Episode 750: How to Take Guilt-Free Vacations as a Food Blogger With Molly Madigan Pisula

EBT750 – Molly Madigan Pisula

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[00:00:35]  Megan Porta

As entrepreneurs, we know vacations are essential, but how do we actually step away without the stress of what’s waiting for us when we get back? In today’s episode, I sit down with Molly Madigan Pisula of Vanilla Bean Cuisine and we have the best conversation about how to plan vacation time as a food blogger.

From preparing your business before you leave to deciding whether to fully unplug or keep a light hand on the wheel to creating a really smooth re entry when you return, Molly shares her best strategies and mindset shifts. If you have ever dreaded coming back from time off, I have been there so many times. This conversation will help you finally enjoy vacations totally guilt free while keeping your business thriving.

[00:01:08] Intro  

Hi food bloggers, I’m Megan Porta and this is Eat Blog Talk. Your space for support, inspiration and strategies to grow your blog and your freedom. Whether that’s personal, professional or financial. You are not alone on this journey.

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[00:02:40]  Megan Porta 

Molly, welcome back to the podcast. I’m so excited to chat with you today. How’s it going?

[00:02:45]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

It is going great. I’m excited to be back. This is going to be great.

[00:02:49]  Megan Porta 

And you’re fresh off of a wonderful vacation, which we’re going to talk about today. So you look all fresh and just ready. Ready for life today.

[00:02:59]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Totally. That’s how I’m feeling.

[00:03:02]  Megan Porta 

Before we get into the juicy stuff, do you have another fun fact to share with us?

[00:03:07]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I do. I had to look back on what my fun fact was last time so that I don’t duplicate anything. Okay. So my fun fact is when I. So I went to business school, that was sort of my former career. And my first job out of business school was working for Apple. And it was at a time when Apple was not the huge BMF company that it is today, but it was kind of just getting back on its feet because it had sort of gone through some hard times.

[00:03:39]   

And I started there in 2000 in the marketing communications department. And one of the things that we were responsible for was doing all of the. Anything that was like a flyer, a poster, and any kind of material that you might see around somewhere was part of our responsibility. And in 2001 was when the first Apple Stores were built.

[00:04:07]   

And so we had responsibility for like, making sure all of the stuff in the store, anything that, like, talked about our products looked great and, you know, had the right messaging and all that stuff. And so I worked on that for a long time. And I got to go to the opening of the very first Apple Store ever. So that was really, really cool.

[00:04:31]  Megan Porta 

What was the first Apple Store? Where was it?

[00:04:33]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

So there were actually two that opened the same day. The one I was at was in Virginia, just outside of D.C. and but we kind of have the. We can claim the first store because the second store was in California. So we opened three hours earlier. Cause we were on the East Coast.

[00:04:50]  Megan Porta 

Oh, yes.

[00:04:52]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

And that was the one Steve Jobs was at. So I feel like that counts as the opening of the first one.

[00:04:58]  Megan Porta 

Wait, he was at your store? He was there?

[00:05:00]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

He was at the opening there? Yep. And it was wild because I wasn’t working the store. Like, I wasn’t one of the employees of the store itself, but I was there just, you know, making sure that everything had gotten in, that we needed to get in the store and all that stuff and that it all looked great.

[00:05:18]   

And so it opened at like 10am and there were people camped out at like 4 in the morning waiting in line to get in the store. It. It was like you would wait, you know, overnight for concert tickets. Like, these people were so excited. And so it was just Wild. The whole experience was just like, oh, my gosh, this is so cool.So that’s my fun fact. I was at. I was at that opening.

[00:05:48]  Megan Porta 

I don’t think I heard you tell that story. I knew you worked at Apple. And did you. I can’t remember if you ever had an exchange with Steve Jobs. Did you ever chat with him? No, no, no. That’s right. You were like. Were you the one scared of, like, I avoided elevators?

[00:06:03]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Because I guess I avoided. Yes, yes. Because we shared an elevator for a while and I was like, I’m just not getting in this thing.

[00:06:10]  Megan Porta 

Oh, my gosh. I would be so freaking out. I’d be like, hyperventilating, shaking.

[00:06:17]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:06:18]  Megan Porta 

But how cool would it be to now say that you talk to Steve Jobs? I think that would be the coolest thing. Yes, it would. Okay. I actually feel a little anxiety right now just thinking about, like, the potential of ever talking to him. Okay, I need to calm down.

[00:06:37]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:06:37]  Megan Porta 

But, yeah, great story. I love that. First store ever. Molly was there.

[00:06:41]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

That’s cool. 2001.

[00:06:44]  Megan Porta 

I didn’t realize it was so long ago. Two. That’s crazy. 2001.

[00:06:50]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:06:51]  Megan Porta 

All right. Calming my anxiety. Now, let’s talk about something on the other end of the spectrum. Planning vacation time. As a blogger, you and I both went through this this summer, and we were kind of talking like, how are you doing it? Am I going to be sane and alive on the other end?

[00:07:07]   

Let’s compare notes because we want our business to not explode. And all these questions all of us have. But to frame it, talk a little bit about your blog. Just give us a little bit of scoop on that.

[00:07:19]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Sure. So I am Vanilla Bean Cuisine, and I do seasonal recipes with a French twist. So my background, my formal cooking training is in French pastry, so I have some of those recipes on my site. But I also just really love the French mindset of cooking seasonally with whatever produce is available at that time.

[00:07:45]   

And really trying to let that lead your cooking more than anything else. So that’s. I have those recipes on my site. So no matter what time of year it is, if you’re looking for something to. A recipe to use, something you can find at the farmer’s market or something that’s available that time of year, then that’s what I’m there for.

[00:08:05]  Megan Porta 

And you’re also on YouTube. I love your YouTube videos. So check.

[00:08:10]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Thank you.

[00:08:11]  Megan Porta 

Over there, too.

[00:08:12]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. Instagram. Tik Tok.

[00:08:14]  Megan Porta 

I started all the places.

[00:08:15]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Tick Tock. All the places.

[00:08:16]  Megan Porta 

But, yeah, amazing. Well, thank you for that. And Then as I mentioned, you had reached out and you’re like, okay, this vacation thing, I went through the same thing. It was just. It feels stressful. And first of all, as food bloggers, we need vacations because we don’t have an employer telling us, you need to take this time off.

[00:08:37]   

We need to prioritize taking vacation. We all know that. But then it gets stressful when it comes because a lot of it falls on our shoulders. Right. So, like, how do you prep for it? How do you. How do you get through it? So I guess we can start with. Yeah, like, what are your thoughts on people taking vacation and just prioritizing it in the first place?How important is it?

[00:09:00]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yes, yeah, that for sure. That is so important. I mean, you’re right. We do have. It’s not like we have a boss telling us that we should take vacation or a company saying, you’ve got eight vacation days and you need to use them. But I think that it’s just so good for you to get a refresh that does not just get away from your desk, get away from the computer and being constantly on all the time.

[00:09:30]   

I don’t know, I just feel like we get in. We get in ruts of just doing the same things over and over again, and it really benefits your life to take a break from that. So I am a hundred percent vacation person. And, you know, it’s interesting because when we, in our previous talk, we were talking about how I moved to France for two years with my family and, you know, so my husband, who was working at the time, he, he was still working for Apple because that’s where we met, but he was there and he switched to, like, working from the Paris team’s office.

[00:10:10]   

And that meant that he got moved to, like, the French. French everything, the French employment system. And so when we got there, like, you know, Apple had a fairly generous vacation package in the US but in France it’s like 6 weeks minimum vacation for the year, plus all of these, like, days off that the French take for various holidays and not holidays.

[00:10:37]   

And so he had so much vacation and it was just the norm there that people took it. People would take a month off in the summer. People were, you know, and this was something that, like, neither of us were used to after coming from a corporate world in the US where it’s like, oh, yeah, maybe you get three weeks, if you’re really lucky, two weeks.

[00:10:59]   

Yeah, two weeks is normal. So that really. So we took that vacation like he had to for his job, and we took it and we traveled and we took time off, and after doing that for two years, I was like, oh, this is what we need to do in the U.S. like, these people have it. Like, that kind of time just really allows you to grow in all these different ways and have these experiences that then are helpful to you in your business and your life going forward.

[00:11:31]  Megan Porta 

So, yeah, so many good things can come from that. I love that you got a little taste of it and that that’s carried over. Like, yeah, now you just know we need to continue doing this. I think also in your business, you can grow in ways that you cannot imagine if you give yourself that clarity, just space for clarity.

[00:11:53]   

Like. Right. Ideas. Ideas came to me within the first few days of our vacation this year that I believe never would have come to me if I would have just been continuing with the grind, going through my days. It really can benefit your business and everything. Your mindset, your health, your outlook on life, your relationships.There’s so much I can’t say enough about just prioritizing that. It’s not a weakness, it’s actually a strength.

[00:12:21]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, for sure.

[00:12:22]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:12:23]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

And, you know, I think when we started talking about this, I had what you have to do the vacation the right. The right way or have the right mindset going in and out of it. Because I think when we started talking about this, I had taken a week off in June and. And I came back to work and I just like, you know, dove straight back into it and.

[00:12:44]   

And then I was like, you know, a couple days later, like, oh, this is not good. Like, I’m not feeling good about this at all. And, you know, that was really. And that prompted me because, like, you were, you know, saying you were going to take this vacation, and I knew I had more vacation coming up in August, and I was like, hey, I need to do this better next time.

[00:13:06]   

The vacation itself was great. The work reentering and the mindset around it was not great. Right. So that makes a big difference.

[00:13:16]  Megan Porta 

Yes. Thinking about it beforehand. So that’s kind of what we’re going to talk about. And it’s not just you. So many people reached out this summer and kind of said the same thing, like, yeah, vacation’s great, but the re entry is horrid. It’s so stressful. And it also bleeds into your vacation because you’re anticipating it. You know, it’s going to be bad.

[00:13:37]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:13:38]  Megan Porta 

So you don’t want to go back. And so it’s kind of muddying the enjoyment that you should be feeling on Vacation, which we don’t want. You should be clear and enjoying yourself and not thinking about work. So what things did you do the second time around to prep in advance before you took the vacation?

[00:13:58]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I got much more intentional about planning in advance what things could I get done in advance of the vacation and then planning what I was going to do immediately when I got back. So my strategy was kind of to buffer my vacation on either side with extra time to plan and to like do that re entry.

[00:14:31]   

So for example, like the, when I went on vacation before, I was like, okay, I’ve got to have my social media posts done for that week that I’m going to be gone. I’m going to have my main post recipe post up on my site. I’m going to have that ready to go. I’m going to do my newsletter for that week.

[00:14:48]   

I’m going to get that all done in advance. And that was great. That covered that week. But when I was thinking about it again, I was like, oh, it would be better for me to do more than just that week so that you can build in some kind of more easy entry time in at the end.

[00:15:10]   

So instead of thinking about it as like, okay, I’m going to do all these things for the week that I’m on vacation, I shifted it to say like, I’m going to do all these things that I can do in advance for two weeks and then I’m going to, you know, so then you’re coming back in with like a head start.

[00:15:29]   

Like you’ve already done some of the things that need to be done. So yeah, so do like doing some of those things in advance. And you do have to like, I mean that’s, there’s work and you do have to do extra work before your vacation. But it’s, you know, it feels much more doable because it’s like I’m going to get this all done and then I’m going to be on vacation.

[00:15:49]   

Vacation and it’s going to be fantastic. And so there’s a motivation level there that can kind of get you through some of that extra work. You know the other thing that I, I did a little bit, but I didn’t really do it until I started doing some research on this in the like course of our discussion about this.

[00:16:07]   

And one of the things I read about the pre what to do before you leave for vacation was clean your house and like declutter things and come back to, you know, a serene. There’s nothing. All the junk on the countertops has been put away. You’re not coming back to, like, a whirlwind of, like, when you were throwing things in suitcases and there was still, like, dishes out on the, you know, countertop. Yeah. And coming back to a clean space is really comforting. I was like, wow, that is great advice because. Yes. Clutter makes me anxious.

[00:16:49]  Megan Porta 

Yes.

[00:16:49]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

And so if you can kind of clear some of that stuff out of the way so that you come back and are like, oh, you know, my house looks great, and I’m not triggered by all of this junk that’s around somewhere is a really nice way to end.

[00:17:07]  Megan Porta 

A gift. Yeah.

[00:17:08]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. A little gift to your future self.

[00:17:10]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. Don’t discount the. The way your house makes you feel. And then that also goes for, you know, just, like, little tasks you have on your to do list that you’ve been ignoring, like, doctor’s appointments, things like that. Get those out of the way before vacation so that you don’t come back and you’re just slammed with a dirty house.

[00:17:31]   

You have to make these appointments, school supplies, like, things. Think through things like that. That’s something I didn’t used to do. I used to come back to a messy home and just be like, this is crazy. I feel worse than I did before I left. Which you don’t want. Yeah. What else did you find in your research?I’m curious.

[00:17:51]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Another good one was have a plan for your meals for a couple of days after you get back. Even if it’s so it could be, like, something that you froze and it’s in the freezer, and you know that, you know, you can have that when you get back. Or even if it’s just.

[00:18:07]   

Okay, I’m gonna. You know, I’m gonna make tacos the night we get back, and then I’m gonna make spaghetti the next night. And anything you can grocery shop in advance so you have the groceries on hand, and if not, if you at least have a list. And so you’re not having to, like, think.

[00:18:24]   

Do the mental energy of, like, thinking. All right, we’re just, you know, we’re all tired. We’re back from this trip. What are we gonna eat for dinner? You know, I don’t want to go to the store. I don’t want to have to make my list like, any of that. If you can organize that in advance, like, oh, that’s a really. That’s good advice.

[00:18:43]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:18:43]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Because that is, like, that’s hard when you get back. And it’s like, oh, now I gotta plan dinner on top of everything else.

[00:18:50]  Megan Porta 

Right.

[00:18:50]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I want to do that.

[00:18:51]  Megan Porta 

Right. And knowing during vacation, knowing that you made that list is easy on the brain. Because you’re not like. Because our brains, especially as moms and women, I think we’re constantly thinking through all those details. So when it comes up in your mind on vacation, like, oh, I have to think about dinner next week, you’re like, nope, I already have it taken care of.

[00:19:12]   

It’s on the list. And I would even say extend that to work stuff. This is something I did in June when we went on vacation. I knew that on vacation I would be thinking about, oh, I have to do this one little detail that I can’t do now. I have to remember to do that.

[00:19:31]   

So I just wrote all of that stuff down in the same way that you’re talking and just said, note for self for July 7th or whatever. Check in on the YouTube video that was published, blah, blah, blah. I had a few little things like that that I couldn’t do beforehand, but I knew would occupy my mind.So the notes to myself totally took that out of the equation. I did not have to worry about it.

[00:19:58]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, yeah. You know what I did that I thought was really helpful is I, like, normally I use ClickUp as my organizational system and I love it. I’ve got a blog posts tab, and then I have a weekly tasks and a monthly tasks tab. And so I kind of go between those and they all have, like, tasks under, you know, what I have to do for each new blog.

[00:20:26]   

Blog post. And then, you know, the weekly one is like, the social media and my newsletter and all those things. And I love that system. It’s really good. And it will, like, you know, when you check off that you’ve done it for this week, then it, like, flips and like, puts the date for next week so that you’re just constantly, like, refreshing the date, which is helpful until you go on vacation for a little while.

[00:20:51]   

And then you get all of these, like, red dates of, like, things that are late.

[00:20:55]  Megan Porta 

All the reminders.

[00:20:57]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. And so I decided that I was gonna just, like, turn that off while I was on vacation and the, like, week before and after. And I was going to just use a list. Like, I didn’t handwrite it, I typed it on my computer. But just like in my notes app, we, you know, this week, what are the things that I need to get done?

[00:21:19]   

Because I was trying to do. I was trying to, like, ease. Ease into my vacation and ease out of my vacation. So I didn’t want to do all of the things that I normally do in a normal week. And I just pared it down to, like, okay, what are the three things that I want to get done the week before I am fully on vacation?

[00:21:39]   

And so I transferred those to just a different list. And I. And that was really helpful, like, because I got real specific about, like, this is what I want to get done. And then I was just, you know, checking them off as I went. And that really helped me because I. It got me out of my, like, regular system and seeing, like, red dates and stuff.

[00:22:01]   

And it just got me to, no, these are the things that I need to do and only these things. And then when that was clear, I was done. So that was. That was a good way to do it. I think I’m going to do that again. That was a good one.

[00:22:15]  Megan Porta 

I love that you thought through to that. Like, I know I’m going to be stressed by all the. The little red flags, so let’s eliminate that because that. That’s something that we wouldn’t necessarily think about unless you’re giving this intentional thought.

[00:22:28]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:22:29]  Megan Porta 

But, yeah, even if you don’t use ClickUp, if there’s something that’s going to be constantly reminding you of those weekly things that you. You have to do and then you didn’t do, do what you can to get rid of those, like, Molly. I love that.

[00:22:43]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:22:45]  Megan Porta 

And then you talked about batching. So, yeah, you do have to work and schedule ahead of time, but knowing that vacation is going to be more enjoyable and that your reentry is going to be easier, I think it just makes it. I don’t mind doing that. Just get it done. Just. And you do have to give it some intentional forethought.I would say at least give it a month. Wouldn’t you say, Molly, of time to get all the things done. You need to.

[00:23:12]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, yeah. The more you can plan in advance, the better. But I do. I know you’re a big batch person in general, and I would like to be that. And I am not. I’m not.

[00:23:25]  Megan Porta 

Everybody is not a successful badger.

[00:23:29]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I just. I don’t. Yeah. Because I just can’t get the motivation to do the things that I dislike doing and then doing a bunch of them at once for, like, you know.

[00:23:41]  Megan Porta 

It can be painful.

[00:23:42]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

It can be painful. But, you know, I was in the process of trying to get ready for this. I was trying to, you know, write multiple blog posts. You know, at the end, one day, I was trying to do social media for several weeks. And those are two things that I have a hard time with. I have a hard time motivating to do them.

[00:24:04]   

And I have to say that once I had in my head, like, all right, you’re writing three blog posts today. Like, no argument. This is what you’re doing today. I did get in a little flow, and I was like, you know what? This actually is not that bad. Like, I can see how this is saving me time.

[00:24:23]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. Wow, you’re an evolving batcher.

[00:24:27]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. And the social media too. I was like. Cause I just, like, drag myself through, like, my week, you know, of posts. I’m like, oh, okay. I was gonna do those for this week, but it wasn’t so bad. After I start, I’m like, you know what? I’m gonna add another week to that and just, let’s just get this over with. And. And it was easier.

[00:24:45]  Megan Porta 

I was like, oh, the mental prep is real for batching. I deal with that too. If I take the time to kind of give myself a little pep talk the day before, there’s a task that I don’t want to do because I have those two, I can sit down and crush them the next day.

[00:25:03]   

But if I don’t take the time to pep talk myself, then it’s the same thing. I’m like, well, I could probably do this tomorrow and put it off again. But yeah, there’s like, some, like, pump up required to get those things done, but then the momentum of it and the flow carries you and you’re like, yes, I did that.That’s amazing.

[00:25:24]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. Yeah, it feels great.

[00:25:26]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. Do it and then talk about delegating. So if somebody has a team before vacation, how do you recommend, you know, like, I guess communicating and then delegating tasks that maybe your team doesn’t normally do or your VA or whatever so that you can set yourself up for success?

[00:25:48]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, I don’t really have a team, but I do newly have some. I hired a Pinterest manager for the first time.

[00:25:59]  Megan Porta 

Nice.

[00:26:01]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I had a VA who was doing some Pinterest work for me, and then she had to quit. And so I ended up hiring somebody else. And then I. I’m working with Ty, actually, on CEO. I mean, CEO. SEO.

[00:26:15]  Megan Porta 

Kind of CEO too.

[00:26:16]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

He’s kind of CEO. Yeah. And so both of those things require certain work from me. And the Pinterest one was. Was pretty new that I did this transition between this, the person who was doing it before and this new person. And it was right before I went on vacation. And I was like, oh, oh, yeah.

[00:26:39]   

She doesn’t really know what she’s doing, but she’s fantastically. She absolutely knows what she’s doing. And so I didn’t do that transition as well as I hoped I would do in the future. I definitely learned some lessons about, like, oh, you have to actually tell people that you’re going on vacation if they’re working for you or they’re, you know, working on something for you.

[00:27:03]   

And so I did ultimately do that. Tell them. And tell them that I just, you know, I tried to get as much work done that they needed from me in advance. And then tell them, like, okay, I’m just not available this day. Like, I’m not. I’m not getting on my computer. I’m not taking any calls.

[00:27:23]   

And. And so it was fine. Like, for my Pinterest person, we kind of. I did what I needed to do, and then she could kind of run with that while I was gone. And with Ty, there was. I didn’t do it far enough in advance, and there were some things that I needed to do that I was supposed to have done during my week.

[00:27:41]   

And I had to just say, like, you know what? I’m just gonna be late on this. Like, I just. I’m not doing it this week. And that’s. That was fine. And I was like, you know what? At the end of the day, I’m paying for it. Like, it’s me. You know, they’re working for me.

[00:27:57]   

So. So, yeah, I think I would. I should have done that a little bit better, and I will going forward. But it was kind of new to me to just have a team or have people that were working on.

[00:28:08]  Megan Porta 

You have to communicate with them.

[00:28:10]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, yeah, yeah. In Slack, I went in and, like, put on my vacation flag because I. I also pretty active in Slack, and I put on there, like, not available. And that was good, too.

[00:28:24]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, that feels good. And that’s just kind of a mental clutter thing, too, right?

[00:28:28]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Like, yeah.

[00:28:29]  Megan Porta 

Not only are you communicating to other people, but you’re also communicating to yourself out of office. I’m checked out, which is so important. And I do. I. I want to point out what you said about your projects with Ty and just being able to set that aside, because I think that’s okay, too.

[00:28:49]   

It’s. You don’t have to do absolutely everything that you normally planned. I have had so many times this summer where I’m like, well, I actually wanted to get this many blog posts out this week or month, but I don’t have to. So I’m not going to because I’m having a Fun summer. And it felt so liberating.

[00:29:07]   

It was like, oh, that’s why I have this business, so I can make those decisions and just say no sometimes. And I think that’s an important piece of this, too.

[00:29:18]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. Yeah, I think so, too.

[00:29:21]  Megan Porta 

And then if you do have a team, I can kind of tell you what I did with mine.

[00:29:26]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

So.

[00:29:26]  Megan Porta 

So I have an assistant who’s awesome, and I shared with her, I have never taken vacation like this before. I’ve never shut down in the way that I did in June. And I just made it really clear that it was a very important priority for me. And I just told her, don’t contact me unless there’s something flaming going on.

[00:29:53]   

I just. I knew I needed to take that time and protect it. And I used her, too, as someone to protect it for me. So she was checking my inbox, and we kind of came up with a system during that vacation that we’ve carried over now, which has been great, where it’s like she goes through my inbox because, honestly, I was in there way too much.

[00:30:16]   

And then she gets rid of all the garbage. And then we have a filter set up so that she would put everything that I needed to read into that filter. So I went in after one week, Molly, expecting to find hundreds of emails or maybe even dozens of emails. Guess how many emails were in there after a week into.In the important you need to read folder?

[00:30:40]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Hmm, 20. What?

[00:30:44]  Megan Porta 

There was one email that was important enough for me to read after a week, and both of us were blown away. She was like, Megan, this is so revealing. Most of the stuff that comes into your inbox is garbage. You do not need it. One email. So now I feel like I have a totally renewed sense of, like, what is urgent and what is.

[00:31:10]   

Like, I don’t need to be in my email. So since then, I haven’t been at all. I trust her to go in once a day, and we still have the system. So she puts those, you know, important emails over into that filter and there’s not much that pops up there. So I feel like that in itself has freed up my life this summer.

[00:31:30]   

I just like some of those systems that come out of, you know, the need to be on vacation and take the time are really valuable. We can talk about that in a bit. But then another. A few other things I did with my team because I do have a community manager, I have a podcast producer who produces this podcast, and we communicate all the time.

[00:31:51]   

We. They need things from me, I need things from them. But I did as much work as I could beforehand, like you’re saying, and then just clearly stated, is there anything you need from me? Because I’m taking this time off. And we settled that beforehand. So by the time I left, it was just like free, easy, clear thinking.

[00:32:15]   

I didn’t have to worry about it, which was amazing. I’ve never truly done that before. That’s great. Yeah, just communicating with people. Just let them know you’re out of office.

[00:32:24]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Right.

[00:32:25]  Megan Porta 

And to respect that. And most likely they will. And you know, obviously having one point of contact is probably important just in case something is emergent and that one person has your cell phone number and they can contact you. So that for me was enough. Like if something goes up in flames, Cara can text me and we’ll deal with it.Otherwise, kicking my feet up and checking out.

[00:32:54]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, yeah, that’s a nice way to feel, to feel more relaxed on vacation because you know, because it’s not you sitting there checking to make sure there’s not a disaster. You just know, hey, somebody’s gonna let me know if there’s anything I need to worry about. And until then I’m not gonna worry.

[00:33:11]   

Right, yeah. It felt so good.

[00:33:13]  Sponsor 

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[00:33:36] Megan Porta   

I wanted to touch on like maybe you don’t have a team, but maybe you’re in like a mastermind group that meets regularly or a group of some sort or a Slack channel like you mentioned, also mention it there because people might be trying to like ask you a question about something they know you’re in, you have expertise in or whatever and you’re not responding.

[00:34:05]   

So just clearly communicating with everyone. I even communicated with my writer and photographer who I I don’t talk to super regularly, but I just didn’t want them reaching out, expecting an answer. I was like, hey, I’m going to be on vacation for this time. If you need something, my assistant can help you.

[00:34:29]   

If she can’t help you, I’ll address it later. Let’s just take it off the table. So think through all of those people in your business and out of your business. So if you have like house cleaners coming or if you have someone coming to treat your lawn or whatever. Just who do you need to communicate with beforehand so that you don’t have to think about it when you’re supposed to be on vacation.

[00:34:55]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. Yes, I totally agree with that. And I did try to do that on Slack with people that I, you know, regularly communicate with to just let them know. Yeah, I’m just not, not gonna be around.

[00:35:10]  Megan Porta 

I’m not available. It’s fine. Yeah, I. One of the worries I had was I’ve never done this before. Just taken time off from my mastermind group. I always worry, oh my gosh, are people going to be mad? And like, I’m paying for this. She’s the host and facilitator. I’m going to be so pissed at her for leaving.

[00:35:29]   

And I don’t know why I was so worried about that. But when I told them, you guys, I’m taking two weeks off. I’ve never done this before. Every single one of them was like, well deserved. Do it. Go. Take your time. We’re going to be here when you get back. We’ve got this. They’re active in Slack. They don’t need me. So, yeah, that in itself felt so relieving, almost to the point of wanting to cry. Like, oh, my gosh. Thank you guys for understanding, you know, but it’s like, really not that I was making it way more of a big deal than it was in my head.Yeah, it’s so sweet.

[00:36:05]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, that’s great. Yeah. But, yeah, the things that we worry about that I know, you know, we don’t need to, but like, you get in your head about something and. Yeah. And especially the. Am I letting somebody down? That’s a big one that I think, particularly women hold that when we don’t need to.

[00:36:29]  Megan Porta 

Yes.

[00:36:29]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

In many cases.

[00:36:31]  Megan Porta 

Were there any times during your vacation when you were tempted to, I don’t know, work or go into email or dip in in a way you said you wouldn’t.

[00:36:41]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

No.

[00:36:42]  Megan Porta 

Good.

[00:36:43]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I love that.

[00:36:45]  Megan Porta 

I love that.

[00:36:46]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

No, I was, you know, one thing that I did, which technically was work. So at the very start, I had. Mostly, I took most of two weeks off. But that first week, that was sort of my, like, early entry. And the way the work that I did was filming some videos, filming some reels for Instagram, TikTok, whatever.

[00:37:14]   

And I haven’t done that very much. And it’s something that I’ve been wanting to do more of and I actually think it’s fun because it’s, it’s different and it’s. I don’t know it’s entertaining, and I’m just, like, making a recipe without, like, worrying about photographing every step. And I don’t know, I was sort of excited about it.

[00:37:35]   

So I was like, you know what? I’m going to do this at the beginning of my vacation, which is. I mean, it’s definitely work, but it’s like the fun work and something that I was excited about doing. And so I did do that at the beginning of vacation before I kind of turned everything off.

[00:37:52]   

And that felt great because it was like I was working, but I was doing something fun and I wasn’t giving myself the time pressure of, oh, when I’m done this, I’ve got to get back and finish my newsletter, and then I’ve got to make sure I’m checking my email. It was like, I’m just doing these things.

[00:38:08]   

All I’m going to do is shoot these recipes and that’s it. And when I’m done, I’m on vacation. And so that was actually really, really nice. It was like a fun way to incorporate work on the vacation. But, yeah, after that, when I was done with those, I was like, okay, that’s. That’s it. I’ve done it, and I’m not gonna think about anything else. And I really didn’t.

[00:38:31]  Megan Porta 

That’s so great. So two things that you said. Yes, it’s okay to work if it’s aligned, if it feels good, and two, follow through with what you decide. So if you decide beforehand, this is what I’m doing, here’s my plan. Then stick with it, and you’ll be so happy when you get back and you’re like, I did it.

[00:38:51]   

I actually did what I said I was gonna do, because so many times I. In my past, I haven’t done that. Like, I’m not going to dip into email, but I did. It was hard. I had a few moments the first few days where I was like, I could just check email. And then there was this little issue that came up with Instagram and scheduling, getting posts scheduled.

[00:39:11]   

And I was tempted to just say, you know what? I’ll do it myself. And I talked to my husband, and Dan was like, why don’t you just try not doing that? Could you try just saying, you know what? It’s gonna get figured out, and if it doesn’t, that’s okay. And I was like, oh, okay.

[00:39:31]   

And I did. And it. Everything got figured out and I didn’t need to just do it myself. So that was kind of like a good lesson in trusting my team. But also me, like, yeah, yeah. Just gave me confidence after the vacation to not, you know, not have to have my hands and everything and to trust the whole process.

[00:39:56]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, yeah. I do feel like sometimes we get worked up about, you know, something is not working and oftentimes it just resolves itself. And so you can like spend a lot of mental energy trying to like, oh my God, like this thing is down or this thing is, you know, not working right.

[00:40:17]   

And, and then it’s like, oh, it’s, it’s fine. Like something I know.

[00:40:22]  Megan Porta 

Just relax a little bit, I think is my message to myself a lot. Just relax.

[00:40:27]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

It’s okay.

[00:40:28]  Megan Porta 

So you’re able to kick your feet up. I love it. And just enjoy your amazing vacation. When it started getting close to you, getting back, getting out of vacation and going back into your re entry, were you starting to feel nervous or were you okay?

[00:40:42]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I think I was mostly okay. I felt, I felt really good that I had built in a buffer week and I knew I had. So I knew I had done some things for that, for that week already. Like my social media was done. You know, I also gave myself permission to not do a blog post for a week and like get off my weekly schedule, which was fine.

[00:41:09]   

I, I gave myself a week off from my newsletter, which is great. So. And you know, I just say in the newsletter, like, hey, I’m taking a week off. I’ll see you in, you know, two weeks.

[00:41:19]  Megan Porta 

And everything’s fine, right?

[00:41:22]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yes, no problem. So, you know, so I had done. So I had had prepped for that re entry week and I had like done some things and decided I wasn’t going to do some things. And so I wasn’t feeling that like Sunday Scary’s dread of like, oh my God, it’s coming. Like, I’m gonna be back at work.

[00:41:43]   

I was kind of feeling like, oh, this is, you know, it’s gonna be good. Like I’m not actually going to have to do that much work when I get back. And that’s great. So I’m not. I wasn’t feeling that kind of stress of like, you gotta get all these things done the minute you get back to work.

[00:42:02]   

Which is, I think that’s what, that’s what set me into a poor mindset after my June vacation is like, I just hadn’t thought about that week at all. And I was just trying to run back in and yeah, it didn’t work.

[00:42:16]  Megan Porta 

Well, it’s not good when you don’t think. Yeah. A little forethought about the week after is so valuable. And that’s probably the key piece here, is just taking care of yourself and your business that week after. I love that you allowed yourself to not do a newsletter and not do a blog post.

[00:42:35]   

That’s kind of been the theme of my summer is like, if it doesn’t feel aligned, I’m not going to do it. I am all in. In the fall when my boys are back in school, I’m ready to work. But for now, I’m giving myself permission to say no, because the world is not going to explode.

[00:42:53]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, it’s not. It’s really. And, you know, think, like we tell ourselves, oh, you know, I. I do a blog. I mean, I. I’m not the most prolific blog post writer, but I try for one a week. Like, four a month is sort of my general. And. And so I have that in my head.

[00:43:11]   

Like, oh, I do four blog posts a month. But I started looking back because I have all my posts organized by month on my month and year on my system. And I started looking back to see. And I’m like, you know, looking at like two years ago, like, oh, there’s ones where I did two posts.

[00:43:27]   

There’s months where I did three. There’s months where I did one. Like, even though I have this in my head, yeah, I do one a week. I don’t. I haven’t really. And nothing fell apart. I mean, I’m still, you know, the blog is still doing just fine. And, you know, those were times where I had stuff going on in my life that I wanted to do other things, and that’s fine.

[00:43:53]   

So, yeah, giving yourself the permission of, like, whatever story you’ve told yourself about how frequently you post or what you do, like that it might not even be accurate if you really check yourself. So, yeah.

[00:44:07]  Megan Porta 

And something that came up as you were talking is I think we tend to put our blogs aside for short periods when bad things happen in our lives.

[00:44:16]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Right.

[00:44:17]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. But we can do that when good things happen, too. And that’s kind of been the theme of my summer, is it was epic. We took so many amazing trips and we just spent so much time together. So, yeah, it’s okay to not work because of good things too. Right?

[00:44:34]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, that’s such a good point because, yes, a lot of those months where I didn’t get everything done was because there was something bad going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, yeah, why? Why? And everything was fine in the end that I only did, you know, one post that month. So why not do it for a good reason?

[00:44:55]  Megan Porta 

Absolutely. So talk about your post vacation week. It was kind of a re entry. You allowed yourself a lot of grace, it sounds like. Yeah, was.

[00:45:04]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

And I also did stressful. No, it was not stressful. The other thing I did was the whole thing was a buffer week, but I gave myself a personal buffer day. So we got home and then the next day I said, you know what, I’m still not doing any work, but I’m going to do all the personal things like the laundry and the unpacking and the grocery list or if I had done the grocery list and the grocery shopping, those kind of things, get myself settled.

[00:45:36]   

What are the meals I’m going to make for this week? Because that wonderful advice that I came up with earlier was when I got after I did the vacation and I was like, oh, yeah. But you know, so those kind of like life things, I was like, I’m gonna just reserve a whole day for that.

[00:45:55]   

And that was really good because I find that when you’re trying to do all of the, just let you know, you gotta restock the refrigerator. You gotta, you know, do all those things after a vacation. And I, we had been gone for, I wasn’t on vacation the whole time, but we had been gone for almost three weeks.

[00:46:13]   

So you know, there were like my plants, My plants were dead. Yeah. Oh, you know, there were like things that I had to do around the house and it was nice to have to not feel like I was trying to fit that in while checking my email from three weeks and getting stressed about that.

[00:46:32]   

So buffer personal day. And then, and then when I started the next day to get back to like my work schedule, I was so much calmer because I was like, oh, okay. I’ve, you know, the house stuff is fine, the kids are fine, you know, every. The personal life is organized and managed.

[00:46:50]   

So now I have time to really think about this. And so it was better. And I just had my list of like, these are the five things that you have to get done this week. And that as a re entry point was so much less stressful than opening my ClickUp and being.

[00:47:06]   

Seeing all the like red dates and all of the things that I normally do in a given week. So I, I did pretty well with it. Like I was really mindset wise. I felt, I felt pretty good. So that was great.

[00:47:21]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. I’m so happy for you. Yeah. We’re tweaking always, right? I’m sure next time we both go on vacation, we’ll even have things to tweak even more. So the following week when you were kind of back at it, how did that feel?

[00:47:34]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, I felt. I felt pretty good by then because I had done what I needed to do and I was kind of ready to, like, get back into it. You know, the other thing that I found when I was doing that, that research of how to handle when you come back from vacation.

[00:47:52]   

One of the things that, that they said, which I realized I kind of did without knowing this was like actual good advice, is when you, when you’re trying to do that re entry, focus on the things that are easy and that you don’t hate doing. And so because I feel like sometimes when we go back to work, we think like, okay, you know, I need to get all these things done.

[00:48:21]   

And so I’m just going to like, let’s tackle the hardest stuff first, and then, you know, and then I’ll give myself a break later. I just, you know, I got to get these things done. And sometimes that can kind of backfire because you just can’t do that. And you’re kind of in this state of being bummed out that you’re not on vacation and that, you know, you’re home again and you’ve got all this work to do.

[00:48:46]   

And, and motivation can be a real challenge. And so there’s something about just doing something that gets your motivation going again, just gets you some momentum. I’m just going to do, you know, you just start with some little things. I just need to. I’ll get these small tasks done. I’m going to be able to check them off my list.

[00:49:10]   

There are things that I don’t hate doing. And so then you’re kind of like, oh, yeah, like, I like this part of my job and I’m doing things and I’m getting stuck stuff done. And as that momentum grows, then you feel like, oh yeah, I can tackle the bigger stuff. And I thought that was a really way to.

[00:49:27]   

Interesting way to look at it because it’s not typically how I look at things. So I always want to, like, save the easy stuff for last because I feel like I’ve got to tackle that big stuff first. Like, these are the things I really need to do. But if you, if you can’t do them in that moment, starting with the easy things actually does help just get you into like, I’m doing things and I’m feeling good about the fact that I’m getting them done. And that just helps your mindset so much.

[00:49:56]  Megan Porta 

And it makes sense, like, you wouldn’t come back the next day after vacation and start renovating your bathroom. Right. You would come back and you would water your plants and you would buy groceries and lightly clean out your fridge. So of course, you wouldn’t come back and start a book proposal or whatever.

[00:50:16]   

Like, come back with the easy stuff. That, of course, that makes sense. But we do tend to be so hard on ourselves. Like, why can’t I get back and just do the big projects? Yeah, it’s silly. It’s. It is a learning process. And I’ve taken a lot of vacations over the years, and I literally every time I come back with something that I learn to do differently next time.

[00:50:38]   

So, yeah, just take notes and then. Work in progress. Yeah, it is a work in progress.

[00:50:43]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:50:44]  Megan Porta 

There are a couple projects that I passed off to my assistant before our June vacation that I was thinking maybe I would take back when I got back, and she’s just kept on doing them, so that’s been a nice surprise for me. Yeah. Have there. Have there been any surprises for you post vacation?

[00:51:04]   

Like maybe clarity or clarity on projects or anything like that?

[00:51:08]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I don’t know. I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t necessarily say that, except for that, you know, the. The. The thing with doing my Instagram reels, when I was at the beginning of my vacation, I really. Because I really enjoyed doing that, and I. I didn’t think that it was going to be as enjoyable for me as it was.

[00:51:31]   

And I think it was because I had. Not that I wasn’t trying to fit it in among all of the other things that I normally do. And so I feel like that was like, oh, you know, actually I. I enjoy this. Like, this. This is fun. It’s just that it was sort of stressing me out trying to do it while I was, you know, doing my regular posts and my photography and all those things.

[00:51:57]   

And so I’m actually, I’m back at my beach house now and I’m working. And one of the things I’m doing is I’m shooting new reels because it’s like, you know what? This, actually, that really worked for me, and I feel like it’s something I can take with me that, you know, maybe it doesn’t have to be vacation to do that.

[00:52:18]   

I can just say, like, okay, this is a day where I’m going to work on that content, and that’s all I’m going to work on and do that going forward. And so that was really nice. That just gave me, like, a different perspective on something that I was sort of, like, not excited about to realize.Like, it’s not the thing itself that was making me not excited. It was trying to do that thing with all of the other things wrapped around it.

[00:52:47]  Megan Porta 

It’s everything around it. Yeah.

[00:52:48]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:52:49]  Megan Porta 

So that. That’s definitely clarity and just proof that if you give yourself a little bit of space, you can actually tap into some of those things that matter and that light you up again. Yeah, that’s really cool. I’m glad that you did take that away, and you seem refreshed and glad you took the vacation.

[00:53:08]   

We. We both collectively learned so much, and I think this is all gonna be valuable for others because vacation is necessary. Don’t not do the vacation because you’re stressed about the after, because there’s a way to figure it out.

[00:53:23]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah, you know what? I have one more thing. I know we’ve been talking a while, but one more thing that I got out of my research that I thought was so good was it was talking about that feeling that you get when you’re. When you’re at the end of your vacation and you’re like, like, this is so nice.

[00:53:40]   

Like, I love this world and I’m just going to go home and it’s going to be like the same old grind. And, you know, and that. That’s a hard. That’s a hard thing. I mean, we all have that. Like, if you’re on some fantastic vacation, going home is not great. But the advice that I had read was to think about your values.

[00:54:01]   

So when you’re on vacation, you think about the values you have in your regular life, like spending time with family or volunteer work or being with your kids or being with your friends, being intentional of your friendships, whatever. Those sort of big life values are. A lot of those you can’t actually do on vacation.

[00:54:25]   

So you may be having a fantastic beach holiday, but it may not be. If your whole life was that, you would probably not be living some of the values that are really, really important to you. So thinking about that as a way to get excited about your regular life, as a way to think like, oh, but I have a dinner with friends coming up or.

[00:54:52]   

Or I’m going to, you know, get my. I’m going to do my volunteer. Like, I volunteer at a food. Food pantry night. Like, do. Serve breakfasts there. Like, I’m going to. I’m going to put one of those on the schedule for when I get back. And so, like, trying to have things that are in your near future, after the vacation that are aligned with your personal values can be a way to feel less bummed out that you’re not sitting on that beach every day because if you were there every day, like it really, that wouldn’t be fulfilling to you.

[00:55:25]  Megan Porta 

It wouldn’t.

[00:55:26]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

So you know, remember and then remember like the nice things about your house. Like, like my pillow. I’m obsessed with my pillow. I have the best pillow. And when I’m on vacation, I don’t have my pillow.

[00:55:38]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:55:38]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

And like, you know, like little things or I have my like tea heater, my like little mug that keeps my tea hot. And I don’t have that when I’m on vacation. And it makes me so like there’s like comforts of home that you know that like you love. And so when you’re having that moment on vacation of like, I don’t want to go back.

[00:55:58]   

Try to think about the things that like you don’t have on vacation and that you have them at home and you love them and, and as much as you know it, it’s hard to make that re entry. There are things that you will get back to and be like, oh, thank God I’ve got my pillow again.

[00:56:15]  Megan Porta 

You know, simple pleasure.

[00:56:17]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:56:18]  Megan Porta 

Means so much. Yeah.

[00:56:19]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:56:20]  Megan Porta 

That’s funny that you say that because I do the same thing. Molly. I, I love my house. I love it. It’s like, yeah. It makes me so happy. And it’s not an extravagant house by any means. It’s just us and it has, it’s filled with all these little things that we love. We have a hot tub and we use it.

[00:56:38]   

I love it so much. Use it all the time. And my plants make me happy. And my bed. I love my bed so much. I love my bed, my shower just I, I do the same thing. I get myself pumped up like, okay, yes, it’s so sad to be leaving vacation, but I’m going to be so happy when I sleep in my bed and.

[00:56:58]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:56:59]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. And I love that you mentioned the dinner with friends. I think that’s a really great idea that I’ve not done before. But what if we. In our pre planning mode, what if we just sat down and scheduled like two fun low key things for after? Like yeah, dinner with sisters out would be really nice.Happy hour with friends. Whatever. Yeah. That you have that to kind of ease back something. Yeah.

[00:57:24]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

To look forward to.

[00:57:26]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:57:26]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. Or a massage book. A massage.

[00:57:29]  Megan Porta 

My husband and I do that.

[00:57:31]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Do you do. Oh, nice.

[00:57:33]  Megan Porta 

So after Flavor Media this year, I knew that I was gonna need. I, I took a lot of time off after that, understandably. But yeah, I was like, I know within the first few days we get back, a massage would feel so good. So we scheduled that and we’ve kind of kept that up.

[00:57:52]   

We. Yeah, we just go get massages after something like that. We know we need some downtime and some comfort, some self love.

[00:58:01]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. Yeah, that’s a good one. Yeah.

[00:58:04]  Megan Porta 

I think we’ve come up with a pretty amazing plan. I mean, there’s nothing else I don’t feel like we could say that could be. This was so awesome. I’m so glad we did this. I think this will be valuable for so many people.

[00:58:19]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. I hope we inspire people to take that vacation.

[00:58:23]  Megan Porta 

Yes. Yep. It’s possible to not be frazzled when you get back.

[00:58:27]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah. And be even better when you get back. Like.

[00:58:29]  Megan Porta 

Right.

[00:58:30]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

You know, I. I felt so, so much more. I mean, I felt more productive than I did before I took the vacation. When I came back, even with a week of like doing, you know, kind of half. Half work, for lack of a better term. But I. And after that, I just feel like, yeah, it’s been great.

[00:58:51]  Megan Porta 

I. So many good things came out of our vacation this year. Like I’ve mentioned, you know, like, passing things off, new inbox clarity. But also a project that I didn’t know I was going to do came to me while creating space on vacation.

[00:59:08]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:59:08]  Megan Porta 

And I. I mean, you never know what can come from taking that time off.

[00:59:13]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I’m so excited for you, Megan. That’s. I’m excited about your book.

[00:59:17]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, it’s going to be great.

[00:59:19]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:59:20]  Megan Porta 

Oh, gosh. Well, thank you, Molly. This was so great. And just nice to chat with you. So.

[00:59:25]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[00:59:26]  Megan Porta 

Fun this morning.

[00:59:27]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yes, for me, too.

[00:59:28]  Megan Porta 

As you know, I like to ask my guests if they want to end with either a favorite quote or words of inspiration. You’ve already given us so much inspiration. But do you have anything additionally?

[00:59:36]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yes, I do. So I. I don’t know that this is. I don’t think it’s actually a quote, but maybe I’m not even sure it’s inspiration, but I’m going to give you this. I’m going to give you this. It is the sort of mindset of what is the next right step. So when I think about this, the concept is about not trying to, like, plan your whole life out in advance, not trying to make, like, huge, big decisions that put a lot of pressure on you.

[01:00:12]   

When you. When you get into kind of like a analysis paralysis mode of like, I just. I don’t know what to do next or I don’t know what I’m going to be or, you know, what do I want this blog to end up as? You know, what, where’s my future going? You know, we can spend a lot of time just thinking and thinking and thinking and never making any progress.

[01:00:34]   

And the value of what is the next right step is just, I’m going to just do one thing that feels right to me, that moves forward in some direction. And, you know, the value is that you just get moving. And the other value is that you find out what does and doesn’t work.

[01:00:54]   

And so, you know, you could try something and be like, oh, no, no, that was. That was not what I want to do or where I want to go or whatever. But then you just adjust and you take a different next right step. And. And I just really love that mindset. And, you know, I have girls.

[01:01:13]   

You know, my girls and your boys are about the same age. You know, kids who are thinking about college, who are thinking about, you know, what comes next in their life. And I feel like there can be all this pressure about, like, making a decision that’s going to change the rest of your life, everything.

[01:01:30]   

And you know that, like, it’s so much pressure. And what I’ve tried to tell my girls is like, you know, just do what feels right for you right now, and it’s a step forward. And if it doesn’t, if it’s not right, you’ll feel it and you’ll realize that, and then you choose something else and it’s.

[01:01:52]   

That’s okay. That’s how life goes. And not getting yourself in this state of, like, I don’t know what to do because there’s so many choices, and what if I make the wrong one? Or, you know, what if I’ve, like, set my goals on this college and I don’t get in there and my whole life is ruined?

[01:02:12]   

You know, those kind of things, it’s just not true. They’re not true, but they’re stories that we tell us about, like, you have got to get this right. And so thinking about it more about, like, just, you know, just what, what feels good to you. Now for the next step. And we’ll, We’ll.

[01:02:30]   

You’ll make decisions from there. And that’s. That’s the best way to kind of actually get to where you’re going. In the end, it’s just keep doing what works, and if it doesn’t work, then you pivot and you do something else.

[01:02:41]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[01:02:42]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yeah.

[01:02:42]  Megan Porta 

There’s so much power in that. I think just one thing, one little thing can lead you to your next step and then the next one. Yeah, you don’t have to have that big picture in mind all the time. So thanks for that reminder. I love that. We will put together a show notes page for you, Molly. We have one from. I just looked. Your last interview was quite a while ago. Do you remember when that was?

[01:03:10]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

I think it was the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022.

[01:03:15]  Megan Porta 

Oh gosh. So it’s been a while since we’ve, yeah, chatted. It was 2022. July 2022. So. Okay, that was episode 321. This one is. We’re going to put together a new show notes for you at eeatblogtalk.com/VanillabeanCuisine2 so go check those out and you’ll have your complete roadmap for taking vacations without stressing out.Can’t wait for you, Molly. Tell everyone where they can find you if they want to connect.

[01:03:44]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yes, I am Vanilla Bean Cuisine. On the web, on Instagram, on Facebook, on YouTube, on TikTok. I think I’m VB Cuisine. Whatever reason, I couldn’t get the one I wanted. But yeah, you can. I’m. I’m sort of everywhere, so you can find me any of those places.

[01:04:03]  Megan Porta 

Awesome. Well, thanks again so much. Such a lovely chat.

[01:04:07]  Molly Madigan Pisula 

Yes.

[01:04:07]  Megan Porta 

And thanks for listening to food bloggers. See you next time. 

[01:04:14]  Outro

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Eat Blog Talk. Don’t forget to rate and review Eat Blog Talk on your favorite podcast player. Thank you. And I will see you next time.