Motherhood changes you. Sometimes you see it comin’ but usually, you don’t, and then one day when as you’re cleaning peas off the wall and you can’t remember the last day you didn’t change somebody’s diaper, it hits you…

Who am I? What happened to me? Am I still in there?

Maybe it hit you differently and had more to do with wishing you could clone yourself so you could work full time and be mom, and ditch the guilt you feel for ignoring one thing while you’re doing the other thing, no matter which thing you’re doing. 

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Sometimes that struggle or those feelings of being “lost” in motherhood are the most important and impactful wake-up calls that we could have ever been given because they force us to tune in and question why we’re doing what we’re doing. Motherhood is supposed to be joyous, but the to-do lists and societal expectations are a beating. 

It’s time to lean in with curiosity, prioritize the things that are really important, and do less with more JOY. This might mean using a planner and creating a morning routine so you have time to enjoy a hot coffee and think in peace and quiet before the kids wake up. 

Download a free, printable 2-week planner I designed specifically to help me prioritize and balance it all. After much searching, I couldn’t find one that had space for health, errands, money, to-do’s, and personal growth, so I made one. Snag yours & get “on top of it” today!

Tabitha Cee joins me on the podcast today to talk about acting in alignment with our values, prioritizing, personal growth for moms, and giving ourselves permission to lean inward. Listen to the full episode for all the goodness!!

Looking Inward

So often in life, we look outward for answers – to blogs, podcasts, teachers, mentors, Google, courses, books, and more – when, if you really just sit with an issue, you find your intuition pulling you in a certain direction. 

Sometimes it’s unexplainable, like when a mom knows exactly what a baby needs with no other direction besides a cry in a particular tone or when you just felt like you should turn left instead of right. The trick is listening to that feeling and following it. 

So much of our childhood, school, and society sends us messages that undermine our truest knowledge of ourselves. We’re pressured to fit in, be accepted, follow the herd, and look, act, think, and live an “acceptable” way, but acceptable to who? Others? Who are these others and why do they get an opinion on how we dress, look, think, marry, and raise our children? 

It’s time to regain control of our own life direction and instead of jumping to the conclusion that we need someone’s approval, opinion, or instructions, sit quietly a minute. Feel, lean inward, think about which choice seems in alignment with the person we want to be. 

The Four Phases

One way to instantly be more productive AND act more in alignment with ourselves is to embrace the energy level we have as it fluctuates. Men function on a 24-hour cycle, which is why time, the workday, and most productivity-based instruction is based on a 24 hour day. 

Women, however, function on a 28-day cycle (Sound familiar? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.) with approximately 7 days in each “phase.” Think of the phases like the seasons. In spring, you’re blooming – full of ideas, making plans, getting things organized, and setting appointments. 

Then in the summer, you’re runnin’ hot – attending social events, coordinating, hustling and bustling. Before you know it, fall comes around and you’re wrapping up, applying finishing touches, and having fewer outings. When winter arrives, you’re low on energy and feeling deep desires to rest and be cozy.

When we give ourselves permission to rest up during our winter phase so that we can energetically do all.the.things during the other phases, we aren’t fighting our bodies anymore. We aren’t mistrusting and misunderstanding our inherently high or low energy levels. 

You’re encouraged to look at the calendar with your natural womanly cycle in mind and schedule accordingly – I swear you’ll get more done and feel happier doing it. During your “winter” week, plan days of rest, and set meetings, calls, errands, and projects for the “spring” and “summer” weeks, while allowing your “fall” week for wrapping things up.

I’ve started planning everything from kids’ get-togethers and activities, work meetings, and even exercise routines around these four phases. I no longer feel guilty for naps during my winter week because I know I’m looking forward to all the meetings, live videos, podcast recordings, and activities that are planned for the other weeks when I naturally have more energy. 

Prioritize And Do Less

Another big shift has to do with priorities. Look around, you can choose priorities in every area of life – the people you spend time with, the errands you run, the to-do’s on your list, the meetings you have, all the way down to whether dinner as a family or reading your little a bedtime story are priorities or not. 

If you feel overwhelmed or like your to-do list is never-ending, it’s time to decide what MUST be done, and set the rest aside. Do what matters on your list, and nothing more. Activities or busywork that don’t make an impact or move the needle don’t deserve your precious time or energy.

When you get clear on your personal values and how you want to be remembered, you can cross-reference each task against those values, asking yourself – 

Does this move me closer to my goal or further away? Does this align with who I want to be and how I want to live? Does this match what I want my children to see of me?

Then, ditch, delegate, or automate what doesn’t. 

Meet Tabitha Cee

She is a busy mama of two and she loves coaching moms to be true to themselves in order to live their best life and do, be, and have everything that they want for themselves and their family! Tabitha shares practical solutions that take you from exhausted and frustrated to energized and organized in your everyday life.

She’s passionate about staying focused on the JOY in motherhood and doing less with more love! She’s a lifelong Alaskan addicted to bulletproof coffee and self-help books. She loves chatting all things morning routines, productivity, self-care, and personal growth and her mission is to empower moms to be happy, get productive, and feel fulfilled. 

Follow Tabitha at www.TheMamaMatters.com and I encourage you to take the Free Masterclass mentioned in the episode, it’s fantastic!

She’s on Instagram @themamamatters and on Facebook and Pinterest too!