Do women really have to choose between career, motherhood, and health? Mia Moran, coach, best-selling author, and mom of three young kids says, “no.”
Mia, who also hosts The Plan Simple Podcast, contends that women can balance wellness, work, and motherhood one season at a time… and that it’s possible to succeed both in parenthood and your career without risking your health.
“Moms have the power to change the future… but not if we are stressed out and exhausted,” says Mia. “I envision a world where women don’t have to choose between meaningful work, motherhood, and their health. I now know it’s possible.”
Mia also knows what it’s like to lack that balance. As a graphic designer by day and blogger by night, her schedule was already hectic. The all-too-common balancing act of being all things mom, working, and actually taking time for herself left Mia feeling drained, depleted, and defeated. Her own health had also hit an all-time low.
One particularly hard day, she noticed a large stack of coffee cups on her desk that left her pondering: “Did I really go to Starbucks seven times today?”
That’s when Mia, who is also dyslexic and a self-proclaimed introvert, drew a line in the sand and began focusing on healthy eating, reclaiming her yoga mat, and reigniting her passion for Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages. And that’s how The Plan Simple Podcast was born—from Mia’s own need to simplify, organize, and stop the overwhelm.
“I made the decision to feel great,” Mia says. “I believed it was possible, and I found support. I took action on one doable change at a time. With the right guidance, I changed the way I ate to regain my health. Around the same time, I read Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, which opened my mind to a way of parenting and living that felt so much more like me. Then, having cleared the ‘food chatter’ in my mind and simplified the schedule and ‘clutter’ of my family life with young children, I realized that there had just been too much noise to see what really mattered, never mind to actually do anything about it,” Mia says.
“Plan Simple is an invitation to do less. I know it can feel hard to go against the grain—against all the voices that seem so loud—but you really can make some big changes with little steps.”
As a busy parent and entrepreneur, Mia shared the two unforeseen gifts she received on her journey toward balance. First, the practice of finding ease, despite balancing what seems like a full plate of work, home, and motherhood. Second, the gift of goal setting, around which Mia created the FLOW Planner:
“It’s all about your rhythm and your FLOW. At each step, get inspired to stay focused on the big ‘why’ that moves you forward, and let go of anything that doesn’t serve you.”
Mia’s FLOW system takes into consideration the innate creativity of women. Instead of constantly writing to-do lists that are easy to forget and overwhelming, Mia set out to help women dream, build, and plan in a way that really does FLOW—so they keep moving forward instead of feeling stuck. Generally speaking, Mia explains, a plan will not be overwhelming if it is decided in advance rather than allowing everything that hasn’t been done to keep you stuck.
“Planning can be a way to get really clear. It helps separate everything out, while allowing you to feel like a whole person. It’s like putting all the balls in the basket and taking one out at a time. This way, they’re being held—they’re not going to fall or explode. It’s like we’ve decided which balls to juggle and put them all in a basket to contain them safely. And then, we pull them out one at a time and do what we need with them.”
We live in a busy, noisy world. More than ever, we really have to be discerning about what is truly important to us right now, and which is the simplest path around motherhood, our business, and our health. You can find over 350 Plan Simple episodes that are right to the point when it comes to parenting and work-related philosophies brought by top thought leaders in parenting and productivity, as well as fellow parents and listeners who share their stories of overcoming ‘Busy Life Syndrome.’
As a host, Mia has a gift—the ability to immediately go deep in conversation with her guests. She does a really good job coaching and inspiring her listeners and always ends the episodes with actionable items to accomplish a goal. She has interviewed some of her favorite parenting experts, and she loves the knowledge, expertise, and life changes that have resulted from it.
For Mia, planning is not difficult. It is more ‘calendaring,’ as you create a rhythm.
“We have an opportunity to change our minds and reset. There’s a huge benefit to having goals and making plans. I really feel like, as a mom, the more we can live in the understanding that we can be a parent and do good work, the better. We can be a great mom and take care of our body. We can take care of our body and have a podcast or business. We just need to plan and practice… it’s definitely a practice.”
Today, Mia juggles the roles of mom, wife, podcaster, writer, teacher, and CEO with a happy heart and, of course, a Simple Plan.
Whether you listen in while on a morning walk, getting groceries, or waiting in the carpool line, The Plan Simple podcast for moms will help you strategize for your best life.
January 2022 Issue
