414. How Prepared Are You?

On this episode, Nellie talks about her approach to preparing for summer break, sharing strategies for maintaining productivity during summer break while avoiding burnout, including prioritizing tasks, automating processes, and setting clear goals.

We will touch on:

• Preparation for summer break, with a focus on getting 1% or higher prepared.
• Prioritizing tasks and managing debt to improve productivity and well-being.
• Managing tasks and energy for a more enjoyable summer break.
• Automating content creation and email list growth.
• Summer schedule and self-care for a busy mom with ADHD.
• Self-defense and personal safety for a mother with young children.
• Planning a fun and educational summer break for kids with themed weeks, field trips, and prioritizing self-care for the parent.

Let's take some action:

• Create a Trello board and calendar to plan themed activity weeks for kids over summer break.
• Automate more business systems 
• Run lead generation ads continuously over summer to keep work automated.

This episode is sponsored by Kristen Rourke with Busy Mom Bod. Check her out on social media and consider her health and wellness scholarship program and other amazing programs!!
30 Day Scholarship for Healthy Mama Makeover: https://stan.store/busymombod/p/start-your-30-days-now
Busy Mom Bod: https://stan.store/busymombod

Transcript

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I have a fun question for you, when you go on trips, whether it's, you know, a weekend trip, or a like, week long trip, or even longer, are you the type of person that is going to throw everything in the bag, like right before you leave for the airport or driving away, or you the person, like, Okay, I'm gonna write a to do list, and I'm going to put everything to the side and like, Okay, I need to go shopping. I'm gonna go ahead and go shopping ahead of time and like, that way, like, by the time it's the night before, you're like, literally just, like, zipping up your suitcase and you're ready for the trip, and it's pretty stress free. So I'm I'm curious, which one you think you are, are you the fly by the seat of your pants? And you're like, just winging it and and faith in it till you make it when it comes to, like a trip, like, not everything in your whole world, but like a trip. Or are you the one that's like the the prepared Pam, we'll call her, so fly by the seat Fran, or the prepared Pam, I'm just making this up as I go. When it comes to their names. So are you, are you Fran, or are you Pam? Curious which one you are. So when it comes to summer break, summer break is almost here, and we can either be in denial about it, or we can use the time that we have and get as prepared as possible. And here's the thing that I want you to hear, even if you were a little prepared, like 10% prepared, it's better than 0% if you can get 50% prepared, better than zero per pen percent, if we can get 80 to 90 or even 100% prepared for summer break, then Again, anything is better than 0% and you get to make, I believe, a conscious decision of, are you going to at least get as prepared as you possibly can so that you set yourself up for success, your family up for success, and your business up for success, or are we going to delay and delay and delay and delay and then fly by the seat of our pants all summer long, which doesn't feel that great, like we can fly by the seat of our pants for small things, which there's nothing wrong with that, but when it comes to big things like summer break, when you're flying by the seat of your pants, no one wins, and it feels awful. And we also get to take some accountability, of like, okay, like, I chose to delay and delay and delay, and so I really wanted to do this episode, so that way it can be a reminder for you of like, okay, I'm going to use the time that I do have to get as prepared as I possibly can. So I wanted to share with you, because I've been working on my plans for a while now, and also it's now the 11th hour, if you will. I'm like, I've got three weeks. Three weeks in mom world is not that long when you think of all your general responsibilities. So I am really utilizing the next three weeks more than I have even leaning up to this moment, and I really wanted to share with you my exact strategy that I'm using, so that way, maybe you can take a nugget or two and run with it again. We're going for 1% or higher when it comes to preparedness, and that is hard when you have an all or nothing mindset, because if we can't get 100% then we'll just get nothing. But I really want to urge you into like, you know what it would feel incredible to at least even get 10% prepared, 20% prepared. Think about this. Think about it this way, you most likely have a percentage that you would love in your savings account right now that you may not have. Would you be upset if you had 10% more in your savings account, or 50% more or 100% more? Like, imagine having 100% more in your savings account right now. Like, no one, whether it's 1% or 100% would be like, yeah, no, I don't want that. So like, like us, shifting your mindset is really, really important so we can get different results and it can feel better. So I want to give a shout out to Kristen Roark with busy mom BOD for sponsoring this episode. She is a great person, a great resource to have on your summer list. She has an amazing membership all about helping you. Create a healthy mama makeover in real time, and you doing that makeover on top of what I'm talking about would be like, Oh my gosh, life changing. So make sure you check out Kristen work with the busy mom Bob. It's a super affordable membership, and I would love for you to connect with her and say hi and check out what she's doing. So here, here's everything that I'm doing. It's nothing crazy. So I also want you to like, know that, like, I'm not doing anything that I don't need to do. And that is key. So first and foremost is what I like to call closing the loop. So it's very easy for us as entrepreneurs, especially busy moms, especially ADHD ers, to start a bunch of things and not fully finish them. And it it really creates this like wonky energy, because we love to cross something off of our list, it gives us a lot of dopamine. And so I have a whole like, literally right over here. I have a handful of post it notes that are a different color, and they are things that I need I get to finish closing the loop on, meaning maybe it's an outstanding project or an outstanding task that I do not want to take into summer break, like it's started and I want to finish it. So those are a different color, because that is my top priority, getting that stale, stagnant energy out of the way I know, in my heart of hearts, literally unlocks so much freedom, so much creativity, so much spaciousness, because that stale stagnant energy really starts to weigh on you, and it's not necessarily the task or the project that brings the stale stagnant energy, because a lot of those things are really good things. The stagnant, stale energy comes into us ruminating on it not being complete, like, oh my gosh, I still need to do that thing. Oh my gosh, I still need to do that thing. Oh my gosh, I still need to, like, finish that, finish that. Finish that. And so that is what creates the stale, stagnant, wonky energy. And so when we complete those one by one by one, it's like an explosion. It's an explosion. This has also helped me realize my true capacity, because I don't want to keep having so much on my plate that I'm constantly having to close the loop on things that I wanted to close the loop on a while ago. So it's really, really, really, really made me realize my true capacity, from an energetic standpoint, a time standpoint, a goal standpoint, to prevent that from happening in the future, because it is a lot of my own doing by just having so much on my plate, and all of it is very arguable that it's all good stuff, but when, when does it become too much? We all talk about financial debt, but there is sleep debt, there is task debt, there is clutter debt, there is emotional debt, and it's all connected, because it's all you. And the biggest, one of the biggest aha moments that I've had recently is when I can clear any and all debt. It really, really does change everything. Like your confidence goes through the roof, your energy goes through the roof, your clarity goes through the roof. You just feel your dopamine goes through the roof, like you just feel so good. So doing that alone on top of brain dumping other like business building tasks, things that I want to get done before summer break, like having a very good understanding of what is truly on my plate has been so helpful for me to say yes or no, and so that way the debt is being diminished, demolished, and it's not going to keep happening, and that is the big thing, because if we don't have a new protocol in place, it could be end of summer break, and then I'm going to be in the same situation again, where it's just so much on my plate, and I'm so overwhelmed, and I don't have the energy, I don't have the time, and so we, we get to look at all of this just so differently so we can get better results. And it feel better like, I think it's, it's both the feeling better and getting better results that we really do desire. And. A lot of times we just focus on the results that we forget to look at the feelings one of my favorite coaches. Her name is Jamie. She talks about all the time that 80% of any goal is energetics. It is you, it is your mindset, it is your energy. It is your bandwidth, it is your confidence, it is your belief, like 80% and too often, people are skipping over that 80% and they're going right to the strategy, the tactics, the practical things, and those things are important. They are 20% but without the 80% it just crumbles and fails and flops and feels blah and yucky and it it's not a holistic approach. And so when we can really look at the 80% right, like, imagine leading up to summer break, you dialing in that 80% everything would change. Like, truly, everything would change. Everything would change. I have felt this in my own life going through the naked method that I've talked so much about. The Naked method for me has been that 80% for like, the first time in forever. I feel like I can hear my voice. I feel like I have clarity and direction more than I ever have, and it feels aligned internally versus what I think I should do. And so it's just coming from a different energetic standpoint, that it's getting different results and it feels different, and sometimes we don't know until we have that contrast. So I've been the burnout exhausted entrepreneur, and now I've been in the ease flow fund that I don't want, I don't want the burnout. I don't want the burnout. So a part of that is task management and energy management. So that would be my first recommendation. Get a really clear sense on what are all the outstanding tasks, all the projects, everything on your plate right now, and do put it in an order of importance, with closing the loops first, then going to like everything else, because it'll bring so much energy, and then we can prevent that from happening in the future. So that's first and foremost, getting ahead on content. I was just having an interview with an amazing mom, and we were talking about this. We are so ahead with content, and we have a few recording dates before summer intentionally. So we're all the way through summer break on content, and then anything that I desire to do, you know, in the small pockets of time in summer, fantastic, but it doesn't feel like a stress in summer, and that's what we're looking for. I want you to enjoy your summer break. It means that you probably will still work. But wouldn't it be such a different vibe if it was like, Oh my gosh, I'm so ahead. Now I get to work on projects that I want to do. I'm going to go ahead and check in with my clients, my students. Like the the plate feels like the smallest plate versus like the most giant, overwhelming plate. It's kind of like when you go to a buffet and you're like, so stuffed that you're like, I just can't eat anymore. That's what the it feels like when we're not managing our tasks. And it feels so different. I'm like an Apps girl. Like, does anyone love to go to a restaurant and just order a bunch of appetizers and maybe, like, get a cocktail? Maybe we have dessert. I leave feeling so much lighter than trying to like stuff my body full because the portions are just so huge. So that's really like the vibe that we're going for. We want to be the appetizer girl in summer break, and not the full buffet going up over and over and over again. So you can actually enjoy summer break. Enjoying your summer break comes down to discipline. It comes down to getting ahead. It comes down to saying yes to certain things and no to certain things, and knowing that a lot of things can wait until the fall. I'm really looking forward to reading in the summer, like I want my my Well, my kids, Boone loves to read when i i read to him, but like, I want my daughter, my six year old, reading books. I want us going out and, like, even outside and having fun. So getting ahead on content is huge, so you're not stressed. And when I say getting ahead on content, I'm really talking about lead generation content, because when we can get ahead with lead generation content, then your content, all day, every day, is going to be working for you versus you having to constantly, manually, in real time, generate leads so you know you post. A photo of your food is fantastic. Do that in extra, extra time that you have. So when you're planning your content, prioritize. How am I building my email list? Where am I sending people? What's the strategy? You could do far less content, but it's very strategic and get really, really amazing results. Which brings me to my next point, automation, automation, automation. So you may have heard us talk about the 1k in seven days challenge. We're doing it one more time in May of us doing it live, just so we can work out any and all you know, remaining, remaining kinks. Get some more testimonials, just fine tune it. And so after we do that in May, it will be fully 1,000% automated, to the point where somebody could go today, like in the future, and sign up, and then they can start the 1k in seven days challenge organically, on their own, so they don't have to wait to, you know, to be on a certain date. They can do it in real time. They the the whole thing will be automated for them and for us, which I'm really, genuinely excited about. So it's pretty much done. We just want to run it one more time, but the hard work is done, which feels really, really good, if I'm being honest. So having something specific that can be automated is huge. I will be running more ads in summer because I know I'm not going to be as active again. Those will be lead generation ads running 24/7, as I'm enjoying summer break that when I have a small pocket of time I can go check my ad, see how well it's converting, tweak and modify it, and then go back to enjoying summer break. So I will be working. You'll see me in my stories. You'll see me if you're one of my students or my client. Me to not work at all. Actually doesn't feel good, because I love what I do, but when it comes to the point where it's so overwhelming, it does not feel good. And I've, I've really had so much contrast over all the years that I've I've learned my limits. I've learned what does not feel good. I've learned what does feel good, and I have to be very, very intentional with making sure that I don't fall into old ways of being, and I'm very much protecting my energy so I don't always get back to clients or students immediately, because there's a certain time that I do everything and and that I have to stick to that, because if I'm constantly in reactive mode and checking my messages, 24/7, it just drains my energy. So us having structure and boundaries is actually more helpful, because then when I come to a client or come to a student, I have way better energy that I can help them so much better than being in reactive energy. So it's it's better for everyone. And that's really taken me a lot to get to that, that moment, because I want to make everyone happy. I want everyone to like me. That's the people pleaser in me. And so I've had to really work through that of like, okay, of course, like, you're human. You want people to like you. Of course, you want to make people happy. There's nothing wrong with that. But when it does become unhealthy is when you're doing it and putting all of your needs last, your energy is being drained. So therefore you don't work out. You don't care take you know, you don't take care of your kids the way you want to take care of your kids. You don't have energy to check in with your husband. So, like, I just have to be very careful of and I'm going to the point beyond my limit of making everyone happy, and then, like, the people closest to me, including myself, have have nothing, right? So it's just that balance. It's just like a budget, right? Like when we can intentionally spend our money, it feels different than being in reactive mode with your money. When you're in reactive mode with your money, it does not feel good. It feels so wonky. So how we do most things, is how we do most things, and so us, looking at all of that is huge. So I'll be running ads. We'll have the 1k and seven days fully automated. I'll be talking about it all through summer break, but there's no heavy lifting that I need to do, which feels incredible, incredible. So good. Also a summer schedule. So my summer schedule is very, very limited for when it comes to like me being live at a certain time. I have very small windows of time intentionally that I will be live with my students. I'll be live with a client. I'll be live with our team. It is very small by. Design, and so I get to make sure that I honor that, because both of my kids will be home. So one, I want to enjoy time with them, and when I am working, I want to be able to like fully be in it, so I can support the people and end whatever I'm doing, and then go back to enjoying summer break. So that summer schedule is huge. Um, I've already made the conscious choice. We're not going to go do a bunch of things. One, it's a lot of energy. It does add up really, really fast, like we have the money. But also, is that what I want to do. I'm just living in this, again, the naked method. I'm living in this just like, very simple vibe that I really am digging super simple vibe. So super simple vibe. Nelly doesn't go to a bunch of places. She doesn't need to go to a bunch of places. Yes, I'm talking in third person. So my vision, at least right now, it could change. It can change based on what feels good. But what I feel like, based on the data that I have would feel good is Monday and Tuesday will be like at home, chill days. They're structured during the day, so we're going to get outside as long as it's nice, there's going to be an activity of the week or of the day and of the week. I'll explain that here in one second, I have certain time windows that I'll be like, cleaning the house on Mondays and Tuesdays, because I like, I like to, like, reset the house on Mondays and Tuesdays. It just feels good to me. It's like, new week, fresh energy. And then there's not, like, a bunch of things that I need to do throughout the week. We'll have lunch. Then it's what I call quiet time from about noon to two. So if Emma, Emma's not a big Napper because she's six, so that can be time that she independent plays, she can read a book. I'm okay with tablet time during that. Boone typically naps around that time. And then that's going to be like, Mama's work time, like the noon to two time frame, which I'm really excited about. So that's like going to be like my structured get ish done, mom, wealthy mama mode type of thing. And so then there's a brain break snack after that. By that time, my husband gets home, and then it's like, goes right into, like, our evening routine that we're already so used to. So I might like wrap up a few things at the house, like cleaning wise, but then we go right into, like, dinner chill, family time, bath time, bed time, get both of the kids to bed, and then it's mama self care time. So that's when I work out, which, with marathon training, I'm definitely going to do some summer night runs, which I'm really excited about. That'll be good to, like, burn the energy from the day and just like, release anything I need to release. But I would love to do a bath. I have a Kindle on my wish list for Mother's Day. So like, reading a book, again, naked method, I don't have to carry a bunch of books, like it feels very sexy to me, just to, like, carry a small Kindle. And so then it's like bedtime and chill. Now, will I do some night business projects, maybe every now and then. But what I want to be very mindful of is it doesn't feel like I have to. I really want a majority of that evening time to be dedicated to self care, spending time with my husband. If Emma wants to do something, I want to have a little bit of time to do that with her, because then Boone would be in bed. So I really love my evenings being more like choice. And sometimes I may choose to be like, Oh my gosh, I want to wrap up this project. This was so much fun I didn't get to wrap it up. So I love having choice, especially having ADHD. When I have choice, it like, really changes everything for me. So do that and then go to bed by Wednesday, I think we're going to need a field trip. If I'm just going to be honest, being in the house and not leaving by Wednesday, I feel like maybe you're like me, I feel like I'm going to need something. So we may go run and get a coffee, like we don't even leave the car, but just getting out of the house will be really, really nice. We may go to the park, but just something very light and easy, like a morning something, there's a few like splash pads around town that are free, so we could do that, but we're not going to do anything big and grand and stressful where there's, you know, over stimulation. Like I'm not going to go to the zoo on a Wednesday, if I'm being honest, the zoo is one of my least favorite activities with children. It's very overwhelming for me, because I'm constantly making sure that Emma's not running away. I'm a very protective mom, and a lot of times I have a daughter that has blonde hair and blue eyes. And so I just, I just have to be careful. Um, It's a scary world out there. Um, but, you know, in a big, crowded place like that, it like zoos are well known for kidnapping so and when I was growing up, if you don't know this about me, I had a huge phobia, phobia of getting kidnapped. Um, I carry pepper spray with me. I really want to take self defense classes. I've even thought about getting my concealed carry. I want to feel protected and I want to feel prepared. That's a whole other tangent for another day. I even want wealthy mama to fund pepper spray for women. I have made a conscious choice to make sure I always carry it before. It was like, Oh, I'll grab it when I want to. But that's like, I need some form of self defense if I need it. And I like, I get to take responsibility and make sure that I'm prepared at a moment's notice if I need to. And one day, this is a little tangent. One day, I opened up my pepper spray to make sure that it was working, and I sprayed it outside. And like I sprayed it down to make sure that the wind wouldn't like gust it back in my face. That is so strong, I sprayed it even down. The wind still gusted up. It got into my lungs. And let me just tell you that is strong. I feel very empathetic for police officers, because they have to get sprayed and tased so they know what it feels like. And I was like, coughing for the rest of the day, but also laughing, because I was like, I tried to prevent this from happening, but I wanted to make sure, up to that point, I have never, like, pressed the the pepper spray. And I was like, what if I don't know what like I need to like. I need to practice this. I need to practice this. So there's somebody I follow on Instagram. I really do want to interview her, because she's a big advocate, and women always having a self defense object with them, whether it's pepper spray or, like, there's brass knuckles. Yeah. I mean, you could have a taser. You could there's a lot of things. Some Some women do have their concealed carrier, Carrie, if I could talk. But a very traumatic situation happened to her, and so she's turned her her mess into her message. But I really do want to interview her, because she's inspired me to step up my own game, from a emotional standpoint and physical standpoint and, like, just make sure that I'm protecting myself, because especially now having babies, that was a complete tangent, but maybe it's a good reminder for you to, like, step up your game too. So anyways, by Wednesday, I think we're gonna need to get out of the house. I even joked with my husband because I was like, you know, do you think we need a code word if Mama, Mama needs, like, a timeout or a break? And he's like, I think I know you well enough that I'll just be able to know I was like, okay, that's true. That's true. But I am choosing my summer break. Last year, both of my kids were in full time daycare. It's what I needed mentally. It's what my business needed. I don't regret it, but it was not something I wanted to keep rinsing and repeating after, like summer break after summer break. So I am calling this wealthy mama camp, where they're at camp with me, and I want to have the most fun. So that brings me to my last point. I have been really, I even have it right here. I've been almost pretending to be my own teacher. I used to play teacher when I was growing up, and so each week of summer break at Wealthy mama camp, I want there to be a different theme that is fun and educational and gives us something to like, focus on. So some of my ideas, I'll put all of this together once it's, like, finalized, just in case you want to, like, snag it yourself. But stars in space are one of my ideas. So these are like, themed weeks. So like, think about this as like, a spirit week. Every single week at at Wealthy mama camp. Wealthy mama camp, so stars in space is like one theme under the sea. Summer Olympics, farm week, Fiesta week, bonjour week, circus week, you can see how excited I am. Frozen week, meaning like frozen, like Disney Frozen. Emma loves frozen. Glow week, beach week, Fourth of July. So here's my thought process. Each week is a different theme, and it's it's a spirit week. We can one dress accordingly. We can do science experiments around the. Theme. We can have snacks around that theme. We can have activities around that theme. We can have education around that theme, like Fourth of July a farm. We can have fun facts about a farm. We can sing songs around all of these different types of themes. So I'm excited to bring in the fun, the education, the the enjoyment, and gives us something to focus on that I hope, like especially my six year old will enjoy. It's more for my six year old than for Boone, but nonetheless, I think it'll be really fun, like frozen week, I can literally freeze their toys, like, their small little trinkets in ice cubes, and then we have to, like, chisel them out. That gives like, it's a busy it's a busy break. It gives them something to do. We can, like, try to, like, pour different things on them, right? Stars and space is a super easy one for like, experiments, but under the sea we can have, like, an under the sea snack. Like, I'm just excited to use my creativity for my kids and, like, just show them better cry, show them the mom that I really desired to be. So I'm not saying that any of this is going to be perfect. It's not going to be like Pinterest worthy, but the My heart is in it, and it feels really fun and enjoyable. And so like getting prepared for this is also important to me, because if, if I desire this and I'm not prepared. It's going to be too hard to keep up with it. So I already have this vision of dumping all of my ideas into a Trello board, getting everything organized, putting it into my Google Calendar, grabbing snacks ahead of time, thinking about a few activities, grabbing like some fun facts, but really making it a part of the week. So there's something fun and enjoyable without having to, like, go anywhere and spend a bunch of money, which I'm excited about. And then every Friday, I want it to be field trip Friday. So with that's when we're gonna, like, go do something and spend some money. So that may be going to the jump place, that may maybe going to the zoo, especially when it's like, farm week, we'll see, but doing something fun under the sea, maybe we go to an aquarium. There's not one in town, but there is one two hours away. So maybe we do, like, a day trip, we'll see. But again, I also don't want to get to the point where I'm, like, stressing myself out, because a stressed mom isn't good for anyone either. So we will have a plan in place, and then also just allow it to be enjoyable. And we go to the beach in July, and Emma is already packing. She's already packing, which shows me that she's super excited, and she's like, Wait, like she's trying to wrap her head around summer break, because typically she she's been in daycare or Summer School of some sort. So this is the, oh my gosh. This is the first summer ever that she, like, has, like, nothing, which is exciting. I did see that there's a camp, a dance camp, for a week, and it's like for a couple hours a day. And I might sign her up for that, but she's expressed interest in going to do tumbling, so I was gonna look into that for her. But again, we're not going super crazy, but a few things that she can look forward to that gives me a little bit of a break, gets us out of the house. I'm all for, and my husband's amazing, like, he gets home around 3pm so even if I need to, like, hop on a podcast interview, or if I need to just go take a drive and be by myself, like I have that support I also have in the back of my mind if I'm needing to get a project done for whatever reason, I could go to a Panera on a Sunday afternoon and it wouldn't be a big deal like my kids would be okay. So there is zero guilt about working. There is zero guilt about, you know, leaning in and taking care of my family, like, this is all by design, and I'm preparing accordingly for it. So I just want you to, like, start to think about your summer break. May look different. Maybe you're me last summer and again, there were, like, although there was some guilt, I didn't want to have guilt, because it's what I needed mentally truly. I needed that. I needed that space to mentally heal, emotionally heal. I needed to get my business built back up from postpartum depression, like it like I needed that. And I knew that, and and then I also knew, Okay, this is not. Something we want to do forever. So I'm just choosing again in a different way, and it's what I need now, just as much as what I needed then. So please don't feel like you need to like, be like me, but think about, take some conscious time to really think about by design. Like, what do you desire your summer to look like? And even if you do have full time daycare, we still did fun stuff. Last summer, I took the kids to a park. After I picked them up, we went and got ice cream, like I made the most of the season that I was in. And I think that that is the most important part of it all, like you can have all the time freedom in the world, but if you're not enjoying it, then is it even worth it? And you can have little time freedom and still enjoy it and make the most of it. I think it's always your perspective and what you do to make lemonade, right? Like make as much lemonade as you possibly can with the lemons that you do have, and it all feels different when you when you come to it with that in mind. So I hope that this was helpful. If you have any questions about what I'm doing, or if you want me to expand on anything, please let me know. But those are like the biggest buckets that I really wanted to focus on. There's so much more, like team development, systems, automation, like, more automation than I even talked about prioritizing reoccurring revenue like there there's certain things that really will set you up for success. I'm bulking up my savings account right now for my business. So again, it's just like as much stress as possible is taken away, is, is the goal, is the name of the game. So I hope that this was if I could talk, I hope that this was helpful. Let me know how you're preparing for your summer break, whether it's in my DMs or if you're watching this on social media, comment below, but would love to hear from you and just those, those small pockets of time, make use of those you will thank yourself later. So I love you and I'll see you on the next episode.