Work Life by Design

Data provides knowledge, and with knowledge comes insight and wisdom. But... you need to know what to do with it…

The conversation about returning to the workplace continues and what you may not know is that all the data that you need to leverage your environment and create an experience that employees WANT to return for lies within your very 4 walls!

The challenge is working out how to unlock it and what to do with it!

In today's episode we'll recap on the 5 pillars that underpin the workplace dynamics in your organisation and how these pillars form the foundation for creating your employee experience at work.

When unlocked, these pillars enable your workplace to become a beacon for your employees, one that draws them in, connecting to their hearts and minds, to build the social capital in your business.

This social capital is built on a platform that comes from our human need for connection, our need to belong and to establish community, much of which requires us to be within physical proximity [I'll share some neuroscience that backs this up!].

But transformation doesn't come without struggle, So, I'll also share with you ways that you can guide your employees through this change, addressing their concerns, meeting them where they are at, and bringing them on the journey to create a workplace that delivers an "experience", from which everyone will THRIVE!

LINKS Workplace Dynamics Blueprint Work Life Lounge Website Insta

Today's episode is a bit of a sneak peek behind the curtains of my own work life… today I am going to be introducing you to three amazing and very different women who I've got in my corner.

Over the past 12 years, I have worked with coaches in various capacities to support my continued learning, professional and personal development. These coaches have ranged in style from pure business coaches to NLP and life coaches, through to mindset coaches and the more holistic and what I would describe as spiritual coaches.

Each has supported me at a different phase and season of my life to navigate a challenge, uplevel my skills or help me focus on bringing my A Game in the area of my work or life that I've needed at that time.

Let's face it, the past two years have been a total shit show and if I'm honest, so has been my mindset and the state of my business at times, which is why in the past 2 years I have been working with not 1, but 3 coaches to support me in the various aspects of my life and work.

And today, I'm going to introduce you to these amazing women who have got my back!

Tina Tower, Michelle Broadbent & Amber Hawken.

In today's conversation, we are covering everything from

• Why you would want a coach
• How coaches have supported them to get to where they are today
• What to look for when hiring a coach
• The various models of coaching and how to decide what's right for you

Plus, they answer the question "Do coaches have coaches?"

I'm hoping that after this episode that if you are feeling like it's time to level up in your business or career, that you're feeling a little stagnant and are looking for your next challenge or that you just need someone to keep you accountable, that this will be the little kick in the backside that you needed, to go seek out your own coach and prepare to take great leaps forward!

BIOs

Tina Tower started her first business at age 20, a small tutoring centre and educational toy store that over 5 years she transformed into a franchise of 35 Begin Bright centres employing 120 staff. After the franchise was acquired in 2016, she started coaching other service-based business owners only to find herself constantly repeating herself, which led her to the world of online coaching.

Today Tina has run several online programs, however, her game-changer has been Her Empire Builder, which I am fortunate to be part of! Her Empire Builder is a membership program supporting female entrepreneurs to establish and grow their online businesses. She is on a mission to help 100 women build a $1million a year business by 2025. Tina has been instrumental in helping me navigate the online business world, which I can tell you is a massive shift from the world of bricks and mortar businesses!

Michelle Broadbent is a business strategist with a 20-year career as a trusted advisor to female entrepreneurs across a vast array of industries. I have observed Michelle from afar for a few years before finding myself with direct access to her through Tina's HEB program, where I promptly jumped on her services with a desperate plea for help as I navigated my way out of the downturn resulting from COVID. Michelle has been a realistic voice of reason, offering practical solutions and operational support to cut through the overwhelm and help me stay focused on what really matters!

Amber Hawken, you may be familiar with as one of my very first guests on the podcast back in Episode 4, Transforming Leadership with a Calm Mind, which was actually how I met Amber! It was after this episode that I said, "I need to work with you!" and here we are today! I affectionately refer to Amber as my "woo woo" coach as her teachings, perspectives and lessons go far deeper into the fibres of our being.

As Amber describes, she has been working with humans for more than a decade and reverences our natural ability to emotionally and mentally self-heal and spiritually actualise. Starting out her career as a radiation therapist, she transitioned away from the industry in 2012 and has since explored ancient cultures, different dimensions and bridged east and west. With a pragmatic mind and a country girl spirit, she has a unique blend of practical and down to earth approaches to the arena of therapy, embodied healing, integration, energy, and consciousness.

LINKS

Tina Tower https://www.tinatower.com Instagram @tina_tower

Michelle Broadbent https://www.michellebroadbent.com.au Instagram @michbroadbent

Amber Hawken https://amberhawken.com Instagram @amber_hawken

Mel Marsden Insta LinkedIn Facebook Website Work Life Lounge

Did you know that the Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 workday was established by Henry Ford in the 1920's?

Seems to me that a lot has changed since the days we stood over factory lines, yet we still subscribe to the same working rituals.

Many of us, prior to the Pandemic, never even stopped to consider why it is that we work the way that we do or that there was even another option to be considered.

There has been a silver lining that has shone through the pandemic, one that has awoken us to the outdated work rhythms and structures that no longer work for us. We have been exposed to our conditioned thinking, our acceptance of "this is how it's always been done," and forced to recognise that there are other ways, and they can work.

In today's episode, I'm taking you on a short history lesson of "work", how the 9 to 5 came to be and why it no longer works for us on so many levels.

We'll discuss the two main things that I believe have arisen out of this "awakening" and we dive deeper into the aspect of individualisation and designing our work lives to work for US and our families.

We explore chronotypes, the rise of the gig economy, the elusive pursuit of work life balance, asynchronous working, plus the sea change/tree change that many have embraced with "work from anywhere" policies.

This episode invites you to take this opportunity to take a step back and look at the bigger picture and identify where your current work ritual and routine may not be supporting you and your productivity and reimagine a new way forward.

Melissa Marsden Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Website | Work Life Lounge

Imagine this… You're on a business retreat and as part of the "surprise & delight" culture, you're being driven to an undisclosed location for your next activity.

You arrive at a local swimming pool where you are taken into a classroom and you begin to learn about the physiology and biology of breathing, the impact that is has on the performance and function of our physical body. You're shown how different breathing methods influence the amount of oxygen in your blood, how many breaths you can take and how simply changing the way you breath using different techniques can change the way you feel in your body.

The next thing we are in the pool, practicing various breathing techniques as we swim from one side to the other with a single breath, elevating our heart rates and then doing it again experiencing that feeling in your chest, of the pressure building, of so desperately wanting to take a breath but pushing through….

I continue to progressively push myself physically out of my comfort zone over the course of a few hours – to the point that if I was a surfer, I could survive a wipe out.

What was happening right there in that pool, was that I was being shown how with the use of my breathe, my mindset and practiced techniques, I could continue to push myself beyond what I would have previously considered my physical limits, and to demonstrate to myself that I am capable of more than I thought, with the right tools.

This whole experience was led by today's guest, Nam Baldwin. I was fascinated by this session and the work that Nam does, and how he has translated his experience of working with elite athletes to working with some our top business executives.

Nam has an impressive client list that includes, Mick Fanning, Steph Gilmore, Pat Rafter, AFL's Richmond Tigers, NRL's Sydney Roosters plus Olympic Athletes and World Champions.

And he's also the best kept secret of some of our top 1% business leaders…

Nam has a gift for simplifying the complicated science behind brain and body performance, & delivering it in life-changing, digestible sessions, creating proven successes and powerful outcomes across all scenarios.

In today's episode we get into:

• How the techniques that he taught us in the pool translate into the boardroom
• The power of the breath and why such a simple thing can be so powerful
• His definition of performance and why it's not about going harder for longer
• Why a foundation of personal wellbeing is so important for our own performance
• Managing good stress and bad stress
• As well as How our own sense of identity and purpose contributes to our overall wellbeing, resilience, and prioritisation of what's important

Nam has a way of explaining things in a way that make sense and you can take away and implement into your daily life.

NAM Baldwin Website

Melissa Marsden Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Website | Work Life Lounge

Our environments have a HUGE impact on how we feel. This is the whole business that I'm in, designing and delivering workplaces that enable the strategic goals, vision and operational performance of a business. But it's not just limited to our corporate workplaces.

When you apply that same philosophy to any environment around you, consider what it is enabling? How does your environment make you feel?

Different spaces invoke different feelings and shift our ability to concentrate, collaborate or be creative.

But it's not just our physical environment that we need to be conscious of….

In today's episode I'm sharing with you 5 ways that our environment influences us and our sense of Calm and what you can do to use your space to regain your sense of Calm each day.

We explore;

• How your physical space influences your energy, your ability to focus and to be creative and how to choose wisely
• The impact of getting outside into nature and how as little as 40 secs can make a difference
• The additional mental load that a messy space has on your cognitive load and how to clear it
• How to use ALL our senses to instil calm in our environment
• How our internal environment is just as important as our external

This episode is a little insight into the recent 5 Days from Chaos to Calm challenge, I hosted, where over 5 days I share with you daily microhabits to integrate into your daily life to regain your calm.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to experience the whole 5 days of Calm, head over to the website, where you can still join the Challenge.

https://www.melissamarsden.com.au/calm

Melissa Marsden Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Website

We've all been through a LOT the past 2 years and sometimes it can feel like it's only happening to us! We can sometimes feel like we are living in the middle of a total sh*t show, while Sally over the fence has it all together..... I'm super excited about today's episode because I have brought together three very special ladies Dr Kristy Goodwin, Angela Lockwood and Dr Alison Young in a panel-style discussion, exploring overwhelm, burnout and how we can put boundaries in place to support ourselves when we're navigating "all the things"

Each of these women are total rock stars in their own right, you can learn a little more about them below!

I wanted to hear what they are observing in the people they are supporting, to help draw back the curtain a little and enable us all to realise, that it's not just happening to us, we aren't alone.

In this episode they cover:

• Their personal experiences over the past 2 years
• Some funny anecdotes about working from home and lock down life
• Triggers we should be keeping our eye on
• Ways we can shift ourselves out of a triggered state, regain our sanity and put the handbrake on burnout

I loved this conversation and knew it was going to be a great episode to record. What else would you expect by putting 4 women together talking business, burnout and motherhood!

You may have heard Dr Kristy on the podcast before, way back at Eps 17! Kristy translates the science of digital productivity and wellbeing into realistic strategies so individuals can achieve peak performance in a digital world. She's a professional speak, a researcher, an author and a mum of 3 young boys!

Angela is Australia's leading authority on creating calm classrooms, kids and families. She's the Founder of Educate Therapy, a consulting practice bridging the gap between the health and education systems, the author of two books on creating calm, "The Power of Conscious Choice" and "Switch Off" and the host of "A Kid's Life" podcast. She's also a mum of 2!

And last but not least we have gorgeous Dr Ali, who is a chiropractor on a mission to help working mums reclaim their health and rebalance their hearts to overcome burnout, exhaustion and fatigue. As a recovered burnt-out mother herself, she understands the fine line that exists between vitality and doing everything too often. Ali's first book is coming out in April to help all mums step into their light and shine brightly. She's also a mum of 2!

Links

Dr Kristy Goodwin

Website

Hybrid Working Whitepaper

Instagram @drkristy

Angela Lockwood

Website

Instagram @angelalockwood_

Check out her Parent Masterclasses

Dr Ali Young

Website

Instagram @dr.aliyoung

Her new book "Work.Mama.Life" is coming out April 2022

Melissa Marsden

Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook

One of the questions that I am asked a lot is "What are you seeing happening in workplaces? Are we working from home, going hybrid or is it just back to Business as Usual?"

So as someone who has the privilege of seeing how various organisations are navigating the challenges and opportunities that come with our new world of work, I thought I'd share with you exactly what I see happening.

Firstly, I want to give you my definition of Hybrid work, what it is and how it enables organisations before diving into answering the questions I get;

• How are different organisations approaching the design and use of their workplace?
• Is it differing by state?
• How are different organisations adopting a hybrid approach?
• What are the opportunities and challenges?

And finally if you are thinking about how to transform your workplace in the future, a few things for you to consider.

If you're keen to learn more, come and join me at the Thriving Workplaces conference in Sydney 30 March – 1 April, I'll be hosting a 3 hour workshop covering my Workplace Dynamics Blueprint and empowering you to transform your workplace from the inside out.

https://theserenitycollective.com/pre-event-workshop/

The Key Takeaways;

• How to identify the core challenges that organisations face moving forward
• Strategies to unlock the data in your organisation to optimise your workplace for your people
• The tools to engage at all levels of your organisation to optimise your future of work.

Or join the FREE 5 Day Workplace Challenge where over 5 days I share with you some of the tools you can use to understand your organisation better and implement positive change.

Or dive straight into the Workplace Dynamics Blueprint Program.

Want to support your team in Working From Home… check out the Work From EDITION

Want to chat? Book a 15min Call with Me

Melissa Marsden

Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook

With everything that we have been navigating over the past 2 years, boundaries, or more correctly "lack of boundaries" has become one of the most common topics of conversations, amongst friends, colleagues, clients and within our Work Life Lounge community.

With the Blurring of work life and home life as we've juggled working from home, home schooling and the uncertainty of life around us, boundaries are an area that many of us have referred to as needing to be better, stronger or even established.

Today's guest is Dr Rebecca Ray, a Clinical Psychologist, Author and Speaker. She uses a science-backed, heart and hard truth approach to help big-picture-thinking women and creators live a life that's fulfilling, unapologetic, and free. Rebecca has been a Clinical Psychologist for the best part of two decades. She is also the author of multiple books including Setting Boundaries and the Host of Podcast Hello Rebecca Ray.

Rebecca joins me in this episode to discuss;

• What we are actually saying when we say we need "better boundaries"
• Why we find it difficult to put boundaries in place
• The internal challenge that comes from identifying a need for a boundary
• The conflict that eventually simmers up for us when we aren't true t our boundaries
• How setting boundaries starts with a path to self acceptance
• A simple way for us to express our boundaries in a non-confrontational way that opens communication

This is a timely conversation for so many of us. Enjoy this chat with Rebecca Ray!

If you want to learn more from Rebecca, be sure to join us in the Work Life Lounge for her upcoming Masterclass.

Heal Your Boundaries: The Path to Personal Empowerment is a transformative masterclass designed to show you the keys to unblocking your capacity to set and keep empowered boundaries. In this masterclass, you'll discover:

• The role your unconscious plays in stopping you from setting boundaries (or causing your boundaries to disconnect you from others)
• Who your Inner Leader is and why you need to be in touch with them every day
• How to navigate your unconscious and conscious experience to heal your boundaries

Connect with Dr Rebecca Ray;

Website = www.rebeccaray.com.au Instagram = @drrebbecaray Book = Setting Boundaries Podcast = Hello Rebecca Ray

Work Life Lounge

Chaos to Calm Challenge

Live a Life by Design Program

Setting you Up for Success Webinar

If you've been following me or this Podcast for a while, you'll know that I'm passionate about transformation; both in life and in work. Making real change in the lives of people, and the organisations in which they work is truly what lights me up.

This has come about because I have spent much of my adult life working on my own transformation. Everything that I am sharing with you here is all about the things that I have learned to improve myself as a human being, as a mother, as a wife, as a friend, as a leader, as a business owner, but also then how I can create better workplace environments for the clients that I engage with.

In this episode, I am sharing with you all the ways you can work with me both personally and professionally so I can support you to do the same. Whether it's aligning your actions through understanding your values, purpose and rhythms, or reimagining and transforming your workplace to make the most of your space, boost employee experience and make a real difference to your bottom line.

Visit the links below to view the programs and workshops I have available to support you, and get a better understanding of how these transformations will benefit your work and life.

I hope to hear from you soon!

LINKS

Work Life Lounge

Live a Life by Design

Work With Me

Workplace Dynamics Blueprint - program

Workplace Dynamics Blueprint - COMUNiTI

COMUNiTI

Website

Email me!

Book a 15min call

I don't know about you, but it feels like this year has started at full speed!

At COMUNiTI, we've hit the ground running and completely bypassed the Christmas/January slow down. Given the last few years, I'm certainly not complaining, although, I'm conscious of ensuring that I manage everything I need to whilst protecting myself from burnout and overwhelm.

With school being pushed out by 2 weeks (thanks Qld!) and no extended vacation care, I certainly have a juggle on my hands to manage my kids, projects, workload, not to mention future proofing for when I have my baby in May!

The mental load can be heavy and it's easy for overwhelm to creep in, so in this episode I list my favourite ways to manage this to protect your energy; physical, spiritual and mental, to ensure you stay on track.

I cover;

• My 5 steps for battling overwhelm
• How setting your goals for the year helps realign when things seem too much
• Why putting on your own oxygen mask first is essential
• Setting you up for success for the year ahead

I hope this episode provides you with some strategies to keep your energy lifted and your wellbeing front-of-mind to get your year started right.

Don't forget to sign up for the Work Life Lounge because in the next Masterclass, I'll be taking you through my whole process for planning and goalsetting, along with all the strategies and resources you'll need to set yourself up and stick to it. Join me on February 10 at 10am AEST to set your intentions and map out your 2022!

www.melissamarsden.com.au/worklifelounge

Essential Oil: https://ikou.com.au/products/breathe-wellness-essential-oil-10ml