# 43 The Permission to Pause and the Curiosity to Build with AI

#46 Reclaiming Your Agency

So often we find ourselves frustrated at work, in teams, in family, or in friendships, because someone else isn’t showing up the way we think they should. We get stuck waiting for them to act, to decide, and to fix things. And in that waiting, we surrender the control that’s always been ours.  In this episode, Monique dives deep into the concept of reclaiming your agency, emphasizing the importance of reclaiming personal power in various aspects of life, including relationships and workplace dynamics. Whether it’s navigating constant urgent requests at work, negotiating expectations with a team, or stepping back from relationships that no longer align with your values, this episode is a reminder that you always have a choice, and real change comes when you take action.  In this episode: (01:16) - Understanding “Agency”: The Power of Choice (02:18) - Waiting for Others to Change (And Why That Fails) (03:13) - Identifying and Addressing Agency in Group Dynamics (05:43) - Protecting Your Energy and Structuring Your Time (06:29) - Negotiation as a Leadership Tool (07:17) - Resentment as a Signal You’ve Lost Control (09:00) - When Values Are Fundamentally Misaligned (10:32) - Taking Action: Your Right to Change Links and Resources: * Book - Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself | https://a.co/d/01s96IQB [https://a.co/d/01s96IQB]  Connect with Monique: * Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ [https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/]  * Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast [https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast/] * Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer [https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer]  * YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment [https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment]  Ask Monique Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem?  'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together.  https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8 [https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8]

#45 Leading with Clarity: How to Manage Your Workload Without Burnout

Leadership isn’t about doing it all. It’s about making clear decisions, defining accountability, and protecting your team’s energy. In this episode, Monique draws insights from a quarterly business review to explore how leaders can prevent cognitive overload while maximizing team performance. She highlights the power of clear roles, well-defined accountability, and strategic prioritization - not just to keep projects on track, but to protect people, sustain productivity, and drive meaningful outcomes.  In this episode: (00:54) - Quarterly Business Review and Leadership Accountability (02:21) - Too Many Ideas, Not Enough Boundaries (03:52) - Action Steps for Clarity & Accountability (06:25) - Delegation and Ruthless Prioritization Connect with Monique: * Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ [https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/]  * Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast [https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast/] * Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer [https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer]  * YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment [https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment]  Ask Monique Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem?  'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together.  https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8 [https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8]

#44 Using the Difficulty: How to Move Forward When Life Feels Too Full

Life doesn’t slow down when you’re overwhelmed.  In this episode, Monique explores what it’s like when all aspects of life demand attention at once - work, parenting, health, leadership, and personal projects. She examines how to stay present and effective without letting overwhelm take control. Monique reframes difficulty as an opportunity rather than a failure. She shares practical strategies for navigating busy seasons with clarity, intention, and self-compassion. Through stories and reflections from her own life, she demonstrates how to use friction as a signal, make strategic decisions about what truly matters, and how to protect energy while still showing up fully.  In this episode: (00:51) - How Are You, Really? (03:12) - The Reality of Full Seasons (05:22) - Using Difficult Moments to Your Advantage (06:50) - Acknowledging Frustration Without Paralysis (08:51) - Brain Dumps & Clearing Mental Overload (11:37) - Glass Balls vs Rubber Balls Framework (13:42) - Protecting Your Team & Shielding Priorities (15:24) - Delegation, AI, Virtual Assistants, and Family Advisors Connect with Monique: * Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com [https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com]  * Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast [https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast]  * Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer [https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer]   * YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment [https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment]  Ask Monique Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem?  'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together.  https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8 [https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8]

# 43 The Permission to Pause and the Curiosity to Build with AI

In this episode, Monique gets honest about breaking her own consistency streak and why giving ourselves grace matters in a messy, overwhelming world. She talks about holding space for real feelings at work and at home, and shares practical, down‑to‑earth ways she’s using AI in real life—from planning a family trip to synthesizing feedback and even learning to build with AI through a product boot camp. Take what resonates, leave the rest, and keep experimenting. In this episode: (01:36) - Consistency, Priorities, and Starting Again (04:24) - When the World Feels Heavy (05:39) - Permission to Pause and Give Yourself Grace (07:30) - Holding Safe Spaces at Work (10:47) - Planning a Family Spring Break with AI (Practical Trip-Planning Use Case) (15:27) - Using AI to Synthesize Performance Review Data Responsibly (18:19) - Building a Front-End Using Natural Language (20:00) - APIs and Backend Learning (22:01) - Why Experimenting Builds Better Product Leaders Connect with Monique: * Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ [https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/]  * Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast [https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast/] * Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer [https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer]  * YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment [https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment]  Ask Monique Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem?  'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together.  https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8 [https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8]

#42 Designing Your Year With Intention

At the start of every year, we quietly hope that this will be the one where we finally feel in control of our time. We imagine a calendar that feels calm, a life that feels balanced, and a year that feels ours.  But the truth is, most of us aren’t overwhelmed because we lack discipline. We’re overwhelmed because we’re trying to keep every option open, and the pressure of possibility quietly becomes a weight to carry. In this episode, Monique shares the exact vision-planning framework her family uses to design their year with intention - without burnout, guilt, or decision fatigue. It’s not about doing more, but choosing with clarity. It’s a grounded, realistic method that turns broad dreams into a clear calendar, while still leaving room for life’s unpredictability. You’ll learn how to prioritize outcomes, reduce mental load, and make big decisions early so your year can flow with purpose. In this episode: (00:54) - The Family Vision Planning Tradition (02:27) - The 4000 Weeks Reminder (03:11) - Why You’ll Never Do Everything - And Why It’s OK (07:03) - Defining the Outcomes (08:46) - Planning in Order of Priority (10:47) - The Regret-Minimization Test (11:48) - Locking In Priorities to Eliminate Decision Fatigue (12:40) - Staying Flexible Without Losing Structure Links and Resources: * Book - Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman | https://a.co/d/iFhCsrC [https://a.co/d/iFhCsrC] Connect with Monique: * Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/ [https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/]  * Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast [https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast/] * Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer [https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer]  * YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment [https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment]  Ask Monique Got a question that's keeping you up at night? Need a new way to look at a problem?  'Ask Monique' is your chance to get personalized insights. Submit your questions about business, professional life, or personal development, and let's dive into the messy, beautiful, and ever-changing world together.  https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8 [https://forms.gle/iGZv2bVnhBSXbnbc8]