Working For Progress
Welcome to Working For Progress with social entrepreneur Dani Trudeau. This podcast is all about real conversations with real people who are shaping their working lives in meaningful ways. From the heart of Tribe Porty and beyond, Dani connects with guests whose stories reflect the grit, passion, and purpose behind the work they do.
Through candid and thoughtful interviews, you’ll hear about career journeys that inspire, challenge, and reveal the quiet truths of our shared human experience. Each conversation starts with simple pleasures, winds through tough jobs and daring decisions, and lands in those unforgettable moments of flow and awe.
We’re all working for progress—within ourselves, for each other, and for a better world.
Working For Progress
Working For Progress with Danni Gordon
On this episode of Working For Progress we welcome Danni Gordon. Danni loves to help and has an organised work style, she self confesses “I love to help people get shit done”. She originally worked in the third sector, managing creative funds to community organisations around Scotland. Danni has also worked as a personal assistant and is the founder of the Chachi Power Project. Currently, Danni is on extended maternity leave and is looking forward to the next chapter in her working life, alongside being a mother.
In this conversation, we dove into the delicate balance between productivity and parenting, exploring the internal conflicts and the excitement of returning to work in roles that support work-life balance. Danni and I share candid anecdotes about the struggle for recognition in demanding jobs and reflect on the significance of feeling valued in the workplace. This discussion underscores the essential need for supportive environments that respect both professional and personal commitments, making for a great conversation.
Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson.
Dani founded Tribe Porty a community coworking space which believes that a nurturing environment which sparks creativity and collaboration is good for business, individuals and communities.
Sign up to our Tribe Porty newsletter and Dani's Substack, both exploring different themes around reimagining your working life.
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To find everything in one spot from Dani Trudeau, go to https://linktr.ee/itstrudeau
This is Working for Progress, a podcast that connects us through conversations about how we craft our working lives and make progress. We will be joined by our communities from Tribe Porti and Keystone. Tribe Porti is a community co-working space and creative hub. We are full of entrepreneurs, social enterprises, freelancers, charities and SMEs. Keystone is the other social enterprise which supports women to reimagine their working lives. We do this by providing a holistic approach to business through courses, programs, mentoring group coaching and events.
Speaker 2:Welcome to today's conversation. I'm Alice, the community manager at Tribe Porti.
Speaker 1:And I'm Dani, founder and director of both Tribe Porti and Keystone here at Working for Progress.
Speaker 2:we're all about connecting good people, sharing their stories, their challenges and the progress they make for themselves and for others. We hope this podcast challenges your ways of thinking and inspires you to work for progress.
Speaker 1:Working for Progress starts with simple pleasures, finishes in awe and meanders through career journeys in between. Today we welcome Dani Gordon. Dani originally worked in third sector, managing creative funds to community organizations around Scotland. Currently, dani is on extended maternity leave and is looking forward to her next chapter in her working life, alongside being a new mum. And is looking forward to her next chapter in her working life, alongside being a new mum. Welcome, dani, hiya Dani number. Whatever you'd like to be today, I'll let you decide, dani and I have a little competition.
Speaker 3:Who's one and who's two? Today is difficult, isn't it? Because who's in charge today?
Speaker 1:Well, technically, I am really Okay let's see I'm kidding. Thank you for coming in, you're welcome. I asked Danny to come in even though she's on mat leave just now and she thought she didn't have anything to say, and I beg to differ.
Speaker 3:I always have something to say. It's just sometimes my brain doesn't work fast enough at the moment to like get the words properly out. Yeah, no baby brain's a real thing. Yeah, I'm a bit of a mess just now. My baby has trouble sleeping and needs a bit of an operation, which hopefully will happen later this year, so sleep is really, yeah, really hard just now, yeah, anyways.
Speaker 1:Um, just whatever comes out, alice is a master of editing, so we'll just see how it goes. Thanks, we're starting out simple. Give us your five simple pleasures, please. Simple pleasures.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we never tell anybody these ones in advance, so we like to catch you up, god, you know what I do, my simple pleasures of things that bring me delight every day. Or yeah, okay, food, yep, oh, hold on, wait, can I start again?
Speaker 1:yes, my baby well, maybe she's not so simple, that's all okay well, we go sleep.
Speaker 3:So when she wakes up in the morning, she, uh, we always do like a little kiss. I always say kiss and put my glasses on and they say, oh, I can see you and that's, and she gives me a big smile. So that's one simple pleasure of her. She's a very complicated individual otherwise. Um, food generally, although sometimes it's a difficulty to make food good food these days because of the baby. Um, having a shower where cleo doesn't try and get in the door of the shower is oh so good and I don't have to like hold it either with my toe or my bum, the door closed. Um, if I have a Pilates class where normally someone will look after Cleo for an hour, and I get to go to this Pilates um session down the road from me, which is amazing and which has fixed my back pain after seven years, I think, of back pain and it's the only thing that's actually worked um, that's definitely a pleasure.
Speaker 1:I don't even know if that's a simple pleasure, but it's delightful, yeah, plus, she's amazing and it's more than just Pilates, isn't it? Should we give her a shout?
Speaker 3:out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, bridget McCarthy Pilates studio in Edinburgh because she'll figure you out entirely, from head to toe inside out, second in seconds, which is both amazing, and I think I have told her fuck off once because she got so close to the bone. I'm like how can you know that about me already? You've met me three times, but so good.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was going to share something there and I just I'm ready to share something.
Speaker 3:But I told her something that I was really proud of and she was like Uh-huh, she's really good at like praising you and some things and then restricting it and you're like give me praise. I'm very big on praise, she knows what she's doing. She's amazing. Um, how many was that? One more to go? One more? Um, oh my god, a simple pleasure. Getting a three-hour stretch of sleep at night. Should I say a four, four-hour stretch of sleep. Let's go for four. That would be a real simple pleasure. That's. That's quite elusive right now. That's tough. Yeah, it'll be different in a few months but, um, when she has her operation, but for now that's a simple pleasure. It's all based around cleo. I mean, I suppose that's normal with your maternity leave, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and being a new mum, of course. Yeah, that is your world right now. Yeah, rightly so. Moving on to values, just bringing that on. I know Some people go really red when they're like, but you didn't send me those questions, like we know.
Speaker 3:I was like your five top values.
Speaker 1:Nope, but about your values? Do you know your top values? I'm not going to give you a number what you live by and how you kind of live those out now and maybe in the future yeah, so I've got values.
Speaker 3:I think I've got some values that are specific to like work and some that are specific to like me as a just a general individual.
Speaker 3:Um, but I was thinking about this and I think, if I can reel some off, reel away okay, fun, fun, having fun, being funny that's one of my biggest ones that I kind of pride myself on. I think I am quite funny and I like making people laugh. Being creative, I think, being useful. I was thinking about this as I was walking along the road going.
Speaker 3:I think I'm actually just a fixer but I kind of like to doll up as being a problem solver when I'm in a work context and I try and keep my fixer brain. For social relationships, like with my friendships, I try to. I have been trying over the years to reduce that because I know how unuseful it is when people don't want to be fixed or don't want advice or just want to be heard, or so I think that's me trying to. I think that's why I want to go into the job that I want to do eventually and why I've chosen the career in my past that I've done is because I really like being useful and I really like problem solving, fixing things, helping people out, crossing things off a list, like just getting stuff done, and yeah, I'd say that's one of my main values is feeling of use.
Speaker 3:What else? Being efficient, being intuitive, values like friends, family, being kind, being thoughtful, being considerate yeah, Do you know why those are so important to you?
Speaker 1:I see those in you big time, but I'm just wondering if you know the roots of why you value those things so much.
Speaker 3:I really like when people are like that with me. So I respond quite well when people are thoughtful and considerate and have um taken my needs into consideration and I like being able to do that for others because I know how it makes me feel. I think my efficiency, my problem solving, my fixing, my being, you know, crossing things off the list it doesn't necessarily come from like a really positive place because it's like I have to prove myself, I have to get stuff done, I have to show up, I have to be of worth, you know like and I.
Speaker 3:But it comes out it the actual what's the word or how do I want to say this that it's positive in the way that it manifests in in my work life, but, um, I find it very difficult to relax and I find it very difficult to sit still and just watch tv or have a nothing day. Um, you'll generally find me in a very tidy house, um, with about, if not one, like I've had to since I've had cleo. I've had to reduce the amount that I do because it's just impossible to do, you know, more than one or two or three things with a baby.
Speaker 3:But we, we always have at least one thing a day that we are, we, it's planned, and to get me, you know, booked in to do something is like, okay, well, I'm feeling the 17th, this is true. So, or, or you come over, you know, and help me with bath time, and that's what a lot of people have ended up doing now because, um, yeah, so that's that's, that's yeah, there's not, there's not. It's not always like a positive reason for it, but it's. I've. I've been trying to calm myself down and fight against it in my personal life, but, career wise, it's great when you're super efficient and I'm also really hard working, so, and I'd say I'm quite intelligent, so it all kind of I'm not just thrashing through life doing stupid stuff. I'm like productive and efficient, and that's a good thing.
Speaker 1:That is a good thing do you think that being a new mum, that kind of style of being useful, being helpful, being productive obviously that those are good skills as well? As a mum especially a single mum, solo mum Do you feel like when you're ready to go back into work, you'll be able to manage that Priorities in terms of, like you know, because you'll have to still take care of Cleo and prioritise her and be helpful and useful, and then you have this other layer of who you are in a work setting yeah, I'm.
Speaker 3:My concern just now is that, whilst I'm on maternity leave, is this feeling of need to be productive has actually detracted a little bit from my time with Cleo, because sometimes I feel like I'm ignoring her. She's very good at independent play and because I'm getting stuff done and and that I feel is quite unfair to her. But also I spend a lot of time with Cleo, like I, you know. I suppose you do have to have the balance and when I go back to work, I'm actually really excited about going back to work, like I would have already gone back by now. It's just I'm taking more time off until she's had her operation, so I'm taking an extra six months off and have resigned from my previous role so I can take this time, just because I'm a bit worried that my brain isn't working properly and isn't good enough to function in a work role. Um, and I just I, you know I am actually also relishing this extra time to have with her um, but I I'm I'm looking forward to figuring out what that balance looks like when I go back.
Speaker 3:I like working and I, like you know, cleo is happy to be away from me as well, yeah, when she's with someone that she knows. We've not tried a nursery setting yet, but she flourishes and is a very confident little girl. She flourishes and is a very confident little girl. I and I've done a few bits of work whilst I've been off and, oh my god, I love it. Yeah, like I just so I'm. I know that I will manage this balance because I know it's good for me. I know like working is good for me. I know getting the benefit out of that will be great and it will add to my mental well-being about the time when I'm with Cleo. So, yeah, I think it can only be a good thing that when you're doing something and your whole week is a happy week, rather than yes you know, and I think that's the nuances we don't often speak about in terms of being a mum and being a working mum or not working.
Speaker 1:Like the, it's all give and take. Of course, most people want to spend time with their kids not everybody, I mean, and that's fine too, um, but does it mean that you're one way or the other way, like you love both? You love spending time with your daughter and you love working, and like navigating?
Speaker 3:that isn't always easy yeah, I've got friends who are struggling with like a you know five day week squeezed into four days, or their company wanting them to go back to five days a week and they desperately want to spend more days with their child, and I just I'm. I'm glad that I'm going to go back to something, hopefully that's a bit more flexible under my own terms. That um will give me the best of both worlds, where I won't have to answer to anyone else yes.
Speaker 1:I love it. Okay, thinking about work.
Speaker 3:I would love to hear um your most random or your worst job that you've ever had um, this wasn't hard to remember um I don't want to say any names because people in the creative industries won't know this organization, but, um, it was an organization in glasgow where I worked when I was quite fresh out of art school. I worked when I was quite fresh out of art school and they just didn't quite. They worked you like a dog and I don't mind being worked like a dog if there's benefits to the situation, like monetary benefits or you know, I've worked in many organizations monetary or money or money or money or cash dollar no, or like you know like some holidays or you know, but just a good working work life.
Speaker 3:You know like a good office life, you know something like that. But this was just being worked like a dog being paid crap, doing enough for like two people when I was like really young and being not support, not being supported and and not being not feeling valued and I don't want it to sound like I need a lot of praise constantly. You know like you're so good at that, I mean, it helps, it's really good.
Speaker 1:No, I respond you've already touched on that, by the way I responded really well to praise.
Speaker 3:But, um, I don't think it's really hard to make someone feel valued. I don't find it hard to. I don't think I find it hard to make people feel respected and valued, and these guys just didn't really know how to do it. I don't know how they had people working for them for so long, to be honest. Um, and then it only becomes clear that you're valued when you hand your resignation in, and then they're like they have a little battle and a back and forth, and the price that they offer keeps going up and up and up and then, the other person offers a bit more, and then they offer a bit more, and then you're like, are you serious?
Speaker 3:like I could have been on this the whole time sounds like a bad relationship. Uh, yeah, so, um, yeah, it was. I worked there, I think, for eight, eight or nine months, I can't even remember, but, um, I remember my mental health being pretty bad at the end of that and I have got quite good mental health, but I was, oh, crying in the toilets every day and very close to tears very easily and, um, you know, no one was mean to me, but it was just. It was just everything. You know the whole atmosphere yeah, it doesn't take much.
Speaker 1:There's loads of studies done um people's kind of work satisfaction and the biggest thing that improves their satisfaction is actual praise like well done, thank you. It's not your wage increase, it's not other benefits, it's actually feeling valued. Yeah. Yeah, when you work in a place that you don't feel valued, it's not other benefits, it's actually feeling valued. Yeah. Yeah, when you work in a place that you don't feel valued, it's pretty detrimental. Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 3:We miss that, though, like workplaces often miss that it seems, and yet there's some places that I have worked I do really well, yeah, of course, and I think at least I hope there's a bit more awareness to that because there's more mental health chat.
Speaker 1:But I'm in a bubble of this place for so long. I don't know what other places are like. This could be work related or it could be personal, but I'd love to hear about the biggest risk that you've taken to date.
Speaker 3:Well, if you do it on a personal level, it's trying to have a child by myself, but I'll talk about it on a work related.
Speaker 3:So when I was in 2016, I did this self-development course and from it I started this project, a body image project called the Chachi Power Project and in 2017 I got made redundant from the organization I was working for and so I decided to make this project my full-time gig and I thought, oh, it'll be for a few months, and it turned out I did it from 2017 until 2020 and that was my full-time gig that whole time.
Speaker 3:Well, no, it wasn't actually sorry, I did like other little bits of work for like in the tech industry and but it was all piecemeal sort of. And then Chachi was like my main thing and I spoke at events and I blogged and I did events and you know a whole range of things, did loads of online stuff and that deciding that that was going to be my main thing and like trying to make that work, because it was really hard to make it work, like figure out what is my product here and what is sellable, and, um, that was hard, yeah, especially having to try and have an income yeah, the mission was there and the values were there and the kind of awareness raising, like that's all the great work, but unless you get funded, you have to somehow make make it work as a business.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so like and I'm really bad with because I like variation in my day and um, I never really wanted to do like a coaching course, you know, like create an e-course or create, because I was like if I create an e-course, it would just be me selling it for the rest of my life and I don't really. I don't really like sales and I don't really want to and I don't love just constantly marketing. I find that really difficult. I wanted a variation, so I didn't say no to anything and I didn't narrow down what my products were, um, and so I just did a little bit of everything. And then that's quite difficult because you're just spreading yourself a bit too thin and, yeah, and people don't really know exactly what you can do.
Speaker 3:I didn't really know how to fix it. I had a really great time and I you know it was really helpful project. It was helpful for other people, it was helpful for me. Um, I kind of put it on the back burner in 2020 when I got a, when the pandemic hit and I got offered a job for a charity. That was good because I was doing speaking gigs and I was doing events, and so everything fell to the floor and I couldn't do anything.
Speaker 3:So it was great that I got another job. So I just put chachi on the back burner and I've really not done very much with it, although I did do about five podcast episodes during the pandemic um, which kind of kept chachi going a little bit um. But I put, you know, I was also starting fertility treatment and I was um, I was working for this charity, so it was just it was a bit too much for my life so I don't really know if I'm ever going to pick it up again. But I think I know I was talking to you about this the other day like how much benefit it's given me and it's kind of okay that I don't need don't necessarily need to pick it up again, like maybe that was good for me for that time in my life and it cemented this great it's.
Speaker 3:It's cemented such a way of thinking about my own body, um, in a you know appreciative way with you know I would say I'm body neutral, um, if not body positive I suppose you know positive about my body and I know so much about the body positive movement and and it's helped a lot of people. So I'm kind of like, well, you know, if that's just what that was, then that's fine and I'm happy with that, and I'm actually quite excited about further things in the future and maybe not having to go back to it, like sometimes it feels a bit like, oh, I'm going to have to reignite, potentially reignite it, and that kind of feels a bit heavy at times. I don't want it to feel heavy.
Speaker 1:You know I want it to be this nice thing that was really useful in my past. Have you thought about what you've learned about entrepreneurship, or about business, or about what kind of do you want to be an entrepreneur? Do you want to work for someone like do? Do you feel like that's taught you something? She's taught you about that more yeah, I think well what.
Speaker 3:What I plan to do when I go, when I start back working, is I want to be a virtual assistant, like I've worked as a personal assistant over the years, as an executive assistant for in different companies, and I relish those roles, I love those roles, especially when you're working with creative people, and that's what I want to start, but I want to do it myself, like so, not be employed. Yeah, and I chat. She's taught me much. It's taught me how I, you know, how I work by myself, how I, how I structure my day, how I plan ahead, how I, you know, manage financially, like all of those things. But it's taught me that I, I and that's actually a really good point, because I was thinking about listing all of the things you know when I'm a virtual assistant, all of the things I can help you with, which is a lot, you know with all my various experience and the past roles I've had, I cover loads of things and'm going.
Speaker 3:Maybe I shouldn't offer everything. Maybe I should narrow down what I offer so that you know I'm not spread too thin.
Speaker 1:And also the chance to kind of curate your own job. And that doesn't mean like being everything to everyone, because that's maybe the lesson in that Like what do you want to do more of what do you enjoy the most? Like, and then it's mutually beneficial because you're happy, they're happy and it's all very clear about what you're set out to do yeah, I think I might need to do like an ick a guy, so what is?
Speaker 3:what do I actually like doing? Because I think that's the problem is. Like when you're a virtual assistant, you're like I can do that, I could do it. I could do it. I could do it really well for you, but actually am I going to enjoy it? Am I going to do it quickly? Yes, am I going to prioritize it for you when it's something that I don't love? Yeah.
Speaker 1:So, yes, I do have to think about, like, narrowing down my offering yeah, I think that's um, it's a good skill to do not only what you love doing most and what you're good at, but then also you're attracting the right clients to you, because then that client's not going to pull you to do other things that you don't necessarily want to do, that you could do, and then all of a sudden you are working in a way that you wouldn't have designed, which is not the point of starting your own business yeah.
Speaker 3:I just foresaw my future. Like that is so going to happen.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 3:I'm going to be really structured and really boundary.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm trying to say right now. Okay, okay, yes, this is an opportunity. Okay, no, it's good. I think it's exciting. I think everyone should be made to start a business. That sounds terrible and not not necessarily, you know, make it successful, however you want to define success, but it just gives you an awareness of how things work from another point of view and it makes, I think, the relationship of employee employer different and maybe better. Maybe that's just from someone that's founded companies. Oh, I don't ever want to employ someone.
Speaker 3:I employ myself, and that's all my responsibility lies like I, you're a different breed from me but that's what my that's what the course that I did, this self-development course that I did. It made you start a project and that project was to rate. In the end was to like have a finishing goal, like an event. And then you were trying, you were supposed to sort of raise some money for charity but it was taking you through the process and it's kind of forcing you to go. So what do I actually like? What do I enjoy? What am I passionate?
Speaker 3:about like because a lot of people don't know. Yeah, I know and they're. They're like getting into their 40s or 50s or 60s and they're like, oh, I haven't done anything.
Speaker 3:That actually it was a passion and then this forced me to find something that was I was going to be useful to others and useful to myself, and it was about body, because that's that was huge in my life. Body image issues was a big deal and and and then I realized that was actually a big deal for everyone a lot of people, a lot of people so yeah, so that's interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think projects may be a lighter touch version than starting a business.
Speaker 3:Yeah, register it. Pay tax what?
Speaker 2:No, I'm never, doing that.
Speaker 3:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Projects. Projects is a good way. Yeah, no good. Tell me about a time where you had a sense of, or experienced, a state of flow.
Speaker 3:I mean, obviously, my daughter being born, yeah, um, I don't remember thinking of it as all like reflecting back. I don't know if I would say oh, I think I was so nervous and wanted to make sure she was okay that I think that was overshadowed. To make sure she was okay, that I think that was overshadowed. You know, this moment of was kind of like is she okay, is she?
Speaker 1:okay, yeah, and I think, oh, it's not necessarily always a happy moment. I mean, it could be. It could be at a funeral, it could be at something that changes the perspective of what you value in life, or your view on something quite profound you know, which I don't think we talk about enough. No one ever talks about that other end of awe, which I know you have experienced, um, but that kind of moment where you're like this has changed me forever and I think, because we do associate awe with, like, an amazing sunrise or sunset or something like that, and that also could be it, but it also could be a moment of realizing life is short, or, you know, um, you're forever changed by this moment yeah, no, I've.
Speaker 3:I've had moments that have changed me forever, fundamentally as a human, um, and yeah, it's, yeah state of flow.
Speaker 1:How about the state of flow?
Speaker 3:so I mean, I study jewelry design and I and I remember being in the studio, in the workshop, and it would be like nine in the morning and then it would be four in the evening and you wouldn't even know it, no, and being a zone.
Speaker 3:So making, like making stuff with my hands, and since I did, since I studied jewellery, like I've done sort of wood turning and glass blowing and macramé and like things like that, actually that was probably the last project that I found that I would spend hours doing and could quite happily this big lampshade that I made out of macramé my first ever macramé project. That was absolutely massive and ridiculous. That that's the first thing I ever made anyway. But when I was thinking about flow because I have a daughter that doesn't sleep very well, um, and because I like to be super productive I was thinking that when she has a nap and maybe this is an old mom or dad thing, but maybe amplified when you're a solo mom and you've got, you know, one person managing a household and you need to get stuff done see when cleo has a 1 hour 15 minute nap in the afternoon. I wrote down all of the things I did in one day in 1 hour and 15 and some days it's not.
Speaker 3:Some days I'm folding one lot of laundry and I'm watching ash Madison scandal on Netflix. I don't even know who that is? It's the two. It's the.
Speaker 3:It's the website for people having affairs they got, they got hacked and then they leaked all of the, the names, the dates, goodbye. You should watch it on it's on Netflix just now. It's brilliant, um, it's what me and Cleo are currently watching, um, but I? But. Then there's some days where I'm like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. So I wrote down all of the things I did in a one one hour 15 minute nap time while she was sleeping and I wanted to read it, let's hear it because this is float. For me, this is flow oh, you're in flow this is flow.
Speaker 3:Um, okay, I took down a dry laundry off of the rack, I hung up a wash, I put on a wash, I took out the recycling, I made a coffee, I checked in for flights, I filled a photo album for cleo of prints I'd ordered, I charged my headphones, I rotated some toys, which really just means I tidied and grabbed something she hasn't played in for a while. I replied to six texts, I scheduled this podcast, I wrote a bio for this podcast, I sent a headshot and I arranged for Cleo to be looked after whilst I did this podcast, all in an hour and 15 minutes.
Speaker 1:Did you have a list of those things to get done?
Speaker 3:some of them and then some of them are like the things that creep in, so I suppose that's maybe not flow, because, yeah, things are coming up. I think you're tricking yourself.
Speaker 1:I felt like I was in flow this need to be useful and productive is disguised as flow get your ass back to making some jewelry or pottery or something, woman, I know I've got I've got a pottery wheel in my I know you do garage.
Speaker 3:I haven't used in about a year and a half I know, but it you are thinking a lot.
Speaker 1:I feel like it's in that list.
Speaker 3:So it's flow, would you say, is I think you're not thinking.
Speaker 1:You're not thinking.
Speaker 3:Okay, well then that's not, that's the opposite.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean that's not true. I think you can have, you can experience state of flow when you're working. I I felt that I can see that you know when everything's like coming together and time goes by and but you're like racing an app with the list and getting lots done. That's just being uber productive.
Speaker 3:So see, when I was writing my little short bio for this podcast, I find that I find I find that sort of thing quite easy and just bash it out okay. I would think that if I had to do like that on a bigger scale, that could be flow. But writing, maybe writing try it, maybe writing.
Speaker 1:I'm going to try it. Writing's a flow for you. You're a good writer. I could see that.
Speaker 3:I used to do automatic writing.
Speaker 1:I just want to challenge your productiveness as flow. Okay, sorry, I projected it.
Speaker 3:I'm sorry, but then I'll be like having some crisis after it, being like, oh, all I've been doing is in flow.
Speaker 1:I've not got anything actually done, so much to do. If you can babysit, then I will just gonna try and chat me on air right here I will, I will flow, flow like crazy.
Speaker 3:I will do so much flowing.
Speaker 1:This is a different podcast now sounding a bit rude. Now it'd be strange if it didn't go that way at some point. Knowing us, I am genuinely looking forward to well, obviously, this has been a beautiful year plus. You know, um, you've taken on motherhood with such grace as you do, with everything I've seen you ever do. And, um, just getting back to the other things that you like to do as well, it's nice. It's a nice time, although I think it's difficult and I've I've been there and I think it's a lot, um, it's a lot for you to kind of change modes. So, like 100% of your thinking and time is is occupied by this little person that you love more than anything, and then you have to kind of eke out a little bit of new thinking away from her, and it feels very uncomfortable and awful and like I feel like going back into work after maternity leave is a big deal that a lot of people don't get support.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm gonna challenge you on that because, well, no, not that last bit. I agree lots of people don't get support, but I'm actually really looking forward to it and I see this next thing like role that I'm going to be taking on is just going to be adding to all of the things I like doing good in a week. So I'm I'm kind of relishing the idea of like more building blocks of good stuff, because I think when you're someone that's driven by feeling useful, maternity leave can be quite difficult that you're being useful to your daughter, but other than that it's like you don't't feel very productive. I maybe need to get some gratification from like other areas, yeah. So I think, yeah, don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1:I think also it's really lovely to use your brain differently and think about other things and know that she's happy with you. Know, because they like to be with other kids a lot and you can't necessarily provide that on your own. So like knowing that they're happy away and you're happy away it is. It's a great transition to you. So I'm not saying it's all bad, but I think it can be challenging for a lot of people.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's such a shift. Yeah, I'm hoping that her just being down the road in the in the nursery and me being able to work from home or work from tribe um, means that like I'm really close by and like you know she'll yeah, it feels like she won't be too far yeah, I know what you mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's good. I think it's important things for people to think about, and I know you've thought about those things. Um, and I can't wait for your new virtual assistant business to take off in a speed that's appropriate to you and your needs.
Speaker 3:I know I'm just thinking about the website that I want to build to explain what I can do for people, and then I'll be sending it out to everyone well, we'll make sure this is produced and shared in good time whenever you're ready, because we function like that.
Speaker 1:Thank you anyways. Thank you so much for coming in, thank you for having me and chatting, ciao, bye to hear more about tripodian keystone.
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