Working Mom Time Management: End 8:57pm Dinners Forever

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https://officialchristinarunnels.kit.com/1bc4f01ac1

You glance at the clock: 8:57pm. Cold dinner over laptop.

Kid lunchbox in sink. Work phone buzzing. Tomorrow is looming.

High-achieving working moms need a working mom time management system—not more discipline. Episode 5's 3-block routine (work/family/margin) stops rush days.

Episode Highlights:

• 8:57pm dinner realization → no purposeful "you" time
• 3-block routine working moms use: 3 golden hours + family DND + 90min margin
• Sunday reset (laminate weekly)

Timestamps:

0:00 Working mom 8:57pm dinner scene

2:30 Thursday "no sitting down" moment

7:15 Block 1: Working mom golden hours

11:45 Block 2: Family block (phone DND)

15:20 Block 3: Working mom margin time

19:10 3-block template walkthrough

This week:

1. Circle 3 golden work hours

2. Sunday: Fill + laminate

3. Notice 8:57pm feels different

Share your completed template → Hello@ChristinaRunnels.com

Next: Episode 6 - Working Mom Anger

www.ChristinaRunnels.com

That grocery store receipt moment...

Organic milk (dairy upset), gluten-free bread (headaches), exact yogurt she'll eat, Goldfish rotation, birthday wrapping paper (party Saturday), Tuesday-only sales. $187.43.

Every item = one mental decision you made.

Every receipt in your life (vet bills, school photos, Target poster board runs) = invisible labor nobody sees.

If you disappeared tomorrow:

Would they know her yogurt? Goldfish rotation? Science fair dates?

Not because they don't care. Because that info lives only in *your* brain.

In this episode, Christina breaks it down:

• Grocery receipt → "If I disappeared" realization
• Shift 1:10-min brain dump (see your overload on paper)
• Shift 2:Hand-off script *"I'd like you to own [snack calendar] from here"
• Shift 3:Sunday 10-min handover ritual (prevents reload)

Your Mental Load Handover Checklist (printable PDF):

👉 Download Free Checklist

Your 3 steps this week:

1. Tonight: 10-min brain dump → checklist
2. Tomorrow: Pick 1 task → use script "You own [task]. Questions?"
3. Sunday: 10-min handover → "Confirm you own it?"

Next episode: Time Management for Busy Working Moms: Simple Daily Routine to Stop Rushing All Day

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Christina Runnels

Licensed therapist - Speaker - Author of Boldly Both*

Host: Lead Like a Mother

ChristinaRunnels.com | Free Burnout Check-In | Buy Boldly Both

You’re at work thinking you should be with your kids, and with your kids thinking about everything you’re dropping at work—so no matter where you are, you feel like you’re failing everyone. This episode is for the high-achieving working mom whose brain constantly says, “I’m not enough.” Christina Runnels, licensed therapist, author of Boldly Both, and host of Lead Like a Mother, breaks down mom guilt into three powerful mindset shifts so you can start releasing the shame and defining what “good enough” really looks like in this season.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The hidden belief driving so much working mom guilt (“If I’m good at work, I’m a bad mom”)
• How to redefine “good enough” at work, at home, and for yourself in this season
• A simple “why am I choosing this?” process to move from feeling like you’re failing to seeing yourself as an intentional decision-maker
• Why guilt grows in isolation and how sharing it in safe spaces shrinks its power
• How to create one new sentence you can use whenever guilt shows up
  
  

Mentioned in this episode:

• Free Mom Guilt Reframe Worksheet – prompts to define “good enough” for this season and rewrite three specific guilt stories with kinder language
  
  

Visit www.ChristinaRunnels.com for more support and to connect with Christina!

High-achieving working mom who’s always rushing and still feels behind? This episode will help you finally understand why and what to do about it. Christina Runnels, licensed therapist, author of Boldly Both: A Mom’s Guide to Balancing Career and Family Without Guilt, and host of Lead Like a Mother, breaks working mom life into three core pressure points: burnout, mental load, and time. You’ll learn how each one is quietly draining you and walk away with one simple survival key you can start using this week so you’re not constantly living in catch-up mode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why your exhaustion isn’t just a “time management problem” but a burnout and energy problem
  
  
• What the mental load of motherhood really is and how it keeps you stuck in overwhelm
  
  
• How to use a weekly 10-minute “brain dump and share” to stop carrying everything alone
  
  

A simple “good enough” weekly rhythm that helps you touch work, family, and you without expecting perfection

Mentioned in this episode:

• Download the free 3 Keys Survival Tracker so you can pick your key and actually follow through this week.
• Get more support at www.ChristinaRunnels.com

You look “fine” on the outside, but inside you’re exhausted, snappy, and one more email away from losing it. In this first episode of Lead Like a Mother, Christina Runnels, licensed therapist, author of Boldly Both: A Mom’s Guide to Balancing Career and Family Without Guilt, and fellow high-achieving working mom shares her own burnout story and explains why this podcast exists. You’ll learn what working mom burnout actually looks like (beyond just being tired) and walk through a simple 3-Minute Burnout Check-In so you can see where you really are and take your first small step toward relief this week.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• The real signs of working mom burnout for high-achieving women (physical, emotional, and mental)
• Why burnout hits ambitious working moms in leadership roles especially hard
• How the mental load and invisible labor keep you stuck in “always on” survival mode
• The 3-Minute Burnout Check-In you can do today to gauge your burnout level and choose one thing to drop, delay, or delegate

Mentioned in this episode:

• Free Working Mom Burnout Check-In PDF