How to stop the mom guilt cycle and actually show up present, with JoAnn Crohn | Ep. 89 | Working Moms Movement

How to stop the mom guilt cycle and actually show up present, with JoAnn Crohn | Ep. 89 | Working Moms Movement

Working moms burnout is real, and it doesn’t always look like a dramatic collapse. Sometimes it looks like doing alllllll the things and still feeling behind. The Life Management System is the podcast built for high-achieving working moms who are ready to stop managing mom guilt and start building boundaries that actually hold. Each week, host Courtney Cecil brings honest conversations about burnout, mental load, the invisible labor that never makes it onto anyone’s to-do list, time management for working moms, and what you can actually do about it. If you’ve ever wondered whether the exhaustion is just the season you’re in or whether something needs to actually change, you’re in the right place. The mom guilt cycle keeps working moms stuck in over-functioning and self-sacrifice. In this episode, I sit down with JoAnn Crohn to unpack how to break the guilt cycle. If you’ve been searching for answers to any of these questions, this episode is for you: How do I stop feeling guilty as a working mom? Why do I keep losing my patience even when I know better? How do I repair things with my kids after I’ve lost my cool? 🎤 Inside this episode, I sit down with JoAnn Crohn, founder of No Guilt Mom and author of the Amazon bestseller - The Best Mom Is a Happy Mom - to discuss: * Why mom guilt is rooted in expectations, not failure, and the simple equation that makes it visible * The “don’t be a martyr, be a role model” reframe and what it means for how you show up * How over-functioning quietly teaches kids the wrong lessons about responsibility * Why repair after losing your cool matters more than never losing it * The three-step repair framework that teaches kids real accountability * How to read your nervous system signals before dysregulation hits * What calling a time-out on yourself looks like as a boundary 💡 Key reframes from this conversation: * Not: guilt means you’re a bad mom But: guilt is a math problem (expectations minus reality), and it’s fixable * Not: your kids need you to be perfect But: your kids need you to know how to repair * Not: limits are selfish But: modeling boundaries teaches kids the self-respect you want them to carry forward Mom guilt shows up in at least a third of every conversation I have with this community. Almost always, underneath it is an expectation that was never realistic. Start with the Boundary Self-Check Quiz. It shows you exactly where your edges are. 🔗 Resources mentioned: 🧭 Boundary Self-Check Quiz [https://workingmomsmovement.com/boundaries ] 🧠 FREE TRAINING: The working mom's shortcut to finally feeling in control (without waiting for life to slow down!) [www.workingmomsmovement.com/live-training] 🎤 Episode 74: [www.workingmomsmovement.com/74]Emotional labor fatigue - why overfunctioning quietly drains your energy 📱 Connect with Courtney on Instagram [www.instagram.com/workingmomsmovement ] 🌐 Learn more about the Life Management System [www.workingmomsmovement.com ] ⚡️ Apollo Neuro Wearable [https://apolloneuro.com/courtneycecil ] - code COURTNEYCECIL for $99 off 📱 Connect with JoAnn on Instagram [www.instagram.com/noguiltnmom] 📖 Buy JoAnn's book - The Best Mom Is A Happy Mom: Stop Doing It All And Be a Role Model for Your Kids [https://amzn.to/4v6z0AW ] 🌐 Visit No Guilt Mom official Website [noguiltnmom.com] 📈 Keywords: mom guilt cycle, over-functioning moms, mom guilt working moms, boundaries for moms, mental load working mothers, burnout recovery, time management for working moms, high-achieving working moms, life management system, JoAnn Crohn 🫶 About the host: I’m Courtney Cecil, founder of Working Moms Movement and host of The Life Management System podcast, based in Charlotte, North Carolina and serving working moms and organizations across the U.S. Each week I share practical strategies, stories, and systems to reduce burnout, manage the mental load, and build sustainable careers and lives for high-achieving working moms and the companies that want to retain and grow them. For more free resources, stories, and ways to work together, visit workingmomsmovement.com.

Your digital footprint is already out there. Are you managing it?, with Catherine Brown | Ep. 88 | Working Moms Movement

Your digital footprint is being built right now whether you’re paying attention to it or not. In this episode, Catherine Brown - marketing leader and founder of The Cabro [https://www.instagram.com/_thecabro/ ] - breaks down what it actually means to manage your brand with intention, and why working moms have more to gain from this conversation than anyone. If you’ve ever rewritten your resume and downplayed your own title, this one’s for you. We discuss: How do I build a personal brand as a working mom? What should working moms know about their digital footprint? How does AI affect my personal brand online? What questions should I ask myself before building my personal brand? 🎙️ Inside this episode, I sit down with Catherine Brown to discuss: * Why your personal brand is already being built and the only question is whether you’re the one building it * The shift from playing defense on your reputation to playing offense on your career * 3 questions Catherine uses to audit your brand: what are you great at that others don’t know, what do you want to stay top of mind, and where do you want to go * Why working moms specifically are at risk of being left behind in the AI shift and what to do about it * How to use AI as a content partner without losing your voice or sounding like everyone else * The sandwich method for AI-assisted content creation that keeps your tone, cadence, and perspective intact * What your digital footprint actually looks like to a recruiter, future boss, or client scraping the internet right now * Why asking AI to identify the gaps in your own brand is one of the most underused tools available to you * How to claim the version of yourself the world already sees - even when you’re still catching up to it yourself 💡 Key reframes from this conversation: * Not: Waiting for people to discover what you’re good at But: Making your hidden strengths visible before someone else defines you first * Not: AI is a threat to authentic personal branding But: AI is the first affordable copywriter, ghostwriter, and assistant most working moms have ever had access to * Your digital footprint isn’t something that happens to you when you post. It’s something that happens to you constantly and your job is to give it better material to work with. Managing your professional brand isn’t a vanity project. It’s one of the most practical things a high-performing working mom can do to protect her career, expand her options, and stay visible in a landscape that is moving fast. Catherine’s framework is simple enough to start today and honest enough to actually work. 🔗 Resources mentioned: 🎙️ Referenced Episode 50: [www.workingmomsmovement.com/50]How I got here - The story behind The Life Management System (and why it might just change yours too) 🧭 3-Minute Boundary Self-Check Quiz [https://workingmomsmovement.com/boundaries ] 🧠 FREE TRAINING (hosted bi-annually): How to Go from Surviving to Thriving as a Working Mom [www.workingmomsmovement.com/live-training ] 📱 Connect with Catherine on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/_thecabro/ ] 🌐 The Cabro on Substack [https://thecabro.substack.com/] 🤖 Catherine's AI starter guide [https://thecabro.myflodesk.com/cabro-ai-starter-guide] 📱 Connect with Courtney on Instagram [www.instagram.com/workingmomsmovement ] 🌐 Learn more about The Life Management System [https://workingmomsmovement.com ] 📈 Keywords digital footprint, personal brand for working moms, personal brand strategy, career and leadership working moms, AI and personal branding, working mom career growth, how to build a personal brand, managing your online presence, working mothers career development, life management system, working moms movement, professional brand online, digital identity working moms, Courtney Cecil podcast About the host: I’m Courtney Cecil, founder of Working Moms Movement and host of The Life Management System podcast, based in Charlotte, North Carolina and serving working moms and organizations across the U.S. Each week I share practical strategies, stories, and systems to reduce burnout, manage the mental load, and build sustainable careers and lives for high-achieving working moms and the companies that want to retain and grow them. For more free resources, stories, and ways to work together, visit workingmomsmovement.com.

Maternity leave, the return to work, and why I started Working Moms Movement | Ep. 87 | Working Moms Movement

The return to work after maternity leave is one of the hardest transitions a working mom faces - not just emotionally, but logistically. In this episode, I’m sharing my own story: two very different maternity leaves, two very different returns, and the season that finally broke me wide open and led me to build The Life Management System. Most people talk about the first return to work. The tears in the shower. The guilt. The fear. But nobody talks about how much harder the second one can be...especially when everything falls apart at once. If you’ve ever wondered whether the chaos you experienced after having a baby was normal, or whether you’re the only one who white-knuckled your way through a return while holding it all together on the outside, this is worth listening to. If you’ve been searching for answers to any of these questions, this episode is for you: Why is returning to work after maternity leave so emotionally hard? How do I know if working is the right decision for my family? What systems do working moms actually need to survive the return to work? How do I stop feeling like I have to prove myself when I come back from leave? What does postpartum depression actually look like for high-achieving working moms? 🎙️ In this episode, I’m airing my interview on Kara Cox's podcast, Leaving Leave. Inside I dive into: * Why I originally planned to be a stay-at-home mom and what changed my mind before I ever got pregnant * The holiday-season trap I fell into during my first maternity leave that I’m still a little mad about * What my second maternity leave actually looked like: nanny quit a week before delivery, a toddler who’d only been walking for seven days, a boss who resigned six weeks in, and a newborn with RSV while I was working 80-hour weeks * Why the return to work after your first baby and your second baby are completely different experiences and why organizations fail to recognize that * The breaking point that inspired me to start Working Moms Movement * Why getting clear on your why for working is the first and most important thing you can do for your family * How building systems, not willpower, is what actually makes sustainable working motherhood possible * What men taking paternity leave has to do with destigmatizing women taking theirs 💡 Key reframes from this conversation: * The return to work isn’t just emotionally hard. It’s a systems problem. And when the systems aren’t there, even the most capable women break. * Knowing why you work isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the thing that carries you through the hard seasons without guilt running the show. * The chaos of early motherhood doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you haven’t built the infrastructure yet…and that’s fixable. I started Working Moms Movement because I lived the version of this where nothing was in place. No reliable childcare, no home systems, no clarity on what I actually needed to sustain a demanding career without losing myself. If you’re in that season right now, I want you to know...it doesn’t have to stay that way. 🔗 Resources mentioned: 🧭 3-Minute Boundary Self-Check Quiz [https://workingmomsmovement.com/boundaries ] 🧠 FREE TRAINING: How to Go from Surviving to Thriving as a Working Mom [www.workingmomsmovement.com/live-training ] 📱 Connect with Courtney on Instagram [www.instagram.com/workingmomsmovement ] 🌐 Learn more about The Life Management System [https://workingmomsmovement.com] ⚡️ This episode was sponsored by Apollo Neuro Wearable [https://apolloneuro.com/courtneycecil] - use code COURTNEYCECIL for $99 off 📈 Keywords: maternity leave return to work, working moms burnout, postpartum depression high achievers, working mom guilt, life management system, sustainable working motherhood, returning to work after baby, systems for working moms, working moms movement, second maternity leave, why working moms work, Courtney Cecil

Perfectionism, people pleasing, and pretending: the three P's keeping moms stuck, with Dr. Anne Welsh | Ep. 86 | Working Moms Movement

Perfectionism, people pleasing, and pretending are the three patterns clinical psychologist Dr. Anne Welsh sees most in high-achieving working moms - and they’re quietly driving burnout, disconnection, and the exhausting cycle of striving out of fear. If you’ve ever hit a goal and still felt empty, or felt guilty for wanting more AND guilty for not being present enough at home, this episode is going to name something you’ve been carrying for a long time. If you’ve been searching for answers to any of these questions, this episode is for you: Why do I feel like I’m failing at work and at home at the same time? What is the ambition paradox for working moms? Why does perfectionism get worse after becoming a mom? What is unhealthy striving and how do I know if I’m doing it? How do I stop people pleasing without feeling guilty? 🎙️ Inside this episode, I sit down with Dr. Anne Welsh [drannewelsh.com], clinical psychologist, certified executive coach, and author of Ambitious Mothers: From Surviving to Thriving in Your Career and at Home [https://amzn.to/42hwTOi], to discuss: * Why ambition and motherhood look like opposing forces and why that framing is costing us everything * What the “ambition paradox” is and why high-achieving women are most at risk * Why the ladder only leaves room for money, power, and title...and what the web opens up instead * The difference between striving out of fear and striving with intention * The three P’s keeping moms stuck: perfectionism, people pleasing, and pretending * Why “pretending” is the most under-discussed pattern and how it leaves us feeling alone * How I found myself white-knuckling through burnout this year even while teaching this content (ask me how I know!) * Why the one-degree compass shift - not the big overhaul - is where the reset starts * What pre-order bonuses come with Ambitious Mothers before August 6th 💡 Key reframes from this conversation: * Ambition isn’t a ladder. It’s a web with room for connection, rest, play, and impact…and it shifts as your life does * The only reward for finishing your to-do list is another to-do list. Efficiency doesn’t change what’s underneath. * You don’t have to earn rest or deserve joy. Most of us were never taught that…so it has to become a practiced skill * The three P’s aren’t character flaws. They’re survival strategies that made sense once and recognizing that is where everything shifts. 🔗 Resources mentioned: 🧭 3 minute Boundary Self-Check Quiz [https://workingmomsmovement.com/boundaries] 🧠 Free Training on How to go from surviving to thriving as a working mom [www.workingmomsmovement.com/live-training] 🎙️ Episode 19 [https://www.workingmomsmovement.com/19]: Why knowing your values changes every career decision you make 📚 Dr. Anne Welsh Official website [drannewelsh.com] 🛒 Ambitious mother [https://amzn.to/42hwTOi ] audiobook 📱Follow Dr. Anne Welsh on Instagram [instagram.com/drannewelsh] 📱Follow Courtney on Instagram [www.instagram.com/workingmomsmovement] 🌐 Learn more about The Life Management System [workingmomsmovement.com] ⚡️ Apollo Neuro [apolloneuro.com/courtneycecil]: Use code COURTNEYCECIL for $99 off 📈 Keywords: perfectionism working moms, people pleasing mothers, pretending burnout, ambition paradox, working moms burnout, unhealthy striving, ambition and motherhood, Dr. Anne Welsh Ambitious Mothers, sustainable performance working moms, mental load, burnout recovery, high-achieving moms, working moms movement, life management system, Courtney Cecil podcast 💠 About the host: I’m Courtney Cecil, founder of Working Moms Movement and host of The Life Management System podcast, based in Charlotte, North Carolina and serving working moms and organizations across the U.S. Each week I share practical strategies, stories, and systems to reduce burnout, manage the mental load, and build sustainable careers and lives for high-achieving working moms and the companies that want to retain and grow them. For more free resources and ways to work together, visit workingmomsmovement.com.

Time scarcity is a story you're telling yourself, with Laura Vanderkam | Ep. 85 | Working Moms Movement

Time scarcity is one of the most common struggles working moms face, but what if the feeling of never having enough time is less about your workload and more about how you’re framing time itself? In this episode, I sit down with time management expert and bestselling author Laura Vanderkam to unpack the shift from time scarcity to time abundance and what that looks like in a full, complex life. Most of us are trapped in 24-hour thinking. The day always loses to the to-do list. But zoom out to 168 hours - the full week - and the math looks very different. If you’ve been searching for answers to any of these questions, this episode is for you: Why do I always feel behind even when I’m working all the time? What is time abundance and how do working moms get there? Is weekly planning actually worth the effort? How do I make my evenings feel less like survival mode? 🎙️ Inside this episode, I sit down with Laura Vanderkam, time management expert, bestselling author, and creator of the 168 Hours framework, to discuss: * Why time scarcity is a mindset problem (not a math problem) and how expanding your time horizon changes everything * The 168-hour framework and why thinking in weeks instead of days is the smallest shift with the biggest payoff * What time tracking actually reveals and why most people find things aren’t as dire as they thought * Why planning feels restrictive but actually creates more freedom to say yes * How to become the ringmaster of your own circus balancing career, relationships, and self * The concept of “golden hours” and why weekday evenings are your most overlooked opportunity * Systems that run without you, not because of you * How to stop waiting for “someday” and make big goals fit inside the life you already have 💡 Key reframes from this conversation: * Time scarcity is not a fact about your life…it’s a story your brain tells when you’re only looking at 24 hours at a time * Planning is not about restriction - it’s the thing that makes spontaneity possible, because your priorities are already protected * Your evenings are not a write-off…they’re golden hours, and one intentional 30-minute choice shifts how your whole day feels Laura’s research across thousands of time diaries keeps pointing to the same conclusion: we have more time than we think. We’re just measuring it wrong. Take the 3-minute Boundary Self-Check Quiz [workingmomsmovement.com/boundaries] to see where your time and energy are leaking. 🔗 Resources mentioned: 📚 Big Time: A Simple Path to Time Abundance [https://amzn.to/4urebAz]by Laura Vanderkam 🌐 Laura Vanderkam’s official website [http://www.lauravanderkam.com/] 🎙️ Laura’s podcasts: Before Breakfast [https://lauravanderkam.com/before-breakfast-podcast/]and Best of Both Worlds [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/best-of-both-worlds-podcast/id1273625203] 🎙️Episode 72: How I Designed My Corporate Workweek to Protect My Energy. [https://workingmomsmovement.com/72] 🧭 3-Minute Boundary Self-Check Quiz [https://workingmomsmovement.com/boundaries] 🧠 FREE TRAINING (hosted bi-annually): How to go from Surviving to Thriving as a Working Mom [http://www.workingmomsmovement.com/live-training] 📱 Connect with Courtney on Instagram [http://www.instagram.com/workingmomsmovement] 🌐 Learn more about The Life Management System [https://workingmomsmovement.com/] ⚡️ This episode was sponsored by Apollo Neuro Wearable [https://apolloneuro.com/courtneycecil]: code COURTNEYCECIL for $99 off 📈 Keywords: time scarcity, working moms, time abundance, 168 hours, Laura Vanderkam, value-based time management, working moms time management, weekly planning for moms, mental load working mothers, golden hours evenings, time tracking working moms, sustainable performance, burnout working moms, life management system, intentional scheduling, working moms movement 💠 About the host: I’m Courtney Cecil, founder of Working Moms Movement and host of The Life Management System podcast, based in Charlotte, North Carolina and serving working moms and organizations across the U.S. Each week I share practical strategies, stories, and systems to reduce burnout, manage the mental load, and build sustainable careers and lives for high-achieving working moms and the companies that want to retain and grow them. For more free resources, stories, and ways to work together, visit workingmomsmovement.com.