Today, I had the absolute privilege of talking to my friend Graham Cochrane. He is the author of How To Get Paid For What You Know, and we talk all about his book! I've read the whole thing cover to cover and it's so good.

Listen, this episode is so good. I say that because I get to sit down and talk with three of my good friends, women who I adore and admire, who run businesses, who are moms. They are so special to me, and you get to hear the inside scoop about their lives and their businesses, but all throughout the conversations, we're going to be talking about this thing called The Blueprint Model.

Well, I'm back from taking a month off of the podcast! This episode is going to be a little bit of a catch-up of what I've been up to, what's coming in August, a little bit of a change of plans with the podcast, but as all good. And I'm going to break down at my favorite weekly rhythm for you, which is my Sunday plan.

Hello and happy June! Today is a full and exciting episode because I have some updates for you for the Summer and it's a book club episode, which are always my favorites. This book kind of has a funny story with it—which I'll get to.

We are out of school, we're getting used to new rhythms with all the kids home and I've got some fun Summer episodes coming up. Lots to talk about today, but today's book is called The 4 Disciplines of Execution and it was a doozy of a business book. There was a lot in there, but I'm really excited to simplify it and kind of translate it to how we can apply it to our work and our homes. It's going to be good.

Today, I'm veering off the normal podcast course and I'm breaking a few rules and I just want to share some of where I am in my own work and play and how that affects this podcast moving forward. I'm really excited about where I'm headed and I want to be very honest with you and take you along in this journey with me. I value you, I'm grateful for you listening—especially those of you who listen every week I'm so, so grateful and I'm excited just to share my heart with you today.

Today, I'm going to share my two favorite work habits: how I start my workday and how I finish my workday. I'm just going to go ahead and put this out there—they're pretty nerdy, but they've worked for me and I really like them!

I'm going to talk about tension and anxiety and how to get past it, how to get through to the other side. I'm going to share some practical things that I've walked through in my life very recently and I'm going to share the things that helped me get through it.

As I manage a household with four little kids and a lot of stuff, as well as my online business I've realized there are two parts to productivity. Those are also the two places I tend to get hung up, but when I get them right, they are key. So hopefully today's episode will unlock some insight for you, too!

Today I'm going to be talking about my first book, The 12 Week Year and why this book was just what I needed to read at the start of this year, between having baby number four and this pandemic. I don't know about you, but it felt so hard to plan and to dream and set goals—but 12 weeks? 12 weeks? I can do that. I can plan the next 12 weeks.

Hello and Happy New Year! I am so excited to be back to be bringing you some fresh episodes of the work and play podcast moving forward, and to start this year off on the right foot, encouraging you in your work and in your play.

Happy 2022!

And now for the shortest podcast episode of 2021, I hope this encourages you and is just what you need today.

Taking a long-ish break from social media has been on my heart for quite some time, and having Benji, our fourth child, just seemed like the perfect time to do it. I'm currently four months in, and this episode is all about what I've learned in the last four months from my social media sabbatical so far.

Today we're going to talk about five ways for you to work through that feeling of overwhelm that honestly overtakes us every once in a while and leaves us feeling so helpless.

I recently shared the news that after this year, my twelfth year of business, the doors of Nancy Ray Photography will close. I’m sharing with you the three questions that I asked myself during this journey, and I’ll ask you as well.

I am so excited to replay this episode with Emily Ley. If you’ve listened before or you haven’t, this episode is so good. I think that what I love most about her is how much she values the little things—the moments in between—and finding that kind of balance between work and play and what that looks like.

I think it's pretty safe to say that when it comes to our work, we want to be part of something that we are called to do— something that is full of meaning and has purpose, something that is in line perfectly with our passions and giftings. But today I want to challenge our way of thinking, and really the language that we use describing our work and our calling.

So I have decided to take six months off of social media. No Instagram, no Facebook, no Twitter, no social media. As soon as our fourth baby arrives, I'm going to be spending time with my family and friends in real life, being present and free myself from any obligation to post or share anything for six whole months. In today's podcast episode, I'm going to share more about why I'm doing this and why you might consider doing it, too.

Today's episode is the last of a three part series, giving you a glimpse into the new course I'm releasing TODAY at noon eastern time. So today is all about work, and my foundational approach to it.