43: Turbocharge Your Life: The Power of Breaks for Moms with Alyssa Wolf

As moms, we’re constantly juggling business, kids, home, and everything in between. But what if taking strategic breaks could actually turbocharge your productivity and help you thrive at home and work? In this episode, I’m joined by Alyssa Wolf, a productivity coach for work-from-home moms. Alyssa shares how recognizing the signs of burnout, incorporating breaks, and modeling rest for our kids can make all the difference.

🎧 Join us for practical tips on balancing mom life and business without burnout.

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Free Gift: Have It All Game Plan
Website: Your Unbusy Life
Podcast: The Unbusy Mom

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Transcript

Turbocharge Your Life: The Power of Breaks for Moms with Alyssa Wolf

Host: Hey, hey, welcome back to the podcast! Today, I am joined by Alyssa Wolff. After having five kids in 10 years, Alyssa went looking for her next challenge and found online business. Wanting to simplify life for moms everywhere, she is now an online business productivity coach for work-from-home moms who want to make great income in part-time hours. She helps them love their mom life again while still making time to recharge, confident that they’ve handled everything their business needs. Today, Alyssa and I are going to be chatting about using breaks to turbocharge your daily work, house, and kids’ schedule.

Welcome to the podcast, Alyssa!

Alyssa: Thank you, Vanda. I'm so excited to be here and talk about this.

Host: Me too! So, tell me a little more about this strategy that you have for utilizing breaks to basically turbocharge your life.

Alyssa: Well, what I’ve found is—I don’t know about you, but I cannot make it through an entire day. The normal eight-hour workday plus everything else, like housework, kids, getting them ready for school, dealing with homework, supper, baths, and bedtime—it’s exhausting. And then we think we’re supposed to be fully charged up and energized the whole time. But that’s way more than a normal workday. Studies show that if you're doing knowledge work, which most of us business owners are, you really only have about five or six hours before your energy is spent.

So, what happens when you’re getting up at 7 AM and going until 8 PM? That’s 13 hours—double the time your brain can handle. You need breaks a lot earlier in the day than most of us think. For me, the early afternoon break is crucial. I can push through the morning, but I need that hard stop to recharge.

Host: Absolutely. The first question that comes to mind is: how do you know when you need a break? What signs should we all look for?

Alyssa: Great question. If you have kids, the first sign is when you start snapping at them or feel impatient. When you find yourself saying, "I already answered that!" or "Stop asking me about the weather radar!" you’ve gone too long without a break. For those without kids around, watch for distractions—when you start scrolling on your phone or refreshing your inbox mindlessly. If you’re no longer interested in the deep work you were doing, that’s a big red flag.

Host: I love that. You mentioned a couple of examples, but what specific things would you recommend doing during these breaks?

Alyssa: It depends on whether you need a short break or a longer one. For short breaks, I suggest microwaving a hot drink, doing some quick movement like 40 jumping jacks, or flipping the laundry. For longer breaks, have a meal, take a walk, or sit down and journal. I homeschool, so sometimes my break is shifting to help my kids with their schoolwork. It gives my brain a rest from business tasks.

Host: That makes so much sense—switching tasks to give your mind a break. Do you also help your kids learn to take breaks?

Alyssa: Yes! Meltdowns and tantrums are obvious signs that kids need a break. With younger kids, if they’re throwing their books or getting frustrated, that’s a clear signal to step away. My older kids, like my teens, have learned to self-regulate. They tackle hard subjects like algebra in the morning, then switch to easier ones when their brains get tired. They’ve picked up on my rhythm of taking morning and afternoon breaks.

Host: That’s amazing. I think it’s so powerful when we model rest for our kids. My kids are still young, and we’re working on showing them that rest isn’t a punishment. My five-year-old just recently stopped needing daily naps, but there are still days when she could really benefit from rest.

Alyssa: I love hearing that. We reframe "nap time" as "quiet time" or "hobby time" so the kids don’t feel like it’s forced. They can play with toys, read, or do something calming. It’s about creating a rhythm where rest is normal and enjoyable.

Host: That’s such a great idea! Before we wrap up, can you share a bit about the free resource you offer?

Alyssa: Sure! I have a resource called the Have It All Game Plan. You can find it on my website at yourunbusylife.com. When you sign up, you’ll fill out a short form, and I’ll send you a personalized video auditing your schedule. I’ll help you pinpoint what’s working, what’s not, and suggest simple fixes to help you balance your time as a mom, business owner, and partner.

Host: That sounds amazing! I’ll link that in the show notes for everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today, Alyssa.

Alyssa: Thank you! This was a great conversation.

Host: Thank you, everyone, for tuning in. I’ll see you next week!