Episode 89

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Published on:

28th May 2025

89 | My summer strategy for more revenue and more play

In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on what a typical day looks like for me right now—while pregnant, running a business, and soaking up summer adventures with my kids. I’ll share how I structure my time, how I decide what to prioritize (in both work and life), and the mindset shifts that help me stay grounded and intentional—even when things don’t go perfectly.

Hang out with me on Instagram @thealexfales

Join the waitlist for The Serenity

Transcript
Speaker:

I am Alex, and you're listening to The Mindful With Media Podcast.

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I started recording my podcast

episodes on Friday afternoons.

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I don't even know when I first implemented

that into my weekly schedule, but it's

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been a while since Friday afternoons are

the days that I record my podcast so that

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it can come out the following Wednesday.

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I know some people like to batch their

episodes or have them recorded like

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quite a bit in advance, but I like the

more live, real time feel of recording.

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So I like to do it just a

few days before it comes out.

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But I am just thinking, so

this morning we went to.

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I took my kids to a reservoir.

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It has like a little playground

by the reservoir and then this

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really nice beach area, and then

the kids like to play in the water.

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And we went with some friends.

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I don't know.

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It was just like this really

fun, happy summary outing.

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And then my kids fell

asleep on the drive home.

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It's about 30, 40 minutes away and.

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Oh, one of my friends had mentioned

at the reservoir that there was a new

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crumble that opened by our house and

they were giving out free cookies today

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before 3:00 PM and so on the way home

we stopped and picked up my husband

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and he came with us and we went and

got free crumble cookies as a family.

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And I don't know, it's just been

like a really happy, fun day

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and you could just feel the.

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Energy of summer, but I was kind

of laughing to myself because I'm

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in this really fun, happy energy.

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And I think last week when I was

recording my episode, I probably

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said something really similar.

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I'd probably just come home from

some adventure and was feeling

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in this really happy mood.

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So I do adventure with my kids

essentially every day, but Fridays

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we go on our Friday adventures.

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So sometimes they're a little bit more.

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Little farther away or a little

bit more, I don't know, just fun.

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So I'm, I'm glad now that old me decided

to record her podcast episodes on Friday

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afternoons, because then I come into

these episodes with a really happy energy.

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And this actually relates a lot to

what I want to talk about today,

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because while I was driving to

the reservoir this morning, I.

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I had this idea come to me about just

creating a post sharing how I do it all.

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And I don't really like that term because

you'll hear that I don't do it all.

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But I do have people ask me

like, how, how do you do it all?

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How do you go on all these

adventures and run a business and.

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Take care of a household and serve in

your church and run and connect with God.

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You know, how do you,

how do you do it all?

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And so I just wanted to share my systems

and routines and schedules for the summer.

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I thought that might be helpful and

kind of some of the thoughts that I had.

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You know, as I was thinking about

this idea so I thought it might be

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helpful to kind of break this up into

first how I structure my days and.

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Kind of my, my, yeah.

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Weekly schedule, kind of what that

looks like, and then how I decided

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and how I decide what to prioritize

when it comes to my work time, because

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I work relatively minimal hours.

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I'm working.

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Yeah, 10 to 15 hours a week, and so

kind of share what I'm using that

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work time for and how I decided to,

what to focus on during my work time.

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So to get started with

how I structure my days.

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I have not publicly announced this yet.

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I'm.

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Waiting probably till end of June to

share this on social media, but because

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you're listening to my podcast, you

might've picked up that I am expecting,

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I am currently almost 17 weeks.

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By the time this comes out,

I'll be for sure 17 weeks.

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And so that impacts a lot of my

schedule, the fact that I am pregnant.

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But so my, my current.

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Routine is when I wake up in the

morning, I usually wake up around seven.

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I just let my body sleep in or my

kids are allowed to come out at seven.

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So they usually wake me up at seven

and I always eat breakfast very first

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thing because even if I think I'm

feeling okay, if I don't eat food right

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away, then I start to feel pretty sick.

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As can happen with pregnancy and.

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If the kids are hungry, I'll

also get them breakfast then too.

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And then I have my time to just

journal and study and connect with God.

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And that's while my kids are

just playing and Matt is working

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out with his buddy at this time.

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And so I just do that while

my kids are right there.

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Sometimes they interrupt me a lot and.

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It feels a, yeah, just more choppy

and sometimes they play really well

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together and I feel like I'm able

to have a more smooth journaling

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and connecting with God session.

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But then at 7 45 is when I either go

for a run or go for a walk, depending

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on how I'm feeling, and that's when Matt

is typically finished with his workout

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and coming to have breakfast, and so he

can be home with the kids while I go.

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And then after I exercise, usually

just get ready pretty quickly.

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I often think like one day I'll

spend more time getting ready,

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but right now it just doesn't feel

like a priority to spend much, much

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time besides a little bit of quick

mascara and a brush through the hair.

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And so Matt, we've decided that Matt

is in charge of getting the kids ready.

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So he helps them get dressed and

does their hair, and then he also

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packs our snacks for the day.

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And he is committed to that

before 9:00 AM so that we can be

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ready to go out the door at nine.

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And then also that's when

he starts his workday.

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He is doing freelance email marketing

right now, and then he's also getting

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his personal training certification

through NASA and has one client

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that he's currently working with.

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So.

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He starts his workday, and then at

9:00 AM is usually when we leave

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for our adventure of the day.

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And that includes anything from a hike or

like I said, today we went to a reservoir.

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Often we'll go to parks or splash pads

are gonna be opening soon, so we usually

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go with friends and by usually like.

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99.99.

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Nine nine 9% of the time we are

with friends for our adventure.

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And then usually get home around

one or two, depending on how we're

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feeling or how things play out or how

far away it was or things like that.

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And then on Monday, Wednesday, Friday,

that is when we have our babysitter.

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So we take our kids over to

their babysitter's house at two

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and they stay there until four.

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So from two to four on Monday,

Wednesday, Friday, that is when I

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have the majority of my client calls.

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That's more of my like.

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Really focused work time.

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Also, yeah, four o'clock on Mondays

is when we have our Serenity calls,

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which is my group coaching program.

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So that's, well, I guess I didn't

really go through the rest of the day.

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So then we have dinner as a family.

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Matt and I trade off every day.

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Who makes dinner and then usually put

the kids to bed pretty soon after dinner.

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Usually they're in bed by

sometime between seven and eight.

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And in the past I've been, well, I've

had, yeah, I've done different things

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in the past, but I've had certain

seasons of my business where I've

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had designated evenings for working.

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So like I think I had like

Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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Those were my nights where I would.

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Work.

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And then I've had certain seasons where

I've intentionally not worked in the

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evenings, where that was really precious

time, even if I like, wanted to work, I

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really kind of had to set that boundary

of not working in the evenings and

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practicing just setting my business down.

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But I'm, I'm in a place where, in

the evening, if I have any unfinished

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work tasks, like after my kids go to

bed, then I'll, I'll do those in the

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evening after my kids are in bed.

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And yeah, like I said, I, I.

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I've had seasons where I was really

strict about not working the evening,

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but that does not feel like a priority

right now because I'd rather play more

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during the day and have more flexibility

in our daytime summer schedule.

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And then.

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Make up work in the evening if if

needed, because I didn't really share

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about our Tuesday, Thursday schedule.

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But Tuesdays and Thursdays our

morning is the same adventure come

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home, but we don't have babysitting

on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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And so that's when I, we do quiet time.

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My kids do quiet time and I.

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Work while my kids are doing

quiet time for about an hour-ish.

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And then in the afternoon we'll be

going to the pool on our city pool

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on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

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So

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I, I anticipate Tuesdays and Thursdays

is gonna be more of the days where

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I might have more work tasks in the

evening, but I'm, we'll just feel

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that out and, and see how it goes.

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The other thing that I wanted to

mention about our schedule is.

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Matt started doing all of the laundry

when I was in my first trimester,

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this pregnancy, and he hasn't stopped.

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He has his own routine and so I

don't do any of the laundry and

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cleaning is not a priority right now.

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I do quick cleaning, like

during transition times, you

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know, so like in the morning.

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And then also like midday when

we get home from our adventure.

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And then also like after dinner

sometimes, like right before dinner.

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So we'll do like, like minor

cleaning, minimal cleaning, but it's

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definitely not a priority right now.

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And so I, I think you can hear

as I share my schedule that I.

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I have just a few priorities right

now, which is playing outside with

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my kids, working and maintaining and

growing my business, connecting with

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Matt and connecting with God and.

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There are a lot of things that I could

see being priorities in the future

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that are not priorities right now.

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So cleaning, I've already mentioned

that gardening and love to have a garden

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one day, and I intentionally am not

having a garden this season of my life.

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Or things like organizing like we do.

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Some organizing Matt and I

together, but that's typically

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in the evenings or on Saturdays.

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That's not something I'm going to

use my time during the day for.

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So I wanna get into how I decide what

to focus on when it comes to work

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tasks, and especially this summer.

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But before I get into that, I just wanted

to make a note that everyone is different

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and everybody knows that, but I think it

can be easy to hear about how other people

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run their businesses or how other people

structure their life and just feel like.

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I, I have to do it that way,

like that's the way to success.

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And I'll share an example of this.

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I have a mentor who has.

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A huge capacity to put out offers.

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She just puts out tons and tons

and tons of offers right in a

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row, and that energizes her.

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And that is how her brain works and

even how her human design works.

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And that's not what works

for me in my business.

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And so I've had to come

to terms with how I.

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Like to do things in my

business, and it's the same.

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I know I've had people comment on when

they hear about how I structure my day,

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how we're gone all morning hiking or

swimming or do whatever, and then come

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home and I'll have client calls and work

and they're just like, feel exhausted

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just hearing how I spend my days.

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But I have to remind them that.

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It, that's what fills me up.

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I finish the day feeling full

and physically tired for sure.

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I, I get a lot of sleep.

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I, you know, I'm usually

in bed by nine or 9 38.

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Used to be very consistently

in bed by nine, but I, because

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I'm pregnant, I haven't been

running at six anymore, and so I.

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Have a little bit more

flexibility to sleep in.

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And so anyways, I'm usually in bed by

nine or nine 30 and then sleeping until

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seven, so I know that's a lot more

sleep than a lot of people need or get.

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And, and I've had times even with

that, with my physical capacity

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where feeling like how do people

stay up after their kids go to bed?

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Or how do they build a business

without childcare and they just

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do their work in the evenings?

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Like that just was exhausting to me.

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And so just remembering as you

hear how I structure my days,

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that really tune into what.

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Fills you up and notice those things

that drain you and, and, you know,

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we can structure your day and your

business and your, your lifestyle

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around those principles of what

fills you up and what drains you.

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And, and you also heard that I have a lot

of support, especially right now it's, I'm

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in this unique season where my husband.

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Is working from home.

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He's not working full time, and

so he does all of the laundry.

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He helps cook.

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He's, he's just around more to help and

that's a huge support that I haven't

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always had, but it, it makes a difference.

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I have childcare, you know, my kids go to

a babysitter for six hours a week, and so

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just, just remember as you hear things to.

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Take the principles of finding what

fills you up and then designing

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your life around that and noticing

the things that drain you as well.

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So let's get into work,

and before I get into.

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That and how I've decided what

to focus on for work this summer.

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I want to make a note about Einstein time.

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I have been reading The Zone

of Genius by Gay Hendricks.

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And I read most of it several

months ago, and then I kind of

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set it down for a while and then

I'm just wrapping, wrapping it up.

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But at the end, he talks about this

concept of Einstein time and it's just

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this idea that, choosing to believe

that I have enough time for what

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matters, and I genuinely feel that way.

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Sometimes I look at certain phases

of my life where it felt like there

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wasn't time to do everything that I.

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Needed to do and I, I wish that I had

this perception that there's actually

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plenty of time to do what matters, and

trusting that, that if I don't have time

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for it, then it probably doesn't matter.

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Or if I don't have time for it,

then maybe there's some adjustments

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I, adjustments I can make to, to

prioritize those things that matter.,

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So this summer,

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first.

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I made a powerful decision about how

much money I would love to be making

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this summer, and then after I did

that, after I chose how much money

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I want to be making this summer, I

did the math to reverse engineer.

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How that could happen.

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So kind of brainstorming some

different offers, what felt easiest

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and most applicable this summer

that would fit with this lifestyle

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that I already want to be living.

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You know, I want to be adventuring a

lot this summer and I want to increase

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my recurring revenue this summer.

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And so after brainstorming.

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Some different offers and prices

and playing around with things.

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I decided that I wanted to create

space for two more private clients on

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my calendar, and then also reopen the

Doors to the Serenity, which is my group

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coaching program for female entrepreneurs

who are working towards making one to

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$3,000 in recurring monthly revenue.

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But I decided to make some

changes for this new, cohort of

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Serenity members in the past.

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I've included a monthly one-on-one

call, but I am letting people join

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at a much lower price point without

that monthly one-on-one call.

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So stay tuned for more details on

that, if that's something you might be

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interested in, is the, the serenity and

that way to work together this summer.

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And if you are interested in working

together one-on-one, I have opened up

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two more private client spots, but coming

back to that, so I did the math for how

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I could make what I wanna be making.

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And then I, you know,

kind of with those new.

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Streams of income possibility.

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I mapped up how much time that would

be taking, you know, if I have private

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clients, I, I dedicate an hour each

week for each private client and

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then for the new Serenity members,

I already have my group coaching

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calls and those things all set up.

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But I would, I added some more time in my.

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Calendar for our Voxer group if there's

more discussions happening there.

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More ways serving people through Voxer.

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So I made sure I had time on my, my

calendar this summer to take on the, the

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type of offers that I would be offering.

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And then I.

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I mapped out what I need to do and how

much time it takes to serve my current

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clients and fulfill my current offers.

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And then I strategized what

would need to happen and order to

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sign to more private clients and

invite people into their serenity.

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So I kind of, I, yeah,

made a strategy for how to.

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Create that reality.

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And then I was able to look at how

I'm already spending my work time

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and cut out anything that wasn't

helping me work towards what I want.

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Two more perfect clients and

inviting more people into the

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serenity at a lower price point and.

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Yeah, cut anything out that wasn't

helping me reach my goals, and then

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I was able to map out how much time

I would need to work this summer.

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So yeah, based on serving

current clients, marketing and.

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Creating what I want next with two more

private clients and Serenity members,

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and then how much time I would need, like

I said, to serve those two new private

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clients and members of the Serenity when

I have even more people in that group.

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And so then I made sure I had time

in my calendar each week to create

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what I want in my business and keep

fulfilling what I want in my business.

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So that's my current setup for my summer.

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That is how I quote unquote do it all.

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But we all know I really don't do it all.

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I have support.

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I'm very intentional about what

I don't do, and I'm also not.

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I married to this setup.

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If I find that something isn't working,

then I, I'll shift, I'll make changes.

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And so I think the key takeaway is just

create a plan based on what you want.

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Get clear on what you want and

what fills you up, how you work

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best, the season that you're in.

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Be really honest with

yourself about those things.

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And then.

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Do it.

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Do those things, you

know, do what it takes.

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I think a lot of times we have

either big dreams or we have this

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real dream, but we haven't mapped

out what it takes to achieve that.

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Like those smaller, okay, like on a

daily level, what am I going to be

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doing to, to make sure that happens?

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And doing those things, those

small things, and then declaring

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those efforts as enough and.

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And enjoying the parts of your summer.

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I mean, enjoying all of it, but making

sure there's room to, to play and

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party, or maybe not play and party.

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Maybe you love to relax more in the

summer or read more, take more naps

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or whatever fills you up this summer.

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Making sure you have time for those

things scheduled too, because.

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You really don't need to do it all.

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You just need to know what matters most

to you and give yourself permission

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to focus on that and let everything

else go, just give yourself permission

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to, to do it your your own way.

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I hope you have a really happy summer if

you are potentially interested in joining

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the Serenity at a lower price point.

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This summer and want to be

on the wait list for that.

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There is a link in the show notes to

join the wait list for the Serenity.

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We'll talk to you next week.

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About the Podcast

Mindful with Media
This is the podcast for entrepreneurial moms who want to grow a meaningful, profitable business without sacrificing their other priorities (like spending time with their kids or getting enough sleep).

Host Alex Fales—business coach, mindset mentor, and mom—shares honest conversations, simple strategies, and powerful mindset shifts to help you and make money doing work you love and grow as a person while you're at it.

Expect solo episodes, authentic chats, and real-life stories that help you blend business strategy with personal growth, so you can build a business that supports your life (not the other way around).

Because you don’t need more hustle.
You need clarity, confidence, and the courage to do business your way.