The Cost of Always Being On with Lizzie Assa, MS Ed

The Cost of Always Being On with Lizzie Assa, MS Ed

What happens when toxic productivity reaches childhood? As parents, many of us feel pressure to enrich, entertain, supervise, and optimize every moment of our children's lives – all while navigating the demands of work, family, and everything else competing for our attention. In this episode, Sara sits down with parenting coach, educator, founder of The Workspace for Children [https://www.workspaceforchildren.com/], and writer behind one of Substack's most popular parenting publications [https://theworkspaceforchildren.substack.com/], Lizzie Assa, MS Ed. A former teacher with a master's degree in education from Bank Street College, former Head of Play and Development at Lalo, author of But I'm Bored! [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775810/but-im-bored-by-lizzie-assa-msed/], and mother of three, Lizzie has spent years helping parents better understand how children learn, grow, and develop. Together, they explore what happens when our discomfort with boredom, uncertainty, and unstructured time spills into the way we parent—and why creating more space to explore, experiment, and become may be one of the most important gifts we can give both children and ourselves. They discuss how our ability to trust our children is often connected to our ability to trust ourselves, what both children and adults gain when every moment doesn't have a purpose, and why achievement culture may be shaping childhood in ways we rarely stop to question. In this episode: • Why boredom has become so uncomfortable for modern adults • The connection between trusting yourself and trusting your child • What parents get back when children learn to play independently • What we gain when every moment doesn't have a purpose • Why not every hobby needs to become an achievement track • How achievement culture shapes the way we work, live, and parent • How play, curiosity, and experimentation shape a meaningful life • Building a career around education, creativity, and family Whether you're raising young children, navigating a demanding career, or simply questioning the pressure to always be productive, Lizzie's perspective is both practical and deeply refreshing. Episode links: * Substack: theworkspaceforchildren.substack.com [https://theworkspaceforchildren.substack.com/] * Website: www.workspaceforchildren.com [http://www.workspaceforchildren.com] * Book: But I’m Bored! [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775810/but-im-bored-by-lizzie-assa-msed/] available on Amazon and wherever books are sold: https://www.amazon.com/But-Bored-Independent-Confident-Resilient/dp/B0F4QDZKHT ****** ⭐️ Follow The Mothers and leave a 5-star review if this resonated 💬 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it 📱 Join The Mothers on Instagram @themotherspod ✍️ Subscribe to Sara's Substack for reflections on life, work, meaning & motherhood 💼 Find Sara on LinkedIn The Mothers is a production of Backline Media.

Introducing The Mothers with Sara Brown

After leaving a 12-year career at Google, Sara Brown became fascinated by two questions: Who are mothers when nobody is asking about their children? And who are successful women when nobody is asking about their success? On her new podcast, Sara sits down with influential women shaping industries, institutions, communities, and culture (while raising kids!) to explore the person behind the titles, accomplishments, and expectations. In candid conversations, guests share the moments that shaped them, the tradeoffs they wrestle with, the identities they're still uncovering, and the lessons they've learned about work, ambition, purpose, power, relationships, caregiving, and building a meaningful life. Together, these conversations reveal something often missing from both career stories and parenting stories: the full humanity of women navigating both. Whether you're leading a company, raising children, questioning your next chapter, or simply trying to understand yourself more deeply, The Mothers invites you to get curious about who you are, what you want, and why you want it — and to build a life that honors those answers. Raw, smart, and deeply human, The Mothers blends the emotional honesty of We Can Do Hard Things, the business insight of How I Built This, and the intellectual depth of Brené Brown. ******* ⭐️ Follow The Mothers wherever you listen 💬 Share the show with someone who would love it 📱 Join The Mothers on Instagram @themotherspod [https://www.instagram.com/themotherspod] ✍️ Subscribe to ⁠⁠Sara’s Substack [https://sarasedgwickbrown.substack.com/]⁠⁠ for reflections on life, work, meaning & motherhood 💼 Find Sara on ⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarasedgwickbrown/] The Mothers is a production of Backline Media.

Stop Wondering If You Belong with Dana Haimoff | Private Equity, Leadership & Motherhood

Dana Haimoff [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-haimoff-864674/] is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group at JPMorgan Asset Management in London, where she has spent more than two decades investing on behalf of institutional clients. She is also the co-founder of Level 20 [https://www.level20.org/], an organization dedicated to increasing the representation of women in private equity across Europe. In this episode, Dana shares what it was like to build a career in one of the most competitive and male-dominated industries in the world while raising three children – and why one of her greatest advantages may have been spending less time wondering whether she belonged and more time focusing on the work in front of her. We discuss the mindset that helped her rise through the ranks of private equity, the power of seeing women succeed at the highest levels, and what happens when ambition, motherhood, and leadership collide. We also talk about the unequal load many women continue to carry at home, why childcare is one of the most overlooked drivers of women's career advancement, and what organizations can do if they genuinely want more women in senior leadership roles. In this episode, we discuss: • Building a career in private equity and asset management • Being one of the only women in the room • Confidence, belonging, and career advancement • The importance of female role models and mentorship • Motherhood and leadership at the highest levels • The invisible load women carry at home • Why childcare is essential infrastructure – not a workplace perk • Creating more pathways for women into senior leadership Whether you're navigating a demanding career, questioning your next professional move, or trying to build a meaningful life alongside parenthood, Dana's perspective is both practical and refreshingly honest. ******* ⭐️ Follow The Mothers and leave a 5-star review if this resonated 💬 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it 📱 Join The Mothers on Instagram @themotherspod [https://www.instagram.com/themotherspod] ✍️ Subscribe to ⁠⁠Sara’s Substack [https://sarasedgwickbrown.substack.com/]⁠⁠ for reflections on life, work, meaning & motherhood 💼 Find Sara on ⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarasedgwickbrown/] The Mothers is a production of Backline Media.

You're Not as Stuck as You Think with Dr. Robyn Riseberg

Dr. Robyn Riseberg didn't set out to become an entrepreneur. She set out to become a pediatrician. But after years caring for children and families across Boston, she found herself increasingly frustrated by the limitations of the healthcare system around her. So frustrated, in fact, that her daughters eventually told her to stop complaining and build something better. That challenge led Dr. Riseberg to start Boston Community Pediatrics [https://www.bostoncommunitypediatrics.org/] – the first nonprofit pediatric private practice in Massachusetts – with a mission to expand equity in pediatric healthcare by removing barriers and building a more integrated support system for families often failed by traditional models of medicine. Her work has earned recognition from organizations including The Women’s Edge, the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Boston Community Pediatrics was recently named one of the Boston Business Journal’s Best Places to Work. In this conversation, we talk about the decisions that feel permanent until they aren't: leaving opportunities that no longer fit, stepping into leadership before you feel ready, taking risks without certainty, and learning that many of life's biggest choices are more reversible than they seem. We get into: – Why she left a prestigious fellowship after becoming a mother – The leadership role she initially didn't want – and how it changed the trajectory of her career – What her daughters taught her about complaining versus building – Why so many career decisions feel more permanent than they actually are – The emotional weight of asking people to believe in your vision financially – The moment she realized, "I love the work. I just shouldn't have to hate the rest of it." A conversation about leadership, motherhood, conviction, and the surprising freedom that comes from realizing you're not as stuck as you think. ******* ⭐️ Follow The Mothers and leave a 5-star review if this resonated 💬 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it 📱 Join The Mothers on Instagram @themotherspod [https://www.instagram.com/themotherspod] ✍️ Subscribe to ⁠⁠Sara’s Substack [https://sarasedgwickbrown.substack.com/]⁠⁠ for reflections on life, work, meaning & motherhood 💼 Find Sara on ⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarasedgwickbrown/] The Mothers is a production of Backline Media.

What Do You Actually Want? Work, Motherhood & Reinvention with Trish Walker

For decades, Trish Walker operated at the highest levels of corporate America – first rising to Senior Managing Director at Accenture, then as President of Home & Services at Best Buy. But beneath the executive titles was a more personal set of questions: What kind of life actually feels sustainable? How do you know when something is no longer working? And how do you separate what you truly want from what you’ve simply been taught to want? In this episode, Sara and Trish talk about the hidden architecture behind ambitious lives: infertility, miscarriages, marriage negotiations, work travel, grief, caregiving, identity shifts, boundaries, and the difficult conversations most people avoid for far too long. They also discuss: – Raising children while traveling four days a week – Having a stay-at-home dad before that arrangement became culturally common – Why women are often exhausted from defending their decisions – The pressure of “having it all” – Why personal growth often feels uncomfortable – Learning to let go of perfectionism and external expectations Today, Trish is the founder of My Daily Dash [https://www.mydaily-dash.com/], where she works as an executive coach and speaker helping leaders stress less, find clarity, and lead with purpose. A thoughtful conversation about ambition, honesty, reinvention, and the many ways a meaningful life can take shape. Learn more about Trish and her work at www.mydaily-dash.com [http://www.mydaily-dash.com] ******* ⭐️ Follow The Mothers and leave a 5-star review if this resonated 💬 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it 📱 Join The Mothers on Instagram @themotherspod [https://www.instagram.com/themotherspod] ✍️ Subscribe to ⁠⁠Sara’s Substack [https://sarasedgwickbrown.substack.com/]⁠⁠ for reflections on life, work, meaning & motherhood 💼 Find Sara on ⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarasedgwickbrown/] The Mothers is a production of Backline Media.