Mindspace for Mum Birth Story: My Journey to Streamlining the Mental Load of Motherhood

I’ve always really enjoyed working.

I also really enjoy being a mother.

When my first baby was born, and I stepped through that invisible yet completely concrete threshold from “me” to “us,” I was overwhelmed by the learning curve. I still can’t believe how much skill it takes to be a good mother — and how much of it is not obvious or instinctual, as I had assumed it would be, but rather the most intense on-the-job training possible.

In those first few years of motherhood, I came to realise this is not a temporary gig. It didn’t sit right with my heart to hire an au pair and jump back in the saddle after a few months.

Mothering is all-in. It stretches me beyond what I thought I was capable of, pushes me into deeper and wider experiences of love, and opens the door to the powerful motivating force that only love can provide.

But I was deeply discouraged by the feeling that this season of life was a “stepping away” from my career — that I was sacrificing all the skills and passion for work and business I had cultivated over three decades, somehow falling behind or losing momentum. 

I was talking with a friend about this. He said, “Don’t worry so much about the job you want to do. Try to focus on the bigger story — what is the job that God wants you to do? You don’t need to guess, right now, He wants you to be a great and sincere mother.” That was my lightbulb moment.

If my job is to be the best and most sincere mother possible, then I know exactly how to do that: I’ll treat it like a job.

What would I do if God had literally hired me to raise these children, create a beautiful home, and have a kick-ass time doing it?

So I rethought everything, and suddenly it all made sense. I would streamline processes, automate repetitive orders, delegate all possible tasks, set up a professional inventory, have weekly team meetings with my co-workers (yes — in this season of dirty nappies, my dearly beloved husband is primarily my co-chef and toy-cleaner), track every dollar in and out, ask for help, do research, build networks, and absolutely add these skills to my résumé.

Mums are amazing. Mums can do literally anything. Everyone should hire mothers — in fact, I only hire mothers!

Despite my enthusiasm for systems and spreadsheets, I don’t have a corporate background, but a wellness background, as a Doctor of Chinese Medicine. It’s ironic that such a type-A person has channelled all of this thinking power into cultivating systems for less thinking — more presence, more gratitude, more creativity, joy, health, and love — but it works.

Mindspace for Mum was born from the understanding that better systems mean less work.

Holding everything in your head doesn’t work. And although we are now “Mum,” and do have all the magical powers of motherhood, we can and should use our other skills and passions to streamline the role — giving us the time and mindspace to breathe, think and be present.

Also, no other job in the world has an 80+ hour work week, C-suite responsibilities, and no assistant. So we shouldn’t either.

If you are like me — you love to work, love being a mum, and maybe work part-time, run your own small business, or co-founded your husband’s business because you’re amazing and he knows it — we created Mindspace for Mum to ensure you have the help, systems, and resources you need to survive, thrive, and feel like yourself again.

Our mission is to help you streamline, delegate, and automate as much of your household and business work as possible, so you can focus on what you do best and enjoy the most. You don’t need to do it all to be a great mother — in fact, you’ll probably be a better mum if you don’t.

We want to deliver a service that is exactly what you want and need.

If you have 2 minutes, please take our short survey — your answers will be foundational to a new way of streamlining the mental load of housekeeping, motherhood, and female entrepreneurship.