Working Mumma

12 tips to help you prepare for maternity leave

I know when I was about to go on maternity leave I was a mix of emotions. I was looking for ideas, hints, and tips on how to prepare both emotionally as well as physically for maternity leave. Needless to say, I made it up as I went. 
I hope this episode with 12 tips to help you prepare for maternity leave helps you as I wish I had been given these tips before I went on leave. Going on maternity leave is an emotional time. You have worked for several years, it has been a big part of your life working 40+ hours, 5 days a week, and consuming much of your time. The prospect of maternity leave you will be stepping away for a period of time and handing over your work to another person can be difficult, you aren't alone if you are having trouble letting go. This period allows you time to reflect on your career so far and what you have enjoyed and achieved so far. It also allows you time to consider the new challenge of motherhood and your role as a parent. If you are a first-time parent, there are many unknowns and the feeling of trepidation - this is entirely normal. Having some time to stop and reflect on your maternity leave and how you would like it to work, will help both you and your employer so you can manage the leave period. It also allows you to process how you are feeling and if any areas are causing you anxiety, speaking to someone before the birth would be recommended. Enjoy this episode and best of luck with your upcoming birth and maternity leave. 
Continue the conversation and join the Working Mumma Village, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn. 

Managing anxiety with Sarah Purvey

Today I speak with Sarah Purvey, a Clinical Psychologist, practice owner of Eastern Shore Psychology, author of Keep Sane and Parent On, Positive Birth Program Facilitator and mother to a 6 yo and 4yo girls.
We recorded this podcast in early July 2020 prior to the current outbreak of covid-19 in Melbourne. It is very timely and has many hints and tips for people that might be experiencing anxiety during this time. If this episode is a trigger for you, please reach out to Beyond Blue, COPE, a psychologist or your GP to assist. As you will hear it is a strength to seek help and not a weakness.
During this episode Sarah and I discuss:
•Sarah's family set up with her husband as a stay at home dad
•Defining anxiety
•What can we do if we recognise if we are experiencing anxiety - self helps and seeking help strategies are discussed
•Managing anxiety during Covid-19
•Sharing the mental load between couples and how important this is especially for new parents and ongoing when raising children
•Striving for being a "good enough" parent rather than perfect
•Managing mum guilt when returning to work after maternity leave
•Managing expectations of new mum during parenting journey
There is a lot covered in this episode and I hope you enjoy everything we cover.
If you are in Melbourne this episode might be of extra interest given the current stage 4 lockdown measures. I'm in this with you and hope you and your family stay safe.
Continue the conversation and join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn.
Connect with Sarah via her website, Instagram @sarahpurveypsychologist or her book "Keep Sane and Parent On"
Check out the free 10 Strategies to Managing the Juggle to help you navigate work, family & you time.
Until next time, have a great week.

Why you should focus on developing your strengths to help build your confidence with Anne Koopmann

Today I speak with Anne Koopmann, a leadership coach, who works with individuals and organizations to empower courageous leaders, and fellow working mum.
A big take away for me from this episode is the need to focus on and "leaning into" your strengths. We all can't be great at everything and we need to unlearn what we are taught about focusing on our weaknesses and instead focus on what we are good at because as working mums we often don't do this enough and we gain so much confidence from developing our strengths.
During this podcast we talk about:
•Resilience and confidence
•Taking ownership of your own life and to realize that what you do is your choice
•Why we should focus on our strengths and less on our weaknesses (even though we have been taught to do the opposite)
•Why knowing your strengths can improve your confidence
•Telling ourselves that we can't all be great at everything and it is normal to have weaknesses but not to focus too much on these and instead embrace your strengths
•The 7 c's in the resilience toolbox
•Tips and strategies for recognising your strengths
•Working on your inner self and improving your self awareness
•Knowing and understanding your circle of control
Continue the conversation and join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn.
Connect with Anne via her website, on LinkedIn on Instagram @annekoopmann_leadlikeyou
Check out the free 10 Strategies to Managing the Juggle to help you navigate work, family & you time.
Until next time, have a great week.

Helping define what work/life balance means for you

What does work/life balance mean to you? Some call it balance, some integration, others harmony, but with a similar meaning.
In today's episode I don't give you the magic wand of what balance is as I don't believe there isn't one. But, I would like to give you tools and strategies to help you determine what your balance is, what does your dream day of work/life integration mean to you and how you can work towards achieving this. Importantly we talk about defining what works for you mumma and your family.
I think some form of balance and integration is the north star of every working parent, to have balance between work and life. Everyone has a different story and approach, so my aim for this episode is not tell you what balance/integration/harmony looks like, but to help you define what it means for you and your family. We only have one life so we might as well make it the best one we can.
Continue the conversation and join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn.
Check out the free 10 Strategies to Managing the Juggle to help you navigate work, family & you time.
Until next time, have a great week.

How to create time & be more productive with Tash Guthrie

Today I speak with Tash Guthrie, founder of The Time Creator, and fellow working mum.
Tash is a productivity mentor, and the visionary behind The Time Creator planner, podcast, community (and soon-to-be membership). She believes that everyone has the power within them to live the life they truly desire, free of overwhelm, burden and stress. Tash helps busy, time-poor women to take control of their day by improving their productivity and time management skills to ultimately create more time for the people and things they love most.
During this episode we talk about:
•Transition from 0 to 1 children and the expectations we put on ourselves as new mothers
•How planning helps us identify what is important and to shape our lives around this
•Where you can start in the planning process, even if you think you don't have the time to focus on planning
•We discuss mindset change to time management and productivity
•Positive impact of Covid-19 in allowing us to re-evaluate our lives and look at what is important
•Be/Do/Have concept
•What you can plan - the options are endless
•Tips on how to gain more time and harmony in your life
•Five pillars to work life harmony
•Three tips to work life harmony
•Knowing your primary and secondary hats
There are so many great tips and advice from this episode with Tash.
Continue the conversation and join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn.
Connect with Tash her website or on Instagram @Tash_Guthrie
Check out the free 10 Strategies to Managing the Juggle to help you navigate work, family & you time.
Until next time, have a great week.

10 Strategies to Managing the Juggle

In this episode I discuss 10 strategies you can implement straight away to help you in managing the juggle of career, family and life.
The strategies are curated from advice given by fellow working mothers when they have kindly shared their stories of managing a career, family and life. Read the stories.
Let's get into the ten strategies to allow you to feel more confident in managing the juggle of career, motherhood and life.
Check out the free resource to support this episode - Download 10 Strategies to Managing the Juggle.
I profile a working mum each week and tell her story of her parenting journey so far. Share your story today.
Continue the conversation and join the free Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn.

Selecting child care and managing the transition with Carmen Pascoe

Today I speak with Carmen Pascoe, co-founder of SitClique. Carmen and I talk about selecting child care and managing the transition for both you and your child. There are many great tips and advice relating to child care during this episode.
During this episode we talk about:
•Variety of options for child care
•4 questions to ask yourself when determining child care options to meet the needs of your family
•Why we need different care options outside traditional hours
•Questions to ask when speaking with potential educators
•Overcoming mum guilt in managing the child care transition
•Managing the transition for you and your child
•Backing your gut instinct - your children are the most important thing in your life
Download 50 questions you should ask when selecting child care.
Continue the conversation and join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn.
Connect with Carmen and SitClique via their website, Facebook or Instagram.

Making flexible work the norm with Vanessa Vanderhoek

Today I speak with Vanessa Vanderhoek, founder of The FlexAgility Group and launched National Flexible Working Day in 2017 to celebrate and showcase how flexible working can (and does) work. During the conversation we covered many topics relating to flexible work with many practical tips and strategies.
During this episode we talk about:
•Vanessa's career journey and how she came about launching National Flexible Working Day
•Understanding your "Golden Thread" and how this led Vanessa to have a career pivot to focus on her strengths and passions
•The notion of a portfolio career
•Flexibility isn't just about having children and people seek flexible arrangements for a variety of reasons - Health & welling being, looking after older parents, caring for children, productivity and many more reasons
•The four categories of flexible work
•Survey results that show the number one people want flexible work arrangements is health & wellbeing, followed by productivity then caring for children
•Advice on the transition to flexible work and re-negotiating arrangements post covid-19
•Tips on negotiating flexible work with your manager to be a "win-win" for both employee & employer
•Examples of organisations with good policies and approach to flexible work
•Talk about what the future of work will look relating to flexible work
During our conversation, I like this quote from Vanessa "Let's not forget this is about moderninsing our approach to work, yes remote work is a key part of it, but we need to look more holistically to say ok flexible work is the way of working (the new way of working)."
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn. If you are on parental leave, be sure to download my free 10 Step Guide to Return to Work.
Connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn or her business The FlexAgility Group and find out more about National Flexible Work Day or on LinkedIn.

5 tips for a successful return to work after isolation

In this solo episode I share with you 5 tips for a successful return to work after isolation.
COVID-19 came upon us like an unexpected storm the experts never saw coming. One week we were going about our lives as normal then suddenly the following week we found ourselves home-schooling and living in isolation. We are living through history.
As we are starting to come out of self isolation, we are at the beginning of the end. I've had friends comment that during isolation they enjoyed "slowing down". Pre-isolation we would often comment that we were busy. But do we need to be so busy? Busy shouldn't necessarily be a badge of honour. This gives us the opportunity to reassess our lives to understand what the "new normal" means for us.
Enjoy this episode as I share with you five things that can help you prepare for returning to the office and life after self isolation.
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn.

Mental health, workplace culture and future of work post covid with Vessy Tasheva

Vessy Tasheva is the founder of Vessy.com, culture and D&I consultancy. Vessy has authored two editions of her Diversity in the Workplace Report and was named by Hive Learning as one of 2019's most influential D&I Leaders globally.
On this episode of the podcast we discuss the current times of uncertainty and ways to stay connected, energized, and productive whilst work remotely and dealing with isolation and loneliness. Vessy discusses the change in focus from organisations on mental health from being a low priority 2 years ago to the number one focus during Coronavirus. Organisational culture has also been impacted and we talk about the importance of effective communication. Lastly Vessy gives her insights into the Future of Work and what we might expect following Covid-19.
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn.
Connect with Vessy on LinkedIn or her website