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Welcome to this week's episode - a quick coffee chat of sorts - about the lessons I've learned from guests over the past 3.5 years.

I went through every episode - honest - it took way longer than I thought it would, and distilled down the biggest lessons I've learned so far. 

• There's no right or wrong way to do something. Just what's working for each person in this season, and seasons change. 
• Time is abundant, and how you choose to use it is up to you. You can make time for what works for you. 
• Talking about outsourcing is important, but outsourcing isn't for everyone.
• Managing your time and family is sometimes like a business, and proper weekly and quarterly reviews are important to keep things running on track
• You can be many things - and that's both exciting and scary
• So many guests have solved a need for something they wanted to see in the world

What's something that's stuck with you? Whats an episode that lives rent free in your brain?

Looking for a past episode? Check out the Episode Index here

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This week, we're chatting with Kate Zeitler, founder of Zeitler Design — the creative agency behind A Day in Her Life's own rebrand — who runs her studio on an "intensive model," taking on just one client at a time. Kate shares what it's like to build an entire brand and website in a single week, raise three kids in Natick, Massachusetts, and still make it to oil painting class twice a week.

In this week’s conversation, Kate opens up about leaving a stalled retail career for night classes in design, growing Zeitler Design one referral at a time since 2014, and the framework behind building an entire brand and website in a single intensive week. We talk about the chore system that finally stuck after many failed attempts, using Claude and Figma to build award-winning-caliber websites in days instead of months, and why she'd rather have a blocked-off week than the extra income.

What We Cover:

• Why she describes her days as intentional, creative, and connected — and how those words really do play out in her days
• From seven years in retail merchandising to night classes at MassArt to freelance schedule cards for a yoga studio in 2014, and how referrals alone grew Zeitler Design into a studio with hundreds of past clients.
• The Skylight chore system that finally stuck after six failed attempts, with star rewards the family cashes in together (150 stars: a trip to see Toy Story 5).
• Her morning rhythm: Orange Theory or deep creative work before 6:30am, a dog walk with a cappuccino and a podcast, and not sitting down at her desk until 9:00.
• Why she is intentional about scaling Zeitler Design, how it’s happened naturally as she’s had more capacity, and why she blocks her weeks when she know’s she’ll need it.
• The twice-weekly oil painting classes she's kept on her calendar since 2020, and what she's learned painting alongside women decades older and younger than her.
• What surprised her most about being a working mom, and the newest hobby she's taken up: rebinding her husband's paperback library into gold-debossed hardcovers.

Connect with Kate:

• Instagram: @zeitlerdesign
• Website: zeitlerdesign.com

References:

• Be Present — the app she uses to shut down Instagram after 10 minutes and cut off email and social entirely by 9pm each night
• Skylight — the family calendar-and-chores console that finally made a star-reward system stick after six failed attempts
• Tuesday Nights (Milk Street) — the Boston chef's cookbook she turns to for fast, kid-approved dinners
• One and Done — her go-to sheet-pan cookbook for one-dish family meals
• Jura — the cappuccino maker she uses every morning as part of her walk-the-dog ritual

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This week, we're chatting with Alexa Archibald, who spent nine years at Meta — including a stretch on the AI and machine learning team — before walking away to run her jewelry brand, Charm Lane Collection, and her content business (@CharmLane) full-time. Alexa shares what it's like to pack every order herself out of her home studio and parent two wild little boys, ages three and five, mostly solo in the mornings.

In this week’s conversation, Alexa opens up about the postpartum depression and anxiety after her second son, the "math equation" that finally convinced her to leave Meta for good, and the exact way she uses Claude as a five-person "board of directors" for her businesses.

What We Cover:

• Leaving nine years at Meta for a "math equation" that finally made sense: trading 2am side-hustle hours for daytime hours building Charm Lane Collection and her content business full-time.
• Her charge-the-iPhone nighttime routine: a vibration plate, a red light mask, needlepoint, and a $35 TikTok Shop foot massager she's worn out a charger on.
• Running two businesses on a fixed weekly schedule — Monday is her "CEO day," Tuesday is content day — while still packing and shipping every jewelry order herself.
• How she uses Claude as a five-person "board of directors," channeling people she admires — like Shopify president Harley Finkelstein — for real business decisions, plus how Claude Cowork now fills her Whole Foods cart each week.
• Her husband's new NYC ferry commute (he's out by 7:00am) and how mornings became a solo act with her, her two boys, and their 70-pound sheepdog, Phyllis — who loves to forage for food.
• The "standing plans" that keep her friendships intact — weekly mahjong with a rotating group of ten and a set weekly meal with her best friend.
• The "ball" she's intentionally letting drop: the big, shiny mom-friend-group scene, in favor of a smaller circle she can go deep with.

Connect with Alexa:

• Instagram: @charmlane
• Website: charmlane.com
• Jewelry Brand (Instagram): @charmlanecollection
• Jewelry Brand (Website): charmlanecollection.com

References:

• Be Ready When the Luck Happens (Ina Garten)
• Activations app
• ClickUp
• TikTok Shop foot massager
• Loop & Dash

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This week, we're sitting down with Emma Shulman, a self-described "recovering executive" who left a 15-year tech career to chase her lifelong dream of writing a novel. Emma shares what it's like to be out the door by 4:45am three to four mornings a week to write at her regular Starbucks — where she knows every barista by name — before her kids can "smell her" and end the flow.

In this week’s conversation, Emma opens up about querying literary agents for her debut dystopian novel, the writing group note that sent her back for a full rewrite, a solo writing residency on Nantucket that cracked open how much of her mental space usually belongs to everyone else's needs, and what it's really like to run two kids' entirely separate school schedules with zero outside childcare.

What We Cover:

• The 4:45am Starbucks ritual that buys Emma two hours of writing time before her kids can pull her back into mom mode (she knows every barista by name).
• Why she calls herself a "recovering executive" — leaving a 15-year tech career, including an acquisition that closed the day her second child was born, to write full-time.
• The writing group note that sent her back for a full rewrite of her debut novel.
• What a solo writing residency on Nantucket taught her about how much headspace she normally spends on everyone else's needs.
• The "should, should, should" loop she quiets with a literal 10-minute kitchen timer — and why leaving corporate life means building her own boundaries from scratch.
• Running two kids through entirely separate school schedules with zero outside childcare, plus the "boomerang tasks" her part-time house manager takes off her plate.
• The preschool expert's rule for deciding if a five-year-old is actually ready for an extracurricular.
• Why she deletes Instagram every Friday, saves TikTok for her 10-minute red light mask, and finally let herself get her nails done again without the guilt.
• The exposure therapy of being a "recovering type A" who's finally comfortable trying things she's bad at, from wedding calligraphy to a new needlepoint kit.

Connect with Emma:

• Instagram: @writewithemma
• Substack: Write With Emma

References:

• "Alan Ops Out".
• Euphoria
• Oura Ring
• B Tone
• Caro Chambers' "What to Cook" Index
• Louise Carmen Journal/Planner
• Skylight

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Catharine Perry is the chief operating officer of a global trade association, splitting her time between Omaha, Nebraska and Washington, D.C., overseeing finance, HR, operations, and member programs for an entire industry — and she still blocks her 9:00–9:30am Eastern hour as "available by phone" so she never misses daycare drop-off.

In this week’s conversation, Catharine shares the single conversation with her CEO that became the turning point in her career (she asked; he said yes), the color-coded A, B, C priority system she and her husband use to keep two travel-heavy calendars from colliding, and the 15-minute nightly reset that saves her evenings when she's solo parenting during his work trips.

What We Cover:

• How Catharine turned "would you consider giving me the opportunity?" into the career pivot that eventually led to COO
• The A, B, C priority coding system she and her husband use on their shared calendars to help when travel conflicts arise
• The Kelly Nolan Bright Method time-blocking framework that got her out from under a paper planner and an overflowing Outlook calendar
• Her honest answer on why dinner is often a separate "toddler dinner" — and why she's letting go of the guilt around that
• The 15-minute nightly reset ritual (pajamas laid out, kitchen wiped down) that makes her mornings and evenings run smoother
• Why 2026's personal focus word is "community," and the neighborhood social committee, group text, and progressive dinner tradition she started to build it
• How she splits Claude and ChatGPT between work and personal life, and why she still hasn't migrated years of ChatGPT history
• The weekly Thursday-night check-in where she and her husband say their weekend expectations out loud instead of assuming (love this one!)
• What she's letting go of entirely right now, from holiday decor to the pressure of a "perfect" evening

Connect with Catharine:

• Instagram: @catharineperry
• LinkedIn: Catharine Perry

References:

• The Last Mrs. Parrish, The Whole-Brain Child, Unreasonable Hospitality
• Kelly Nolan's Bright Method — the time-blocking framework that overhauled how she manages her calendar

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This week, you're stuck with me for a solo episode on what it actually looks like when I travel for work. I'm walking through my exact packing system (mouth tape included), the carry-on I've used for almost 10 years, and the loyalty programs I will defend to the death.

In this casual check-in, I share my TSA Touchless routine at Logan, why I'll do just about anything to avoid checking a bag or booking a red-eye, and my perfected flight uniform. I also run through a few rapid-fire favorites — what I'm reading, watching, and scrolling right now — and give you a first look at the podcast's brand new rebrand with Kate Zeitler of Zeitler Designs.

What I Cover:

• Why I'm calling my days frenetic, full, and fun right now, and what "summer max" mode looks like with two kids in the thick of it
• The exact contents of my carry-on bag: two laptops, AirPods, backup wired headphones, the dongle that Bluetooths my headphones to the seatback screen, and the needlepoint that keeps my hands busy at takeoff and landing
• Why I've used the same Away carry-on for almost 10 years and my biggest travel hot take: pick an airline, hotel brand, and rental car brand early and stay loyal to it
• Why I'll do almost anything to avoid checking a bag or booking a red-eye, including the brutal red-eye this spring that cured me for good
• My TSA Touchless routine at Logan (faster than the PreCheck line these days) and why Clear's value has "degraded" for me even though it's free with Amex Platinum
• Packing scrubs for hospital site visits versus real clothes for team trips, plus my perfected flight uniform: white tee, joggers, a topper, and sneakers
• My Uber rules for the ride to the airport (no chitchat, please) and when I choose to drive myself instead
• The podcast's brand new look, courtesy of Kate Zeitler of Zeitler Designs, and why I'm rolling it out gradually instead of waiting for one big coordinated launch

Three Words to Describe My Days Right Now: Frenetic. Full. Fun.

PRODUCTS & BRANDS MENTIONED

• Away (bigger carry-on suitcase)
• Alex Mill weekday tote
• L.L.Bean boat and tote
• Cuyana bags
• Kindle
• AirPods / AirPod Max
• Seatback Bluetooth dongle (for headphones to the TV screen)

Today's episode is brought to you by Sage Haus, the only nationwide service matching vetted house managers with busy families across the US and Canada. 

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Episode Music - For Days - Tom Deis via Shutterstock

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This week, we're sitting down with Karina Monesson, a workforce researcher at Great Place to Work and mom of four girls (ages 1, 3, 6, and 11) in South Florida.  Karina shares what it's like to run a three-and-a-half-hour bedtime marathon every night, wear a continuous glucose monitor that shows her blood sugar spiking from stress alone, and grow a food forest of mango, avocado, and banana trees in her tiny backyard.

In this deeply open conversation, Karina shares about getting sober at 24, sending her oldest to sleep-away camp (and the backlash she got online for it), and the two "balls" she's currently dropping — movement and time with her husband. We talk about the Ellyn Satter Division of Responsibility that ended dinner-table battles, why she nurses each baby well past a year, and why leaving a comfortable, safe job became the moment that changed her career trajectory forever.

What We Cover:

• Why she describes her days as loud, long, and purposeful, and the bedtime marathon (7pm to 10:30pm) that comes with raising four girls ages 1 to 11.
• Her path from entry-level PR to executive ghostwriter to leading workforce research at Great Place to Work, and the moment she found the courage to leave a "comfortable, safe" job.
• Getting sober at 24 and why she's more proud of her recovery than ashamed of her addiction.
• Sending her 10-year-old to sleepaway camp for the first time (and the backlash she got online), plus what "The Anxious Generation" taught her about independence.
• The Ellyn Satter Division of Responsibility that ended dinner-table battles and how she’s become a no recipe cook, and why it’s her superpower.
• Building a .2-acre food forest in her South Florida backyard with mango, avocado, and banana trees, and the joy of feeding her family something she grew herself.
• The two "balls" she's dropping right now — movement and time with her husband — and finally learning to ask for the village support she needed.
• Why she's building "Corporate Homemaker" on Instagram around one tagline: "We can be both."

I could have talked with Karina for hours, and I think you're going to feel the same way!

Connect with Karina:

• Instagram: @corporate.homemaker
• LinkedIn: Karina Monesson

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Episode Music - For Days - Tom Deis via Shutterstock

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This week, we're sitting down with Hannah Rosenberg, a poet and writer whose first book, "Same," came out this past October. Hannah shares what it's like to write about your own life as it's happening, four months postpartum with a newborn and a three-year-old, catching poems in parked cars and the gaps between camp drop-off and coffee with friends.

In this week’s conversation, Hannah opens up about spending years believing poetry could only be a hobby, the pandemic goal that changed everything (a new poem every week for a year), and the wild week—one month before she planned to quit her job—when two editors from different publishing houses reached out within days of each other. We talk about her winding path from medical anthropology to full-time writing, why movement is her number one reset, and why walks with her family are her favorite part of the day.

What We Cover:

• Why she describes her days as chaotic, fun, and optimistic, and the four-thing morning goal (stretch, coffee, water, contacts) that makes or breaks the day.
• Her unexpected path from rejected MFA poetry applications to a master's in medical anthropology in London and five years at Boston Children's Hospital.
• The August 2020 goal to share a new poem every week for a year with no plan beyond that—and how it became both a lifeline and a whole community.
• The almost-too-good-to-be-true week two editors from major publishing houses reached out, a month before she was set to quit, and how "Same" ended up published on two continents at once.
• Working when your creative work is your life: catching ideas in parked cars, stealing two hours on a Saturday, and why bigger projects feel foggy postpartum.
• Why movement is her number one reset and the Fit4Mom class that checks the social, fitness, and baby-in-the-stroller boxes all in one hour.
• Treating adult friendship "like dating" (just exchange the numbers!) and why the phone is her best friend right now.
• What she's letting go of right now (the house, date nights) and why the "roommate phase" of marriage four months postpartum is completely okay.

Connect with Hannah:

• Instagram: @hannahrowrites
• Website: hannahrowrites.com
• Book: Same (available anywhere books are sold)

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Today's episode is brought to you by Sage Haus, the only nationwide service matching vetted house managers with busy families across the US and Canada. 

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This week, we're sitting down with Sabina Hitchen, founder of Press for Success and mom to a seven-year-old in Portland, Maine. Sabina shares what it's like to wake by 5am for a solo walk that doubles as her idea generator, run a PR company with her husband (who she hired away from his own media career), and touch an actual tree before she can stop being "PR Sabina" for the day.

In this honest conversation, Sabina opens up about pivoting from a planned law career to teaching high school history to accidentally landing in PR after Googling "What is PR?" the week she got the job, and setting down her podcast dreams because they weren't the priority right now. We talk about finally letting her VA team triage 100-plus daily emails, the ChatGPT-scripted "Abra Pajama" game that gets her daughter dressed in ten seconds, and why every "too much" trait people once told her to tone down is what makes Press for Success work.

What We Cover:

• The 5am wake-up she never thought she’d want, the solo walk that doubles as her mental health check-in and idea machine, and the roll of 20-plus voice DMs she sends friends and clients before her family is up.
• How she Googled "What is PR?" the week she landed her first publicity job and stumbled into repping the original "mompreneurs" almost 20 years ago, eventually building Press for Success for small business owners.
• Why she hired her own husband away from his media consultancy, and the standing 10am and 3pm check-ins that keep the business from swallowing their marriage.
• Setting down the podcast she'd planned to launch this year, and the half-trained Beach to Beacon 10K alongside it, because something had to give.
• The parenting-advice ChatGPT bot she built herself, the "Abra Pajama" trick that gets her daughter dressed in ten seconds, and splitting chores into non-negotiables versus paid extras.
• Letting her VA team fully run her inbox for the first time this year (hundreds of emails a day) and what convinced her to loosen her grip.
• Working through her wedding week, and even a Zoom call on her honeymoon, before learning to actually unplug on vacation.
• Why sunflowers took over her backyard from spilled squirrel feed, and the new birdwatching and tennis obsessions replacing New York energy with Maine mornings.

Connect with Sabina:

• Instagram: @SabinaKnows
• Website: pressforsuccess.com

Today's episode is brought to you by Sage Haus, the only nationwide service matching vetted house managers with busy families across the US and Canada. 

Book a free call using this link and use code ELLIE for $200 off hiring services.

Episode Music - For Days - Tom Deis via Shutterstock

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This week, we're sitting down with Barbara Mighdoll, owner and CEO of MNT Studio — the first wellness social club combining Pilates, co-working, sauna, and childcare — who also runs the marketing agency behind her brand New Modern Mom and just co-founded Roam Collective, a family sabbatical company. Barbara shares what it's like to grow one Pilates studio into seven locations in two years.

In this week’s conversation, Barbara opens up about leaving a job after panic attacks over her boss's emails, acquiring a Pilates studio three months after quitting corporate, and the nine-week trip to Portugal that turned into a total business pivot. We talk about selling out a six-week family trip to Spain in 28 minutes, why she doesn't eat dinner with her kids, running her household on five shared Google calendars, and why she's finally comfortable letting "urgent" things fall behind the important ones.

What We Cover:

• Why she describes her days as "structured yet chaotic, social yet isolated, fulfilled yet exhausted" — and the theory that two things can always be true at once
• The system behind her mornings - 6:30am wake-up, movement, and walking to school with her husband before the workday starts
• Acquiring a Pilates studio three months after quitting a toxic corporate job, the nine-week trip to Portugal that changed everything, and growing one studio into a wellness social club on track for seven locations by year's end
• How a chance meeting in Nice turned into Roam Collective, a family sabbatical company that sold out its first program in San Sebastian in 28 minutes (and its August cohort in 18)
• Why she doesn't eat dinner with her kids, the Trader Joe's haul and five sauces that make bowl night easy, her nightly movement practice, and the ChatGPT prompt she built to pull recipes from her favorite food blogs
• The math behind choosing an au pair over a nanny or daycare and the built-in Thursday date night that requires zero planning
• Running her household on five shared Google calendars, a dry-erase wall calendar, and a house manager who handles the chores no one wants to fight about
• Managing an autoimmune disease with twice-monthly IV treatments, the "self-discovery zone" and twice-yearly off-sites with her husband that keep her from burning out, and why she hasn't taken a single day off in two years

Connect with Barbara:

• Instagram: @newmodernmom
• Substack: New Modern Mom
• Podcast: The New Modern Mom Podcast (relaunching this summer)

Listen and Review

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@adayinherlifepod

adayinherlife.com

adayinherlife.substack.com

Today's episode is brought to you by Sage Haus, the only nationwide service matching vetted house managers with busy families across the US and Canada. 

Book a free call using this link and use code ELLIE for $200 off hiring services.

Episode Music - For Days - Tom Deis via Shutterstock