Surviving the Chaos: Business, Motherhood, and Trying to Stay Sane Podcast

I get takeout, or I make a simple pasta dish, or we go to a restaurant and I don't judge myself for it, because sometimes the best way to take care of everyone, including yourself, is to take the easiest route and let go of the guilt.

This is the entrepreneur school podcast, where we believe you can run a thriving business and still make your family a priority. This show is all about supporting you, the emerging or early stage Entrepreneur on your journey from solopreneur to CEO while wearing all of the other hats in your life. My name is Kelly Sinclair, and I'm a brand and marketing strategist who started a business with two kids under three. I'm a corporate PR girl turned entrepreneur after I learned the hard way that life is too short to waste doing things that burn you out on this show, you'll hear inspiring stories from other business owners on their journey and learn strategies to help you grow a profitable business while making it all fit into the life that you want. Welcome to entrepreneur School. Hello, my friend. Welcome back to another episode of entrepreneur School. Today, I want to take you behind the scenes of my life right now, because it's a lot. And if you've ever felt like you're juggling way too many things at once, trying to be everywhere, just barely keeping it together, then you are going to relate to this one. And spoiler alert, I do not have all the answers. I have a few little hacks that I can share with you, but this is not a here's how you balance this insane juggling act of parenting and running a business. So we're here for the real conversation. I'm talking about the chaos of being a parent during a jam packed season of activities, and how I'm managing slash, not managing, meal preparation, and all the little things I'm doing to stay sane, like exercise, taking breaks, asking myself this important question. And I'm also going to share a little confession with you about how I feel about all of this and how I'm working to just try and be the best version of myself in what feels like Insanity. So grab your coffee, your wine, your whatever. Let's take a deep breath, that's sort of the hacks right there, and dive into this real life chat about navigating business, motherhood, the beautiful chaos in between. And I don't know about you, but when spring hits, which we've had fake spring already, and we're back to sort of winter again up here in Alberta, it really just feels like everything is happening all at once. And honestly, normally, I get a more of a break during this time of year, because we usually have hockey season finishing, and then some time before the grass is green and the weather is good enough to start playing softball, which is what my oldest daughter does. But right now, my kids are just in what I can only describe as an excessive number of activities. My oldest daughter. She's in the pick of hockey playoffs. Her team has made it to the final that's happening on the weekend, and also provincials. So that actually means that I have to get on an airplane to go and watch a hockey game, a hockey tournament for my 11 year old. Meanwhile, my youngest has gymnastics competitions, singing recitals and just all the extra things outside of her regular sort of training and scheduled activities. Oh, and let's not forget extra PD days off of school, just randomly in March. I seriously question how parents with traditional jobs even make this schedule work like what the actual I have to confess something now I struggle with this title of hockey mom like I do not want to identify with that. I don't want to own my swag from my daughter's hockey team. You will never catch me in a hockey mom sweater or carrying anything around that says hockey mom. And I mean that goes back a ways. I really think this dislike and resistance comes from way back when I first started dating my husband, which was fresh out of high school. He played Junior, a hockey which is like a top level, pre pro level up here in Canada, for those of you who aren't familiar. With the terminology, and that meant we had a long distance relationship for the first three years, like he lived six hours away from me and I was a poor student who could not afford to fly to him, so I occasionally drove and we would sometimes we'd see each other every four to six weeks. So that was awful, but we got through it. We're still together 20 years later, so yay for that. But to be fair, this is also what made my husband an amazing coach for our girls, so I can't complain too much, and they really want to be a supportive mom, and this is what's like facing me right now that I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone to do what feels like being supportive, because they really value showing up for my kids and in moments that are really important to them. And so that means spending 45 minutes tying hair tinsel into my daughter's hair before her playoff games, or dyeing her hair blue, as I have in previous years, or wearing her jersey to the games, this will be my one exception. I am just showing up the best that I can and really showing up, because this schedule has us needing to be in two places that are 900 plus kilometers apart on the same day, hence the flight. So it feels crazy to me that this is happening, and I had a lot of like, anxiety just about making it work. And of course, purchasing airline tickets is the worst, and in Canada, we just don't have enough options, and the price went up significantly between me thinking about buying a ticket and me actually buying a ticket. So there's that. Anyways, I just know that provincials are a rare opportunity, and I really want to be present and support this moment for her. So I am just juggling all of the things, the business, the family, the travel, trying to eat like an actual human I have. I often get quite stressed out about food, because it's important to me that we eat real meals and aren't living off drive through runs and whatever's left in the fridge. So I actually took matters into my own hands, and have been using my newfound AI skills to create a custom GPT whom I have named Kelly's kitchen slave because Desperate times call from desperate pressures. It gives me meal plans and grocery lists so I don't even have to think about it. So that's magical, and something that I'm integrating into my weekly planning. And I also started ordering some pre made salads every other week from like, a local subscription, and that just allows me to make sure I actually get some vegetables in which we're just calling the small wins, the successes, right? Because that's what we have to do. And my current filter, whenever I feel my start self starting to boil over, which happens multiple times a day is to ask myself this question, what Sounds easy right now and then? On the food side, maybe that means I get takeout, or I make a simple pasta dish, or we go to a restaurant and I don't judge myself for it, because sometimes the best way to take care of everyone, including yourself, is to take the easiest route and let go of the guilt. Yeah, I need to say that again to myself, let go of the guilt. And another thing that helps keep me sane, sort of, is exercise. I do know this is a non negotiable. I certainly know the difference of how I feel and act on days that I do not get exercise, so I try to, at a minimum, get out for a morning walk with my dogs to get some fresh air, or I'm hopping on my peloton or logging in for a peloton class, because if I don't move my body, I start feeling completely out of control, and just all of the all of the fields are just tied inside of me and I, actually, I had a few really awesome milestones. This month. I passed 350 strength classes and 99 zero consecutive weeks of workouts, which is awesome. So if nothing else, I am consistently showing up for that part of my life. And no, I do not have a six pack or feel like the best version of my body is what I'm currently in, but I'm still doing the work. So I hate to think what would happen if I didn't, if I let that go, it would not be it would not be happy. Kelly, times, okay, and then, of course, there's work. I love what I do, but my brain feels like it's going to melt every single day slightly. I have noticed that if I don't do like mini check ins with myself throughout the day, I can spiral super quickly and just stress mode. So. So anyone else feel that, like, if you don't actively, pause and ask yourself, what do I read need right now? Or take a breath, or check in with, like, your heart rate, or close your eyes or stand up,

I'm headed straight for, like, an anxiety breakdown. And the other day, I did that. I did that check in, I realized that what I needed most wasn't to finish another email or launch plan or whatever it was, to sit in the bath with my smutty romance novel and Jasper sup I did. And let me tell you, that was absolutely the right call. And most nights I'm winding down with my favorite tea, which is a honey chamomile and vanilla catching up on the blacklist with my hubby, super old school show, but my mom used to watch it, so it makes me feel connected to her, because at the end of the day, we need to make space for those little rituals that help us reset. So I guess the takeaway here is I definitely do not have it all together, but I am learning day by day to lean into what really matters, focus on my priorities, and give myself permission to adjust when needed. Because let's be honest, when life is this full, we're not aiming for perfection. We're just trying to keep the wheels from falling off completely. Uh, truth, truth, truth. Bomb. So I'd love to hear, how are you handling your life right now? What's going on? What is all the extras that you just didn't really expect to be on your plate, please come over and find me on Instagram at ksco underscore Kelly, and let's chat. Also, if you have any insights, any tips, any hacks, anything that you're doing to help yourself keep sane or that feels like a really important part of your routine that you think might be helpful for me or for anybody else listening to this episode? Please share it with me there. All right, friend, that's it for today. Thanks for hanging out. I will catch you next time. I am off to another weekend of hockey playoffs and trying to get through one day at a time. Wish me luck, and I'm wishing you luck right back.