Love your career? Love your family? Best of Both Worlds is the show for you! Hosts Laura Vanderkam, author of I Know How She Does It and a mom of four, and Sarah Hart-Unger, a practicing physician and mom of two (soon to be three!) discuss work/life balance, career development, parenting, time management, productivity, and making time for fun. Tune in each week for strategies to help you thrive in all spheres of life.
It's another Q&A Mailbag episode! Topics are wide-ranging and fun, from travel tips (because someday we will travel again!), toy recommendations, postpartum fashion advice, postwork rituals, and conversation starters for your kids at dinner. Show sponsor: Sweaty Betty - for Power Leggings and more! Get 20% off your purchase by visiting http://sweat…
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Quarantine Chronicles: SHU shares her family's experience. Ep 180
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SHU opens up about her family's experience with COVD-19 and subsequent quarantine. Everyone is currently doing okay as this airs, so her story has a hopeful ending! She shares their story, from getting test results to being on home lockdown over winter break (and beyond). In the Q&A, a listener writes in about home office space, and Laura and Sarah…
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Making More Time with Dr. Christina Shenvi. Ep 179
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In this first episode of the new year, Laura and Sarah ponder 2021 exercise ambitions. Then, Dr. Christina Shenvi, an emergency medicine physician who also coaches medical students and faculty on productivity, joins Laura to discuss both of their favorite topics: time management! Christina shares how she teaches people to think about their time, an…
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Writing a Debut Novel During A Pandemic (and More!) with Simone de Munoz. Ep 178
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In the intro, Laura and Sarah talk about current weekend days with kids. Then guest Simone de Munoz joins Sarah to chat about balancing her own life and work as a nonprofit analyst who also wrote her debut novel coming out next spring! Her novel is a thriller novel called Manflu about a pandemic and a vaccine scientist -- and oddly enough it was st…
It's an annual tradition - Laura and Sarah get together to review 2021 goals! Yes, this year may look different, but there are still lots of interesting things to pursue and think about. While it didn't come as easily as in years past, Laura and Sarah identified goals in the areas of work, family, personal, and relationships. If you're looking for …
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2020 Retrospective: Lessons Learned. Ep 176
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This year was like no other (understatement!) and so Laura and Sarah take some time to review the lessons learned under the circumstances. They discuss newfound habits, those new baby days, and much more. From red wine and dairy to puzzles and hikes, they delve deep into the things that made 2020 different and what they plan to carry on into the ne…
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Holiday Gift Extravaganza! Hacks, Ideas, and More! Ep. 175
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In this episode, Sarah and Laura share their favorite childhood gifts, and then move on to some general tips around gift giving and gift shopping. Learn how Laura keeps her gifts organized with 5 kids to shop for, and how she makes extended family gift giving simple but still lovely. Sarah discusses the challenges of 8 nights of Hanukkah, plus cont…
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Exploring Career Transitions with Ahlia Kitwana. Ep 174
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Laura and Sarah open up this episode by talking about some big news -- Laura is moving (though not very far!). She discusses how they made their decision while Sarah shares her family's plans to remain renters indefinitely. Then, Laura welcomes guest Ahlia Kitwana, founder of Little Black Buddha, a new company that helps people through career trans…
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Interview Series Part 2: Sarah Interviews Laura. Ep. 173
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The tables are turned, and now Sarah gets to ask Laura some of the same fun (yet revealing) questions, and also adds in some different ones! Laura reveals the inner core of her middle school self, some little known intel on the family pet, her most-eaten meals, her thoughts on the various stages of parenting, and also gets to allocate a theoretical…
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Interview Series Part 1: Laura Interviews Sarah. Ep. 172
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We decided it would be fun to share interviews with each other -- so you can hear some varied content, some of it light and fun and some of it more unexpected! In Part 1 of this series, Laura interviews SHU, and Sarah discusses many things, including what she was like in middle school, early career aspirations, what makes up her perfect vacation, a…
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Prematurity and Beyond with Colleen Blanco. Ep 171
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In this episode, attorney and mother of 3 Colleen Blanco shares her story about her experience with giving birth at 24 weeks and her subsequent NICU journey, including an emergency evacuation of the entire neonatal unit during Hurricane Sandy! She describes the challenges and celebrates the wins. Her story is powerful, and we hope it might help oth…
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Dinner Uncomplicated with Claire Tansey. Ep 170
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Author Claire Tansey aims to make dinner more joyful and less complicated, and she joins Laura and Sarah to discuss ways to make that a reality, even when young kids & busy lifestyles may complicate the equation. In the intro, Sarah & Laura share the past week of meals their families have enjoyed, and the Q&A focuses on a listener whose parents do …
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Dr. Laura Erdman on Hormones & Women's Health Through the Lifecycle. Ep 169
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How long CAN you take hormones? Are perimenopausal mood swings a real thing, and what causes them? Is there any way to "skip" menopause? Are there any exciting new developments in contraception? Dr. Laura Erdman, a board-certified and actively practicing OBGYN answers these questions and many more in this very informative (but still fun!) episode. …
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Happiness and Parenting with Dentist and Podcaster Toni-Ann Mayembe. Ep 168
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In this episode, Laura and Sarah chat with their first dentist guest! Dr. Toni-Ann Mayembe is a dentist who also serves in the military reserves, and she also her own podcast as well! She is passionate about bringing more happiness into the lives of working mothers, and she has a strong interest in promoting rest and balance. She discusses her 5 to…
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Some Good Things (an LV & SHU ep). Ep. 167
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It's an All Good Things episode. While no one would have wished for a pandemic, Sarah & Laura are finding that some things are settling out at this point in the new normal. Each came up with things going well right now -- from a 2 hour online meeting that was actually efficient and technical-glitch free, to fall leaves which are beautiful no matter…
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Parenting in a Pandemic with Pediatrician Dr Kelly Fradin. Ep. 166
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This new season is all about risk/benefit calculation and understanding trends and analyzing data - not exactly quick or easy, especially when we are busy doing other things! Laura and Sarah discuss how they are handling it, and then are joined by an expert guest today on this topic -- Dr Kelly Fradin, a pediatrician who has been working on making …
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Rebecca Hart: new solo mother, small business owner and also Sarah's sister! Ep. 165
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Rebecca is a mother to 8 month old Miriam and also the owner of a small business (a yarn shop specializing in hand-dyed varieties, based in Cary NC). Rebecca took both plunges very bravely: leaving the corporate world to open her own business and also choosing to pursue the path of having a baby on her own. Sarah and Rebecca tell a few fun stories,…
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Foundation Habits & Fall Thoughts. Ep 164
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In this Laura & Sarah episode, the first discussion is about foundation habits -- what are the habits that seem to sustain everything else? Sleep definitely . . . and there is quite a tangent on baby sleep in the discussion as well! The discussion then segues to talking about fall favorites, from weather changes to pumpkin flavors and other fun asp…
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How to Cultivate Friendships at Work and Beyond with Shasta Nelson. Ep. 63
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Friendship certainly looks different these days . . . but it doesn't mean that connection is any less important! Author, speaker and connection expert Shasta Nelson joins Laura and Sarah to discuss the value of making true friend connections at work, as well as some tips on building these important relationships. In the intro, Laura and Sarah discu…
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Getting Our Kids Active with Athlete/Trainer/Entrepreneur Larissa Maloney. Ep 162
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Larissa Maloney is a mother of 2, teacher, and now business owner, running Active Kids 2.0 -- a virtual training studio for kids, from toddlers to teens! In this episode, Sarah shares her woes about getting her kids the activity they need (hot September weather in FL doesn't help!). Larissa offers lots of great advice and resources, and shares a fu…
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More School Talk, A Work Schedule without Childcare, and Our 3rd Anniversary! Ep. 161
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35:49
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School is about to start for some and has been in session for a few weeks for others! Laura and Sarah discuss some of the interesting remote education solutions they have seen arise in their areas. Laura then gives a detailed description of how a two-career couple might make things work if childcare is not an available option -- including specifics…
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Midyear/Fall Goals for the rest of 2020. Ep 160
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This year has been rather . . . different than expected (understatement of the century). But, setting and reviewing goals can still be helpful to some. At the same time, it's also okay to have seasons with fewer goals or to reevaluate prior plans! Laura discusses still feeling in the thick of it with Baby #5 while Sarah has spent time thinking abou…
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Stress Management, Mindfulness, and Meditation with Josephine Atluri. Ep 159
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Sarah and Laura open with their own stress management strategies, including a book rec. Then, meditation teacher and mother of 5 Josephine Atluri joins in to share her journey into learning about meditation as well as some of her favorite techniques for managing stress and coping with difficult times. She also delves into her own family building ex…
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Tablescapes, motherhood, and more with stylemaker and entrepreneur Riche Holmes Grant. Ep 158
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Laura and Sarah open with a brief discussion of Sarah's wardrobe makeover, and then Riche Holmes Grant joins in. In this fun interview, Riche describes her career journey, including how she went from Columbia Law graduate to business owner to professional influencer & Martha Stewart design collaborator! She shares inspiration on how to create a bea…
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Introducing Best Laid Plans + Q&A Part 2. Ep 157
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Sarah's podcast dedicated to all things planning launched yesterday (let's hope it went well!) and now that Best Laid Plans is here, she takes a moment to talk about this fun new project -- structure, ideas, and more! (Don't worry - this is in addition to BOBW, not a replacement!). Then, Laura and Sarah dive into more listener-submitted Q&A. Topics…