Girl Power is on the rise more than ever.

Events are popping up all over the world connecting women, face to face, offering an excellent opportunity to develop relationships, build brands or simply connect with other power players. Some are geared towards business and networking, while others are more focused on education, mothering and parenting.

Michelle Battersby, of Bumble Australia, forecasted that a shift is upon us in the near future that will see people spending more time away from their phones. Wouldn't that be lovely to bring back the interpersonal human connection? These events are the perfect way to do just that.

Here are few #bossbabe meet ups that are worth checking out in 2019!

1. Minding Her Business has been around for 18 months and have hosted multiple, sell-out events around Australia. Minding Her Business is the brain child of Katie Stevens, a savvy business woman, model, entrepreneur AND proud dog mom who calls Brisbane home. I've blogged about MHB before, and can't recommend these events highly enough if you're looking to make friends in a new city, grow your business, or seek out some pearls of wisdom from their empowerment panel. Their motto is: Connect, Collaborate, Create. This tagline is clear and concise; just how I like it!

Minding Her Business has another branch of networking called Minding Their Business, and these events are actually inclusive of men. Their final event of 2018 was November 18th in Brisbane and a huge success. Be sure to follow them so you can keep up to date with all the wonderful things coming your way in 2019. They have already gone interstate before.... where might MHB be off to next I wonder?!


2. Business Chicks have just wrapped up their 9 to Thrive tour across Australia, and I was lucky enough to win tickets to their two day Sydney event! I'm so glad that I went when I'd just moved to Sydney because I met some pretty incredible women and walked away feeling more knowledgable and empowered. I was blown away, and I blogged allllll about my epic experience at 9 to Thrive here. 

Business Chicks have all kinds of events on offer, such as brunches, dinners, and networking meet ups. Do yourself a favour and attend an event in 2019!

HOT TIP: Have you read Winging It by Emma Isaacs yet? Emma is the founder and global CEO of Business Chicks. You'll want to do yourself a favour and pick this book up ASAP.

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3. Mum Society: now for a little change of pace. This Sydney based community is known for hosting absolutely wonderful events. They also bring women together with inspiring speakers and themes for each event, but with more of a focus on all aspects #mumlife. You can still connect, network and grow your brand/business, but in a more kid friendly environment. You are given an option of purchasing a childcare option when checking out online and booking your ticket... how good is that?!

I haven't had the pleasure of attending one of their events yet, and missed their final event of 2018, Bump...Baby...Blue, due to the apocalyptic weather conditions in Sydney that day that left Sydney half flooded. I'm looking forward to attending and supporting Kylie and her fellow boss babes in 2019.

​1. Business Chicks are also hustling in the USA, so check them out, stat. 

2. MTHR Collective : (pronounced Mother) A friend of mine recently spoke at a MTHR Collective retreat. I had a mini stalk session and it's quite possibly the most incredible retreat schedule I've ever seen. 

So, yaaaaa..... bomb schedule, am I right? If I were still living in the US, I would have been at this event in a heartbeat! My friend said that she would 100% recommend going and plans on attending every year she feasibly can. 

​Their instagram is all kinds of wonderful too, so check them out Mamas. 

SAHM?
WAHM?

So many acronyms, so little time.

Whether you're a mumprenuer, stay at home mum or a working SAHM, here are a few tips I felt are worth sharing to help boost your productivity while working at home. 

1. No Wifi
If you work on your laptop, and are completing a project that doesn't need the wifi, turn it off. I spend a lot of time on my blogger platform or writing/planning/brainstorming in my Notes. It helps to have the wifi off because I'm freed from distracting email PINGS which pop up in the right hand corner demanding my attention and messing with my groove. Removing the temptation to check the news, Facebook or other distraction will help you to keep focused on the task at hand.

If nap time is when you get caught up on finances, or pay the bills, open only the browsers you need, and upon completion, close each tab until you've finished.

2. Ditch the phone
When it's time to get to business, place your phone on the charge and leave it in another room. If that really isn't an option, you can have it close by and on do not disturb mode (if a person calls twice, back to back, it will ring the second time). 

3. Nap time is sacred
If you're like me, my only time to get work done, admin, blogging, replying to emails is while my daughter naps. I know it's a personal decision, but I don't like being on my phone in front of her, and try to avoid using it in her presence as much as possible. What this means is that I only have between 1 - 2.5 hours a day to be a complete whirlwind mom boss. There are some days when I'm so efficient, smashing goals left, right and center. Conversely, there are other days when I need her nap time to catch up on housework, take a little mental health afternoon in the peace and quiet, or read a book. If that's the case, then I'll work in the evening to meet a deadline, but I try to avoid working at night because that is when my husband and I have our quality time together. 

     3a. Eat before your work time
I try to eat or have a snack before I put my daughter down. Why? Because I'm saving precious time. If I put her down and then start prepping and cooking my lunch, I've lost 15-25 minutes by the time it's prepared, mindfully eaten and cleaned up.  

     3b. Meal prep
Therefore, meal prep when and where you can. I'm all about meal prep, but NOT the kind where you eat the same food in a plastic Tupperware for the entire week. Make a big batch of quinoa, have washed salad read to go, make a huge bowl of cous cous, bake a huge tray of roasted veggies, make some delicious energy balls. Have it all ready to go, so it literally takes minutes to assemble, top it off with a bit of gut healthy kraut and, voila!  You can read all about my meal prep tips here. 

4. Set a timer
If you need to go on social media for work, set a timer and stick to it. Social media is like the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. One minute you're DM'ing a social media influencer, and the next thing you know you're looking at a new line of bathing suits for some brand you've never even heard of!

5. Silence is GOLDEN
There is a joke about silence being golden, unless you have toddlers, and then it's suspicious! Silence is healing, silence is grounding, silence is priceless. Having the television off, and music off, are great ways to hone your attention to one task. Sometimes I'll have a handcrafted Spotify playlist on in the background, but even then, it's playing on low and not too distracting. Yoga Girl's Playlist Of The Month is an excellent public music playlist, made by Rachel Brathen. I love her lists for practicing yoga or simply relaxing at home.

So, tell me, what tips and tricks do you implement for healthy time management Mama?
Tell me in the comments below!

In Health,
Erica x 

​Check MHB out on Facebook or on Instagram to keep in the loop with the most up to date information, business tips and upcoming event launches.

PS: There is also a closed Facebook group that you can join for inside scoops, photos and #GirlBoss inspiration.  

​EMK x