This month we're talking about creativity and play, and today's conversation completely changed the way I think about both.

I'm joined by Tasha Golden. She is a former touring songwriter turned public health researcher whose work explores how creativity shapes our wellbeing, identity, and ability to navigate change.

What started as a conversation about creativity quickly became a conversation about burnout, life transitions, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.

We explore:

• why creativity is about more than art or self-expression
• how burnout can become an invitation to reimagine your life
• the connection between creativity and behavior change
• why difficult emotions can act as guides instead of obstacles
• Tasha's concept of "The Art of Refusal"
• how limiting stories shape our choices and identities
• and why creativity may be one of the most important skills we have for navigating uncertainty

One of my favorite moments in this conversation is the idea that sometimes we haven't reached the limits of reality. We've simply reached the limits of the story we're telling ourselves.

If you've ever felt stuck, burnt out, uncertain, or like you're standing in the middle of a life transition wondering what's next, this episode offers a powerful reminder:

The end of one story doesn't mean it's the end of your story.

It may simply be the beginning of a new one

Connect with Tasha

• Website: Tasha Golden
• Free Resources: Plan Goal Plan Listener Page

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Ready to begin? Schedule a chat about Simply Bold at plangoalplan.com

Last week, we talked about whether play can be productive. This week, we're digging into different questions:

If play is important... why is it so hard to actually let ourselves do it? Why does rest feel uncomfortable? Why does fun feel like something we have to earn? And why do so many high-achieving women find themselves waiting for permission to stop, even when no one is asking them to keep going?

In this episode, I'm exploring:

• why guilt around rest is often a learned response
• how productivity culture shapes our relationship with play
• the invisible ways women are socialized to earn rest and fun
• why so many of us wait for external permission before taking care of ourselves
• the "put on your shoes" principle and why action often comes before feeling ready
• how over-functioning becomes a pattern we don't even notice
• and why play is deeply connected to identity, self-trust, and knowing what you actually want

One of the biggest takeaways?

Permission isn't a feeling you wait for. It's a decision you make. The goal isn't just to make more time for play. The goal is to stop outsourcing your choices and start trusting yourself enough to honor what you need.

And maybe the next step isn't waiting until things slow down. Maybe it's putting on your shoes anyway.

Connect with me:

• • Email: support@plangoalplan.com
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Ready to begin? Schedule a chat about Simply Bold at plangoalplan.com

This month on Plan Goal Plan, we’re talking about play, and honestly, I think a lot of us have forgotten how to do it.

Somewhere along the way, many high-achieving women learned that if something is serious, meaningful, or important… play has no business being there. That joy is earned. That rest has to be justified. That fun should come after the work is done.

But what if play isn’t the opposite of ambition?

What if it’s part of how we sustain it?

In this episode, I’m exploring:

• whether play can actually support productivity and creativity
• why so many women struggle to access play without guilt
• the connection between play, nervous system regulation, and burnout
• how achievement culture teaches us to treat play like a reward instead of a necessity
• why planning your play may actually help you enjoy it more
• and how play helps us stay connected to ourselves outside of our roles and responsibilities

I also share stories from teaching, motherhood, amusement parks, public speaking “play days,” and the ways play can become a form of resistance in a culture obsessed with output and proving yourself.

One of the biggest takeaways?

The women doing the biggest things long-term are not necessarily the ones sacrificing the most. They’re often the ones who have learned how to refuel.

And maybe play isn’t a distraction from your life.

Maybe it’s part of how you stay found inside of it.

Connect with me:

• • Email: support@plangoalplan.com
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Ready to begin? Schedule a chat about Simply Bold at plangoalplan.com

Focus isn’t something you force. It’s something you create space for.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Tracy Hoth to talk about why so many smart, capable women feel mentally scattered… and how organization can actually help us reclaim our attention, energy, and peace.

And this conversation goes way deeper than bins and labels.

We talk about:

• the connection between clutter and mental load
• why physical environments impact focus and overstimulation
• the identity stories that keep people feeling “messy” or disorganized
• how delayed decisions create clutter in both our homes and our minds
• why organizing starts with removing—not containing
• how to create systems that actually work in real life
• and how small maintenance rituals can completely change your home and routines over time

Tracy also walks us through her five-step SPACE method for organizing everything from physical spaces to calendars, digital clutter, and even our thoughts.

One of my favorite parts of this conversation is the reminder that organization isn’t about perfection—it’s about creating enough space to focus on what actually matters.

And honestly? This episode feels like a deep exhale for anyone carrying too much mental load right now.

• • Website: Simply Squared Away
  • Podcast: Join Here
  • Website: PlanGoalPlan.com
  • LinkedIn: (I post most here!) www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-mcgeough-phd-🗓️-b673334

Ready to begin? Schedule a chat about Simply Bold at plangoalplan.com

Perfectionism is loud. Invisible labor is constant. And focus can feel impossible when you’re carrying it all.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Monica Packer—host of About Progress, certified habits and identity coach, and author of the upcoming book Sticky Habits—to talk about what it really looks like to build habits that support women’s lives instead of working against them.

Monica shares her own journey from overachieving perfectionist to burnout, depression, and eventually discovering a more sustainable model for growth: progress over perfection.

We dive into:

• why traditional habit advice often doesn’t work for women
• how invisible labor impacts focus, consistency, and energy
• the connection between perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking
• why flexibility—not rigidity—is the key to sustainable habits
• how “baseline habits” help you stay consistent even on hard days
• the difference between habits and routines
• and why habits should support you instead of controlling you

One of my favorite parts of this conversation is Monica’s redefinition of consistency: doing your best most of the time over time—and letting your best change.

This episode is thoughtful, practical, validating, and honestly? A huge exhale for anyone who’s tired of feeling like they’re failing at habits that were never designed for real life in the first place.

• Podcast: About Progress — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/about-progress/id1173416233
• Website: https://www.aboutprogress.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aboutprogress/

Connect with me:

• • Email: support@plangoalplan.com
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Ready to begin? Schedule a chat about Simply Bold at plangoalplan.com

This month on Plan Goal Plan, we’re talking about focus and today, I’ve got something a little different for you.

Ryan’s back on the podcast, and we’re playing a game: agree, disagree, or complicate. Together, we’re digging into some of the biggest assumptions we make about focus, productivity, distraction, and deep work… and let’s just say we complicated almost all of them.

We get into:

• whether focus is actually a finite resource
• if multitasking is always a bad thing
• why your environment matters (but maybe not as much as you think)
• the myth of “winning the morning”
• why notifications absolutely destroy focus
• whether focus problems are really just a discipline issue
• and what deep work actually means in real life

We also talk a lot about the tension between the kind of work we say we value and the kind of work we actually make space for.

One of my favorite parts of this conversation is how much it highlights that focus isn’t just about hacks or routines—it’s about understanding yourself, your rhythms, your environment, and the systems you’re operating inside of.

And yes… we also share some of our favorite focus tools and rituals right now (including the Brick, which we may or may not be obsessed with).

So if you’ve been feeling distracted, scattered, or frustrated with your ability to focus lately, this episode is for you. You do not need to become a productivity robot—you might just need a more honest framework.

Sign up for the 10 Day Finally Certain Challenge!

• https://plan-goal-plan.kit.com/finallycertain

Connect with me:

• • Email: support@plangoalplan.com
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  • Website: PlanGoalPlan.com
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Ready to begin? Schedule a chat about Simply Bold at plangoalplan.com

You’ve tried the systems. You’ve tried the routines. And somehow… you’re still drifting.

In this episode, I’m naming exactly why—so you can stop blaming yourself and start doing something that actually works. Because if you can’t focus right now, it might not be a discipline problem. It might be a meaning problem.

We’re kicking off our May focus theme by digging into what’s really underneath distraction, burnout, and that feeling of constantly starting and stopping.

I walk through:

• why distraction is often a symptom and not the root issue
• the difference between burnout and demoralization (and why that matters)
• how disconnection can keep you stuck
• why focus tends to follow meaning instead of force
• how identity shapes your attention, decisions, and direction

If you’ve ever felt like you keep circling the same idea but never act on it, there’s probably more going on beneath the surface than indecision.

The biggest shift? You don’t need to force more focus—you need to reconnect to what actually matters.

So if you’ve been feeling scattered, unfocused, or like you’ve lost the thread of what you want, this episode is for you. You’re not broken, and you’re definitely not behind—you might just be disconnected.

And that’s something we can work with.

Sign up for the 10 Day Finally Certain Challenge!

• https://plan-goal-plan.kit.com/finallycertain

Connect with me:

• • Email: support@plangoalplan.com
  • Facebook Group: Join Here
  • Website: PlanGoalPlan.com
  • LinkedIn: (I post most here!) www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-mcgeough-phd-🗓️-b673334

Ready to begin? Schedule a chat about Simply Bold at plangoalplan.com

There’s a moment I see over and over again in my clients, students, and honestly, in myself too.

It’s that feeling of standing in the middle of something that’s already shifting and not knowing if you’re supposed to hold steady or move forward. And here’s the thing most of us don’t realize:

Those are two completely different skills.

In this episode, I’m wrapping up our month on change by sharing a few things I know to be true and giving you simple ways to apply them in your life right now. Because change is always happening, but not all change asks the same thing from you.

We explore:

• The difference between change you didn’t choose vs change you’re calling in
• Why some seasons require steadiness—and others require momentum
• How to identify what this current season is asking of you
• Why behavior change tools only go so far without identity work
• How to write an identity statement that actually guides your decisions
• Why identity isn’t something you find—it’s something you practice
• How to balance strategy (your plan) with intuition (what feels aligned)

One of the biggest takeaways?

You don’t always need to push harder.

Sometimes you need to ground. Sometimes you need to move. And sometimes… you need to learn how to tell the difference.

If you’ve been feeling in-between, uncertain, or like something is shifting but you can’t quite name it—this episode is for you.

You’re not behind. You’re in it.

And that’s exactly where change begins.

Sign up for the 10 Day Finally Certain Challenge!

• https://plan-goal-plan.kit.com/finallycertain

Connect with me:

• • Email: support@plangoalplan.com
  • Facebook Group: Join Here
  • Website: PlanGoalPlan.com
  • LinkedIn: (I post most here!) www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-mcgeough-phd-🗓️-b673334

Ready to begin? Schedule a chat about Simply Bold at plangoalplan.com