Happy end of 2023! It’s true. I’m a sucker for a good end-of-year wrap-up list. But more than that, I’ve been working hard at remembering to pause between projects and soak in joy and successes. Since I was a kid, I’ve had a habit of jumping straight from one big piece of work into the next without a moment to breathe. Or reflect. Or be grateful. And I’ve learned that this habit is unhealthy and a surefire way to contribute to burnout.
So right now, I’m breathing and pausing. Taking this week off to be fully present with my kids. And delighting in the glow of the good things that happened this past year. Because while there was a LOT of heaviness and darkness in 2023, there was light, too.
2023: Our Year in Review
Here’s what I am most proud of about Mindful Return in 2023! In 2023, our 20-person Mindful Return team:
- Led 27 cohorts throughout the globe of both new and “experienced” working parents, through our Mindful Return signature 4-week programs;
- Partnered with 109 employers to support their working parent talent;
- Got featured in the December 18, 2023, Wall Street Journal article entitled “It Isn’t Just About Bonding. Giving Up Paternity Leave Costs You Money”;
- Led 30 webinars and workshops, on topics including: the return to work from parental leave, work-life enrichment, best practices for managers of caregivers, boundary-setting, navigating the unexpected, how to navigate the back-to-school season as a working parent, time management strategies, maintaining career ambition as a caregiver, the IEP and 504 processes, the division of household labor, emotional intelligence…and more;
- For the 7th year since Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave was released, donated a portion of the proceeds from the sale of all book copies to First Shift Justice Project;
- Spoke about parental leave and the issues working parents face on panels at 4 in-person conferences;
- Appeared as a guest on 14 amazing working parent, HR, and leadership-related podcasts;
- Published 52 weekly Saturday Secrets Newsletters (haven’t missed a week since we started back in 2015!)
- Published 40 new Mindful Return blog posts. Some of the most popular this year were:
- Published an article for the NALP Bulletin entitled “Post-Pandemic Mom + Dad: Are We There Yet?”, and two pieces for Cariloop, entitled Employers: Here’s What Your New Parent Employees Might Be Struggling With (But Not Telling You) and Employers: How to Help Your Managers Support Their New Parent Colleagues;
- Hosted 20 free monthly coaching calls for our Mindful Return alumni at both US and UK-friendly times of day, and led 4 in-person alumni walks in the DC area;
- Hosted 8 Working Parent Group Network calls to connect leaders of working parent and caregiver ERGs and to facilitate knowledge-sharing;
- Interviewed 11 authors for our Mindful Return Book Talk series (which is now in its 3rd season!). Please feel free to share any of these book talk recordings with your working parent colleagues:
- January: Money & Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life’s Biggest Decisions (with author Abby Davisson)
- February: The Mamas: What I Learned About Kids, Class, and Race from Moms Not Like Me(with author Helena Andrews Dyer)
- March: Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies (with author Gaia Bernstein)
- April: Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included) (with author Pooja Lakshmin, MD)
- May: Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters (with author Laura Vanderkam)
- June: Fathering Together: Living a Connected Dad Life (with author Brian Anderson)
- September: Carry Strong: An Empowered Approach to Navigating Pregnancy and Work (with author Stephanie Kramer)
- September: The 4-Day Week: How the Flexible Work Revolution Can Increase Productivity, Profitability, and Well-Being, and Create a Sustainable Future (with author Andrew Barnes)
- October: The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, & Big Success After Baby (with author Lauren Smith Brody)
- November: 101 Before One (with author Krupa Playforth, MD)
- December: Touched Out: Motherhood, Misogyny, Consent, and Control (with author Amanda Montei)
- Recorded and released 8 new episodes of the Parents at Work Podcast featuring moms and dads in different roles, industries, and sectors, with my hubby and co-host, Jason Levin – you can listen to them here:
- Worked with an amazing operations expert, Arielle Sorenson, to put back-end processes in place for Mindful Return, and welcomed Jules Galpin beyond her role as social media manager to being our go-to admin and operations leader.
In the “related but unrelated” category, I will also share that this past year, I became the Board Chair of the brand new Washington, DC Chapter of the nonprofit Postpartum Support International (PSI). Though 47 states previously had their own chapters, the District of Columbia found itself disenfranchised (not dissimilar to how we feel about not having elected representatives!). In 2023, we navigated the administrative hurdles of getting this chapter up and running, and we will kick off our new chapter’s efforts to support new parents in DC in 2024! If you live in the DC area and would like to get involved with the DC Chapter of PSI throughout the year, don’t hesitate to reach out.
In closing, I wish you all a restful and meaningful holiday season.
All the best for a healthy and peaceful 2024,
Lori
Want more practical tips on working parenthood? Check out my book, Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave
