Spreadsheets and calendars can be communication tools. It’s a burden on one person to know everything and control everything.

– Monica Froese

On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m really excited to talk with Monica Froese, who left the corporate world after her daughter was born and now teaches mom entrepreneurs how to ditch their 9–5 careers and start thriving online businesses. I love just how organized Monica is—I think she has a spreadsheet for everything. That’s actually how we connected originally.

Monica talks about how she left her job and changed her mindset to fit in running a business, self-care, and more time with her daughter. We talk about how what you need to do expands to the time you have to do it—and how to use that idea to our advantage.

Monica is intense in her workouts and her business, but she makes sure she has down time. I’ve been really focused on how managing our calendars helps make time for the important things, and we talk about the different ways she creates space in her calendar.

We talk about:

• adding ramp up/ramp down time into our schedules, whether it’s time to shower after a workout or a day to deal with undone business after travel
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• scheduling “no plans” days
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• using tools like Google calendar and shared spreadsheets to communicate with your partner
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• having a place for things—like mail or keys or Christmas presents—to save us time
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• how Monica uses her grocery stores app to create a shopping list and help budget
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• letting other people give our kids experiences that we want them to have that aren’t fun for us
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BIO

Monica Froese is a mom to a 4-year-old with another child on the way. She left corporate to create a life that worked better for her. She runs her own business teaching mom entrepreneurs how to ditch their 9-5 careers and start thriving online businesses while balancing work and family at the same time. Monica says, “I don’t believe that women have to choose between their careers and family. You can have anything you set your mind to.”

LINKS

• redefiningmom.com
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• Monica’s home budget spreadsheet
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• Connect with her on Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Twitter @RedefiningMom and on Pinterest at RedefineMom
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Doable Changes from this episode:

• SCHEDULE TIME TO WORK OUT. One doable tip I often give is to move your body for 15 minutes throughout the day, but sometimes you want or need a longer workout. The best way to get it is to schedule that time, including your ramp up and ramp down time. If you schedule 1 hour to work out, but don’t add in time to get to the gym or to shower afterwards, you won’t have a positive experience.
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• STREAMLINE GROCERY SHOPPING. How can you...