Kristen Westcott is a Shameless Mom to two little girls, as well as a business growth strategist and founder of Kristen Westcott Media who has spent the last decade in the legal and education fields supporting leaders and students in the areas of goal setting, productivity, and project management. After recognizing her true passion lies in serving entrepreneurs, Kristen honed her skills as a Director of Operations. She quickly noticed that what was holding many business owners back wasn’t a lack of drive or ability, but a lack of foundational systems that could support the day-to-day operations of a scaling business. These days, she spends her time helping online coaches, copywriters, and course creators scale without the frustration that massive growth often brings.
Listen in to hear Kristen share:

How she navigated the decision around wanting children vs not wanting children

What triggered her Postpartum Depression for her and how it showed up for her

Being thrown for a loop when she got pregnant on the pill

How PPD showed up very differently after both of her daughter’s births

How she treated her PPD

Why women are resistant to getting help and support

How to be more adaptable in order to use our best skills in all areas of our lives

How to own your skills in order to access them in hard times and places

How to prioritize and optimize hiring help in your home and your work

Links mentioned:

Connect with Kristen: Kristen Westcott Media


Kirsten on Facebook: Kristen Westcott Media


Kristen on Instagram: Kristen Westcott


Kristen on LinkedIn: Kristen Westcott


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497: Kristen Westcott: PPD, Adaptability & Accessing Your Skills In Motherhood

Hosted by the notoriously real and raw Sara Dean, The Shameless Mom Academy is a top-rated podcast for moms who are looking to gain confidence, improve relationships, build better boundaries, cultivate resilience, create joy, and position themselves as a leader in their households, communities, workplaces, and businesses. The Shameless Mom Academy provides inspiration, learning, and stories that guide moms to become more confident and courageous decision-makers and action-takers.  With a deep commitment to truth-telling, Sara and her guests share vulnerable stories that are not often shared between mothers.  You can expect your head and your heart to expand a little with every episode. If you’re ready to overcome mom guilt, reject imposter syndrome, and quit perfectionism, you’re in the right place.  You can count on The Shameless Mom Academy to provide practical advice and simple strategies to make your life a little better starting today. Warning: Sara is known to make listeners laugh and cry and walk away feeling like you just spent time with a new best friend.

Kids & Family

Parenting

Health & Fitness

Mental Health

As a busy mom, time becomes your most precious resource, but it often feels like there's never enough. Effective time management is crucial for achieving your goals and avoiding the overwhelm that comes with motherhood.
There are some simple strategies that you can put in place immediately to help you protect your time and energy. Additionally, I want to provide you with some mindset resets around time management that will help you see time and how you use it in new ways.  
In this episode, we'll explore practical strategies to help you reclaim your time and find a sense of balance amidst the chaos of family life. From reevaluating your schedule to embracing the concept of unscheduling, you'll discover how to create more mental space and carve out time for self-care and pursuing your dreams.
By gaining a few new time management skills, you'll build the confidence you need to make the most of your time and create a life that aligns with your priorities. Whether you're craving more time for yourself, more quality time with your family, or wanting to pursue a big goal, this episode offers actionable tips to help you navigate the challenges of being a busy mom while still making room for what truly matters.
Links mentioned:

SMA Ep 105: 7 Secrets To Slow Down & Simplify 


SMA Ep 397: 4 Time Management Mindset Shifts For Moms



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872: Take Back Your Time: Time Management Tips for Busy Moms

The title of this episode might have some of you judging me. I get it. Before you judge, hear me out… 
A few years ago, I listened to the book FINISH by Jon Acuff. Then, I read the hard copy. Then, I chose the book for the book club inside our SMA membership community. I loved (and still love) this book. The book is all about how to finish the things you start. One of Jon’s tools in finishing your top priority goals or action items is to simultaneously “choose what to bomb”. Sometimes, if you need to get the big, important things done you have to let yourself completely fail in other areas. 
 As I find myself in this season of working full time while, navigating month 11 of my husband’s unemployment, being a grad school student, and intense parenting (friends… nobody warned me about 11!), I’m having to choose to bomb some things. And, being a social butterfly is one of them. I am saying no to things I really want to do with people I really want to spend time with because this is the only way to protect my time and sanity. It’s hard to set and hold these boundaries, but it’s really necessary in this season of life.  
In this episode, I talk through how to choose what to bomb when life is a lot and something’s got to give. I also talk you through how to bomb things in a way that doesn’t make you feel like you’re being a horrible person. I know the truth is that I’m a very good friend - even if I’m not the greatest friend right now. I’m guessing the same is true for you. 
Link mentioned:
Book: FINISH by Jon Acuff
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor
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871: I’m A Really Bad Friend Right Now

Hi Perfectionist Friend,
I SEE you. I know you. Sometimes, I am you.
You likely find yourself often feeling stuck. You’re tightly holding onto dreams, but unable to take steps toward them. You feel the weight of chronic decision fatigue as you try to determine what the next “best” or “right” step is. So you find yourself waiting. Waiting until the time and conditions are juuuust right. Yet, somehow that time never comes.
I know you want more - but with less worry, nervousness, and anxiety.  
I see you worrying about what others might think if you flop.
I see you anxiously stuffing your dreams into deep hiding places because you think you might fail.
Perhaps you desire perfection so deeply you cannot make a decision or take any action because… FEAR.
Perhaps you spend inordinate amounts of mental energy on a decision because you think making the wrong decision could ruin everything.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in motherhood and entrepreneurship is that perfect sucks. In fact, perfect stops me in my tracks and keeps me stuck for far too long. And, imperfect action is ridiculously liberating.
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor
Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com
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870: Beyond Perfection: 4 Gifts of Embracing Imperfection

Melissa Bond is a narrative journalist, poet, and matriarch of Salt Lake City’s Slam Scene. The Salt Lake Tribune and the New York Post have both done features on Bond's book Blood Orange Night, her memoir about becoming dependent upon and then withdrawing from Benzodiazepines. Blood Orange Night was published by Simon & Schuster in June 2022 and was selected by the New York Times as one of the best audiobooks of 2022. Bond has been featured on PBS Story in the Public Square, Radio West, the podcasts Risk!, Endeavors, Psychology Unplugged, The New York Times 
Podcasts, RadioWest and Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books.

Listen in to hear Melissa share:

How a very common medical prescription for insomnia led to full physical dependence on benzodiazepines that led to her rapid physical and mental downward spiral

How she was able to begin to put together the pieces around her unforeseen medication dependence after narrowly escaping harming herself and her daughter in a fall

Her discovery that her myriad of strange physical and mental health symptoms were actually her going through medication withdrawal every single day

Her decision to confront the doctor who massively overprescribed benzodiazepines to her

How the Benzo Harmed Community relates differently to common terminology around addiction 

How the “shadow of shame” impacts people’s recoveries from substance use, substance dependence, and substance abuse

Her advice to moms who are mentally or physically suffering with the demands of motherhood and how they can get help from medical professionals in the most safe and trusting way


Links mentioned:

Connect with Melissa: www.melissaabond.com


Melissa’s Book: Blood Orange Night


Melissa on Instagram

Melissa on Facebook


We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor
Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com

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869: Melissa Bond: The Terror of Accidental Addiction at the Hands of a Negligent Doctor

Mom guilt is one of my favorite topics. Mom guilt is familiar to most if not all moms. However, very few moms consider where this constant guilt and the accompanying feelings of inadequacy come from.  
In this Greatest Hits episode, I talk about mom guilt as a social construct in which women are indoctrinated to think they should feel bad for ever prioritizing themselves, their identity, their careers, or their happiness over their kids.
You know how I know this is true?? Because I know the following:
Dads are not asked, “How do you do it all? How do you juggle your career with your family?
Dads are not asked, “Don’t you feel bad when you have to travel for work and you don’t get to see your kids for 3 days?”
Dads don’t have to internalize messages like, “I don’t know how you work so much. I would feel so bad not being at my kid’s games/practices/plays/recitals.”
When dads consider taking up new hobbies/activities they don’t automatically think, “That would be awesome, but I would feel so bad taking that time away from my family.”
Women are indoctrinated to feel like subpar moms if they prioritize their careers, self-care, or their sanity over their family's needs. Men are encouraged to prioritize their careers and hobbies over their family's needs - “Climb that corporate ladder!” “You gotta start golfing with us, man!” “Meet us every Saturday for pick-up basketball!”
I am inviting you to take a look at the guilt you carry. Guilt of any kind is not productive. It keeps us stuck. It holds us back. It does not serve any positive purpose. So, if you’re spending time stuck in mom guilt, you’re wasting time and energy that could be used for so many other positive things in your life.  
In this episode, I talk about how we can flip this social construct on its head to protect our energy, gifts, and rights to rest (yes, you will rest more when you stop feeling so damn guilty.) If you’re ready to reject mom guilt, this episode is for you! 

Links mentioned:
Book: Drop The Ball by Tiffany Dufu


We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor
Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com
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497: Kristen Westcott: PPD, Adaptability & Accessing Your Skills In Motherhood

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