it workthe best was Anthony made it
clear that I was in charge of myown schedule.
As long as the work was done,clients were happy.

(16:20):
It didn't matter what I did,and that's what made it doable
and that's what made me want tokeep doing it and keep building
this thing that we were workingon together.

Speaker 2 (16:32):
I love it so much.
Yeah, I think there's so muchmore currency than just cash,
right?
Like you said it like, wait,you're a better mom because of
it, and I very much feel thesame way.
Love, love, love my kids.
They are of it and I very muchfeel the same way.
Love, love, love my kids.
They are my two favorite humansin the whole wide world and
it's just an honor to be able tocall them, you know them mine,

(16:52):
and that I'm their mom, but atthe same time, like yeah, I
couldn't, I would, I would.
I have a lot of stay at homefriends and I'm like I so
appreciate what you do because Iwould absolutely lose my damn
mind.
But I also think that you know,I know your kids are still
young and mine are eight and 11,soon to be 12.
What's going to be so cool foryou, kate, is that you're going

(17:13):
to bring them along with you onthis and you're modeling
something so special for them aslike that next generation of
what it means to be a mom, andit's going to be so rewarding.
I promise you it really.
Like it's cool to see now thatmy kids are older, even though
I've been working all this time,like you, when you do the
daycare drop-offs and they'recrying and screaming, you feel
so much guilt, right, when youmiss a little daycare thing or

(17:35):
you miss an email or a messagefrom the school, it's like, oh,
you feel terrible.
But then start the moments ofwhere they see what you do and
they recognize it and thenthey're proud of it and then
they call it out or you get tobring them along.
So, like last year, we did alittle photo shoot thing and I
got to bring the kids it was inthe middle of summer and I

(17:55):
didn't have anywhere to leavethem and I'm like, just come
with me and for them to be ableto experience like being on a
set and meeting the photographerand learning about like
creative and art direction andthings like that.
Honestly, I've been doing thatstuff with my daughter, clara,
since I was still working foragencies.
So she's been in sound boothsand studios and she's been on
sets for commercials.
It's such a cool experience andI think really because of it

(18:16):
too, I see her creativity.
She's so entrepreneurial.
I have no doubt she's going tohave her own business.
So what you're modeling forthem, even though it feels like
chaos right now it's just, it'sreally going to be.
It's going to come back to you.
You're going to get all thoserewards of hearing and seeing
them, like looking up to you,for all that you're doing so.

Speaker 1 (18:33):
I love that.
I love that and it'sinteresting how quickly kids
pick up on how things aredifferent.
So I'm lucky my husband doesthe daycare pickup and drop off
because he works right next doorto the daycare.
So you know I get them out thedoor in the morning and then he
handles that.
But our four-year-old healready like recognizes that
like, what mommy and daddy doare different.

(18:54):
Like daddy goes into an officeand he'll come home and he'll be
like mom, how was your day?
Did you leave the house todayor were you in the room?
And it's like he gets it tosome extent and you know he'll
be like what did you work on?
And I'm like emails and calls,kid, and he's like that's cool,
like you know.
So he's already so curiousabout how mommy and daddy do

(19:16):
things differently and I lovethe idea that, like, the two of
us are showing them there aredifferent ways to have a career
and look, we're both here forthe family as well.

Speaker 2 (19:29):
Yeah, no, I love it.
It's so great.
All right, let's dig into alittle bit of Project 300, a
little bit more as well.
So you guys call yourself anon-agency agency.
I'm curious how is this adifferent approach to business
working parents to thrive,compared to maybe traditional
agency practices?
And is that why you guys callyourself a non-agency agency?
Or is there some other thingsbehind that?

Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah.
So, um, you know, first of all,project 300 started as just
project management support.
Um, one man show, um, anthony,handled everything.
But he found out kind of as hewas becoming ingrained with
these other organizations.
They would be like, hey, do youhave a copywriter?
Like, can you recommend adesigner?

(20:12):
So he realized that there wasreally a need for additional
support, the ability to provideservices where an agency who is
in the throes of getting thingsdone I mean, you know agency
life they didn't have to go outand vet these people.
So he started to really build aroster.
And what's cool is this rosteris made up of people that he and

(20:37):
I have both worked with foryears throughout our career.
So we've vetted them.
Because we've worked with them,we know their working styles
and because of that, we're ableto trust them.
I think trust is a big thingbecause even in an agency or a
corporation, there is always amatter of are you going to get

(20:59):
it done?
Are you going to juggle it withyour other priorities?
I know everything that's onyour plate.
Like, can I trust that you'regoing to do this?
So for us, like, trust is ahuge thing.
We do not micromanagewhatsoever.
Deadlines are set.
We trust that they'll be met.
You know the establishedprofessionals that we work with.
They know that we expectautonomous productivity and high

(21:22):
quality output and in exchangefor that we offer extremely
competitive pay, trueflexibility, no parameters
around when the work gets done.
I think you can probably attestto in an agency setting, it can
kind of feel like meetings arelife, like you've got the
kickoff meeting, the internalreview meeting, the client

(21:45):
meeting, the oh my gosh, this isblowing up meeting.
And so for us like we'reunderstanding that a ton of the
people we work with they eitherhave a day job you know they are
freelancing as a side hustle orthey freelance because they do
have families and they want tohave that flexibility.
So meetings are really only asneeded.

(22:06):
We try to solve everything viaSlack because time is valuable
and we don't want to occupy moreof it than absolutely necessary
.
And then you know, the otherpart is we are a hundred percent
remote.
I think Anthony realized thathow and where work gets done
really changed with the pandemicand we changed along with it.

(22:29):
Like we're not going to go back.
There is no return to officebecause, if you do it right, the
office is just a place wherepeople are corralled to get it
done.
But you absolutely, withtechnology today, have the
ability to make things 100%remote and deliver high quality
stuff.

Speaker 2 (22:49):
Yeah, I agree, I agree.
I mean the gig economy hasgrown.
I think by the end of this yearit's said to be close to like
40% of the workforce whetherit's like full-time, part-time,
side hustle are doing some typeof freelance contract work,
especially in this industryspecifically.
And it's kind of been goingthat way.
And yeah, absolutely, havingbeen an agency kid for so many
years and just seeing thatcyclical, you know, pendulum of

(23:12):
like agency work is like ourcreative work is out of house,
then it's in house, then it'sout of house, and then we're
going to offshore and then we'regoing to downsize and so, like
it always kind of felt like wewere just off on our own anyways
, and the people that I rememberworking alongside that really
seemed to thrive the most werethose like, very like organized
and talented at their craftfreelancer contractors that

(23:36):
could come and go as they damnwell please, so like if they
wanted to take the opportunity,they could.
If the timing wasn't good forthem because of life, because of
family, because of otherprojects, they didn't have to
take it.
Whereas, you're right, likethere's that sense of like we
have a, I think we have a veryunhealthy relationship with work
in America, and I think toomany of us do put our identities
as like the company we work for, and so I think you know

(23:58):
there's just a lot to even.
That's a whole nother rabbithole.
But I feel like you know thissense of I love what you said it
was.
I think you said um, autonomousproductivity.
Yeah, I love it.
It's so true, like let treatpeople like adults and then
watch what they can actually do.
Now, I know it's not going tobe for everybody, for every job,
in every situation, but I dothink agency models have been

(24:20):
broken for a very, very longtime and not necessarily moving
along with the times, but I mean, clearly you guys are, and it's
working out really well, yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
I think that, like for me when I was in an agency,
I one of the things that, likeAnthony and I say when we're
talking to people about hiringProject 300 or hiring me
specifically, you know I doproject management, support on
projects, but I also dooperational support.
You know strategy around how towork.

(24:50):
And when we're talking to themand they say, like you know well
what makes you different thananother agency part of what I do
so not just a project manager,but me is I am super efficient,
I am very, very quick, I am very, very good at what I do.
And I struggled in an agencyenvironment because you had
timesheets and you had to haveeight hours a day and you were

(25:12):
encouraged to have more thaneight hours a day because you
are dedicated to this companyand it's just like but if I can
get what I'm doing done in six,then why isn't that timeline?
So you know we're alsodifferent in that there is no
overhead.
You are not paying for me tosit there eight hours a day.
You are paying for the hoursthat I am working and the work

(25:33):
that you're going to get isreally, really good.
And I know that sounds awful,like I'm sitting here and I'm
like, let me brag about myself,but like I know what I'm good at
, so let me do it and you knowwill serve you better in the
long run than paying forsomeone's week of work.

Speaker 2 (25:49):
Yeah, no, I agree, I think you know I've, I've gone.
I've worked for a largeconglomerate owned agency, small
, independently owned andoperated agencies and I had gone
back.
I went to a small independentUm, and then we ended up
consulting with my previousagency, which was larger and
conglomerate owned, and Iremember laughing cause we were
coming in to basically be avendor for them, for the agency,

(26:09):
and we had a kickoff meetingand it was like a big deal.
So like we took me, my salesguy and my art director and me,
so the three of us, so it wasbecause it was a big deal, it
was a big meeting.
We walk into that room.
The agency had 10 people inthere to just give us a break
for kickoff.
And my first thought was likeand I'm pretty sure I probably
said outside out loud I'm likethis is an expensive meeting.

Speaker 1 (26:30):
Yeah, and we're all programmed to think that way.
Where you're like that's yourrate, that's your rate, that's
your rate, we're all in here foran hour, and you're just like,
oh my gosh, because, like we,one, we don't want meetings if
we don't have to have them, buttwo, like you know, let's get
the team that we need in placeand nothing more.

(26:52):
Absolutely yeah.

Speaker 2 (26:54):
Work smarter, not harder folks.
I'm definitely with you.
I'm absolutely aligned to theProject 300 model and mentality.
All right, let's talk aboutchild care costs, because we
mentioned that earlier.
Many of our listeners strugglewith the cost of child care
versus career growth equation.
I think, unfortunately, a lotof us listening right now have

(27:14):
done that math.
How did you navigate thatcalculation and what advice do
you have for those who are kindof in that mapping moment?
Oh, God.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
So when we were before I made the decision to
join, to step away from theagency and join P300, my husband
and I did the math on threekids in daycare five days a week
and with our salaries whichwere not paltry like they are
good salaries Having three kidsin daycare, we would clear,

(27:43):
after all expenses, $100 a month.
We would have $100 a month offun money outside of groceries,
car payments, mortgage, and thatwas a huge gut punch, like the
realization that we would bepaying someone else to watch our
children so that we could workto make money.

(28:06):
To pay someone else to watchour children was just like no,
no, so I, I, I don't have ananswer because no matter how you
look at it, the math ain'tmathing Like it's.
It's not fair, it's not right,childcare is way too expensive,

(28:27):
cost of living is too expensiveand pay raises don't keep up.
But you know I don't have asolution, so that's all the
negative.
But I think it's worth sittingdown and kind of reevaluating
what career growth means to you.
Is it a promotion, is it abonus, is it additional

(28:48):
responsibilities at work, andwill those things really help
your quality of life, yourfamily's quality of life, I mean
, let's be clear, we all loveaccolades, we all love being
able to say like I wasrecognized and this is my new
title, and this is my new title.

(29:15):
But my advice would be take astep back and think about what
you want.
What does growth mean to you?
Because there's definitely morethan one way to get it.
You know you can stay in thejob, you can clear $100 a month,
you can be banking on thatpromotion and you can be waiting
three, four, five years for itand you can feel like you're not
getting anything.
Or you can say what do Iactually want to do?
How do I actually want to growas a professional, as a person,

(29:40):
as a mom?
And you can kind of change thedefinition of what it means.

Speaker 2 (29:48):
I love it.
That's a great way to look atit because, yeah, and again,
nothing is really truly forever.
I mean, I remember the day, thelast day, the last check we
paid to daycare.
I'm like we just got a hugepromotion right, saving so much
money every year.
We could buy a whole car now ifwe wanted, because, I agree

(30:08):
with you, the child care cost isa lot, but then, like we said
earlier too, you know, yeah,raising kids is expensive, yes,
inflation's out of control, andat the same time, it's like,
okay, well, what are some of thethings like for us?
When I made the shift fromagency to business ownership, I
took a knock, you know, having asmall, mission-based business
and, um, you know, for us it'sreally been a matter of looking

(30:30):
at how, when and where we spendour time and money and just
being more intentional.
And I've actually just foundthat, you know, actually kind of
dialing back.
I mean, I grew up in ahousehold where it was my dad
who worked and he didn't make awhole lot of money for a long
time, and my mom was pretty muchstay at home.
I lived in a trailer park.
We barely got by, but I'll tellyou we were so happy and it

(30:54):
wasn't actually until my dadmade more money and got a big
promotion that everything kindof started falling apart and
things shifted and changed.
We moved into a bigger house butthen there was more
responsibilities and it's justlike not to get like too
personal or into it, but it'slike one of those things that I
think too often.
What you said before is so true.
We always think it's thathedonic adaptation, right.
We always think that that nextstep up, that that pay increase,
that promotion, all of thatstuff is going to change

(31:15):
everything for us and what yourealize is you get there and
then you're like it feels goodat the time, but it's that
little boost of serotonin and itdoesn't actually like continue
right.
Then you're always like what'sthe next thing?
And that's just exhausting,constantly trying to achieve,
achieve, achieve, achieve,achieve, whereas being more
present, being more in line with, like, your values as a person.
I think that's what's so greatabout you and your story right

(31:36):
Is that you are working for acompany, in a business, that you
are very much values alignedand that allows you flexibility
and autonomy and all the thingsthat you respect, and I think
that's what I want to encourageall of our listeners to do is
like it might not show uptomorrow, it might not show up
in a month or a year, but youjust have to be open to it, and
you can't be open to it ifyou're not aware of it, right.
So I think your advice there ofsaying be aware of what your

(31:57):
values are, what truly mattersto you, then that allows that
that door to kind of open evenwhen you least expect it.
At least, that's been myexperience as well.

Speaker 1 (32:07):
No, I agree, and I agree with you that, like free
kids don't know what things cost.
You know, like, so I'm with you.
My kids have so much fun whenwe find a new park and we just
go to a park.
Like they are so happy to bewith mom and dad at a park and
it's like holy cow, like wedon't need to.

(32:31):
I mean, we'll eventually plan atrip to Disney because, let's
be real, like hopefully we'll beable to do that in the future.
But like they are so excited tojust be with us and so like the
investment for us right now istime.
Yep, it's what time.

Speaker 2 (32:47):
That's what the kids want really, yeah, deep down,
that's what they want, causethey have that whole head on
adaptation to adaptation too.
Right, they get I've seen it amillion times and you're going
to get there, don't worry.
I'm sure you are with yourfour-year old where it's like I
want, I want, I want, and thenthey get that new pair of Nikes,
and then it's like they'vealready just kind of like yeah,
and then it's the next thing.
So, yes, time is something thatyou just can't.
It's not replaceable and youcan't get it back.

(33:09):
It is our most preciouscurrency.
Love it All right.
So your background spansnonprofit arts, commercial
printing, leadership,development and pediatric
healthcare.
So you've done a couple ofdifferent things.
I love that you have a diversepast and career path, because I
think that's important forothers to hear and know that,
like, no career path is likelinear, because I think that's
important for others to hear andknow that, like, no career path

(33:31):
is like linear.
I'm curious how has thisdiverse experience shaped your
approach and how has it helpedyou kind of work through
reinvention when you, you know,get things like surprise twins?

Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, so, basically, upon graduation, I pretty much
reinvented myself every year orevery 18 months.
I had no idea what I wanted todo.
Upon graduating high school,both of my parents went to
college for things that theythought other people wanted them

(34:01):
to do, um, and then changetheir degrees.
So it was very important tothem that I do something that I
love Like that was theirstatement was if you're going to
go to college, do something youlove.
And I was like, well, you know,I really love to read.
And my dad was like, ooh, maybeyou took this a step too far.
What?
What do you mean by that?
And I said I'm going to studyEnglish lit.

(34:23):
And he was like okay, but whatare you going to do with that?
Upon graduation, I was like Idon't know.
I'll figure it out.
I got four years to figure itout, right.
So I went to college and I readbooks and I wrote papers and
loved it.
And you know, it came time tofind a job and I applied to

(34:44):
anything and everything inCincinnati and I landed at
Cincinnati opera.
So that is the nonprofit artsum in public relations and
marketing.
Because I thought I'm good atwriting, I bet I can do that you
know.
So that was my start and Iloved it, um, but I felt like it
wasn't really my calling.
So I stayed there for a yearand I took a job with um,

(35:07):
consolidated graphics incommercial printing.
Um, because I come from a group, a family of graphic designers
and printers, so figured I couldlean on them when I needed it.
Um, otherwise I would figure itout.
That job had a huge projectmanagement, account management

(35:28):
portion to it.
So I definitely kind of foundmy first blush with project
management there and it actuallyled me to make an impromptu
move to their corporateheadquarters in Houston in my
early 20s where I was placed incharge of their leadership

(35:48):
development program.
In that case I was, like youknow, I'm pretty good at
figuring out how to get frompoint A to point B.
I love listening to people.
I'm an empath, I love helpingpeople.
I bet I can help people reachtheir goals, you know.
So this whole time I'm makingthis career journey that I
didn't plan.
I had no idea what I was doing,but I was smart enough to

(36:11):
figure it out and I wasgathering the tools that I would
need later on in life that Ididn't even realize I would need
Pediatric healthcare.
I stepped back into marketingfor pediatric urgent care and
they thought I had a designbackground as well and I was
like I know graphic designers,they can help me.

(36:32):
And I ended up designing all oftheir marketing materials and I
made a car wrap, like you knowdesign to wrap a car.
And so then it came time Irealized I was ready to leave
Houston and I was like projectmanagement kind of feels like it
takes in all of this.
I can now take the knowledgethat I've gathered over these

(36:55):
past God.
I think at that point it wasfive years.
It was only five years that Idid all of that and I was like
this is definitely doable and anagency is where I ended up for
that which I was like this isdefinitely doable and an agency
is where I ended up for thatwhich I loved because I had the
commercial printing background,I had the graphics background, I
had the marketing background,and the point of all of this is
I didn't say no, I didn't say Ican't do that.

(37:18):
I followed what interested meat the time and those things
were the answer to what I neededright then.
They weren't what I needed downthe road or now, but doing
those things allowed me to growin my career.
You know there is no wronganswer.

(37:38):
When you're reinventingyourself you can always change
your mind and say, ooh, that wasa step in the wrong direction.
But I'm just going to turn hereand see what happens.
Houston for me wrong direction,that was way to go Early
twenties, kate you.
But I got out and I figured out.
It led me to realize I want tobe in Cincinnati, I want my home

(37:59):
to be here.
So I think the real key toreinvention is the ability to
say I'm going to try it on If itfits.
Wow, look what I did.
If it doesn't fit, I gatheredall these tools that are going
to help me later.

Speaker 2 (38:14):
Yep, I love it.
It reminds me of my favoriteNelson Mandela quote, which is I
never lose, I only win, or Ilearn something.
Oh, I love that.

Speaker 1 (38:21):
I've never heard that .

Speaker 2 (38:22):
Isn't that good All the time with my kids and to
myself, and I love it.
You're right, it's likereinvention is like that
practice of trying on new thingsthat maybe feel uncomfortable
at first and seeing if it is afit.
And I love how you areunashamed and unabashed about
like your cumulative andtransferable skills, Because I

(38:43):
think so many women you know wealways hear the stats of like
women don't apply for jobsunless they're like a hundred
percent qualified or 110%qualified, versus like men who
are more likely to apply whenthey're 60% qualified.
And it's because there's somany skills about like
everything you kind of just saidcommunications, leadership,
project management, organization, operations, like that we kind

(39:05):
of I think women in general isby nature are kind of
conditioned to do and to be.
You know that we don't reallygive ourselves credit to think
about those as being skills thatare cumulative and or
transferable.
And I just love that you'relike well, I know people that
that know how to do this, so ifI don't know, I can at least
lean on them.
I love that as well.
I think that's a great way tolike borrow that sense of

(39:28):
feeling knowledgeable.
And I also love your go with theflow mentality, with your
career path and I will 100%agree with you Like I wouldn't
be sitting and doing what I'mdoing today if it wasn't for
kind of just going with the flowof what was my like, what your
parents said.
So, again, kudos to yourparents.
I know it's already like sayinglike I think they're so, they
sound like they're so amazing.
So, hi, mom and dad, but likethe fact that you know they were

(39:49):
encouraging you guys to justexplore and try it on and, you
know, do that, I think, probablyhelped you have the right
mindset going into the careerworld, because when we're having
conversations like we have thelast couple episodes talking
about AI and the shifting andchanging of digital marketing
and advertising, you have tohave a go with the flow mindset
when it comes to all thesethings.
Otherwise it can get verydaunting very fast yeah.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
And you know, to kind of apply the phrase, it takes a
village from motherhood like isthere any reason why it can't
take a village for your career,like I?
I think that's part of thereason we've had such success
with project 300 is we are soopen to being like.
You know, anthony, and I alwayssay we, we are so open to being

(40:33):
like, we are experts in this.
I understand the words thatyou're saying.
I'm not sure I understand whatthey mean.
Have you met?
You know, and we bring in anexpert because we know what we
know and we know what we don'tknow.
And building that community,building that village in every
aspect of your life is onlygoing to make your life and your

(40:55):
experiences so much richer foryou and the people you surround
yourself with.

Speaker 2 (41:00):
Absolutely, absolutely agree.
I love it.
And would you say that that'skind of how you guys you know?
If there's other examples youhave, I'd love to hear them.
Like how you're doing businessdifferently, like what does the
day to day look like and howdoes that flexibility show up in
your work and then even in yourlife?

Speaker 1 (41:16):
Yeah.
So I mean in terms offlexibility, have you heard of
Maycember Because this was thefirst year that I have heard of
May-cember where you know,basically for people who aren't
parents, the month of May isDecember.
Without all the gifts, all ofthe events, all of the

(41:36):
happenings are happening, andyou know so.
For example, for the firstthree weeks of May, I had a
mother's day breakfast.
I had a pre-K prom, which wasadorable.
I had parent teacherconferences for two-year-olds
and four-year-olds.
Um, we had an end of year partythat parents were invited to

(42:00):
attend, which you don't want tobe the parent that doesn't show
up to that.
We had the Spring Fling concert.
We had a tumbling ceremony.
That was just my schedule.
You know.
Anthony had field day for hiskids, he had his son's birthday
and because we're able to workdifferently and because we are
really a family comes first andeverything that we do is for the

(42:23):
family, we were able to say I'mgoing to be out from two to
five today and I need you tocover or check emails.
I'm going to be out for this.
And we were able to not onlyrely on each other, but there's
that trust that we have in theother people.
There's the trust that we havein our village and our community

(42:44):
where I was able to say if youneed something, text me, but I'm
not going to be online.
And you know what?
No one texted me because theyall have-.
Can't save in lives, right, aslong as everybody's competent,
it's fine, right?
Everybody knew what they neededto do and everybody knew how to
do it and it was.

(43:04):
It's just amazing.
It is such a shift from thatcorporate mindset where you
would be like I'll be takingcalls in the car up until I get
there and then I'm going to beoffline for an hour and then
I'll be back online and I'll beonline tonight if you need me,
and you know, just having thatability, um, you know, friday
afternoons everybody knows that,like, likely not working, it's

(43:28):
when I run my errands, so thatweekends can be dedicated to the
kids, right?
Um, you know, a really coolthing that Anthony is able to do
with this is he takes his wholefamily to Greece every summer
for like a month.
Like his parents are fromGreece, um, and so he packs up
the entire family and they goand see their extended family.

(43:48):
That's wonderful, that's hugeto be able to do that and to
have that flexibility, andthat's something that, like, is
irreplaceable and you can't puta dollar sign on that.
Oh, I agree, I agree, I love it, I love it so much and we are
so going to borrow your headlinefor Together Digital your
career takes a.

Speaker 2 (44:01):
Agree, I agree, I love it.
I love it so much and we are sogoing to borrow your headline
for Together Digital.
Your career takes a village.
I think that's what thecommunity in general can do for
you and you know, and it cantranscend like any job.
Although it's so good to have acompany that has those again,
values, alignments and all that,it's just such a dream.
You're probably going to get alot of people reaching out to
you after this to talk to youguys about project 300.

(44:23):
So just be ready.
We have a lot of freelancers,contractors, things like that
within together digital.
But it is so true, and I thinkyou know, between both
motherhood and being a workingparent, we often think we have
to do it all and we have to doit all alone, and that's just so
not the case Like we're.
So many of us are in that sameboat and in an age where we're
having to combat a lot ofperceived isolation that, like,

(44:44):
literally has a toll on ourphysical and mental state, it's
so important now than ever torecognize and realize it really
truly does take a village foreven not just for raising your
kids, but for yourself and yourcareer, I love it.
All right, we're gonna have acouple more questions and then
we'll jump into the fun littlepower round, but I want to let
our listening audience know thatthey can definitely chime in

(45:05):
with a question.
I know there's been some nicecomments and people agreeing
with the conversations and tipsand advice you've been sharing,
kate, but if you have questionsfor Kate in particular, pop them
in there and I will make surewe get them asked before we wrap
things up.
All right, let's talk about thething that all moms feel, which
is a sense of guilt andjudgment.

(45:25):
How do you handle the internaland external voices that
question your choices, ifthere's?

Speaker 1 (45:29):
anything.
Yeah, I haven't had any likedirect criticism.
Luckily, I've got myselfsurrounded by my village.
You know it's made up of myhusband, who you know is one of
the good ones that helps splitthe household requirements.
He's the chef.
I don't cook, so that's reallyreally nice.

(45:50):
I've got my family You'vementioned my mom and my dad
Truly incredible.
I talk to them every single dayand just their support has done
wonders for giving me theconfidence to do what I do.
I surround myself with friendsfrom all different backgrounds.
You know, I've got friends withkids, I've got friends without

(46:11):
kids, I've got friends who aremarried, some who are single,
and the ability to just hear andshare with people from all
different family backgrounds ishuge because it gives you a
different perspective on thingsand it lets you know that, like,
what you're doing matters.

(46:32):
Um, you know, anthony and hiswife are great.
They are huge supporters of meand we are of them, vice versa.
And then, you know, for thosedays when it's really, really
hard, I have my therapistbecause, let's be clear, like I
am a huge supporter ofprioritizing your mental health
yeah and you know couldn't do itwithout her.
So that's amazing I love it,yeah, and you know, I just I

(46:55):
tell myself you're doing yourbest.
Nobody has it all figured out,and that's okay.
We're not supposed to.
It'd be really boring if we didhave it all figured out.
Um, on days when it feelsimpossible, or I feel like I'm
not doing enough, or thosevoices are making me doubt the
value I bring to the table, um,I repeat the mantra which I read

(47:17):
in a book late last year forthe first time, which is you do
not yield.
You know, you do not give in tothe demons that make you
question your worth.
You don't doubt your skillsetand your abilities, and
sometimes it's all about justgetting through today and
starting again tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
So I love it.
That's fantastic advice and Iagree, find that support system,
you know, for all thoseinternal and external things.
I think.
I think that's a great antidoteto the mom guilt.
We have a Slack channel on ourTogether Digital Slack that is
for parents and actually members.
If you're listening, go in andvote, because we're going to
have a peer group and it's goingto happen in the next week and

(47:54):
we want to make sure we have agood time for everybody as best
we can.
But I think in those momentsand being in a room with other
working parents, it just it kindof it brings up, it allows for
the vulnerability right.
So that you have that.
You can have with your husbandand your friends again all walks
of life which is also great andperspectives, but sometimes

(48:15):
also just having those peersaround you to kind of know that
you're not alone and that maybeif they're like a half step
ahead of you they can give someadvice or if you just need to
vent.
You know we've got like the allcaps screaming social yelling
channel where you can just oh, Ilove that.
But it's been really fun to kindof see like all of our working
parents, like you know leveragethe group to really work through

(48:37):
some things that they probablywould have had to figure out on
their own and even if thegroup's not giving them the
solution, just having thatsolidarity is like everything.
So I think that's such animportant aspect and a good
piece of advice is to reallyfind your community Like you
said, it takes that village andto kind of combat that sense of
guilt or judgment.
Really just finding other peersaround you that are going

(48:58):
through the same things is goingto help with a lot of that.
Yeah, all right.
So you have definitely proventhat career growth doesn't have
to follow traditional timelines,what mindset shifts were
critical for you and redefiningwhat success looked like for you
and on your own terms.

Speaker 1 (49:13):
Yeah.
So I kind of realized that theonly people who really care
about titles are those who arein your office, those who are in
your direct orbit, Because onceyou step outside those doors,
nobody knows the differencebetween a senior manager and a
supervisor and a director, andit may matter in there, but even

(49:35):
on your resume it's not goingto make that big of a difference
.
So you know, once you let go oftitles, you are able to focus
on what you really really lovedoing.
You know I started to questiondo I enjoy managing other people
, Like, do I like taking onextra roles without extra pay?
Or, in my case, do I genuinelylike doing project management

(50:00):
work?
Project management work Like doI like doing the timelines and
the organization and theoperational support and the
building of the teams and thecheck-ins and the working
through the issues?
These are things that if I hadstayed in a typical agency would
be considered beneath my levelthat I would be at.
And so once I identified like,no, I love doing this work, and

(50:24):
you are able to say I'm notgoing to let what other people
define as success make me strivefor things that don't serve me
yes, you know, that was the bigpart of it.
I can be successful as aproject manager with project
manager being my title.
Project manager with projectmanager being my title, without

(50:47):
feeling like I'm falling behindbecause I don't have a senior
project manager.

Speaker 2 (50:50):
I mean they're not going to put your title on your
headstone.
I mean I guess you couldrequest it, but I'm pretty sure
they're not going to all thosethings we do.
We hold on so tight to it.
And I was the title chaser atone point, right, we all kind of
we all have that phase andmoment in life.
But then I learned, I think youknow, being called mom one of
my favorite titles, hearing that.
And then I also startedcoaching soccer for my
daughter's team when she wasabout seven or eight.

(51:12):
And so when the girls you knowI'm doing school pickup, they
see me, they're like, hey, coach, that's my favorite title, Hi
coach.
And I'm just like, even yearsafter it's been, even years
after it's been, it might've notcoached them for two or three
years and they still see me andthey still call, and I'm like
that's, that's what I.

Speaker 1 (51:27):
Those are the kind of feels that I would have liked
to have had when I got mycreative director title, you
know finally, I did it because,like again, it's that boost of
serotonin where you're like, yes, I did it, and then you're like
, whoa, I'm responsible for whatnow?
And the things that I lovedoing.
That got me here.
I no longer get to do like whatam I doing?

Speaker 2 (51:48):
A hundred percent, A hundred percent.
I love that perspective, Suchgood advice, All right For
working moms, aspiring um, orfor working moms or aspiring
working moms in our communityand our listener group here.
What is the most importantpermission you want to give them
today?

Speaker 1 (52:06):
Take that chance quit the job that doesn't serve you,
you know, do something thatyou've wanted to do but you're
not sure of it because nothingis permanent.
If you take the leap and youland on your face, you can kind
of take some time to grievethose results and what happened,

(52:26):
but then you still keep movingforward.
You can always make anothershift until you find what works
for you.
I think the mentality of find ajob you love and stay there
until you die is no more.
I mean, this isn't we don'thave pensions anymore Like we're
not working for 50 years forthe same company and so don't be

(52:49):
afraid to say, like this isn'twhat I want to do anymore.

Speaker 2 (52:52):
Right, yeah.
And then you're modelingsomething so good for your kids.

Speaker 1 (52:55):
Exactly, and you know .
The other thing I want to sayis just because you're a mom
doesn't mean you're no longeryou.
Yeah, it took me.
You know, mason, it will befive in October.
I really struggled with theshift from me to mom, but I have
since kind of ended up back towhere I am now able to focus on

(53:19):
who I was before kids and find away to incorporate that
identity into who I am now.
Yeah, and that's really, reallycool.

Speaker 2 (53:31):
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah, that plus, mom, it's justlike it's.
It's the addition of right,it's the building of your
character and refinement of whoyou are, because I tell you what
kids will tell you they'll take, they'll bring it all out the
good, the bad, right.
They tell all the things andthat's I think it's great.
It really does shape you intosomeone, not completely
different, but definitelysomebody new.

(53:52):
And I love your advice oftaking the leap.
I am always saying confidencecomes after the action, right,
everything is scary the firsttime you do it, and then after
that, it becomes easier andeasier, right?
So I often have to remindmyself of that too, when either
opportunities or decisions comeabout, and I'm just like you
know, analysis, paralysis, it'slike no, like I need to just
listen to my gut, do the thing,make the jump and then know that

(54:14):
confidence will come after I'vesomehow figured it out Exactly.
I love it.
Okay, we had one question fromthe listening audience, so I'm
going to pop over into the chat.
Kelsey wants to know what hasbeen your proudest moment since
becoming partner at P300?

Speaker 1 (54:29):
Gosh just the fact that, like I did it right, like
I'm still doing it, like I don'tthink I'll ever feel like I
arrived, but like I went fromhaving these two itty bitty
babies on the floor while I justsat there with them to, and
with five hours a week.
You know, like you said, it'snot overnight success, but all

(54:50):
three kids are now in daycarebecause we are able to afford it
which is something we're ableto do, and I'm doing it.
I'm doing what I love to do, andI think I don't have that dread
when I wake up that I have togo to work.

Speaker 2 (55:09):
Yeah, that's important yeah.
You shouldn't be sitting in theparking lot crying before you
go into the office, friends orat lunch or you know, or on the
way home, I used to like ventthe whole.
I call my husband, I'm like Idon't, I don't even need you to
talk to me, I'm just going tolike verbally, like vomit all
over you Cause I was so stressedout, yeah.
And then I looked back on thatdays and I was like, oh God,
love you for just sitting andlistening to all of that.

(55:30):
All right, steph wants to knowKate, how do you carve out space
for yourself, work from homewith your kids?
Cause that is a lot like when,uh, when you love your people
but also kind of need to hidefrom them and everyone for a
minute, yeah.
So question.

Speaker 1 (55:43):
Matt and I are really good about this, Like we both
are really good at just likeMatt's, my husband I don't know
that, I said his name before but, um, you know we're really good
at looking at each other andjust being like I'm going to
explode if I don't.
And you know we the kids knowthey're getting used to it where

(56:04):
, like, we just say I'm going tostep outside for a minute.
You know it's important to showthem that you're allowed to
take a step back if you'refeeling overstimulated and
overwhelmed.
And are we perfect at it?
God, absolutely not.
But, like you know, I try to gooutside versus in a closet,
because, you know, fresh air,sun, they do wonders for you.

(56:25):
But you know we just we takefive minutes and it's good.
I also am notoriously a bedtimeprocrastinator where kids are
in bed, husband goes to bed andI'm like I'm going to read for
an hour because it's my time andnobody's talking, and you know
that can be good or bad, but itworks.

Speaker 2 (56:48):
I promise you it's going to get better as I get
older, become moreself-sufficient and then you can
be more deliberate andintentional about those things.
But I am super protective of mytime, you know, and it's one of
those things that it's, likeyou said earlier, if I'm not at
my best, whether it's workaffecting me, my own mental
health, or like the lack of justbeing out and exercise the
things that I need, like I'm notgoing to be showing up as the

(57:09):
best possible parent for them,and so it's one of those things.
Like I know, like dads feel ittoo right.
Like my husband a lot of timeswill be like I guess I should go
to the gym, but I don't want tobe away from you guys.
So like it's funny we both hegoes at like nine o'clock at
night Cause he's a night owl andI'm up at 5.00 AM and going.
So like that works for us,right, we had the morning and
then the night owl and thensomebody's home with the kids,

(57:30):
but now they're getting to thatpoint where it's like can we
leave them a home alone for anhour and go to the gym
together's.
It's not really in anything big.
Honestly, I think the best arethose small stolen moments for
yourself and like really beingintentional about doing those
and just getting into the habitof it now, especially even while

(57:51):
the kids are little.
It's going to be so much easierwhen they get older and again
like you're just, you'remodeling something fantastic for
them.
All right, let's see if we'vegot a.
We got a couple seconds here.
Unless we have any otherquestions, don't be shy, you can
definitely pop them in.
Um, I'm going to ask you acouple of our power round
questions.
All right, this is actuallythis is kind of a nice little

(58:12):
dovetail from Steph's question.
What is your go-to strategywhen you have 20 minutes to get
something important done?
Um.

Speaker 1 (58:20):
I uh, I was joking um with my husband before this.
I said, uh, can I say that I'mpretty sure I have undiagnosed
ADHD and this is the only way Iwork.
No, I honestly, phone has to goin the other room, otherwise
I'm just like immediately likehuh, what's on my screen?
Um, non-important windows onthe computer, maximized.

(58:42):
Go no distractions.
Go no distractions.
And it's amazing what you'reable to get done in that amount
of time.

Speaker 2 (58:48):
I'm not sure if you're familiar with the
Pomodoro method.
Yes, yep.
So all of our productivitynerds, project manager types,
like 25 minutes is a great timeto get anything done, turn off
all of the distractions.
Set a timer ideally like, notdigital, like yeah, that's why
it's called Pomodoro is likethis little tomato.
Set one of those and just focusand I tell you what, like you

(59:09):
get so much more done.
I think that's one thing.
I miss the in-office experienceand environment and people, but
I love my ability to focus moreon things and not get
interrupted when I'm workingfrom home.
So it's definitely a balance.
I like my background noise incoffee shops, but Exactly, all
right, we can't leave withoutasking a T-Swift question.

(59:29):
Taylor Swift song that bestdescribes your working mom life.

Speaker 1 (59:35):
You mean besides, look what you made me do I like
it?
I would say probably Bejeweled.
It's a fun bop.
It feels empowering.
You know I left my old job thatwasn't serving me anymore.
But that doesn't mean that Ican't still command a room and
light it up when I walk into it.

Speaker 2 (59:53):
Oh, I love it.
Fantastic, all right, well,we'll go ahead and wrap it there
, kate.
Thank you so much for coming on, and just being vulnerable and
sharing all of your experience.
I know it's going to be reallyhelpful and inspiring to a lot
of our listeners, so weappreciate it.

Speaker 1 (01:00:07):
Oh, thank you for having me.
This was really fun.

Speaker 2 (01:00:09):
I'm glad Good, good, so much I love it that you all
have joined us today.
Thank you to all of our livelisteners for joining us and
asking your questions and makingsome great comments.
We hope to see you guys soon.
Check out the podcast.
It's on all streaming channelsas well as YouTube, so make sure
that you check it out andsubscribe.
If not, we hope to see you soonin the next coming episode.

(01:00:31):
Until then, keep asking, keepgiving and keep growing.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Dateline NBC

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}How Working Moms Get Sh*t Done

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Dateline NBC

All Episodes

How Working Moms Get Sh*t Done

Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club