Ep. #13: Defining Our “New Normal” in Work and Motherhood, with Sarah Labuda
Sarah Labuda is a brand strategy consultant, photographer and mom to two kids. We discussed what it was like to leave her advertising career to go out on her own after her first son was born, and how her career has shifted during the pandemic. We also address how we perceive and define “working” motherhood, and how our outdated paradigms need to shift in an age when moms wear many hats, regardless of whether they “work-at-home” or out of the home. Perhaps most importantly, we talk about what it means to consider our “new normal” in post-pandemic life, and how we consider what we want out of work and motherhood.
1:1 COACHING
If you’re finding the topics and concepts discussed in this podcast helpful and you want to apply them to your own life and career in a deeper and more personalized way, then please don’t hesitate to reach out to me for a free discovery call. I work with women who are interested in finding their right balance between work and motherhood. My coaching is personalized to the individual based on your wants and needs. It all starts with a (fun!) conversation. Send me a note via the link below and I’ll be in touch soon to schedule!
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
How Sarah’s life was defined by her schooling and resume and her fears over losing herself once she became a mom.
Her realization after having her son that she wanted something very different out of her work. How it forced her to get specific about what was important to her, how she was spending her time, and what she wanted.
The idea of women being either mirrors or sponges.
How we’ve been socialized with very binary archetypes of motherhood - the frazzled working mom who misses time with her kids vs the minivan stay-at-home-mom who’s carting kids all over the place.
Her transition from full-time high level ad exec to hybrid consultant / hybrid mom.
Questioning your identity and how to get the words right to describe “what you do” when in the midst of this type of career transition.
Finding new words to describe ‘stay at home’ motherhood
Questioning how the feminist movement may have devalued women working at home.
Remembering that it’s OK if you have pangs of longing for what was after making a choice to work or be at home. It’s OK to feel those emotions and recognizing there is never a “perfect” solution is valuable.
The motherhood skills that help in the office and how they’re currently undervalued.
In the absence of companies finding creative solutions to keep moms working, women are now must find a way to pave the road in this messy middle between full-time working motherhood and stay-at-home motherhood.
How Sara’s thinking about her “new normal” post-pandemic, and how what she’s learned during the pandemic is helping her consider what she wants out of work and as a mother.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Visit SarahLabuda.com to learn more about Sarah’s strategy work, photography, and life as a mom raising two kids in Brooklyn, NY.
Follow Sarah on Instagram at @sarahfiltered
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FREE GUIDE: REINVENT YOUR CAREER AFTER KIDS
Work and motherhood CAN coexist! And having kids is the perfect time to ask yourself what it is you REALLY want to do. This guided workbook outlines three strategies that will help you:
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About Me
Catherine Ferguson is a Life Coach for working moms. She helps high-achieving, high-vibe women create careers they truly care about, using simple concepts and tools she explores on her podcast and in her personalized coaching program.
She believes that doing work you love as a mother doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming, and that there are simple shifts you can make right now to help you find your right balance between work and home by applying universal principles that you’re probably already teaching your children. She is the host of the One Badass (Working) Mother podcast and a mom of two cute but psycho kids.