262804066 177. Journal With Me: Emotional Braindump for Back to School Mom Overwhelm - Beyond Awareness: Closing the Gap Between Knowing and Doing

Episode 177

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Published on:

11th Sep 2025

177. Journal With Me: Emotional Braindump for Back to School Mom Overwhelm

Moms with kids who went back to school recently...UNITE! This week hit me like a freight train. New school routines, drop-offs that take FOREVER, schedule changes that make you question everything - and it's only Tuesday.

So instead of pretending I have it all together, I'm taking you into my real, messy braindump journaling session.

No pretty prompts today. Just me, a Google Doc, and all the chaos that comes with being a working mom trying to figure out this back-to-school thing while running a business with exactly 2.5 hours of work time (if I'm lucky).

If you're sitting in your car after drop-off wondering how other moms make this look easy, or if you're questioning whether you're completely screwing up this whole parenting-while-working thing - this one's for you.

In this episode:

  • My actual braindump from today (the real, unfiltered version)
  • Why 50-minute school drop-offs are apparently my new reality
  • How I went from 7 hours of work time to 1.5 hours overnight
  • The moment I realized I was playing victim (ouch)
  • Why brain dumps are better than letting overwhelm pile up until you explode

Sometimes you need permission to just... dump it all out.

Consider this your permission slip!

Resources Mentioned:

Ways to work with Samantha:

1:1 coaching: Now accepting applications, 2 spots open. Learn More here: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect with Sam on IG: https://www.instagram.com/samantha.s.says

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About the Podcast

Beyond Awareness: Closing the Gap Between Knowing and Doing
Closing the Gap Between Knowing and Doing
Beyond Awareness (formerly Journal Entries) is for successful women in leadership and business who know exactly what they need to do but can't make themselves do it.

You know you need to prioritize yourself, delegate more, set boundaries, stop bringing work home. You've tried therapy, coaching, retreats. You know the solution - but you either can't follow through, or when you DO, it doesn't stick.

Host Samantha Hawley helps business owners and executives earning $100k+ excavate the root beliefs underneath the execution gap. Why do you keep not doing the thing? Why doesn't it feel better when you do? Using strategic journaling and emotional excavation, we go beyond awareness into why you're actually stuck in the pattern.

This isn't about more tactics or tips. This is about understanding why awareness isn't enough and what actually needs to shift for you to change.

You'll hear about: decision fatigue, why you can't prioritize yourself, nervous system regulation, being present with your kids, root cause of overwhelm, why boundaries don't stick, self-sabotage patterns, and how your internal state impacts everything.

Perfect for: Female CFOs, VPs, directors, executives, business owners, and women in leadership who are tired of knowing what's wrong but not being able to change it.
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Samantha Hawley