Plan Simple with Mia Moran

On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m really excited to talk with Marie Levay-Pabst, who works with parents to create balanced lives. As the mom of two, she has done the work herself and knows that there is no magical time unicorn.

Marie suggests starting by tracking. For two weeks, every day you either note something you’re grateful for or a moment you experience joy. Just track that and where you are spending your time. Don’t judge, just track. This will help you start to notice what you value, which is a critical piece of creating balance.

Marie walks us through the basics of her process from tracking to naming values to creating a plan to living it. And she reminds us that there is always a reset (thank goodness, right?) and that it’s cyclical. “So many people run into thinking there’s some elusive fix version of their life out there they just have to find and that’s not true. It’s cyclical, our lives are cyclical. Our children are always changing. Just about the time you figure out what they need, they need something new.”

We talk about:

• struggling with work-life balance even if you are hugely efficient and the reminder that there is no one “fix,” our lives our cyclical and balance is something we create again and again over time
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• identifying personal and family essential values to guide where you put your time and energy
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• tracking time, joy, hopes, plans, and dreams to help you create balance
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• ruthless time blocking, in small doses, to match your values
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• minimizing time spent on things that don’t align with your values and how batching tasks helps take care of the stuff of life
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• the role of to-do lists: “Your to-do list is not your self-worth. It’s a list that keeps that stuff out of your brain. You can put your mental energy on things that matter most.”
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BIO

Marie Levey-Pabst is founder and a life-balance consultant at Create Balance. She teaches overwhelmed parents who are struggling to balance family, work, and personal fulfillment how to create balance around their own unique essential values, priorities, and personal strengths. She is a mother of two, a life-long educator, a coach and a writer.

LINKS

• Create Balance—www.createbalancedlife.com
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• Family Meetings with Cate Stillman - http://plansimplemeals.com/cate-stillman/
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Doable Changes from this episode:

• TRACK MOMENTS OF JOY. For two weeks, notice moments of joy each day. Track what gives you joy without judgement. This is a starting point to see what you want more of in your life.
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• TIME BLOCK RUTHLESSLY. Choose something you really value. For many parents Marie works with it is focused time with their kids. Create a block of time—not 20 hours a week, but maybe one or two hours, or half an hour a day—when you will do this. Mark it in your planner. Then keep that appointment. Turn off notifications on your phone and have that focused time.
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• BATCH TASKS. The stuff of life doesn’t go away just because you have focused on your values. Batch like tasks and block off time for that. This could look like setting aside an hour to make phone calls for appointments and deal with papers or setting aside an afternoon to batch cook meals...

On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m really excited to talk with Star Staubach, the mom of three kids, 8, 6, and 3, and she runs the business Ignite Radiance , working with women who are dedicated to creating change in their lives and in their businesses.

Star talks about a point in her business when asked about her goals all she could think was to run away. She just needed a break. And opportunities appeared. Star says we all have these rules about budget and what our husband’s needs are or our families, and we need to suspend those sometimes and allow ourselves to dream.

We talk a lot about manifesting and receiving. I love this quote, “There are desires within us that we are scared to even say out loud and the first course of action is just be still and allow yourself to hear that space.” As moms, especially, it is so easy to put our desires aside or fear what they will do to our families, but we can desire and receive.

We talk about:

• surrounding yourself with people you feel safe around who can hold your vision
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• manifesting and not seeing signs all around us
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• saying yes to possibility, enjoying a dream and opening to receiving
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• that manifesting and receiving isn’t selfish
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• asking for help to get what we need—like getting a babysitter so you can go out and play with a friend
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• surrendering things on our to do list to make space
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BIO

Star Staubach is an Energy Transformation Strategist. She’s been supporting clients to transform their lives and businesses for nearly a decade. In her Bad Ass Manifestation (BAM) parties, she teaches powerful, practical and easy tools to support you to open yourself to what is possible, beyond the confines of the rules that you think you have to live by.

LINKS

• igniteradiance.com/bam
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Doable Changes from this episode:

• STATE YOUR DESIRES. What do you really want? Transformation started for Star when she said out loud that she wanted a break. Get past the fear and the judgement and the “shoulds” and the “can’ts.”Just say your desire, whether it is a trip to Paris, a bra that fits, or an hour to nap.
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• ASK FOR HELP. Put it out there what you need. Be willing to let somebody help. If you aren’t used to asking for help or receiving and this feels hard, make small ask: Can you watch my kids for half an hour so I can walk alone? Can you pick up milk for me while you are at the store? Hire a babysitter for the afternoon just to have some time to yourself. See that it’s OK. Get used to putting your needs forward and asking for and receiving help.
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• LET GO OF PERFECTION. When you start to feel like your life doesn’t measure up in some moment—your dinner isn’t Insta worthy, the project you did with your kids is just a big mess in your house not Pinterest worthy, you screamed at your kids or they didn’t eat their veggies—take a breath, say “Wait a minute. This is real.” Remember that all that stuff online and in the parenting blogs, it’s edited and selected out of messy lives just like yours. Breathe, accept what is, remember that you are doing fine.
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REALLY getting healthy as a family can be a big lifestyle change. But no matter how insurmountable it may feel, focusing on one doable change at a time can help you take small steps toward your big goal.

A healthy lifestyle is...

I’m not carrying around a story in my head that I’m busy, I don’t have enough time, that I’m unhappy. I’m choosing to bring the energy to everything of “I have time, I have space, this is what I have chosen, and thank you more please.”  

– Alexia Vernon

On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m so excited to talk with Alexia Vernon. She’s somebody I know outside of this show, and she’s the person behind any reason that I stand on a stage with any amount of confidence. She helps people get over their fear of public speaker to stand in their own spotlight. She’s also the mom to a 3 ½ year old. We start out talking about balance.

To me it seems like Alexia is doing the dance of the ebb and flow of time between family and work. She says that things adjust seasonally, though what she is doing now isn’t what she was doing a year ago or will be doing a year from now. Right now, she’s in the midst of a shift as she works on a book.

And that shifting and morphing isn’t new. When her daughter was born, she moved from a very travel-intensive business to an online business that worked better with her life. I love seeing how different people make things work.

We talk about:

• the problem of underestimating the help you need
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• how the self-care we choose and fit in can change in different seasons of our life
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• not getting stuck in our stories
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• reverse engineering timelines for goals
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• having a day during the week when you don’t work
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• making simple meals
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BIO

Alexia Vernon is the go-to expert for helping TEDx speakers, entrepreneurs, executives, online experts, business professionals, educators, and creatives get over their fear of public speaking and deliver their spotlight talks. A motivational speaker focused on heart-centered and high impact communication, values-driven leadership, and women’s empowerment, Alexia not only cultivates the voices of thought leaders, she is one.

LINKS

• www.hotshotspeaker.com
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• Spotlight Speakers Salon on Facebook
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• Find Alexia on social media @AlexiaVernon
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Doable Changes from this episode:

• WRITE DOWN HOW LONG THINGS TAKE. A lot of us underestimate how long thing take to do right. That means we get frustrated because we don’t get things done in time or our schedules get off as we scramble to finish. Try taking notes on how long it really takes to do something. Use this the next time you are planning.
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• STOP SAYING I’M BUSY. Busy can be a state of mind. If you are too busy, it may be time to take something out—or it may be time to change your mind. If you really want to be doing everything you are doing, stop saying you are busy. Say, “I have time. I have space. I choose this.” See if that shifts things for you.
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• MAKE SIMPLE MEALS. Meals don’t have to be complicated or fancy to be healthy and tasty. Pick a few things that you can repeat again and again. Meals that don’t have a lot of prep—like Alexia’s salmon with coconut aminos, brown rice, and veggies—make getting dinner on the table less stressful so you can enjoy dinner time more.
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REALLY...

I talk a lot about rhythm because at one point I was held captive by a schedule that did not leave me feeling very well.

The seasons serve up a framework — the food that is available, the light, the vibe.

We can’t fight what nature serves up, and thrive.

As a mom and entrepreneur there are other seasons and rhythms all around us.

Life is constantly changing.

School year vs. summer.

The kids ages and phases.

The moon cycles.

Our menstral cycles.

The hustle vs. the rest and receive

Pregnancy.

The weather.

It is intense, and if we don’t pay attention, if we fight what our body needs, we get sick and tired.

Yesterday, I had to catch myself.

I was pushing really hard. I have been for a few weeks.

When a mom pushes too hard, the whole family feels it.

There were signs, but I ignored them. I was all work and no play.

My kids were aggravated. My husband was annoyed.

We were not eating well.

Life is busy. It’s fall.

I have a little girl who is braving her way at a new middle school. I have two others returning to their old school but after a year on the road with me. We are all finding our way through the bustle of fall, after a really unstructured summer.

I am launching a planner (a paper one) that will help both of us find balance, more often. (It was meant to be available for ordering last night.)

A week ago, I pulled out a copy of the FLOW planner and plugged back into a system that I know works.

When I felt like I had tuned back into my bigger vision around food, life, work and selfcare, the busyness had more purpose, and it was not all about work!

I ate better.

I was present for my kids and husband.

I slept well.

There was space.

When there is space, I find it much easier to make good choices.

Yesterday at 2pm I got word we could not go live with the planner.

At 3pm, 2 baby squirrels fell down the chimney.

I cried. I breathed. I laughed. I danced with my kids. We cleaned the house. We cooked some stew.

Then at 7pm, I threw the “prelaunch” party, which just 5 hours earlier was the launch party.

Life throws us all sorts of curve balls. It always will.

But when we fill our days with things that matter, we can roll with it.

Today, I opened my planner.

I know what to do for work.

I know what is for dinner.

I have chosen the 3 most important tasks to get done.

I have taken time to be grateful.

I am tracking my water and my...

Flip the switch of always being productive, making something happen and just realizing “You know, when I have a Mama Monday, it actually is productive.”

– Shereen Thor

On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m super excited to talk with Shereen Thor, the founder of Awaken the Rebel, a movement to get people to stop living the life they think they are supposed to live and to design their life on their own terms. She’s a mom of two in the midst of the baby years.

Shereen started out living toward other people’s expectations until a friend convinced her to go to a personal development seminar. It woke her up and changed her life. She quit her job, started doing stand up comedy, and started dabbling as an entrepreneur.

She started her life coaching business Awaken the Rebel about the same time she started her family. When her second pregnancy was in danger, she went on bed rest and moved from “Oh, motherhood needs to fit into my business” to , it’s “My business needs to fit into motherhood.” We’ve been talking about work-life balance a lot, and here is where Shereen started to feel hers.

We talk about:

• tapping into your body to find the direction you are supposed to go
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• getting really clear on your intention and committing to yourself, even when you don’t understand why you are doing it
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• asking what you need as a mom instead of thinking you should be a certain kind of mom
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• a weekly flow that includes family time, mama self-care time, household needs, and work
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• having a place for an idea dump
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• how date night makes being a family and couple more fun
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BIO

Shereen Thor is a host, author, rebel, movement starter, and serial artistpreneur who lives life on her terms and helps others do the same. She facilitates live events and retreats and does 1-1 coaching as part of leading a movement that helps people stop settling for less and live an extraordinary life by their design. She’s also the mom to two young kids.

LINKS

• http://awakentherebel.com/
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• http://awakentherebel.com/topics/podcast/
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Doable Changes from this episode:

• CREATE A WEEKLY WORKFLOW. Shereen talks about having family weekends, Mama Mondays, house-focus Tuesdays, open day on Wednesdays, and work-focused Thursdays. Your week might look really different, but what would it look like if you created your own flow for the week. Think about family time, work time, home time—how can you make space or it all? Map it out on paper and then live with it or a while to see how it works.
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• CREATE AN IDEA DUMP. We all have so many ideas—new offerings for our business, people we want to connect with, things to pick up at the store—that our brains get cluttered. When we put it down on paper (or at least in our phones), we don’t have to worry about remembering it. At the same time we don’t have to deal with it right then. So if you get a business idea while you’re doing family time, jot it down and focus back on the moment.
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• DO DATE NIGHT. Ideally, date night becomes part of your regular weekly flow, but start with planning one. As Shereen says, it’s more fun to have a family, more fun to be part of a couple when you have date night. Date night changes the communication and flow of energy,...