Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not. It’s our bite-sized, tip-based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz is tackling a big one: why feeling like you’re failing in motherhood and career might actually be a sign you’re on the right track. She’ll unpack why these feelings are so common, what they might mean about your growth, and how to reframe the guilt and self-doubt into confidence and clarity. If you’ve ever felt like you’re dropping the ball, this one’s for...

When I recently put a call out to interview mums working in more corporate fields, Bec O'Brien's email caught my attention. Her subject line read: 'corporate mum who loves to yap' and instantly I knew that we'd get along. This story is full of so many fantastic twists and unique plot lines. There's embarking on the journey to freeze her eggs just six months before falling surprisingly pregnant. There's the younger boyfriend, and the fact that she broke the news of the pregnancy to him in the...

Welcome back to another episode of Witching Hour, the show where two cousins and mums of two banter all things making work, work alongside motherhood. Today on the show: I’m starting to think you guys don’t really want a “village” (Slate)Put down the vacuum: Americans need to get off the tidiness treadmill. (The Atlantic)And off the back of last week’s episode where we discussed The Atlantic piece titled ‘Dear James, I used to have friends, then they had kids.’, we asked you for your thoughts...

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not! It’s Ready or Not’s advice-based podcast, landing in your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz dives into the common mistakes many of us make after returning from maternity leave. From taking on too much too soon, to underestimating the emotional and logistical shifts, she’ll unpack the pitfalls and share actionable tips on how to ease back in, communicate your boundaries, and set yourself up for success both at work and at home. --- Shop the Ready or Not Go To...

Alena Darcy may have worked on campaigns with Karlie Kloss, negotiated deals for Troye Sivan to perform, managed a red carpet with Natalie Portman, and organised too many fashion runways to count, but if you were to ask her which The Devil Wears Prada character she would've been in the former part of her career, she would've told you she was more Anne Hathaway and less Meryl "that's all" Steep. After building up a PR career working for some of the biggest Australian and international brands,...

Welcome back to Witching Hour - the show by cousins (well, by marriage) Loz and Lu that looks at what's exciting, delighting, intriguing and frustrating us when it comes to making work, work as a mum. Here's what we're talking about today: "Dear James, I used to have friends, then they had kids": Every Tuesday, The Atlantic’s James Parker tackles a reader's existential worry and this one caught Lu's attention.Work from home will be dead in three years, according to results of a KPMG survey of...

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not! It’s Ready or Not’s tip-based episode, landing in your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz is here to share shortcuts and hacks to simplify Christmas—because let’s be honest, most of it falls on mum. From streamlining gift shopping and meal prep to getting the whole family involved and outsourcing where it counts, Loz has got your back with practical, time-saving tips to help you stress less and actually enjoy the festive season. Shop the Ready or Not Go To...

Clare Stephens is a writer, editor, podcaster, and soon to be published author. She's smart, she's funny, she's accomplished, and she has that unique skill of being both ridiculously intelligent and talented, and entirely approachable and relatable. For all of her credentials though, Clare learned like so many of us, that while putting in the work usually leads to achievement in our careers, motherhood doesn't exactly follow the same set of rules. In fact, motherhood doesn't really follow any...

Welcome back to another episode of Witching Hour, the show where two cousins (and mums of two) banter all things making work, work alongside motherhood. Today on the show, we're talking why you should fail 16% of the time, why the term 'empty nester' needs a re-brand, and the Dolly Alderton live show report Lu didn't expect to be giving. This episode of Witching Hour is brought to you by Floraly—fresh flowers (and the cutest tiny Christmas trees!) with same-day delivery, perfect for any...

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not. It’s our bite-sized, tip-based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. TToday, Loz talks about how to manage the mental load of Christmas. How to divide and conquer gift shopping, delegating tasks to your partner, kids and family and setting boundaries around what Christmas traditions work for you. --- Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio: Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return...

There's a famous saying that you might've heard: that old habits die hard, and when it comes to the roles that we expect women to play, we haven't made much progress. This is particularly true when it comes to motherhood. So natural at motherhood women are, we say, that society makes it out as though not having children is the choice. Why don't you have kids? They ask those women without children. Why did you choose to have children? They rarely - if ever - ask those that are mothers. And for...

Welcome back to another episode of Witching Hour, the show where two cousins and mums of two banter all things making work, work alongside motherhood. There's a bit going on at the top of this episode. Ray is being mean to Posie, Posie's finally PROPERLY talking a bottle, Loz actually does watch some movies and shares her favourites, and then, we finally get to the day's discussion points. Today on the show: What is a gentle parent anyway? On parenting labels and why I hate them.'Quiet...

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not. It’s our bite-sized, tip-based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz answers a listener question about how to assert yourself: how to do it in a workplace environment, when to do it and different ways you can get your point across without all the fluff (and thinking you're seeming like a pain in the butt!). --- Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio: Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare...

When Minna Dubin wrote about mum rage for The New York Times, her words went viral. In opening the article, she writes: 'the rage lives in my hands, rolls down my fingers clenching to fists. I want to hurt someone. I am tears and fury and violence. I want to scream and rip open pillows, toss chairs and punch walls. I want to see my destruction — feathers floating, overturned furniture, ragged holes in drywall.' Even recording this, I'm nervous to admit that I resonated with this so deeply...

Welcome back to another episode of Witching Hour, the show where two cousins and mums of two banter all things making work, work alongside motherhood. Today on the show: Five ways workplaces are failing new mothers - and how we can flip the narrative.Plus, because Lu is still in holiday mode, we're talking travelling, camping, caravanning and road tripping with kids.Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio: Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare...

This mini series was created in partnership with Homb, the postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. Across three episodes, together with Homb founder Larissa Leone and the Ready or Not community, we interrogate what it means to navigate motherhood and matrescence in modern Australia. While this series is brought to you by Homb, the experiences and views about my time in their care are entirely my own. Before we get into it, I want to send my love to every mother out there, from the one...

This mini series was created in partnership with Homb, the postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. Across three episodes, together with Homb founder Larissa Leone and the Ready or Not community, we interrogate what it means to navigate motherhood and matrescence in modern Australia. While this series is brought to you by Homb, the experiences and views about my time in their care are entirely my own. Before we get into it, I want to send my love to every mother out there, from the one...

This mini series was created in partnership with Homb, the postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. Across three episodes, together with Homb founder Larissa Leone and the Ready or Not community, we interrogate what it means to navigate motherhood and matrescence in modern Australia. While this series is brought to you by Homb, the experiences and views about my time in their care are entirely my own. Before we get into it, I want to send my love to every mother out there, from the one...

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not! It’s Ready or Not’s tip-based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz talks about how to set boundaries at work with examples, sample scripts and ways to politely and respectfully say no (even if you're a people pleaser). --- Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio: Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work PlanningYou can also find us on Instagram at...

When I was trying to conceive for the first time, and basically for the 10 years leading up to it, the constant question swirling around my brain was how? HOW do mothers and primary caregivers be the mum they want to be while pursuing the career of their dreams, too? I wanted to know how mums did it on a practical, granular level. Give me times, give me dates, give me formulas. And not the milk kind, but how the heck do I get my baby to take that, too? And it's not all that surprising to me...

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not. It’s our bite-sized, tip-based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz is sharing her best tips on what to do if you're made redundant on maternity leave. LINKS: Listen to our episode - Resumes: Do I include my parental leave? - here.Listen to our episode - Why applying for full-time roles might be your secret hack to landing the perfect part-time role - here.CourseraLinkedIn LearningUdemy--- Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now,...

Like many of us, Genevieve Day grew up with the mindset that when you put in the hard work, you get rewarded. And as the founder of Day Management and Next of Kin Management, she's done just that. And so, as a successful business owner embarking on motherhood for the first time, Gen wanted to keep up appearances. She wasn't letting anyone think that a baby was going to slow her down, so she pressed on the only way she knew how: with hard work. But what Gen soon realised is that hard work...

Welcome back to another episode of Witching Hour, the show where two cousins and mums of two banter all things making work, work alongside motherhood. Today on the show: There’s a lot of talk about supporting mothers, but where’s the action? Loz is taking us through a very interesting study to prove this point.And, how to bring Homb – that’s home with a b - into to your own home. Lozzy, a listener wrote in saying she was really keen to understand how they can incorporate some of the practices...

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not, formally known as T**s & Tricks! It’s Ready or Not’s new bite sized tip based episode, and the new name means that we can bring a wider range of advice to this episode, including your career conundrums and more! Today, Loz takes you through the five interview questions that may just help you land your dream job! --- Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio: • Breastfeeding and Returning to Work • Childcare...