The Balancing Act

This week I speak with Siobhan Fisher, founder of These Little Fish. Upon returning to the corporate marketing world after having her daughter Siobhan found that something had shifted. Where she had once felt really passionate and very driven in the work she was doing, something had changed. She still felt the ambition but wanted something that gave her more fulfilment. She enlisted the support of a coach, Laura Oldfield, which she describes as a transformational experience. She has gone on to find a balance of working life that includes working part time as an employee, as well as now running her own business, focused on serving small business owners. Tune in to hear more about Siobhan's journey.

You can find Siobhan on Instagram @theselittlefish, where she also goes live via 'Fish & Witch Friday's' answering all your marketing questions and also at www.theselittlefish.com

Episode 10 marks what should have been the end of the first season. But I am enjoying this all too much and so have made the decision to carry on! And it feels really good. I feel so excited to share more content and wonderful guests with you over the coming weeks.

I share my top three learnings on putting yourself out there:
1. Be clear on your why
2. Get comfortable with the fear
3. Accept imperfect action
This is particularly aimed at anyone who has the inkling of an idea of wanting to try something new.

I am also really excited to announce that Build Your Balance, my signature Group Programme is ready for release. I am asking for some feedback on timings to ensure that everyone is able to take away full value from the experience. Drop me a message @debbieleeco with your thoughts.

If you do have any ideas you would just love to get off the ground and feel like you could do with some extra support then head over to www.debbielee.co.uk to book 30mins with me completely for free.

In this week's episode we are talking women's pelvic health. This is a topic that I find is not widely discussed and often not comfortable to talk about. Fiona is a specialist in pelvic health during pregnancy, post-natal and beyond. She shares a wealth of information ranging from:
- how to safely get back to exercise after having a baby
- long term pelvic floor maintenance
- what to do if you feel like something isn't right
- what a Mummy MOT is and what to expect at an appointment
- tools and resources to help during lockdown

Fiona references lots of great online resources throughout the episode which I've linked to below:
www.pelvicroar.org

www.thepogp.co.uk

Squeezy App

You can also find her on Instagram @physioandpilates, on Facebook The Physio and Pilates Company and through her website www.physioandpilatesco.com

This week is my first ever in person interview with my husband, Dave Riley. We talk about our two different approaches to parental leave following the birth of each of our sons, three years apart. As with many aspects of parenting life, we are learning as we go along! We talk about why we think longer paternity leave is a good thing, why it's not the norm and what we think the longer term impact of unequal leave really is.

You can read more about the Mother Pukka campaign I mention @mother_pukka

I'd love to hear what you think, and more about your own experiences of parental leave. Head over to instagram and drop me a message @debbieleeco

Our energy levels are likely fluctuating more than usual just now as life on the Corona coaster continues. We are not designed to be at full throttle all of the time. Especially as females our energy levels are governed by hormone fluctuations during our menstrual cycle. Even if you do not have a regular menstrual cycle you can make use of a seasonal way of working. The cyclical nature of energy fluctuations on a monthly scale is similar to the changes that we see throughout the seasons on an annual basis. In this episode I give an introduction to this idea and how you can make use of it to allow yourself more time to rest and slow down while building trust in yourself and your body.

I'd really love to know what you think of this one. Give me a tag or drop me a DM on instagram @debbieleeco

In this episode I talk about the importance of taking time out for yourself in amongst all of the busyness. In December I experimented with doing more of the things that I loved and was reminded of these three things:
- We have a choice over at least a little bit of our time
- Spending time with no expectation of productivity or results is really nourishing
- Giving yourself time is practicing self love and kindness

If this is something you struggle to do then try setting up accountability, either by telling your family, scheduling remotely with a friend, or joining an online class. Choose something you love to do. If you are stuck for ideas then keep an ongoing list that you can choose from depending what feels good and how much time you have.

If you need any further ideas or support then drop me a message @debbieleeco

This episode is recorded on New Year's Eve 2020. We talk about the ritual of reviewing the year and deciding what we want to take forward. 2020 has been moments for all of us, whether it has involved progress on a large scale or getting through the day to day.

We enter 2021 with a lot of uncertainty still around. And so I want to offer up a different approach to setting resolutions. One that is based on intention rather than action. This way of doing allows us to be kind to ourselves and fits in with the uncertainty that we see.

I'd love to hear how this lands with you so please do drop me a message on instagram @debbieleeco.

In this episode I'm delving into what it means to 'have it all'. I talk about why having it all looks different for each one of us as it is a unique blend of all the things that light you up. Finding your have it all is what will lead to the feeling of balance in your life. Similarly when your life is very much out of alignment with what you actually want you will feel very far from balance.

When creating your own version of having it all, things to think about are, where you live, what job you do, your family set up, how you spend time together as a family, hobbies and passions you pursue and charitable causes you are involved in.

If you don't have any idea what you actually want, just what you don't want, then I can offer some ways of getting there. Thinking about these things will help you discover your values, your guiding principles. Getting in alignment with these then makes it easier to say no to things that don't align.

If you are interested in delving into this more please get in touch on instagram @debbieleeco or take a look on my website www.debbielee.co.uk to find out more about my signature group coaching programme kicking off in 2021.

Finally, have a very Merry Christmas, and if this festive period is particularly tough and I can support you in any way please do get in touch.

In this episode I’m joined by Susan Wallace, founder of Settled Petals. Susan is a certified sleep consultant and also offers classes in baby massage and baby yoga. Together her services are designed to promote relaxation and contentment in babies and infants. She also offers potty training workshops for parents of toddlers.

We bust some of the myths around babies being meant to sleep all night, talk about the impact baby sleep can have on the whole family and how a solution that works for one family might not for another. Breaking down some of the 'shoulds' around baby and infant sleep.

You can find Susan in the following places:

• Settled Petals website www.settledpetals.com
• Instagram @settledpetals
• Facebook settledpetal