Productivity Tips for Working Moms with Ashley Freehan
About the episode:
Today, I’m super excited to bring you a heartfelt chat with the amazing Ashley Freehan. Ashley is an entrepreneur and productivity coach who expertly balances running her business while raising kids and managing their homeschooling. It's not all sunshine and rainbows in her story, which makes it so inspiring, real, and hopefully one that you’ll be able to connect with. This episode is for the moms who are trying to keep up with their kids, their work, and all of the other commitments along the way. One of my biggest takeaways? Stay motivated and organized and embrace the chaos. I can’t wait to hear yours.
Highlights:
Ashley's transformation from photographer to founder of The Purpose Gathering where she coaches her clients on productivity and motherhood
How Ashley battled the isolation of entrepreneurship by creating a community that supports her business
The importance of taking action and embracing change and transformation
Ashley’s treasure trove of tips for making each day productive without feeling overwhelmed
The best strategies that will help you to flourish in your business without missing out on precious moments with your children
How involving your kids in your business can foster respect and understanding for your work, making every interruption a chance for growth and bonding
About Ashley and Resources
Ashley Freehan is a business and motherhood coach for mom business owners. She is a photographer, podcaster, wife and homeschooling mama saved by grace. She is passionate about helping mamas maximize their limited time, increase profitability and create work/life balance through efficient systems. She does this through her top 2% ranked podcast the Organized Mompreneur and her signature group coaching program, The Efficient Mompreneur.
Connect with Ashley:
-
RuthAnn Rafiq
Hey friends, welcome back to Rebrand with Ruthanne. I am so excited because today I have Ashley Freehand with us chatting about all things motherhood, productivity, how to be more efficient with your time, especially when you have littles in the house and all the things. Ashley Freehand is a productivity and motherhood coach for mom business owners. She's also a photographer, podcaster, wife and homeschooling mama saved by Grace.
She is passionate about helping mamas maximize their productivity so that they enjoy their family and impact more lives. She does this through her podcast and group coaching program, The Efficient Mompreneur. Ashley, I'm so excited to have you on. Welcome.
Ashley
Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here too. Can't wait to chat.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, we are going to talk about all the things I just mentioned, especially because I'm just in that phase of life where this is what I need to be talking about more of how to be more efficient, productive with littles at home. But before we dive into all that, I would love to hear how you started your business and you started with your like before you had kids, I think. And did you?
Ashley
I started actually while my daughter was little. Yeah. So
RuthAnn Rafiq
Okay, well I would love to hear the evolution because you your kids are now older a little bit
Ashley
They are. Yeah. And actually, as I say that, I mean, I wouldn't have called myself an entrepreneur when I started, but I did get into photography before I had my daughter. And then I didn't really start an official business until she was born. So she is now 13. So for the past 13 years, I have always had kids in tow while growing my business. And I have grown multiple businesses and I have stopped multiple businesses. And so I just, I have this.
I feel like perspective that a lot of your listeners probably can relate to in the sense of I like to do a lot of things. Like I am not one, like a one track mind person where I just know that there's one thing I love that I want to do. There's so many things that I want to do. And I wish I could just keep starting new businesses. Cause I just love that visionary mindset of, know, I've just got all these ideas, but
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes.
Ashley
I'll take you back and kind of share with you the evolution of how, you know, I got to where I am today because I think it's so interesting to hear other people's stories too. So I started as a photographer and I did photography and I still kind of do photography, but I don't call myself, you know, that's not my main title anymore. But I did that for many years and
I just found it to be rather lonely, honestly, being a mom and a business owner, and I didn't feel like I had a lot of friends who understood the struggle of doing both. I had a lot of mom friends who didn't have businesses, and I had a lot of business owner friends that didn't have families, and I just felt really lost and lonely. So I did business alone for many years. So I would say...
Let's see, my daughter was born in 2011 and I started my in -person community in 2019. eight years, I did business alone for eight years. And then I finally felt like God was calling me to create the community that I was missing. So in 2019, I started the Purpose Gathering, which is the business that I'm known for now. And I started it as a workshop. So I put on this workshop.
but I was like, well, I can't sell a workshop because I don't have an audience. So I decided to build this community and it's just turned into something that I didn't even think was possible. So when 2020 happened, like me or like most of us, I pivoted and tried something new. So I actually decided to turn my business into an online business. And I took away the in -person component of the community because, you know, technically we were forced to do that.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Right.
Ashley
and I didn't bring it back until 2023. So there was this big gap in still lacking that community that I so longed for. And so when I pivoted, I started my podcast in 2020, which has evolved as well, which is now called the Organized Mompreneur. I almost said mom photographer because that's what it used to be. But now it's the Organized Mompreneur podcast. And I started a membership. I launched my first course.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
Ashley
And it's just everything has evolved and changed over the years, which is why I think it's just so beautiful because, you know, I try to remind my students all the time that the business that I started with is not the business I have today. And so don't compare yourself to other people's businesses where they are now, because everybody has a starting point and everybody has a journey. So don't forget about what happened before where they are now.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I love that. And that's one of the reasons I have this podcast is to talk about those evolutions and changes in business. Because I just feel like a lot of people talk about the exciting beginning or an exciting transition, but we don't talk about like all of those changes in years behind the scenes that go into where we are now. And I love talking about the evolution and navigating growth and change because yeah, you've been a business owner for many, many years. And myself too, I've been in business for eight years and a lot happens in those years. And I would love to know just maybe do you have one like big lesson that you've learned throughout the years as you've gone through different changes? You you first started off in photography and really focused on that. And now being a coach and a community leader, having a podcast and a course, what's like a big lesson you've learned as you've made a lot of change in your business?
Ashley
So I think the biggest thing that I've learned is to have an action mindset. And a lot of people will talk about growth mindset, which I think is really important, but I feel like that's only step one. Because you can listen to podcasts like this, you can read amazing books, you can take courses, and you can learn all the knowledge. But until you decide to actually take action on what you've learned, change won't happen. You're going to stay the same person that you always were.
And so I think that's the biggest thing for me. And the second thing that kind of goes with that is to just embrace change. Like I know you have a new baby and a lot of your listeners probably have kids too and like think back to, you know, when your kids were little. I don't know if you ever heard this piece of advice, but I did and I apply it to business. And it's like, just when you think things are good or things are bad, like everything changes.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes.
Ashley
And so never get used to, never get used to everything being good or everything being bad and just know that it's part of life and it's part of business to have this ever changing roller coaster ride, of ups and downs and just be, learn to be content wherever you are on that journey.
RuthAnn Rafiq
That is amazing advice. And I think that can be so hard for people. I just remember when I first started in the first three years of my business, I was not an action taker. was a like soak in the information person. I was the person who downloaded all the freebies. I went to, you know, events, I listened to a whole bunch of podcasts and I had really struggled taking action because I felt like I didn't know what I was doing. I felt very not qualified to say what.
like, I'm a brand designer and then I didn't really have a lot of work to show for it and all that stuff. So I think it was hard for me to take action, but I think that is so true that a lot of times clarity comes with action. When you start doing something, then you see, I also started out in photography as well. And so that was a huge part of my business in the beginning. And so the more I did photography and the more I did branding and the more I did website design, I was like, I think the photography is just taking up a lot of
it's not as profitable, it's a lot more work, frankly, and there's just a lot that went into it. still love photography, but it was just one of those things where I don't really want to be known for that anymore. It's just something I have in my tool belt that sometimes clients can get a brand photography session from me if they live in town or if they want to do headshots or something. That's something I love to do, but it's something that...
yeah, has definitely evolved over time. And you wouldn't know that if you weren't taking action and seeing like, okay, I'm doing all these things. What am I liking the most? So I think that is great advice.
Ashley
Thank you.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And you did mention this, but yes, I do have a new baby and he's two months old now and I have a 17 month old and a four month old. So we are in the thick of it over here and just doing doing life can be a little bit chaotic at times, but, you know, really joyful and fun as well. But, you know, making time for the business, I will be honest, this is my very first week back in like, quote unquote, in the office. And it's been
Ashley
So sweet.
RuthAnn Rafiq
It's been a nightmare. I don't want to say a nightmare. It's just, it's been extremely challenging. I just cannot get hardly any work done. Even with, you know, I'm trying out new sitters, which is part of the thing is like whenever you're trying out someone new, it takes a little while to kind of get in like a rhythm. But Zia started preschool this week. So we're just going through it over here and...
Ashley
Challenging.
Ashley
Mm
RuthAnn Rafiq
Obviously once we get into more of a routine, it'll be easier and easier, but what do you recommend for people who like being more efficient in the time that you have, especially if you don't have a lot of time to work, like do you have some ideas of like how can you be more efficient with your very limited time if you have littles at home or even you know any kids at home or if you just have a full life in general?
Ashley
Yeah, absolutely. So I, as she mentioned in my intro, I'm a homeschooling mom. So my kids are home with me all the time. And I mean, they would be home with me all the time if I didn't implement what I'm about to share with you. And they are 10 and 13. But again, as I already mentioned, I have always had kids with me as I've been growing my business. So it has looked different, obviously based on their ages.
But here's one thing that I'll share with you. I think, especially in the mompreneur industry, this is not a very, what is the word I'm trying to look for? It's not the most sexy thing, right? Like a lot of people talk about in the mompreneur space is like working in the pockets of time. And they glorify the fact that we are moms and we have full lives and we just have to like work it in when we can.
But I am a huge proponent about getting separation between business and motherhood. I have done the working in pockets of time, and it, for me, doesn't work. It doesn't work because here's why. I am always resentful one way or the other. If my kids are bothering me, I'm resentful of them because they're getting in the way of me growing the business I love.
But then if I get really focused on my business, then I start to resent my business because I can't see my kids. And I always feel guilty one way or the other. And so a lot of moms struggle with mom guilt. And the reason I believe is because they're trying to do both at the same time. And that just doesn't work for me again. And there are some people out here that are like, I kill it. Like when my kids are napping, it's amazing. Like I don't have any mom guilt.
you know, working on my laptop when my kids are around and maybe that's you and that's cool and I love that for you, but that didn't work for me. And I always felt guilty one way or the other. I felt like I could never do both well. And so it wasn't until I started really advocating for separation between business and motherhood. So what that looks like is hiring help and it doesn't have to be expensive.
Ashley
It can even be free help. You can hire free help. You can trade babysitting with a friend. You can trade services for babysitting. I did that in one season. I had a friend who needed photos and we just did like a dollar for dollar trade. So she charged me $10 an hour to watch my kids and I charged her the amount that I would charge her and she just paid me in hours of babysitting. So there's creative ways if you don't feel
You know, like you can afford childcare. But here's one thing that I will say too, because this held me back for a lot of years was I really truly did believe I couldn't afford childcare. And I truly, I wish I could like look every one of your listeners in the face, in the eyes and just say, if you just trust me on this, I promise you, you will see growth on the other side. If you invest in a babysitter for three hours a week,
If you cannot make the amount of money you pay your babysitter in three hours a week, then you need business coaching. Okay? Because what I learned was for three hours a week, dedicated time, like my first babysitter that I hired, I paid her $8 an hour and I felt like it was a lot and all I could afford was three hours a week.
That's all I could afford because we were paying for my daughter to be in preschool and it's expensive. Child care can feel expensive. So what is that? $24. So if I couldn't spend three hours of my time and make $24, then I shouldn't be in business. And I know that's really hard to hear because you guys are probably like, what the heck? That's so rude, Ashley. Why would you say that? And the reason I'm saying that is because you have to believe
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Right.
Ashley
that what you have to sell to the world is valuable. And if you can't convince one person in three hours, you know, that that is worth your time, then there's more problems that need to be talked about. But I really truly believe three hours of focused work time a week is what I needed to sustain my business. Now, could I work on three hours a week now? Probably not. Right. But I had that's where I started.
So now I actually don't even pay for childcare because my kids go to an enrichment program for homeschooled kids two days a week and it's covered. It's actually, it's free through our public school system and we have what's called ESA. So we actually, they allocate homeschool funds to us which would have been like state funding. So yes, yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
yeah, because you're in Arizona. Yes.
Ashley
And that's a program that hopefully is gonna be going nationwide. We're like the pilot program for it. And it's also like, it's like school choice is also what it's called. So even if you want your kids to go to private school, you can use the funding that your child would have received through public school. You can use it for private, which I feel like should always have been an option. But it's really cool because it's opened up a lot of opportunities. But anyway, so my kids go to school.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Mm -hmm.
RuthAnn Rafiq
right?
Ashley
twice a week for enrichment. So it's all enrichment. And then now I have my in -laws and my parents are both retired. But just for those listening, because I hear some people being like, yeah, that must be nice, right? Number one, we choose to live close to family. And number two, that wasn't always the case. They only retired in the last two years. So for all those other years, I had to make it work by doing, you know, sharing babysitting with friends.
paying, even getting like a membership to a trampoline park. Like if you want to succeed in business, you have to advocate for what you need and you have to get creative with how you're going to do it. And you have to stop telling yourself the lie that your kids are holding you back because they're not.
RuthAnn Rafiq
That's so good. And that's something I realized last year was when we put Zia in preschool for the first time, I had been doing the nap time thing. And I will admit, I have very good sleepers and I felt like I was able to get everything done in the nap time. So some of us out there are able to make it work, but I'm in a new season. And it's just funny because yeah, when something's working,
for a while, then it's like, okay, new season, new chapter, new sleeping, new everything. And so I'm back starting over, it feels like, in a lot of ways, because it's I was able to work during nap times, and now that's not even an option because, just because of nursing and having a brand new baby is different than having a baby that sleeps, like a toddler that sleeps in the afternoon solid.
And so it's just figuring it out all over again. And so I did feel that way when we put Z in preschool last year. And I was like, I need time. I need something. And I think it's time. And so when we put him in preschool, it did feel like such a stretch for me, like a huge financial stretch for me. It felt really big. And now this year, it's funny how things change, but I'm like...
Ashley
Mm hmm. Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
wow, our preschool is like a steal and I'm loving it too. But like after running the math on like more childcare for my other two kids and other stuff, it's like, wow, this is like a steal. Of course I can afford this. It's just funny how like your perception of, you know, expensive and cheap changes over time when you, you know, get the lay of the land. But I do think it's essential to have that uninterrupted dedicated time. Because I just.
Ashley
Mm
Ashley
Right.
RuthAnn Rafiq
For me right now in the season, there's no way can focus with any amount of actual work being done in the pockets of time like I used to.
Ashley
Right.
And I mean, I absolutely agree with the fact that having that focused work time, to me, again, this is just me. maybe your listeners will glean this information from this conversation. But for me, I would rather have five hours a week of focused work time than like 15 interrupted. Because you can guarantee that whatever I'm working on is not getting the best version of me.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
Ashley
Whoever I'm talking to is not getting the full version of me. And that to me is a disservice to everyone around me when they're just getting, like my kids are getting half of my attention and my business is getting half of my attention. And don't they both deserve your full attention? And I could not give my full attention to both. I was constantly being pulled in a million directions and it just did not work for me.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And I have to say, I am so in the thick of it right now with my situation. So I'm using a lot of my examples. So hopefully that's okay, everyone. But yesterday I had a sitter and she was watching my middle one, Sophia, my 17 month old. And I was in my bedroom with, our bedroom with my baby. And I was like, I'll keep the baby. You know, I'll hold him, I'll put him down. You know, he's next to me on the bed, it's fine.
Ashley
Mm
RuthAnn Rafiq
and he was so squirmy, he was really like needing a lot of attention and I had my laptop but I was getting so frustrated because I was like, okay, this is ridiculous. I can't, I'm working for like 10 minutes at a time. And so after yesterday, was just, it was not ideal for sure, especially because I was paying a sitter, know, next time I will have the sitter have the baby too. I'm just a little.
I want to do everything. I want to hold the baby. I want to work. I want to do it all. But I was thinking to myself, all I need is three hours. That's it. I don't need a ton of time. I don't need an eight hour day. I can get so much done in three hours. If I have three hours, I'm golden. I can probably do all of my work. Well, maybe not all of it, but a lot of it in three hours of time. And so I was thinking about that because I was like, I don't know if this is going to work. I don't know if maybe I should
Ashley
Okay.
RuthAnn Rafiq
pull back on my business. I feel like my business has had a lot of momentum this year and a lot of growth and it's very exciting. I'm I pull back? Should I lean in? And when I felt that way that I felt yesterday about all I need is three hours, it's given me a kind of rejuvenated, okay, we're gonna try this again on the next day that Z is in preschool, I'm gonna have childcare, I'm gonna give him the baby, it's gonna be fine and I'm gonna get so much done. And I just feel like...
Ashley
Yeah.
Ashley
Thank
RuthAnn Rafiq
that small shift and that little example, it's just such a good important conversation to have because it's your mental load. It's all the mental load because it's not, it doesn't, I'm trying to be clear. And just when you have that clarity of like, okay, this is my time to focus on my business. You are so much more productive. And then when you're with the kids, you can turn off business because you know you did a great job and you know that
The work for that day is done and you have time to work on it again another time. So I do think it's extremely important. And something you need to, when you have kids, you have to constantly reevaluate what's working, what's not working, and going into a new season, like back to school and that whole shift and change. It's gonna take time, but it's very worth it to have that dedicated time.
Ashley
Exactly.
Mm
Ashley
Yeah, I agree.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And do you have any other creative ways to get work done with kids at home?
Ashley
yes, I love it. I did a whole podcast episode about this. So I pulled it up so I could like see what like some of what I was doing or had already talked about. So I think for those people who like childcare isn't even an option, right? Because I mean, sometimes there are child where childcare just is not a thing that's going to happen in this season right now. So I do have some like tips and strategies for people who like don't want to go that route right now.
So the first thing that I would recommend is really front loading connection with your kids earlier in the day. So I'm a huge proponent of positive parenting and really giving our children the positive attention and the things that they need proactively, right? Because our kids are gonna act out based on their needs. And if we proactively,
take care of those needs and meet those needs in advance, then they are less likely to interrupt us. They are less likely to be whiny or mommy, mommy, mommy, like constantly. So if we front load that connection at the beginning of the day, it's going to give us a more, I don't wanna say a perfect work block, but a more seamless work block. And what I mean by this is,
giving your kids one -on -one attention for 10 minutes per day at the beginning of the day. And when people hear this, it's either one or two things. Like number one, you're either like, that's absolutely ridiculous. That would never happen. Or you're a little bit freaking out because you have like six or eight kids and you're like, how is that going to work? So I'll give you a few like caveats here, but number one,
If you normally have those negative thoughts like that won't work for me, must be nice, you know, that's not going to work for me. Like if those are your first initial thoughts, I want you to really ask yourself why and really dig deeper because even though I told you the action taking action was the number one thing that I feel like I wish like the biggest lesson I learned. Another lesson that I've learned is if you live in that scarcity mindset of
never enough, that doesn't work for me, must be nice. Like if we live in that, we will continue to stay stuck in that. So when you hear Ruth Ann and I talking, when you hear any podcast episodes, when you hear any tips or strategies, I want you to check that mindset. When you're, that first thing that your mind thinks, if it's negative, I want you to ask yourself why, why are you feeling that way? And then flip the script and say like,
What would it look like if I could give my kids one -on -one attention for 10 minutes a day? Like how would that shift my whole day? So you can also rotate days. So if you have a lot more kids, you can do, you know, a couple of your kids one day and the rest the other day. You can also rotate what times you do that. So maybe in the mornings, like you have some early risers, you can do the one -on -one time with them in the morning and some of them, maybe it's at night or maybe
you know, while your baby is napping, you do it with your middle child or whatever the case may be. There is, there should be, there could, if you care about this enough, you will make the time to do this. And why it's important is because when our kids feel validated, when they feel heard, when they feel loved, they are less likely to interrupt us when we're doing something. so that would be tip number one. I'll, I'll stop right there so you can.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
It's a great tip.
Ashley
interject. Then I have a few more.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I think that's, yes, that's such a great tip. And I love when you said question that because it may be a mindset thing. And that's something I've really worked on this year is like questioning, it's like, I could never do that. And it's like, why couldn't I do that? Like, how could I actually make this work? That is such a game changer in your, it's just in life in general. And so if you do come up against those negative thoughts or like that would never work for me, you know,
Ask yourself why and dig deeper like Ashley said because I think that is huge. So great idea for that one. And yeah, let's go on to the next tip.
Ashley
Okay, so my second tip for you is to allow your children to be a part of what you're doing. And truly what I mean by this is allowing your kids to understand what it is that you do. Bring them along the journey. Let them know what you're working on. Kids, I think kids are so intuitive and we don't give them enough credit for how smart kids are. So from a very young age, I have kind of dictated, is that the right word?
described, I guess maybe, like what I've been working on. So like every time I'm on my phone, I'm telling my kids what I'm doing. So I'm like, Hey guys, I'm checking an email really quick. I got an inquiry. I'm so excited. You know, like I'm telling them what I'm doing and, I'm bringing them along the journey so they know what my business is. They know who I serve. Like even now, now that my kids are 10 and 13, like they will ask me, they're like, mom, did you know, so and so join your program? I remember you were telling me that they were interested in it.
Like they're invested because I bring them along. And so if you invite your kids to participate in what you're doing, they will be so much more likely to give you that space because you're not just ignoring them. You're actually changing lives. You're actually doing something. You're serving people in a bigger way. Another example is when I was doing my summit, I had all these speakers. I had 20 speakers that were speaking at my summit.
and I wanted to send each of them gift boxes. And so I had all of this packing that I was gonna have to do. And so I invited my kids to be a part of it. So instead of me sitting in the room by myself, we created like a little conveyor belt, you know, and I was like, okay, we're gonna make an assembly line. We homeschool. So everything I'm thinking is like, how can I teach my kids? Like, how can I make this a learning experience? Like, we're gonna do the OG assembly line. Here's what we're gonna do. Like one of you is gonna be in charge of
taping the boxes and the other one is going to be in charge of like putting the tissue paper in and then we're going to split up the boxes between all of us so everyone gets a chance to like pack all the goodies in the box and then you know we're going to put the cards on top and then we're going to tape the box and then we're going to put the postage on the box and then take it a step further I had them come with me to the post office to drop off the boxes and they were so excited because they were like mom
Ashley
Your speakers are going to be getting their gifts. And I do that for my students too, and they love it. And so every time that we can just bring our kids along on the journey, it's going to allow us to get more work done. And I know it seems super simple and kind of silly, but it works.
RuthAnn Rafiq
It absolutely does. I love that so much. And sometimes Zia, he has this little toy computer that has lights and buttons on it and stuff. like, he opens his little computer. He's like, mommy, I have to work. I just laugh so much. Like you really do pick up on on like what I'm doing, but they want to be involved. You are so right about that. If I bring Zia into what I'm doing, he is so much more likely to, yeah, ask questions, be interested, be curious. And it's such a teachable moment. So I just love that so much.
Ashley
That's the cutest thing.
RuthAnn Rafiq
especially as they get older. Mine are a little bit young, but yeah, the older they get and when they grow up with this, they see that this is important. This is mommy's work. You know, I'm helping others. You know, I think it's a great foundation for them. So I love that so much.
Ashley
Love it. Okay, so I have two more things. So the next one is similar to what you said, but to set up an office for your kids and get them some paper. My kids, similar to yours, they would get old keyboards that we had and they would set it up and they would pretend like they were typing and I would give them paper and whatever you can do to help your kids play business while you're working.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
Ashley
Again, it's just bringing them into it and it's allowing them to be a part of it. So instead of being like, go, go play, go away, like instead of shooing your kids away, you say, come sit next to me. Why don't you work on your work while I work on mine, right? Setting up like coloring pages. My kids for the longest time, they're kind of outgrown it now, but like we would go to the coloring page websites and they would, you know, research whatever they wanted, like sports, football, and we would print.
free coloring pages and staple them together in a book and then they would just sit next to me and they would be coloring while I was working. But and then, thank you. And the next thing I was gonna say kind of on that same note is creating a quiet box that your kids can do but put really fun things in there that they can do, put really fun things in there that they can do only when you're working.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Such a great idea.
Ashley
So they're gonna want you to work because they're gonna be like, I want my quiet box, mom. I really, really wanna play with whatever it is. And you're like, okay, I'm gonna be working in like two hours. So let's play right now, me and you, until we're ready for that. So it's just setting the expectation that when you're working, it's fun for them too.
RuthAnn Rafiq
These are such great ideas. I'm taking all these ideas and I hope you are too, whoever's listening. This is so fantastic, I love it. So what's our last tip?
Ashley
Okay, so the last tip is to prioritize the work that you're gonna do when your kids are around, and then think about the tasks that are too hard to do when they're around. Does that make sense? So whenever I'm looking at my tasks, I'm really trying to decide what can I do when my kids are around? What is an easy, interruptible task? Like, I'm not gonna be annoyed if they interrupt me because it's okay, right? If I'm doing a podcast episode like this and they interrupt me,
RuthAnn Rafiq
Right.
Ashley
that's a little bit more annoying. So I try to save my podcast recordings for when they are at their enrichment program or when they're having screen time. Like I'm very strategic about when I do certain tasks. So I am not going to try to do something extremely important, like write an email when my kids are around, unless it's like, you know, a basic email. But when I'm writing like a sales email or an important email, I need like all of my attention on that email.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes.
Ashley
So if you just prioritize those things and maybe wake up a little bit early if you can't have childcare, stay up a little bit later and get those things done that cannot be easily interrupted, it'll be a huge game changer for balancing work and life.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah, I think that's such a good thing to keep in mind because we do have those things that, like you're saying, can be interrupted and it's no problem and you can still get stuff done. But that other stuff that's deeper work that you absolutely need, like focus time, just like save that for when they're napping or preschool or school or like you're saying, screen time. Yeah, I think that's so good.
So you work about 15 hours a week as do I, and I got even fewer hours before I had the other baby. So you mentioned that they have the enrichment program. Do you want to give us a brief snapshot of your week, how you get everything done that you need to do?
Ashley
yeah, this is great. So one of the number one strategies that I teach my students is to create an ideal week. And essentially what that looks like is laying out every single day of the week and every hour of the week and allocating a time block to it. So when I say that, some people are like, my gosh, like they cringe because they're like, that sounds so restrictive. But essentially what it does is it gives you time to pre -plan.
what you're going to be doing. And it makes sure that everything that's important to you has a time on your calendar, because we all know that if it's not on the calendar, it's not getting done. Right. Or if it's not on the calendar, it's getting done in, the putting out the fire, like totally reactive, right? Because we're like, my gosh, we have no groceries and we're running to the store. We're like rage shopping. Right. It's like, we do not want to operate out of reactivity and
RuthAnn Rafiq
Right. Yes.
Ashley
this ideal week is going to be the proactive step that you need to ensure that everything gets done. So I lay out my week and I try to make it as close to the same every week that I can. Now, some of you listening, you're like, well, my schedule changes every single week and you are going to have a harder time, but it doesn't mean that you can't make this work. So basically what you're going to do is you're going to create an ideal week with the things that don't change.
Right? Like probably like your evening routine is kind of similar. Maybe your morning routine is a little bit similar, but everything in between is different every day of the week based on what week it is. So you're going to kind of have like a outline that like a baseline is what I'm trying to say. So you're going to have a baseline week. And then I created in a Google doc, and then you're just going to have to plug it in each week, week by week. So it's going to be more work for you, but that's okay. Instead of saying,
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
Ashley
This is my life, like more work for me. It's like, this is my life. I get to choose what I do and how I show up. And just changing the tone and changing your mindset around your life is going to make everything so much easier. Instead of complaining about it, this is what I tell my kids all the time, instead of complaining about it, why not figure out a plan to make it more fun or make it work for you, right?
So you're gonna create the ideal week. And so what mine looks like is it's a little bit different. I have what's called an A and a B week. So every other week, my schedule looks slightly different, but only on Mondays. And what I mean by that is I have childcare every other Monday at different times. So my mother -in -law watches my kids on the A week and she watches them for a full day on Mondays, but only twice a month.
And then my mom on the opposite Monday will watch my kids for four hours on every other Monday. So Mondays are a little bit different and we don't do any school on Mondays. It's kind of like our hangout day, our catch up day. We did school on Mondays and it was so hard because coming off the weekend, they didn't want to do school on Monday. So I was like, okay, let's change it. So on Tuesdays they go to their enrichment program. So I schedule all of my work.
in the Tuesday, Thursday block, because that's when they go. And then on Wednesdays, we do school in the morning and we have like free time in the afternoon. And so in the afternoon, I typically will do like house projects and personal CEO planning, that type of stuff. And then on Fridays, we have a similar day. And so I start with plugging in absolutely everything that has like a time on it. So like my son has guitar lessons on Wednesday mornings, my daughter has
you know, her voice lessons on Mondays at 2 p So I plug those things in that are like kind of non -negotiable that don't move. And that helps me also with the baseline schedule. So this is truly how I get everything done. I also put on there like, when are we doing meal planning? When are my husband and I having date night? Like when are the kids, we have different family traditions. I call them, I guess.
Ashley
Family rhythms, if you will. So like on Monday nights, we'll watch a show together. And on Fridays, we alternate every other Friday. So that's part of our AB week. On the A week, we'll do family movie night and we'll usually do pizza and a movie. And then on the B week, we do kids' dates. So my husband will take one of our kids one -on -one and I will take one of our kids one -on -one. And because we have two kids, it works really well. But for those of you that might have more kids,
then it would just be dad and you know, all the kids minus one and you and one kid. And then you just alternate through the kids. So everybody is getting a one -on -one date with mom and dad a few times, you know, a year, right? I know that sounds like minimum, but depending on how many kids you have. so I think that is like the baseline is really starting with that ideal week. and then if you want me to, mean, I can go more micro as to like how I
RuthAnn Rafiq
Thanks
True.
Ashley
plan each of my work days.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I love that. And I have to say, I remember that you talked about your ideal week on a podcast that you had back, I don't even know when it was, a while ago. And I implemented that at the start of this year. 2024 is when I'm recording this, started this year. And it changed my life personally to say, and I was one of those people that was so resistant to, was like, my gosh, no, I'm an Enneagram seven. I like spontaneity. I like change. I don't like things like knowing what's happening all the time.
but I think it's essential with little ones or even just trying to get things done around the house. Like if you have things to do, things in your business, it just made things not fall through the cracks. Like for my clients, for me, for the kids, making sure we had our time, making sure I had time with Fawad because we need time together. it was so life changing is a little dramatic, but I do think it's true. I think it's so helpful to see what you have coming up in the week.
Ashley
Mm
Ashley
awesome.
RuthAnn Rafiq
You it's not, you're not being reactive to everything and it's, think it's extremely helpful. So I would love to hear a like, yeah, a snapshot of the micro if you would like to share.
Ashley
Yeah.
Ashley
Yeah, absolutely. So the next thing that I think is really important is when you are planning what to do during your work block. And some people are like, wait, you plan what you do during your work block? Like for some of you, that's like a new concept to you because you're like, wow, I wish I could get to that point because all I feel like I do is I literally am just like behind all the time and I'm just putting out the fires. And that's that really difference between.
the proactive CEO, which I like to call every business owner because if you're in business, someone has to be the CEO and it's you, whether you want to be or not, but you are in charge of the business. which is kind of scary because you're in charge of when the business is not doing well, but you're also in charge when the business is doing well. And what's cool is that you call the shots all the time. And so if business is not going as planned or how you wish it would then learning first, applying that knowledge to what should I be working on, what really does drive the needle forward, what things are going to be helpful to me in this time. Once you know those things, then it's actually doing it and taking the action. And so on that note, guess before I dive into what I do during the time blocks, I have a CEO date every single week.
And mine is on the weekends because that works best for me because I homeschool. So my time's already limited and I don't want more time away from my kids, you know, having them away from me. But when my husband's home, he can take the kids and or he actually stays here with the kids and I go to Starbucks and I just spend those two hours really focused on the future of my business and thinking ahead into what do I need to do?
in my work blocks over the next few weeks to drive the business forward, right? Instead of doing all the busy work tasks, what are the things that are actually going to make the biggest impact? And so that's when I delegate what I'm going to be working on in each of those different time blocks. And there's so much that I could say. Like I literally feel like we could stay here for another few hours and I could tell you all the things, like I could unpack all the things.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I know. I know.
Ashley
But I do have a free profit shift challenge that I want to share with your listeners. And it's a 14 day challenge. And I basically walk through all the strategies of how to create work life balance. And I do talk about the ideal week and we talk about the CEO dates and we talk about time tracking, which I don't know if you're a proponent of time tracking, but that has been a game changer in my business for me to actually be able to see what are the things that I'm doing that actually
are driving profit to the business. Do you time track? Okay.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, I used to, for a long time I did, and then I did let it slip, so I haven't done it as much. I feel like with the ideal week, I did lay out what I was working on every half hour, so I feel like that was my way of time tracking, but it wasn't exactly like tracking the time, that makes sense. So I need to get back on toggle, because I did use toggle for a long time, and it was working, but yeah, I got off the bandwagon.
Ashley
Mmm, yeah. Yeah. Yes.
Ashley
Yeah, so for those of you that might not know, Toggle is a free software that you can sign up for. And they have a Chrome extension on your desktop that will allow you to turn on and off a timer. And then you can just type in what you're working on. And you can categorize it by category. So I'm recording a podcast episode right now. So
For me, because it's not my podcast, it would be under visibility. Like this is a way for me to be visible. So I'm gonna start my toggle timer and then I'm gonna turn it off when we're done and then it logs it for you and then it even shows you in like a pie chart, like how much time are you spending each week in each of these buckets of your business? And then at the end of the month, I can say, okay, where did my revenue come in this month?
And I can compare that to, okay, you know, if you're really big on Instagram and a lot of your leads are coming from Instagram, if you're only spending like, you know, an hour a month, that would be unrealistic, but an hour a month on Instagram and all of your leads are coming from Instagram, then why are you spending all of this other time on email marketing when that's not what's driving the needle forward in your business? And so that's really eye -opening. Anytime I ever bring up
time tracking and people use it, that's the thing. You have to use it. When they're comparing their information at the end of the month, they're like, wow, I'm spending a lot of time in this area, but that's not really where I should be.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And yeah, it's super helpful to see where the time goes because sometimes you're like, I think this takes this long. But then when you time track it, it's like, whoa, this takes me like three times longer than I thought it was going to take. So it's really good to keep an eye on that. yeah, I need to do that. Start that again. And it's so helpful. So yeah, I do totally agree. And I love that you have the profit. Tell me what it was again. The profit profit shift challenge. That's fantastic where you share.
you know, your strategies. That's so good. As we wrap up, I did have a kind of a personal question. And then, yeah, you can tell everyone where they can find you. But if you had so you right now work about 15 hours a week, if you had more time, would you want to work more in your business like say 20 or 30 hours if you had the time if you didn't have a lot of family obligations? Would you work more if you if you could?
Ashley
That's a really great question. Like if there was unlimited time?
RuthAnn Rafiq
Like.
Like maybe when your kids are older, they are, you know, maybe going to college or you have just more time in your day. Like would you choose to work more?
Ashley
Yeah.
That's a good question. I feel like I love what I do and I love helping people. But I think I would definitely show up in a different way if I worked more. Like it would be more in -person events, in -person community. It would just be more relationship building. And honestly, that is...
RuthAnn Rafiq
Hmm.yeah.
Ashley
where I'm going to lean anyways, because I find that when I show up in community, it attracts the people who need me and that they end up wanting to work with me. And I didn't have to do anything. All I did was show up and serve. And then they're like, wait a minute, like, I want what she has. Like, how can she work 15 hours a week, homeschool and run three businesses? Like how? You know what I mean? And so I feel like when we show up,
RuthAnn Rafiq
Mm -hmm.
Ashley
in what feels most authentic to us, we can let all the other things fall to the wayside, right? Especially if they're not driving the needle forward in the business.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah, yeah, I love that. Yeah, you would show up with more, like more in -person stuff, which is honestly where my heart is too. I love in -person meetups. I love the real in -person connection when possible. It hasn't been possible for a while for me, but I would probably go that route too. Ashley, this has been such a great conversation. I really hope our listeners gained as much as I did from this chat.
Ashley
I don't know if that resonates or makes sense, but like that's how I feel. Yeah.
Ashley
Yeah. Yum.
Ashley
So good.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I have so many tips and things I want to implement, so this has been so great. So thank you so much for coming on. And where can everyone find you and find the Profit Shifts Challenge? Find your podcast. I love your podcast so much. So yeah, where can everyone find you?
Ashley
well, thank you so much for having me, Ruthanne. This has been so much fun. I want to do more of this because I just love talking to people and it's so much nicer talking to someone than talking to my own microphone. So I love this. It's so good. So, so good. But everyone can find me over at thepurposegathering .com. I hang out on Instagram at the same handle, the purpose gathering. Keep it really simple. My podcast is called the Organized Mompreneur.
RuthAnn Rafiq
yeah. I love these too.
Ashley
and we talk about creating work -life balance over there with time management, task management strategies, mindset shifts. Basically, I like to look at the mom as a whole because I really don't believe, even though I said your time should be separate between working and being present as a wife and a mom, I still believe that it all bleeds over. I can't turn off my business when I'm with my kids. I love it so much. I think about it all the time.
but how can we create boundaries? How can we create more work -life balance? And so that is what I love to talk about on the podcast. And then specifically, I created the Profit Shift Challenge for people who are ready to start taking action. Like they've heard the knowledge, they want the action, they want the accountability. And so it's a 14 day, it's actually a text message challenge. So I send a text every single day that...
walks them through like, here's the challenge for today. There's a workbook that goes with it. Like I said, totally free. We also do two accountability calls. So one to kick off the challenge and one to celebrate any type of progress that you've made. Because I truly believe it doesn't matter if you show up for the challenge and only complete one challenge, or if you show up for the challenge and you just showed up and you didn't do anything else. being a mom and a business owner, takes time.
to develop strategies and just one step at a time is the way to continue growth. And so that's all I care about is like, let's celebrate wherever you are right now and give you some next steps. So people can join that challenge at thepurposegathering .com slash profit shift. And I only do the challenge once a month. So if your listeners sign up and let's say, I mean, today is August 15th. So whenever they sign up,
the next challenge starts the first of the next month. So September 1st will be the next one and so on and so forth. And it's 14 days. So from the first of the month to the 14th. So it's really easy to remember and you can take the challenge as many times as you want. I have moms who have done the challenge three times and every time they get a little bit further and a little bit further. And that's the point.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I love that.
Excuse me, have this cough. I love that so much. Thank you so much for sharing that and you guys do have to check her out wherever you hang out. If you like to listen to podcasts like I do, you have to check out her podcast. It's so good and there's so many good nuggets in there. So yes, thank you so much for joining us Ashley and thank you all for listening and tuning in. I truly appreciate you being here and until next time, I hope you have such a beautiful day.
