Mojo Mom Podcast is back with "Body Drama"

I've just posted a new episode of The Mojo Mom Podcast, featuring my interview with Nancy Amanda Redd, author of the bestselling book, Body Drama, a frank, honest, realistic photographic guide to the female body.

Listen to the podcast now:



I want to tell all of our show's listeners that the the podcast is back, and we will be producing new episodes throughout the summer. Our production process had been stuck in a rut through a very busy spring, but I have taken the important step in hiring a new producer. The show will show up more regularly throughout June, July and August.

Ironically, perhaps fittingly, in this episode, my co-host Sheryl Grant and I talk about how to set priorities and meet goals. I know it's a never-ending challenge for Moms, who are responsible for so much. Sheryl and I debate the The New York Times article based on psychologist Dan Ariely's work, The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors, and I try to convince her that sometimes you do have to give up desirable activities in order to focus on your core goals.

In real life, as we were recording this episode, I was struggling with the demand to write a daily parenting and technology blog for CNET. I finally decided that I had to let that platform go, if I was going to get back to moving Mojo Mom forward, including the podcast. This was a difficult choice because writing for CNET was interesting and meaningful--but it was also stressful, time consuming, and underpaid for the amount of effort it required me to invest.

So after much deliberation, I did pare down my activities. In Mojo Mom, I talk about thoughtfully choosing activities that are "fun, meaningful, or absolutely necessary." Now, as my work expands, I am developing the idea of core priorities. If an opportunity takes me away from my core, rather than advancing it, it's probably a task I should decline.

I have become good at Saying No to things I don't want to do. Now my challenge is to Say No to opportunities that are worthwhile, but pull me too far away from my central priorities. I know this is a good problem to have, because it means that my career as a writer is progressing, but it is something I need to be conscious of managing on a daily basis.

Mojo Mom takes a break to regroup

I have felt frustrated that I haven't been able to blog more this week, and I am going to give myself a short break from the Mojo Mom blog. If my schedule allows, I'll be back next week.

I need to set aside a few days for planning and get my priorities in order for the rest of March and April. I have a new project cooking, which I will tell you about soon. I also have important things on my to-do list that have not gotten done yet, as well as requests from other people for work that they want me to do for them.

I don't think of myself as a person who can't say "no" because I will feel guilty, but I am faced with the situation where I am offered more worthy, valuable opportunities than I can take on at once. This is both a blessing and a challenge. I am sure that many of you are faced with a similar situation. Any advice on how to proceed?

I know that when I look at my calendar and can't schedule an essential meeting because I am busy doing work for other people, that is a problem, no matter how valuable those other projects are.

To paraphrase the book The Tao of Womanhood, a book that I read a long time ago that has always stayed with me, sometimes we need to honorably tie up the loose ends we have created for ourselves, in work and relationships. I also recommend the recent New York Times article, "The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors," based on Daniel Ariely's book Predictably Irrational, as valuable food for thought for overscheduled Moms.

The Mojo Mom blog is my own worthy project, and I will be back soon!