Jenn Uren | Balancing Home Life and Private Practice | TPOT 202

In this episode, Jenn Uren of This Mom Knows Podcast joins the show. She talks about staying organized and letting go of her perfectionism while homeschooling five children. If your systems and processes aren't working as smoothly as possible, Jenn explains why you need to remove yourself from the process. If you can't remove yourself from your practice, then find a fresh set of eyes to look for you. Tune in as Jenn talks about the importance of support, finding time to focus, and how to make your least favorite tasks more doable.

Meet Jenn Uren

As a mompreneur, every business “yes” can feel like parenting “no” - and the mom guilt kicks in! Jenn Uren helps mompreneurs find and implement the right systems, tools, and processes to help them focus their time and be their best as both “mom” and “entrepreneur”. As a homeschooling mom of 5 (3 bios and 2 by a surprise adoption), she is familiar with the constant pull between task and relationship while making sure all that needs to happen does. Her husband Jim is a serial entrepreneur and together they have had enjoyed flipping the script from building a life around a job to building businesses that allow them to live their priorities. The This Mom Knows podcast is a place where mompreneurs can find encouragement, support, and connection with other women business owners who KNOW.

Lessons Learned From A Mom of Five

There is some truth to birth order, and each child is so different and unique. Jenn has had to learn how to let go of her perfectionism. When Jenn wants to try something new as a parent, she tries it for six months to see how it works. Everyone works with systems and routines; you can always find things that need to run smoother. Business owners can be the bottleneck to a process. If you find a way to remove yourself from the process, then flow can happen again.

Observe What’s Happening In Your Private Practice

Business owners can be the stumbling block, and we are our own worst enemy. We can't see what's going on in our business because we are too close. So sometimes, it's helpful to sit back and become an observer. Watch what's happening in your home and watch what is happening in your business. If you're still too close to observe your business, then have someone else look at it with a fresh pair of eyes; they can see things that we can't see. Plus, they can notice things that we might not notice. Shifting into the role of an observer can help you figure things out.

Asking For Support With Your Practice

Another way to help your business is by asking for support. Mastermind Groups and Focus Groups are a great way to find support in private practice. Find colleagues that you can rely on to be vulnerable with and to talk to about things. You can find people that you can ask for help from. Also, you can swap challenging tasks with other people. Maybe you're good at one task, and your friend is good at another task. Well, swap with each other! That way, you get to do what you like to do, and you get to help a friend too!

Beating Overwhelm By Doing A Brain Dump

The three things that consume us are our time, our thoughts, and our things. We need to give margin, boundaries, and space in our life so that we can say yes to the unexpected. That way, we have the capacity to think and create; we have the ability for something new to come into our space. All without bursting at the seams; that's what is overwhelming us. Overwhelm happens when we don't take the time to purge. If you take the time to do a brain dump, you won't have to think about everything. Instead, you get your thoughts on paper and finally focus. When we can concentrate and use our time well, we feel like our business is going well. That's what gives us that sense that all is balanced and integrated.

Think About What You Spend Time Avoiding

Think about what things you are spending time and energy avoiding. For a lot of people, it's their laundry. For other people, it's their meal planning. If you hate to cook, then you need to figure out a way to make it work. Jenn hates cooking, but she figured out how to still cook every night for her family. For instance, she uses an Instant Pot for many of her meals. Also, Jenn will prep dinner when she makes breakfast. Don't be afraid to ask for help from your family when it's age-appropriate.

Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links!

Jenn's Resources

This Mom Knows - Website

This Mom Knows - Podcast

5 Simple Things To Support Your Business

Jenn on Instagram

Resources

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Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT

Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.