Motherhood asks for everything and gives back in flashes of joy that can feel too brief when life is loud. This conversation explores how small, practical shifts can lift a heavy week and help you feel like yourself again while you care for a family and grow a business. The focus is not on perfect routines or color-coded calendars, but on simple levers that create momentum: taking an honest inventory of your time, turning down the noise that fuels comparison, and writing what is true so you can challenge what is not. These ideas are humble by design. They work in messy kitchens, during bath time, and in the thin slice of evening after bedtime when the house is finally quiet.
Start with time because time tells the truth. When you map your day—work, chores, kid logistics, and the scraps in between—you see your real life, not the version you wish you had. That visibility frees you to stack joy on top of tasks you already do. If cooking drains you, pair it with a podcast, music, or a favorite show in one ear while the kids play nearby. The goal is not to escape family life, but to weave small pleasures into it so you feel human as you serve. A “joy list” makes this easier: five-minute workouts, quick calls with a friend, a walk around the block, a special drink, a playlist that lifts your shoulders. When energy is low, the list decides for you. Over time, these micro-choices shape calmer moods, gentler voices, and more patience under pressure.
Your brain resets best when you give it the basics. Sleep and exercise work like washing machines for the mind: one clears emotional grime, the other wrings out stress and returns power. Many mothers resist workouts when energy dips, but light movement creates the energy you think you lack. Pair that with simple environmental cues—tidying a counter, lighting a candle, soft lighting—and the home signals “safe and done,” which helps you downshift. Even kid routines can serve you. Bath time can be a calm pocket for cleaning the bathroom, reading aloud, or listening to something nourishing while you supervise splashes. These are not hacks to cram in more. They are ways to turn required moments into refueling stations.
Noise steals joy. For many of us, the loudest noise is a screen that turns highlights into standards and gaps into shame. When scrolling plants the thought that everyone else is ahead, you start resenting your real life. Creating a nightly ritual breaks that loop: screens off, dishes cleared, a timer that cues the family to wind down, and then ten to twenty minutes of something that anchors you. It could be journaling, breathwork, a book, or a quiet show. Boundaries make the ritual stick—alarms at seven, kids coached to start bedtime, a house rule that protects your recharge. Time is your most valuable asset; protecting a small slice keeps you sane and makes you kinder tomorrow.
Writing things down turns vague worry into clear data. List strengths you bring as a mother: showing up for games, reading together, keeping promises, trying again after hard days. Then write fears without judgment: I’m too impatient, I don’t give enough time, my kids need a better mom. Seeing the words lets you test them. Ask, what else is true? Maybe you apologized after snapping. Maybe you carved out one-on-one time this week. Repair is powerful modeling; when kids watch you own your mistakes and ask for forgiveness, they learn how to handle their own. Growth lives in that space between honesty and effort. You are becoming—always—and that is good news.
If you crave more flexibility, consider whether home-based work could support your season. Building marketable skills as a virtual assistant can offer income and control of your schedule without trading family for ambition. Whether or not you pursue that path, the deeper point remains: design your days with intention. Inventory your hours and stack small joys. Reduce the noise so gratitude can breathe. Write what is true and then write what else is true. The mix won’t make life perfect, but it will make life lighter, and that is enough to change a week, a home, and a heart.
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So, you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business, sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO. Welcome back, everyone. Call Me CEO. I am Camille Walker and today is Fearless Friday. And on Fearless Friday, we talk about ways to be more brave to show up in your life as a mom and also in your business and kick fear to the curb. So today I wanted to talk specifically about how to be a happier mom. Yeah, it's something we all want. We want to be happy, we want to connect with our kids, but we also want time for ourselves, for our spouses, and to just feel more at peace. What does that look like? Well, today we're going to talk about three ways to dive into that and feel more connected to who you are. Number one is to take inventory of the time you're spending and how you're spending it. If you take a look at the hours that we actually have to spend in the day and how we're using that time, do you feel like you are using it to become the person that you hope to be? In the downtime, are you using your time in a way that elevates who you are? Now, this can look different for different purposes of what it is that we're doing. Let's take, for example, what you do when you are preparing your meals. Now, this sounds really crazy. Like, what is it that you could be doing while preparing your meals and elevate your happiness in that time? Well, for me, I am not a big fan of cooking. I'm just not. And this is really funny because I my the main majority of traffic for my mommy style is food. So you would think, man, this girl must love to cook. But truth is, my partner loved to cook. My partner that is no longer my partner, she loved to cook, but it has created a big part of our business. So I have to embrace that in continuing to create content for cooking. However, beyond that, I'm a mom and we have to cook. Like it's, we have to cook. Like it's just part of our life. So for me, I found that there are a few ways that I can create a better space for me when I am cooking if it's not something that I love. Number one, I might listen to a podcast like you are right now. I'll put something in my ear that makes me feel more connected to something that elevates me or inspires me, or sometimes it's just pure entertainment. I love crime podcasts. So that doesn't, if I listen to that too much, I can tell it kind of brings me down a little bit. But I love listening to podcasts, or I love listening to music, or sometimes I'll even catch up on a show. Truth be told, I don't have a lot of time to watch TV. But if I tell myself, hey, if I am cooking dinner right now, or if I am doing laundry right now, I'm gonna save that special time to catch up on my favorite show. And typically with kids being around, uh, I'll do like one earbud in so I can still be aware of like what's going on in the house and if anyone needs anything. But typically when I'm in the kitchen, my kids know, I'll just say, go play, I'll let you know when dinner's done. And creating space for that really helps to create more, it feels a little bit more like mean time when you stack it with something special like that. What are you doing outside of that for you? Okay, those are tasks that we have to do. So elevating that space, make it a special show time, make it a special podcast time, make it a special music time. Those are pockets of time where you could listen to a book, listen to a podcast, or find something that makes you feel extra excited about that time. Now, this really will translate into your kids clueing into this because there have been times when it actually just happened yesterday. I was having a grumpy day with just feeling overwhelmed. The kitchen was a mess. And I thought, okay, I was getting a little screechy with the kids. Like I was getting salty, I was getting honory. And my son Jet said, Hey, mom, do you think maybe we should turn on some music? And I just had to laugh because he really is clued in to knowing that that is something that makes me happy. And so identify those things that make you happy. Are you fitting them in? Are you creating time for yourself to exercise, to make a phone call, to be with a friend, to go get a special drink or a treat or to have special time with your spouse? Those are all things that create that inventory of your space and time. So we talked about the things you have to do. Now, what are you doing with time that you can fill in on your own accord? I like to create a joy list so that if I am ever feeling down or feeling like I'm not quite tuned in to myself and my needs, I create a joy list. This is something that can take just five minutes, but you'd be surprised how quickly it can transform into your lifeline when you're feeling like you are down in the dumps. One of the examples for me is working out. Now I know not everyone loves working out. Heck, a lot of times I don't feel like I work love working out, but when I do work out, I always feel better. And what's funny about that is that if I am feeling more lethargic or like I don't have enough energy, working out makes me have more energy, even when I don't feel like I have the energy to do it. So for me, that's one of those things on my list that I'm like, okay, how long has it been since I've worked out? Because I know that when I do, I am less short with my kids. I feel more energized, and I feel more confident in myself, my body, and my mental health. I've always said that there are two washing machines of the mind. One is sleep and one is exercise. And I really feel like people that say never go to bed mad are crazy because I think you have a much clearer perspective if you have slept, eaten, or exercised. And if you take inventory of your life and think, man, have I taken time for those things? You might realize that there is space that you're needing to fill that creates a better whole. So that would be my first takeaway. Take inventory of your life. How are you spending your time both in play and the productive time that you have to do? The laundry, running the kids around. How are you creating space for that to be enjoyable for you? Another quick takeaway with that is when my kids, well, I still have kids that are younger enough that I need to be in the room with them when they're bathing. But I think about times like that when I've been, they've been playing in the bath and you can get a good solid hour with kids if it's rain or snow or shine. If you need a minute to yourself, getting the kids in the bath, being in there with them. And I will do a couple different things. One, I might use that time to clean up the bathroom. I don't love cleaning the bathroom, but if I'm in there anyway, may as well get that done. Two, I've used that time to read to my kids. I know that might sound crazy to some, but that's a time where they have or you have their attention. Um, another thing that I'll do if I want it to be more time for me is again, I'll put something in my earbud and I'll be there in the kids, there with the kids, where I can just be like, yeah, that's awesome. Yay, or look at that awesome bubble, whatever. But I can still like be listening to something that is making me feel uplifted. Okay, number two, turn off the noise so you can remember who you are. What does that look like? What does it mean to turn off the noise? I can tell you for me, because especially with what I do, social media for me is noise. I can get very distracted by uh comparison and also um tapping in or giving time to thoughts that don't serve me if I'm spending too much time absorbed in imagining a different reality. Now, what do I mean by that? What does it mean to imagine a different reality? Well, I think about when I'm scrolling on Instagram or Facebook or TikTok, whatever it might be, whatever you're scrolling, and you think for a minute, oh, I wish I was on that vacation, or oh man, look at her six pack and her thigh gap, or oh man, her kids are always so well dressed. She always has it sewed together. Like I just, and it and you start without meaning to, and it could be people you love and people you want to support online or whatever that is, whatever that looks like for you, you start to nitpick your own reality. And we forget that someone's Instagram feed is a highlight reel. That does not show you their dirty bathroom, that does not show you their piles of laundry, that does not show you the argument they had with their husband the night before. It is not reality. And so by taking a turn to turn off the noise, that can be recentering yourself. So, ways that I like to turn off the noise is I have a nighttime ritual that is really sacred to me. I don't do it all of the time. I wish I did because I know that it's very beneficial when I do, but I will turn off the noise, aka kids are in bed, the screens are off. I try to make my kitchen cleaned and picked up because that just gives me a more sense of calm. The less clutter, the less confusion in my brain a lot of times. And I'll light a candle and I'll set intentional time for myself. So that can be even just a five-minute meditation, or that can be time with a book, or listening to a book, or even sometimes it's watching a show that I'm really excited about, or journaling. And those are things that allow me to stop comparing and start feeling grateful. Because writing gratitude or really focusing in on your own space and your own family and the gifts that you have been given can make all the difference in the world of your perspective of who you are and really all of the things that you have to be grateful for. Now, this is something that if you can incorporate it every day, awesome. If you can only do it three days a week, great. One way that I found that really helps me to stick to something like this is to set a timer in my phone. Um, I even have an announcement in my house. It goes off at seven o'clock. The kids know. Alexa tells us, time to clean up the house. Seven o'clock is the time of night where I need to switch gears with my kids to start helping them get ready for bed. Because on the nights when I don't listen to that alarm or I am not paying attention to those reminders, I allow them to stay up longer, which means I get crankier, which means I don't have the time to recharge my own batteries. So, whatever that looks like for you, turning off the noise and creating those parameters of time, I think time is our most valuable asset. So, thinking about what does that look like for me to create that space and reduce that noise so I can be more centered and a happier mom. That's what it looks like for me. If you're looking for more flexibility in your life, have you ever considered what it might be like to run a business of your own from home? That is why I have created VA in 90 Days, which is a program to help you learn how you can do virtual assistant work from home, setting your own schedules, finding your own clients, being your own boss, and doing things from home that help make another business owner's life that much easier. This program has everything you need from A to Z, how to set up your business, how to discover your marketable skills, and also how to set up clients that will love and rave about you while all setting your own schedule. Tune in to CamilleWalker.co to learn more about how you can set up your own virtual assistant business today. So, number three is to write things down. Now, when I tell you to write things down, what I mean is I want you to write down what you think is a strength of yours as a mother. And I also want you to not be afraid to write down what you don't think you're good at. Now, here's why. You might be thinking, why would I why would I write that down? Why would I write down what my fears are or what I'm what I'm afraid of? This is why your brain will very naturally tell you the things that you should be afraid of. It's just the way our brains are wired, they're meant to warn us of danger. They're meant to give us fear. Why? Well, when we first were here on this earth, there were fears implanted in us to help us keep alive. It, you know, it was fears of if I eat that plant, may I die? If I go outside, is there an animal that might run by and kill me? Now, those fears don't exist for us anymore. We are pretty safe. I mean, there are things going on in the world you need to be cautious of. But I think that the everyday fears that we deal with now are fears of inadequacy or fear of judgment. And that can come from ourselves or from others. Now, why would it be powerful for us to write these fears down? The reason why this is powerful is because you get the chance to challenge your own thoughts. Now, imagine that I write down, imagine I write down, I am afraid, or I feel like I'm not spending enough time with my kids, or I am an impatient mother, I'm yelling at my kids too much, or I'm not enough, like my kids need a better mom. Now, as you write down those fears, you can explore that feeling. Where is that coming from? Why do you feel that way? And then I want you to flip it. I want you to think there may be times that I feel like that is a real statement. There may be times that I feel like there's truth to that statement. But are you allowing yourself the time to flip that and think, but what else is true? What else is true about who I am as a mother? So maybe going back to those questions of I'm not spending enough time with my kids. And then maybe you say, well, okay, but let me challenge that. I've made it to every game this year. I have made time to do homework with my kids. I have made time to spend special time with each of my kids, and this is how, and this is this is why. And maybe that's where you could set goals and say, well, if I if I'm not feeling like right now is enough, what could that look like? Or after listing all those things that you do do with your kids, could you look at that and say, oh, actually, I'm kind of killing it. Like if you're spending time, purposeful time with your kids, I promise that time that you're spending is magnified if you can be there and be present with them and you're doing an amazing job. Okay. The other thing you might challenge is, well, I'm yelling, right? I'm I'm too impatient. And maybe there are times that that is true. I mean, I know there are times for me that that is true, and that's okay. But what is also true? When you're impatient and when you're taking those times to realize that you've been impatient or you've yelled too much, what are you doing after? Are you looking at time to reflect? Are you improving the next time that you have an upsetting time that you've yelled at your kids? Or are you allowing yourself to learn from those experiences where you think, you know, I didn't hold it together, but I went and owned it. And I talked to my kids and said, Hey, sorry I lost it. I'm feeling really tired today and I messed up. Please forgive me. Sometimes moms mess up and sometimes we get impatient, and sometimes we need forgiveness too. And that allows yourself as a mother to make it a human experience. You are a human having a human experience, just like your kids are. And if you can appreciate that moment as a learning experience, not only for you, but a moment for you to learn it with your kids, it then gives them permission to own it for themselves. And when they mess up, they can say, you know what? I lost my cool and I'm really sorry. Will you please forgive me? Mirroring that behavior is pretty incredible. So maybe you did lose it, maybe you did yell, but what else is true about how you handled that situation? And after writing all this down, I want you to really sit and get cozy with what are your strengths? What are your strengths as a mom? What are the things that you're doing right now that were goals that you had set before? What are some things that you do that are pretty amazing? And I can promise you that every single one of you listening are going to have a different list because we're all different. And each of us has so much to offer and so many things that we're learning as we go. You know, I've I've mentioned this on Instagram that the word becoming is my word of 2021. The reason why becoming is my word is because I feel like there is so much beauty in the word becoming, and we never stop. We never stop becoming something. So as you're looking at this, at this checklist of taking inventory, turning off the noise, writing it out, you are taking a moment to really tune into who you are. Who are you becoming? And who are you right now that you can appreciate? And who are you, who do you want to become? And I really feel like really taking time to step back and take inventory of your life and what it is that you're doing will allow you to bring in more space for joy. It'll allow you to bring in more space for forgiveness for yourself and for others, and it will make you happier. So gosh dang it, I hope you found inspiration from this audio. And if you are inspired by this, I hope you will message me. Message me on call me CEO Podcast or CamilleWalker.co on Instagram. And if you didn't hear earlier, I am doing a founders only price of creating your own virtual assistant business. It is closing soon. And there are more details to come if you've thought about wanting to create your own business and create a space where you are developing time at home to develop yourself, bring in a little extra cash, and be your own CEO. Remember, I am cheering you on always. You are enough. And I love you guys. Bye.
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