The ROCKSTAR Mom

How to Do It All Without Doing It All: Time & Energy Management Strategies with Lori Oberbroekling

• Megan Caldwell

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Tired of hearing “you just need better time management” while your energy tank hits empty by noon? We brought in Lori Whitney Oberbreckling—mom of four, corporate leader, podcaster, and author of Secrets of Super Mom—to map a more honest path: define your “all,” protect your energy, and plan a week that actually works in real life.

In this episode you will:

  1. Learn how to identify your personal energy bleeds, blocks, and boosts—the hidden factors that drain or fuel your day—and use them to your advantage.
  2. Discover Lori’s no fail weekly planning strategies to help you prioritize what truly matters and create a realistic, productive schedule.
  3. Explore energy management vs. time management techniques to feel focused, present, and energized instead of overwhelmed.
  4. Master the art of strategic to-do lists, knowing what’s possible, what can wait, and how to execute without guilt.

You’ll walk away with strategies you can use today: run a simple time and energy audit, delegate or outsource strategic bleeds without guilt, and protect the basics that fuel you—sleep, movement, nourishing food, and genuine connection. Joy and fun aren’t extras; they’re renewable energy that makes you better at work and more present at home.

If this conversation gives you a lift, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review. Tell us: what’s one energy bleed you’ll drop—or one tiny boost you’ll stack—this week? 

We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

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SPEAKER_00:

You are listening to the Rockstar Mom, a podcast for high achievers who are ready to get off of autopilot and live a life with more intention, peace of mind, and happiness. This is a space to expand, dig deep, get clear, and take action towards living your most authentic, aligned life. I'm Megan Caldwell. As a mom of three, two-time burnout survivor, and empowerment coach and speaker, I've cracked the code on what it actually takes to thrive at work and home, ditch perfectionism and people pleasing, get your schedule under control, and live with more ease. So you've got more time and energy to do the things you love without the mom guilt. It's time to get out of your head and into action. Now is the time to live your most rock star life. Let's go. All right, my friends, I am super excited for who I have to share with you today, Lori Oberbreckling. Lori Whitney Oberbreckling is a mom of four, corporate leader, podcaster, productivity expert, and author of the book Secrets of Super Mom: How Extraordinary Moms Succeed at Work and Home, and How You Can Too. She is passionate about helping parents who want fulfilling careers or sign hustles or passion projects while also wanting to feel present and connected to their families. Lori, welcome to the Rockstar Mom. I'm thrilled to have you here today.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. Thank you. Glad to be here.

SPEAKER_00:

Awesome. Well, of what I know of you, Lori, you are a true rock star mom. You hold lots and lots of different hats, as many of our listeners do. I'm wondering if you'd actually start by sharing what some of those hats are. Both professionally. I mean, we don't have all day, but both professionally as well as as personally, if you like.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. So I mean, hats I'm wearing right now, I'll give you an example. So I'm a corporate leader, right? I work full-time in corporate America. I head two departments. I get to do lots of very awesome things and I have an amazing team. I am a photographer. And so I shoot family portraits and also support our local theater with photographs for their shows. And I am a bigger volunteer at that theater as well. So I do a lot of volunteer work for the theater. Right now we have a show that's that's happening. So we're in the thick of it for Beetlejuice Jr. I am a mom of four, as you said. I have two teenagers, one pre-teen and one schoolager. So I go from 15 down to nine. I have two boys and two girls. I'm a wife. I am a podcaster, as you said. So I run the company Secrets of Super Mom, and we have a podcast and a membership and all sorts of ways that we support busy, ambitious moms with all the things that they want to do and give them permission to let go of the things that they don't. And so all of those things I get to do on a daily basis.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow. Wow. And I'm sure there's so many more. Your chef and chauffeur and all of those other things that sometimes we don't necessarily classify as our bigger roles, but martial arts, white belt with my sex and yeah, pound it, pound it.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right.

SPEAKER_00:

So my question for you before we dive into the meat of the conversation, I'm so excited to talk to you about time management and energy management. Is how do you do it all? Like, how have you figured out this juggle between motherhood, career, outside passions? Many know my kind of take on it. I don't feel that it's true balance. I think balance is kind of BS, but it's more of this juggle, more of this harmony. How are you doing it? And I know that that's a lot what your company now does in terms of supporting moms in doing it.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right. We say we teach busy moms to do it all without doing it all, right? So we all we have to know what all is for us, right? And I think that's kind of the first step. Cause some of it, when I say what's all for me, that's not all for somebody else, right? We do not have the same all. And so understanding what really doing it all and the things that are really important to you, I think is the first step. And then figuring out the plan to be able to actually do that. So there are a lot of things, a lot of things that I used to do that I do not do anymore, right? There are volunteer activities that I do not say yes to anymore. Whereas I was, if I can figure out how to make it happen, if there's time available, I will say yes to it, right? Even if the puzzle was so tight and it was almost impossible. And I realized that that didn't feel good, right? It didn't feel good for me. It didn't feel good for my family, it didn't feel good for my partner. Like he did not love that our schedule was like that. And so really realizing, okay, what are the things that are important to us and important to me? And then what are the things that we can let go? And then when I'm left with the things that are really important, I do feel like I'm doing it all, even though I'm not actually doing it all.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I love this. Doing it all is just so different to each individual. And I think oftentimes due to cultural and societal expectations, what we see on social media, we get this glimpse that people are actually doing all the things. And sometimes they are and they're suffering on the inside. That's kind of how I went through my couple reins of burnout, is I was actually trying to do it all, right? And other times, yeah, it's really like how do we move away from this comparison and really get down to what is truly important to you? I like to say, in the season of life that you're in, right? Because you're now in a season where your kids are slightly older. My kids are in similar ages and stages, where this probably looks different than when you had toddlers and babies running around. And that is okay.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right. It's a thousand percent different, right? Like there were things that were important to me then, like making baby food and using cloth diapers. Those were things that were really, but those took wild amounts of time. Nursing and pumping and doing right. So a lot of my time was built to that. Could I have started a business during that phase in my life? Probably not. It would have been very, very challenging. And when I look back, I see, oh, as I let go of those things, right? As I was in my final months of nursing and my babies were grown and three of the four were potty trained, that's when I started my business. Did I realize it at the time? No. But my capacity opened and I realized I had time for something more. And to look back on it, it's incredibly obvious to me. I just didn't know it then because I was still in the thick of it.

SPEAKER_00:

Totally. And sometimes when we are in the thick of it, it's really hard to see the reality of it. And you said this word capacity. One of my favorite sayings is capacity versus capability. We as high achieving moms and high achieving women have lots of capability, but it really is what's within our capacity and our desire in any given season of life versus having to put on the facade that we actually can do it all. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And I have to remind myself that capacity is also, I get to decide what fills the capacity that I have. Yes. I don't just because there is time available and I could, right? I'm capable, right? Of course, right? And literally everyone listening today, right, is capable of doing all of these things. Yes. But what is my true capacity? And then what do I want in within that capacity, right? I could fill it with all sorts of things that I don't want to do or that I'm not really that excited about, or I can fill it up with things that light me up and make me a happier mom and a more successful businesswoman who I want to be, right? And then that's when the happens.

SPEAKER_00:

That's when we feel good. And when we truly feel good in mind, body, and soul, that is when we feel like our most inner rock stars, our most outer rock stars, and we have more time and energy to pour into those things that truly matter. But I love, again, your vision and approach to this work is so similar to mine in that it has to be put the woman first. You said many, many times is what drives you? What is lighting you up? It doesn't mean we neglect our partners and our family and all the things, but again, it allows us to really show up as our best self when we do fill our own cups.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right. That's right. That's exactly it.

SPEAKER_00:

So I want to talk to you a little bit about this whole difference between energy management and time management. Because one of the biggest concerns that so many women come to me with is Megan, I just don't have enough time. I don't have enough time. I know that you've got a couple different approaches here that you're going to share with us in terms of yes, it is time management that is a piece of this and how we come up with structure and systems and routines and efficiencies. But there's also this other concept of energy management. Talk to me a little bit about the difference between the two and how you see this.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So certainly you're right. That time management, like if you have zero plan, you probably feel like you don't have time, right? Because if your schedule is sort of a mess and you don't know what's happening day to day, then yes, there probably is some time management activities. But the women that I work with often manage their time incredibly well. They actually do have a plan, they do know what's coming. It doesn't mean they don't drop balls, but they do know what is happening. And often they are saying, I'm just so tired. And when they really do like a time tracker, right? When we do a time audit and we look at our time, we realize that wait a second, I do have available time maybe throughout my day, or maybe just a big chunk at the end of the day, but I do have available time. It's not about the time, it's about my energy at that time because I will have an available hour. Let's say an hour between, I don't know, the end of a workday and when school gets out, or when dinner is finished and homework is all done and it's not bedtime yet, right? You've got these gaps of time. But instead of using it the way that we would maybe want to with something that we love, that lights us up, that gives us energy, we're just spent. We're just so done that we don't use that time, right? We scroll or we watch a show, right? And I'm not talking about intentional scrolling or intentional shows. Those are great. I love that, right?

SPEAKER_00:

If that's kind of numb out, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right. If you want it, right, you love that, okay, amazing. Build that into your time. But it's about the I am just going to figure out how to numb because I just don't have the energy to deal with the rest of my day, versus I am so energized throughout the entire day. I'm using my energy well so that all of my time I get to use well too.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think that you break down for our listeners here, like how they are so interwoven. I think that you bring up such a good point when it comes to time management, is if we actually do take a look at the time that we have, are there some listeners out there who actually are packed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.? Maybe. Yes, probably. And again, when we start to become more intentional with how we are using that time and where we can save time and which things, as you shared, like no longer need to be part of our life in this season, it will open up time to then think about this whole concept of energy. That's right. I know that energy is something that comes up with me and my clients all of the time because that's what so many of us crave more of, right? Is how do we actually have the energy to show up and be playing with our kids on the floor or to go do that extra thing or whatever it might be. And so I know you have when you talk about energies, you've got a couple things you share about that in regards to energy bleeds, blocks, and boosts. I'm so curious. Will you share with our listeners what you're talking about here with these?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. So an energy bleed is that thing that you dread, that thing that totally zaps your energy, that thing that you just hate to do, that thing that you just feel like afterwards, right? So maybe for some of you that is laundry, right? Maybe you just absolutely loathe the laundry and that's an energy bleed for you. But hard conversations can be an energy bleed. Big presentations that you're not excited about can be an energy bleed, right? Hard conversations at work, right? Maybe performance of reviews can be an energy bleed. These things are things that drain us where we are done with that activity task event and we feel more tired than we did before. An energy block is sort of all the monotony, right? Energy blocks are around us, right? But for me, all of our house tours are energy blocks. They do not boost me. I do not feel excited about them, but nothing is wildly bleeding. But some of you, I know because we've done so much work around this, that some of you, those house tours are energy bleeds. You're just after you've done. And then energy boosts. So let's talk about energy boosts. Energy boosts are those things that light you up. The things that you get super excited about, the things that you are feeling like the time sort of stops or you have infinite time, right? That where you kind of just lose track of all things, those things where you walk away and you just feel different, better, right? So, like a night out with your girlfriends could be an energy boost. For some of you, that's an energy bleed, right? For some of you, right? And that's okay. We get to know what our own bleeds, blocks, and boosts are, because I'm gonna tell you in a second how you can use them. But energy boost could be date night with your partner, energy boost could be a meditation, right? If you feel highly energized after your meditation, that's an energy boost, even though you might not usually categorize it as that, right? It could be struggling with a pet, it could be a great conversation with a kiddo, it could be eating some really good food that you know makes your body feel good, right? It can be any so all of those energy boosts. So that's bleeds blocks and boosts. So I'm gonna pause and see if you have questions about that because I can tell you how to use it.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my gosh. So many questions and so many thoughts going through my head. The first one that comes to mind, I want to loop back to bleeds, though, is these things you dread, the hard things, the things that really do drain your energy and leave you feeling depleted. I'm gonna assume, without wanting to make assumptions, that there are some listeners in our audience who might recognize some of those, but then maybe have guilt around letting them go, delegating them. Can you talk to me a little bit about how we can actually get rid of some of these bleeds?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. So you cannot always get rid of all your energy bleeds. So I'm gonna give you an example. I have to have hard conversations with people at work, with my children, and I cannot delegate those. I cannot get rid of those entirely, right? I cannot eliminate hard conversations, and those are an energy bleed for absolute sure. They are emotionally and mentally taxing, right? But they have it. So what I can do is control my time and energy outside of those activities. So if I have a very big bleed, I can stack it with a boost. I can say, I'm going to have this hard conversation and I'm going to stack it with a lunch with a colleague that I love, or I'm going to stack it with a walk around the block, or I'm going to stack it with a walking away from my desk and doing a meditation, or I'm going to stack it with phone call to my partner. I'm going to stack, right? Whatever I want to stack it with. I can stack that bleed with something that's boosting. Now, the flip side of that, let's talk about guilt because there are bleeds on your list that you can absolutely get rid of, right? Let's say you do a trade with a partner or a kiddo and you no longer pull the laundry ever again because someone else in your household does that. You can outsource those things, right? If you're in a financial situation to outsource, amazing. Outsource some of those bleeds. Let go of some of those bleeds because your time and your energy, laundry is such an easy one because for some planning it to bleed. I was like, I love it. Do I love laundry?

SPEAKER_00:

Do I actually love laundry? Now you got me thinking, but it's an easy one that most of us can relate to. Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

So let's say an energy bleed for you is laundry, right? And you want to outsource it or trade it. So now not only is that not bleeding your energy, but you don't have to boost your energy back up because of it. So on days where you do laundry, if you're then so depleted after that laundry is done that you're not as effective in all the other things you're doing that day, you've not only impacted the one thing, but everything else. So that when we start to think, wow, I may have impacted five hours of my day instead of only the hour and a half it took me to do the laundry. Now I can start to go, okay, I don't need to feel guilty about this because I'm being so much more effective in everything else that I'm doing by controlling my energy around the things that bleed me, boost me, and block me.

SPEAKER_00:

I love kind of your reframe on that is that it's almost like a gift to ourselves when we are able to say no to these versus the typical guilt of feeling bad, of asking somebody else for help, of again thinking that we should be able to just do it all and wear that cape, right? Versus we actually do have such power and it starts within us to live intentional lives. But it starts with, I always say that the first step to change is acknowledgement, right? Is to just bring awareness to what are some of these bleeds, what are some of these blocks, what are some of these boosts, and to get curious about again, because we know these can shift over different seasons as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. They absolutely shift. And some of you don't know, right? I get questions. Well, what if I don't know what my energy boosts are? Yeah. Like I can't think of, you know, I'll do a presentation and a woman will raise her hand and say, I don't think I have any energy boosts, right? We all have energy boosts, I promise you. But sometimes we don't recognize them because the bleeds are so numerous, or we don't recognize them because we've gotten away from some of the things that boost us and we've filled it with things that bleed us. And so when we do time audits in my group, we actually put a little plus mark next to when we're saying, okay, for the last 15 minutes I did X, right? And we're doing a time, just like you'd do any other time audit. But next to it, we'll put a little plus mark if that was something that boosted my energy. So let's say I just checked email for the last 15 minutes, and maybe I have a minus mark because that's something that bled my energy. Right, right. Or maybe I had an amazing conversation with one of my kiddos, and I have a little plus mark next to that. Maybe I love making dinner for my family. I do not. That is an energy bleed for me. But person, many of you are block at least. If you love making food for your family or love baking or love, right, you've got a plus mark next to those. And then you've got minuses next to the things that are hard, those hard things. And then if you're like, it didn't really do anything, it was a block, you just leave it blank. And if you do that for a couple of days, you'll start to see some patterns in. Oh, no wonder I was so tired because I had four meetings back to back that do not boost my energy, or maybe they all four bleed my energy. And I did nothing in between to build myself back up. And so now I was so depleted that my afternoon was worthless. Right. And we can start to see, oh, okay. What if I were to split these meetings apart? What if I were to add a boost in between? What if I were to pay attention and schedule myself so that I get to build my energy all day?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I love this so much, Lori. One of the things that coming to mind for me that I think is often a boost for women that we might not think of is just the power of pause, is creating more margin, is creating a little bit more space. So we are not so back to back to back to back. And it sounds so counterintuitive, especially for our high achievers type A perfectionists out there, many of you in the audience, is what does it look like to actually just create a little bit of margin where you can either just be, or maybe you insert, I know for many, movement can be I want to say all, but I can't claim that, right? Where movement, whether it's a light stretch, whether it's a quick walk around your the downstairs of your house, whether it is actually a full workout, is starting to get curious about how we can insert these in, I often refer to MBA's minimal viable action. Like what is actually the smallest boost that you could insert so it doesn't feel like it's another thing you have to do, or another 15 minutes or hour that you have to figure out in your day.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right. It doesn't have to be huge. You're exactly right. It does not have to be some big thing, right? We're not saying do an hour-long meeting and then find an hour-long energy boost. Right. Find three-minute energy boost, right? So find a very quick little thing. And does coffee count? Sure. But should you do that all day? Probably not. Right. But finding those little things that you can use to boost your energy. And when you start to do it and then pay attention, right? When we're really intentional, you'll start to see that difference and go, today felt different, right? It felt different. And then you can say, okay, how can I do that on another day? How can I do that on another day? And slowly we get into building in these extra systems, routines where we feel different and better.

SPEAKER_00:

I love that. I love that. And what's coming coming to mind that I want to invite all of our listeners to right now is to just get curious in this space. I think being able to be curious and think outside the box a little bit and really kind of pattern interrupt to disrupt your current norm, because otherwise that is the problem, is that we just get caught on autopilot, get caught on the hamster wheel. And this is an invitation. And I think having the bleed block and boost is an easy way to remember it in terms of, huh? Okay, after you listen to this interview, where did that fall in? I'm hopeful that it's a boost for our listeners, right? But then we can start to make more intentional decisions about what we actually do do. I am curious, either you personally or ones that you see common themes amongst your clients in your business is one thing I talk a lot about is like joy and fun cannot be an afterthought. And so I am connecting this to a boost right now, right? Because when we feel joy, when we feel present, when we feel fun, that boosts us. I don't know, maybe it depletes some people. I don't think it does. Do you see any common themes either for yourself or for clients that are like easy ways to insert some more energy boosts?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So I think you're right. So I mentioned the woman that, you know, raises her hand and says, I don't think I have any energy boost. Also, probably wouldn't say she has a lot of fun, right? Because she like, what do you do for fun? Yeah is a question that a lot of us get. And many of us go, I don't know what you mean. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Right. I clean, I clean my house and it's fun. Yeah. No to no anymore. Right. And realizing, oh wow, life gets to be fun. Life gets to be right filled with joy and those things. And so yeah, it really is asking ourselves that question. I think the unique part is that because we're all so different, we don't all have the same energy boosts. You're right. Movement, working out. We talk about energy management a lot when we plan our weeks. So getting enough sleep, eating things that you know make you feel good and energized, moving your body, right? Personal connection with people that you love, right? Whether that be big groups of people or small groups of people or individual people, those things for us are generally energy boosts, energy management type activities. And those are kind of like the basics, right? So those are the things that I recommend first. But if you are thinking, I don't think I have any boosts, just track your time and see if there's anything in there that you realize, oh, it actually is a boost for me to have lunch with, you know, my cube mate. Or oh, it's like a boost for me to have lunch with someone who is in the office next door. Or wow, I didn't realize it was such a boost for me to read fiction versus nonfiction. Or wow, I didn't realize it was such a boost for me just to take my dog out for a walk or to pet my cat. Oh, I didn't realize it was a boost for me, right? Little things that you might do and then realize, oh, I'm drawn to want to do those things because they're boosting my energy, because they make me feel good, because they make me happy. And how can I do more?

SPEAKER_00:

We're making that connection between them. The other one that I just wanted to kind of call out that just came to mind and I will often use myself and also is the power of music. I have Megan's pump up list. And on days where I'm needing a little bit more energy, I'm needing to transition from one hard thing into something else, it's like, what songs or music, or maybe it is meditation, but like just the power of our auditory sense can be really, really powerful.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I'm totally with you on that. And even sense of smell, if your sense of smell is great, right? There are smells that will give you energy and just make you feel like you can do more, right? So you realize these things about yourself. I got my candle right here. There it is. And so realizing, okay, this is what does it for me, right? This is what gives me those boosts and just how can I work those into my every single day so that I, as I'm managing my time, my energy is always available to me.

SPEAKER_00:

I love it. And the other thing I want to kind of reflect back for our audience that you're sharing is like just the simplicity of it is oftentimes as high achievers, we completely overcomplicate and overthink all the things, is go back to the basics. So some of those things that you talked about, such as sleep and rest and nutrition and movement, that's part of our Rockstar Life called our your foundational fab five, is like when we actually pull back to some of those basics of the things that we know to be true, it's like, oh, this actually doesn't have to be rocket science. It doesn't have to be one more thing taking care of yourself. It is something that you can just do and it becomes a part of who you are. That's right. So that's awesome. All right. I want to shift a little bit into this again. So we kind of started our conversation with energy management and time management. So let's talk a little bit more about the time management piece because I know that you have a kind of, I think it's a specific either process or procedure in terms of how you support women in their weekly planning.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right. We in our society, we plan together every single week. And we do this because for a very long time, I did daily plans where I would get up in the morning and I would look at Outlook for my career, right? I would look at our family schedule on a whiteboard or on a piece of paper, and I would go, oh, wow, today is a day. Or oh wow, I've added 10 things to my to-do list and I have no idea how I'm gonna get it all done today. Or oh wow, we have an overlap between a dentist appointment and a meeting I'm supposed to have, and somehow we're supposed to get all those things done and pick up kids from school and do everything at the same time, right? And I used to live like that and it was wildly stressful. So years and years ago, I started weekly planning and that was sitting down at a specific time, not in the day, right? Like not already in the scramble, but sitting down beforehand and looking at that entire week and being able to say, okay, what activities do we have? What is on what I now keep as a master to-do list and what should be in this week versus just this giant list I'm trying to follow. What things are possible this week, what things are not possible? What do I get to change now instead of scramble in the middle of the day? And so we get to ask ourselves all these questions and we go into energy management and we go into a lot of other things too and setting goals, but being able to just have this weekly focus where right now I'm making the plan, I'm making all the decisions, I'm doing all of the figuring out, right? All of the things that require that sort of planning brain. And then throughout the week, all I have to do is execute. Now I always get the question, okay, so you make this plan. How often does it go perfectly? Like how often do you follow the planes? And I said zero percent of the time.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, let's just call that out. It's never gonna be perfect because there is no such thing as perfection.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, no, it's never perfect. But guess what? It is a great guide, and it makes a way for me to know what's coming. I plan for things to go wrong on purpose because I know they will, right? I make up for that. And so then all I'm doing is executing throughout my week and making those small shifts. And wow, does that bring down willpower requirements, decision making requirements, stress level in general, and overwhelm, right? I don't have to feel overwhelmed by my week because I'm already ready. I don't have to wake up and what's today.

SPEAKER_00:

What's today? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So it's just been so wildly powerful for me. And this has been, like I said, many years. And so I'm teaching it. I see the power in all of the other women that work with us, and it's a game changer. It's exactly what we need in order to be successful and thrive.

SPEAKER_00:

Totally. We had a group coaching call in my Rockstar Life community earlier this week where this was the exact thing is is moving away from the day-to-day into being a little bit more strategic as you can take some time to think about the week. So, right on board with that. I'm wondering as I know sometimes I get the question in terms of, well, like, how do I involve my partner in the process? Is this something that we can and should do collaboratively? Is this something that I still need to like kind of take on and have as my own? What are your thoughts in that?

SPEAKER_01:

Mine is yes, both, because so my process, my personal process is first me, then we. But if you want to plan together, you totally could. But the way it works best for me is to go, okay, I'm gonna look at my own work schedule, my own business schedule, my children's schedule, my partner's schedule, my schedule all by myself. I'm gonna do that first and I'm gonna understand what this week looks like. And then I'm gonna have a conversation with my partner and say, okay, let's talk about what this week looks like. Because some stuff might be, okay, he always takes on Tuesdays, I always take on Wednesdays, right? Right.

SPEAKER_00:

It's already mapped out.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we've already mapped it, we've already made these decisions, right? So some stuff might be really easy, but let's say this week we've got extra rehearsals because we have a show coming up, like I made. Yeah, yeah. Let's say this week we've got extra volunteer requirements, or somebody's got a performance, or somebody's got a tournament. So we've got a whole bunch of extra practices and games. So being able to go, all right, we've got our basics planned and we can work through the basics, but then being able to say, all right, looks like we've got an overlap here. Do we need to ask somebody for help? Whether somebody like in our world, right? Or somebody let's like a team mom or another family or a neighbor, right? Do we need to ask for help? Do we need to cancel some stuff this week? Like, do we need to move some stuff around and just be realistic about the fact that this is not the week for the dentist? This is not the week for the well checks, right? Maybe we need to do that sort of movement. Maybe we need to plan out some dinner plans. And maybe together we've got to prep some stuff because we know that every single night's gonna be chaos this week. And so prepping and connecting about that and being able to have those conversations also prevents the in the moment fussing and fighting, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I you've already kind of brainstormed it together.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right. Because no one's coming at the other one angry or irritated. We're able to just have the conversation and then we've planned it for the week. We're not waking up and going, we've got two appointments at the same time. He's gonna have to do that and have time to do that. I've got a meeting. Right. Have a meeting, right? So those things just not that they never happen because things get crazy, kids get sick, thing the dog has to go to the vet urgently. All sorts of things happen, but it prevents it from happening all the time. And again, when we talk about energy, that is a heck of an energy bleed for me, is to fuss and fight with my partner. And I bet it is for a lot of you too. So if we prevent those things and get energy boosts with our partner instead, that feels so much better.

SPEAKER_00:

I love it. I love your little, I don't know, rhyming saying, me then we, me then we. And again, that's so much of what I preach is like, again, put yourself first. It's okay to do it first. It's okay to have your own thoughts and ideas, and then we can reach out for support as needed. The other thing that's coming to mind right now, just to share, is this whole concept. I love that you called out and said zero percent of the time will it go perfect? Okay, zero percent of the time. Let's just be real with this. Like my friends that are recovering perfectionists out there, you're not gonna perfect your schedule. It's never gonna happen because life's gonna happen. Life will life you. One of my key phrases that I love is focused but flexible is something like this weekly plan that you've walked us through allows you to have some focus and intentionality, but also just don't forget, like, we can be flexible in it. So that's awesome. I love your approach that you've shared here. Everything about it. And again, just like weaving back to again, the intersectionality is like we can't talk about just time management or just energy management. They really go linked hand in hand here. And it's again, it's almost like I see it as a wave or a dance as to how the two interact with one another. So, Lori, it's been an absolute pleasure having you here on The Rockstar Mom. You are truly a rock star mom who is exemplifying what it can look like to be passionate about career, to be in love and present with your kids, and how this all merges together. So, thank you so much for taking the time to be here. Do you have any closing thoughts or things you want to leave our listeners with today?

SPEAKER_01:

Just that the word permission has been coming to me over and over and over again lately. So it's just around that. You have permission to know your energy and be able to do things that allow you to build your energy. You have permission to take things off your calendar. You have permission to plan in advance and say, yeah, I am gonna move this meeting, or yeah, I am gonna cancel this appointment. You have permission to make your life the way that you want it to be.

SPEAKER_00:

I love that so much. Yes, you do, my friends. Lori, thank you so much again. Until next time. Thank you so much for tuning into the Rockstar Mom podcast. If today's episode resonated with you, here's how we can keep this momentum going. First, be sure to subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode. Next, I'd be so grateful if you took a moment to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback helps us reach even more women who are ready to live more intentional, fun-filled lives. Lastly, please share your insights on social media and be sure to tag me at Megan Caldwell PDX so we can connect and inspire other rock stars to live their best lives too. Again, I am so glad that you are here, and I'll see you next time.