The Play Project

This week, I’m sharing 5 totally unhinged but genuinely powerful habits that’ll help creative women in business actually get things done — minus the cycle of burnout, action paralysis and motivational guilt spirals.

These are the habits I’m building into the core of There She Goals — my upcoming program for women who want to bring big, meaningful goals to life in 10-week blocks, without the masculine “crush it at 5am” energy. (No one's up that early unless they're under 5).

Inside this episode:
✔️ Why burnout isn’t a scheduling problem — it’s a soul one
✔️ How to use momentum (not motivation) to move your goals forward
✔️ The future self journaling exercise that will call BS on your “dream” goal real quick
✔️ Why it’s time to create completely useless things every week (yes, really)
✔️ The simple habit that helps you course-correct without spiralling into a shame hole

This episode is raw, a bit rogue, and designed to help you find a better rhythm — especially if you’re tired of trying to do business like a bro.

P.S. Want to get the BTS of my new program, There She Goals? I’m sharing sneak peeks, wild experiments, and soft-launch goodies with my Close Friends on IG. Head to @theproductivityproject_ and DM me “CF” to get in on the circle.

If your business currently relies on you to do all the things, all the time—and you’re craving a more peaceful, sustainable way of working that actually aligns with school hours (and real life)... this one’s for you. 💛

In this episode, we go to deep into the raw behind-the-scenes of how I’m transitioning my business toward a school-terms-only model—without ditching all my 1:1 clients, torching my income, or spontaneously moving to a remote village in Italy to make pottery and avoid emails. (Tempting.)

We’ll chat about:

✔️ Why I’m ditching the annual plan and working in 10-week blocks
✔️ The (very real) burnout that led to this shift
✔️ What I’m doing right now to move toward school-hours-only work
✔️ How I’m plugging income gaps while making space to build my core offer
✔️ Why the "just create a Canva ebook and rake in the cash" narrative is kinda broken for women who want to create a sustainable business
✔️ How I’m tracking it all and keeping myself accountable without imploding

This episode is part of the BTS of me launching my new offer There She Goals—and you’ll hear me living out the framework in real time.

So if you’re a mum in business dreaming of more space, more ease, and more time, press play on this one. 🎧

Loved this episode? Or hated it? Either way, (politely) slide into my DMs @theproductivityproject_ and tell me your big dreamy business vision. I’d love to hear it.

Every few months over the last few years, I would go through the same cycle:

- Look at the goals I set at the start of the year.

- Sigh dramatically.

- Contemplate setting everything on fire.
-Maybe Google flights to Italy.

Because when things feel stuck, the internet will tell you the answer is a big change. Quit your job! Burn your business model down! Move to a tiny European village where you somehow become fluent in Italian overnight!

Buuuut here’s the thing - when you're a Mum with a business:

→ You actually can’t disappear for three months to “reinvent yourself.”
→ You can’t just torch your entire business overnight.
→ You still need to generate revenue… like, now.

So what do you do when you’re feeling stuck, restless, or like 2025 is already slipping away—but you also can’t just pack up and move to Bali?

You reset. Strategically. Sustainably. And without the meltdown.

In this episode, I’m sharing:
✔️ Why massive pivots don’t actually work for most Mums in business
✔️ A step-by-step, nervous-system-friendly way to bring your goals to life—without torching everything first
✔️ How I’m using this exact framework over the next 6 weeks to make my own big shift (in real time)

If you’ve been feeling behind, stuck, or like your business goals are forever on hold because life, this episode is your permission slip to do it differently.

This week, I'm in a bit of a pickle. This episode is all about why I’m kinda over traditional productivity hacks - because let’s be honest - we just don’t need another system to squeeze more out of ourselves.

What we do need aka crave? A brain that actually gets a second to breathe.

In this episode, I’m sharing seven tiny things I’ve been doing lately that have nothing to do with productivity (but have actually made me way more productive anyway).

In this episode:

✔️ Why your brain never stops spinning (and why it’s not because you need a better planner)

✔️ The sneaky ways solo business life messes with your focus and energy

✔️ Tiny shifts that actually help you feel clearer, calmer, and like yourself again

If you ever feel like you’re always on but never really on top of things, this episode is for you.

P.S. Found this one helpful? Read my latest post on Substack. You'll find me here: https://productivitykat.substack.com/

The 3 f's of solo business life: freedom, flexibility, fun… right?

So why does your nervous system reality feel more like fight, flight or freeze? (Or copious amounts of fries, depending on your coping snack of choice).

In this episode, I'm sharing why I'm secretly over trying to “do more in less time.”

A bit of a productivity pivot, if you will - and why obsessing over being productive and feverishly managing your time is really not the answer when it comes to what's really keeping you stuck.

Instead, I’m exploring the real reasons behind why you feel burnt out, overwhelmed, and permanently behind as a solo business owner or solopreneur. (Spoiler: it’s not because you’re bad at time management or naturally unproductive)

In this episode, we'll talk:

✔️ The hidden mental toll of solo business life (and why it's actually got nothing to do with how well you manage your time)

✔️ The cycle of “sprint → burnout → repeat” that’s quietly wreaking havoc on your focus and energy

✔️ The shocking mental health stats for solopreneurs (seriously, this one blew my mind)
✔️ 5 tiny, game-changing shifts to support your headspace and mental health as a solo business owner

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly “on” but never on top of things, this episode is your permission slip to step off the productivity hamster wheel and start supporting yourself instead.

DM me on Instagram (@theproductivityproject_) if this episode has brought anything up for you - I'd seriously love to hear from you.

What really happens in the daily life of a solo business owner with two kids under five?

Is is organised chaos? Is it mostly being a snack bitch? How do I focus? And why does my list keep growing and include items like 'bananas' and 'duct tape for sunglass case'?

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my actual day - and all the little tiny productivity hacks (that aren't actually hacks) that help me survive it all.

We’re chatting:
✅ The reality of balancing a full client portfolio with parenting (& still sleeping at night)
✅ The exact morning routine that keeps me sane in this season (hint: it doesn't involve yoga or meditating)
✅ Why breaks are my actual ride or die when it comes to getting things done (even when I ‘should’ be working)
✅ The tricks I use to avoid doom-scrolling
✅ How I plan my days around my energy—not just my to-do list

If you wanna snoop someone else’s daily chaos for inspo (or validation), this is the ep for you.

🎧 Subscribe and Listen now

Cycle Syncing Cheat Sheet https://theproductivityproject.com.au/cycle

Service Provider's Survival Kit DM me on Instagram @theproductivityproject_ to get it

Ever feel like your brain is constantly buffering at like, 34%?

Have you ever wondered why you find deciding what to have for dinner when 5pm rolls around every night?

That’s decision fatigue, friend. And it’s quietly draining your mental energy every single day.

In today’s episode, I’m diving into:

✅What decision fatigue isand how it impacts your mental energy every single day

✅Why traditional productivity hacks don’t always help when you feel like you’re carrying a mental load the size of Everest.

✅5 simple decisions you can make in advance toinstantly reduce decision fatigue, free up brain space, and feel more in control of your day.

✅The time I completely ignored my own advice in 2024 and ended up with pneumonia—and what I’m doing differently this year to get my time and energy back on track.

If you’re constantly juggling work, clients, life admin, anda million little choices every day—this episode will help you reclaim your long-lost mental bandwidth and move through your day with morespace.

✨Want to create a weekly schedule that actually supports your life & business?Join Poolside Planning Playbook
📲Follow me on Instagram:@theproductivityproject
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🎧Loved this episode? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review & follow the show so you never miss an episode!

I didn’t choose to learn EVERYTHING I could possibly learn about productivity because I wanted to help women in business work more.
I chose it because I felt pretty damn frustrated (and, let’s be honest, still do) that despite more women working than ever, our society STILL places the brunt of time stress on-
Women.
Outdated social expectations around childcare, family, and household responsibilities are STILL leaving us stretched too thin - and feeling like there’s never enough time to actually LIVE.
Throw running your own business and supporting a full client portfolio into the mix?
No WONDER you’re procrastinating. No WONDER you feel like you can't focus when you want to.
2025 has started a little bit differently. There’s a different energy in the air. Some of us are all up in here starting strong but some of us? 🎈
Well, we’re feeling a little bit side-swiped by the overload that was 2024. And we’re wondering how we’re going to do it all again in 2025. 🫠
If this is you, I see you. I was you. I still AM you.
This episode, I'm sharing the most sustainable way to stop procrastination (especially if you're a booked out service provider).
I’m kicking off the beta round of my mini-course, Poolside Planning Playbook next week - the complete framework to help service providers and solo business owners create a dream weekly schedule, align your time with values and goals and FINALLY feel in control of your week. 🏖️
Comment ‘POOLSIDE’ to save your spot - FREE. ⬇️

I had a really confronting realisation over the holidays. 😱

I took a TOTAL switch off from everything to do with my business for two weeks - clients, emails, content, admin, building my course, my podcast - EVERYTHING.

And I loved it.

So much that I didn’t want to go back. 😓

In the past, I’d usually take this as a sign that something big needed to change. This would look like:

❌Scrolling seek.com dejectedly looking at the same roles I walked out of over two years ago and wondering if I should just go back

❌Throwing in the towel completely and putting myself and my family in a (previously stressful but possible, now completely unthinkable) precarious financial position

❌Latching on to every new business idea I came across on the ‘gram and downloading every single free resource I could find

But this time, I didn't want to do that. So what am I doing instead?

In this episode, I'm sharing the ONE powerful tool that will help you make 2025 the year you THRIVE (not just survive) and the three step process I recommend to help you implement it every, single, day.

If I had a dollar for every client or business owner I know who's said:

'I'd love to do x but I just don't have time'

'I just wish I had more time for y'

'I know I need to prioritise - but everything feels like a priority!'

I'd be a very rich, erm, podcast host.

In this episode, I'm taking you through 5 unconventional ways to gift yourself an extra 5 hours a week - unconventional because none of these suggestions involve:

- Waking up earlier

- Staying up later

- Seeing your family less

- Working for an extra hour a day

- Batching your weekly teeth brushing into a once a week slot, batch cooking your meals monthly or scheduling your content annually

I'll be sharing very practical, very implementable suggestions that are definitely not what you'll find if you Google 'how to get more time.'

Like the podcast? Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and if you LOVE it - I'd love YOU if you left the podcast a 5 star review.