Creating a Balanced Life, with Whitnee Hawthorne – TPW329

Whitnee Hawthorne is a busy mom and Fortune 500 executive by day, but spends her free time helping moms like her manage their stress and time, and prioritize what is most important, through her website, The Savvy Working Mom. In this week's episode, Whitnee and I talk about how she balances her professional life with her family and passion for helping other working moms. Finding joy and balance in your daily life Whitnee Hawthorne is a speaker, an author, a Fortune 500 executive, a mom, and a podcaster with a passion for supporting and encouraging working moms. She is also the founder of the Savvy Working Mom, a platform dedicated to helping working mothers be the woman they want to be. She loves travel, hiking, watching movies, and creating. Whitnee lives in Utah with her husband, two young sons, and their family dog.  Whitney started The Savvy Working Mom when her first son was a baby. Around that time she realized how little support there was for working mothers. Whitnee was struggling with how to balance motherhood with her passions and her career, and make it all work together. Whitnee began speaking with other mom's who were dealing with the same challenges and then developed The Savvy Working Mom. The platform focuses on time management, productivity, relieving stress and guilt, and finding more joy in your life. A typical day Whitnee has two young sons (8 months and a toddler), one of whom she is breastfeeding, so her days vary greatly. However, on a typical day her youngest son will wake up quite early, so she will breastfeed him right away so she can focus on the rest of her morning. Whitnee has a morning ritual where she will hydrate herself, do some stretches, and then 15 minutes of yoga. By the time she is done, her older son is awake and she can focus on him. Whitnee will make him breakfast, then they will read a book together and enjoy some cuddle time. Whitnee's husband is usually awake by then, so she will hop in the shower and get ready for her day. Then either Whitnee or her husband will get the kids to school and then they both head to work. Because Whitnee lives in a different time zone from where her company is based, what time she starts her workday can vary, sometimes starting as early as 7:00 am. However, her day usually ends between 5:00-6:00 pm. She will head home and if possible, will pick the kids up from school with her husband. They will then spend the evening having dinner, bath time, and play. After the kids are in bed, Whitnee will work on The Savvy Working Mom. Whitnee feels like her days are really full but she deliberately tries to not do too much so she can focus on her family, even though she thrives on a full schedule. Biggest productivity challenges One of the biggest challenges Whitnee faces is dealing with the unpredictable nature of everyday things. The challenges of the year 2020 in general did not help matters, but having a newborn can also be challenging, along with relocating and running a quickly growing side business. Whitnee tries to not be too hard on herself about the things she can't control and how much she is able to accomplish in a day. Life happens, no matter how much planning is done. She tries to focus on her mindset and take time throughout each day to do a reset so she can stay on track. She also uses lists to keep track of what needs to be done each day, both at work and at home. She prioritizes tasks on her list based on what she thinks she will be able to get done on that day. When it comes to balancing motherhood with her career, family, and other passions, Whitnee likes to reflect on this quote by author Nora Roberts: