Today we’re chatting with Kathryn Sollmann, who is a career coach, author and speaker on a mission to help current and returning professional women always stay in the workforce and find the work that fits their lives. Kathryn has created and led hundreds of conferences and workshops to help women sustain and advance careers through every age and life stage.

Today we’re welcoming back Lisa Zawrotny to the show. Lisa created Positively Productive Systems to help her chronically overwhelmed clients find success through simplicity and self-care. As a holistic productivity coach certified in time management and life coaching, she guides others to declutter their lives and to design customized systems and habits meant for their own unique personality and values.

Today we’re chatting with Tara McMullin, who is a podcaster, writer, and small business community leader. With over a decade of experience helping thousands of small business owners grow their businesses, she’s on a mission to change the dialogue about what’s really working from hype to candid conversation.

Over the last 6 years, I’ve focused all of my energy and attention on the issues working parents face in modern society, especially ambitious professionals who are in those early stages of parenthood. I’ve discovered a lot of unique stressors for this group of people, and our culture makes it harder for working parents who are drowning. I'm tired of seeing good people struggle through these important years of their lives. It’s not right, and I believe there’s a way to avoid it. 

So much has changed since I launched the Working Parent Resource brand back in 2015. Since my family and I were going through a big move from San Diego to Austin, I decided to take a little time to re-evaluate everything related to the Working Parent Resource. I have three big announcements to share with you today!

Today's episode is our last one of 2018! It has been a whirlwind year with a lot of personal changes in my own life, so I thought I'd talk a bit about how I manage major transitions in case some of what I've learned could be helpful for you. And since it's also our last episode of the year, I'll also talk a bit about what's changed over the last year for the Working Parent Resource in general, and where we're headed in 2019.

Infertility and pregnancy loss are both topics that affect so many parents out there, and it’s just not talked about a lot. When I went through it myself, all I wanted was information and support about what I was going through, and I found both very difficult to find. But Parijat is on a mission to open up the conversation. She’s allowing us to shine a light on a very sensitive and difficult topic, and I’m so happy she was able to join us here to share her experience and her expertise.

I used to try to avoid conflict at all costs, which usually ended up causing me a lot more pain and suffering over the long run. And after learning how to manage conflict in a healthy way, I’m amazed at how much deeper my relationships have become. Our guest today is an expert in managing conflict, and we cover some great, practical tips to help you not only AVOID conflict, but use it to strengthen your relationships as well.

My sweet hubby and I are celebrating six years of marriage this week! I invited Joey onto the show to share a sneak peek into the realities of our life together. We go on a trip down memory lane, and talk about the biggest milestones of our marriage so far. 

This is part two of our two-part series about child development. As I mentioned in the last episode, there are times when I'm struggling with a certain type of behavior with my kids, and understanding what’s really going on with them developmentally has been SO helpful. If you haven’t already heard part 1 of this series, push pause and go back to listen to that part first. This part will make a lot more sense if you hear that first. So with that, let’s continue our conversation with Julia...

I’ve learned a lot over the last 20 years about childhood development, and now that I’m a mom I’ve noticed that a LOT of that information is incredibly helpful to know. There are so many situations where I would normally lose my cool with my kids, but since I have certain information about what’s REALLY going on with them, I’m able to address their behavior in a healthier and more effective way. I wanted to share some of these key pieces of information with you too.

I’ve known Pat Flynn for a couple of years now, and even before I met him one thing has always stood out to me about him: he juggles several very successful businesses, a popular podcast and YouTube channel, a community with tens of thousands of members, and still his most important priority is being an involved husband and father. We ask ambitious moms all the time “how do you do it?” but we never ask dads the same question. Well, today we’re asking Pat Flynn how he does it all.

If you've listened to any of the other episodes of this show, you've probably figured out by now that I don't really buy into this message that being a working parent HAS to be overwhelming or frustrating or exhausting. I know for a fact that being a working parent can be FUN. It will definitely hand you challenges from time to time, but if you pay attention, those challenges can help you grow into an even better version of yourself.

The Working Parent Resource Podcast will be taking a little break for the Summer. I have a lot of different things going on in July and August which I'll share about here, and I also know summer is a busy time for all of you families out there too. So I thought it would be a good time to take a little hiatus and come back all refreshed and energized in September. In this episode I talk about what's going on for me personally, professionally, and what's coming in the Fall.

There’s so much to do as working parents, and I know from first-hand experience how easy it is to put your marriage on the back-burner as other demands take over. So I’m thrilled that Yael was able to return to the show and offer her advice and insights around how to really connect with your partner as you juggle your career and kids and running the household and everything else that you do on a daily basis.

Courage isn’t a topic that I’ve talked about a lot on this show, but after learning a little more about the work that Kate Swoboda is doing, I was excited to invite her on the show. We talk about the reality of establishing new habits, and how our habits really are the foundation of the life we live. Kate not only offers some really interesting insights, but she also offers very practical action steps for you to take as you begin to implement these things into your own life.

Working in an office space can bring up so many issues around communication, conflict, politics, not to mention just trying to move the ball forward on whatever you’re doing while working with a lot of different types of people. When we get along with our colleagues, things can operate smoothly. But today we’re diving into how to handle workplace conflict so you can better manage those sticky situations that come up for all of us from time to time.

I don’t know about you, but one of the biggest challenges my husband and I have is keeping all of our kid’s stuff in order. As soon as my older son was born, we immediately started accumulating kid gear: strollers, toys, clothes, books… the list is endless. And now that there are two of them, it’s multiplying exponentially. The conversation I have with my guest today, Susie Salinas, was so helpful in creating some structure in our home when it comes to our kid’s stuff.

The topic we’re discussing today is one that can be a huge issue for working parents. But it can be sensitive and personal and often brings up plenty of shame and judgment, so I don’t think a lot of people don’t talk openly about it. It’s also something that can easily derail a healthy relationship if you and your spouse are having trouble in this area. Today I’m joined by certified sex therapist Lisa Katona to answer all of your questions about sex and working parenthood.

I thought we'd do something a little different today. I'm going to share some personal facts about my life that I never really talk about. I usually try to keep whatever stories I share with you super related to whatever topic we're talking about, because I sort of feel indulgent just talking about myself for no reason. But I also really enjoy hearing back-stories and behind the scenes stuff from podcasts hosts I listen to, so I thought I'd do something like that for you guys today.

Chris Ducker has been a business mentor for me for a couple of years now, and one of the biggest things that drew me to him was his candor about his experience with burnout many years ago. What really impressed me about Chris was his dedication to transform his life to be more healthy and congruent with this values. I love how he used this experience of complete burnout as a catalyst for change. I can relate to that experience as well, and at the core, that's what the Working Parent Resource...

We all know that time management is one of the most challenging aspects of being a working parent. Our guest today, Tonya Dalton of InkWELL Press, is a productivity expert, and she’s going to share with us a few gems about what REALLY works to save time as a busy parent. We can all get sidetracked so easily with the latest productivity app or time saving hack or even the coolest paper planner, and she cuts through the nonsense to give you exactly what you need to maximize your efficiency.

Fitness has been one of the hardest things for me to integrate back into my life as a new mom. Now with two kids, it’s definitely not the easiest thing to prioritize. If you can relate to that at all, I think you’ll love today’s conversation with Erin Kendall, owner of Fit Mom Go. Erin is an expert at helping moms fit exercise and fitness into their already busy lives. She has some creative and practical tips for all of us, I think you’ll really like this one.

If you’ve been listening to this show for a while, you know I’m not a HUGE fan of productivity hacks and time saving tips. I think they can definitely serve a purpose in helping us streamline our lives, but I also think often those kinds of things lead to a more frantic lifestyle and can be a distraction from determining what we’re really trying to accomplish. In this episode I chat with Lisa Zarwtony about the underlying purpose of productivity, and I just love her inspiring take on a very...

Our world is so fast-paced and noisy these days, it seems almost impossible to be in control of our lives as working parents. Many people just believe BALANCE is an impossible ideal, so they don't even try to work toward it anymore. They just put their head down and work harder and faster to get through the day. And a record number of people are suffering from burnout, anxiety and depression as a result.