Can you relate to the juggling act? Balancing work, parenting, and everything in between can feel impossible, but according to our guest, it doesn’t have to be. Sarah Armstrong, global marketing executive, author, and mom, joins us to share her working parent operating model—a flexible approach to managing career and family life without burnout. Through real-life strategies and bite-sized wisdom from her book The Art of the Juggling Act, Sarah helps parents shift from just surviving to truly thriving.
Today we…
✅ Set Up for Success: Learn how Sarah’s Sunday List strategy can make your week feel effortless.
✅ Create Boundaries That Stick: Find out why clear, communicated boundaries are a game-changer for working parents.
✅ Decompress and Reset: Discover the power of decompression zones to help transition between work and home life.
✅ Find Your Energy Boosts: Learn how to identify and amplify what fuels you instead of drains you.
✅ Juggle Without Dropping the Ball: Understand Sarah’s five balls of life and how to keep them all in motion.
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Show Notes: Mastering the Juggling Act of Work and Parenthood with Sarah Armstrong
Hey, hey friend! Welcome to Episode #222 of The Secrets of Supermom Show!
🎙️ Do you feel like you’re juggling a thousand things and still not getting it all done? You listen to podcast after podcast trying to find the best way, but it feels like you must be doing something wrong. If you could just find the perfect schedule or the perfect planner, you could unlock the secret. What if I told you that you can do it all, without actually doing it all?
Inside The Supermom Society–our private community designed just for busy moms like you–we get it.
Every week, together, we help you create a plan that feels both productive and doable. Every month, we help you create a solid plan to boost your energy, sharpen your time management skills, and connect you with other moms who are ready to beat burnout for good.
Being a mom is tough, but you don’t have to do it alone. Today is your day to join us in The Supermom Society! Visit www.thesupermomsociety.com for all the details. I can’t wait to see you inside!” 🎙.
Today, we’re joined by the incredible Sarah Armstrong—corporate executive, author, and working mom—who shares her wisdom on mastering the juggling act of parenting and career success.
Meet Sarah Armstrong: A Mom, Executive, and Author
Sarah Armstrong is not just any working parent—she’s a global marketing leader at Google, a mom to a 22-year-old daughter, and the author of The Mom’s Guide to a Good Divorce and The Art of the Juggling Act: A Bite-Sized Guide for Working Parents. Her mission? To provide practical, real-world strategies for parents trying to balance it all.
Why The Art of the Juggling Act Had to Be Written
Sarah’s second book was born from years of conversations with young parents on her teams. She noticed that the challenges of balancing work and family have only increased over time. She spent years collecting valuable insights and practical strategies, setting a goal to complete the book before her daughter graduated college. The result is a highly actionable guide packed with bite-sized wisdom for busy working parents.
The Working Parent Operating Model: A Fluid Approach
One of Sarah’s core principles is the working parent operating model—a flexible system that evolves as your family and career change. She emphasizes that what works when your child is an infant won’t be the same when they’re in high school. She encourages parents to evaluate and tweak their approach yearly based on their family’s needs, work commitments, and available resources.
The Key Components of a Strong Operating Model:
- Support Network: Who helps you juggle parenting and career?
- Time Management: What boundaries protect your family and work time?
- Resources: What tools or help do you need at home and work?
- Logistics Management: How do you streamline daily responsibilities?
- Personal Well-being: How do you ensure you’re thriving, not just surviving?
Sarah compares this approach to standing on a fluid stance balance board—the foundation keeps shifting, but a strong core helps you stay steady.
Practical Strategies for Working Moms
1. The Sunday List: Your Weekly Planning Powerhouse
Sarah’s game-changing tip is the Sunday List—a dedicated list for all non-urgent tasks that accumulate during the week. Instead of tackling them daily and feeling overwhelmed, she batches them into a Sunday power hour. This approach: ✅ Reduces weekday stress ✅ Keeps priorities clear ✅ Prevents minor tasks from derailing work or family time
💡 Supermom Tip: This aligns perfectly with our Master To-Do List philosophy—don’t live from a daily list that overwhelms you!
2. Setting Clear Boundaries (And Communicating Them!)
Boundaries are crucial, but others can’t respect boundaries they don’t know exist. Sarah blocked off “Grace Time” on her calendar to ensure she was present for her daughter in the evenings, communicating to her team that non-urgent matters could wait.
💡 Try This: Block time for your kids on your work calendar and let your colleagues know it’s non-negotiable.
3. Create a Decompression Zone
Transitioning from work mode to mom mode can be challenging. Sarah’s tip? Create intentional decompression time.
- For work-from-home moms: Take a 5-minute walk before engaging with family.
- For office-working moms: Use your commute as a mental transition.
- For everyone: Establish a small ritual like “chips and cheese night” to shift into family time.
The Five Balls of Life: Finding Your Balance
Sarah reminds us that life is a juggling act, and we’re all trying to keep five key balls in the air: 🎭 Work – Your career and passions 👨👩👧👦 Family – The foundation of your world 💛 Friends – Your support system 💪 Health – Prioritizing self-care ✨ Spirit – What fuels your joy and energy
💡 Supermom Challenge: Identify which ball feels neglected and take one small step to strengthen it this week.
Small Steps for Big Impact
So, what’s the one thing you can do today to feel more in control of your work-life juggle? Sarah suggests structuring your Sunday to set the tone for the week. A solid Sunday prep routine allows you to roll with the unexpected while maintaining a sense of calm and control.
Final Thought: You’re Doing the Best You Can
Sarah’s mantra? Mom’s doing the best she can. Whether you’re crushing it today or just surviving, remind yourself that you’re showing up, learning, and adapting—and that’s what truly matters.
Connect with Sarah Armstrong
Want more of Sarah’s wisdom? Find her book and insights here:
📌 Website: www.thejugglingact.com
📌 LinkedIn: Sarah Madden Armstrong
About Our Guest: Sarah Armstrong
Sarah Madden Armstrong is the author of The Art of the Juggling Act: A Bite-Sized Guide for Working Parents, vice-president of Global Marketing Operations at Google and proud mom of Grace, now approaching her senior year of college.
Sarah is also the author of The Mom’s Guide to a Good Divorce, which offers moms and dads “bite-sized pieces” of practical advice about what to think through when going through a divorce and children are involved. As a good divorce proponent, Sarah’s goal is to help shift societal perception that a good divorce is an attainable outcome. She has appeared on more than 50 podcasts and in more than a dozen traditional media to promote the concept of a good divorce.
Sarah is a committed mentor to other women and men in business around the world and a longtime volunteer at various nonprofit organizations, including the Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation, Georgetown Alumni Admissions Program and local soup kitchens.
Prior to joining Google, Sarah was a partner at McKinsey & Co. and worked at The Coca-Cola Company in global marketing for twenty years, where she led Worldwide Agency Operations across 200 countries. Sarah started her career at Leo Burnett (Chicago) in Media. Her work has been recognized around the world, resulting in her being named one of Ad Age’s “Women to Watch” and included in Ad Age’s Book of Tens (“Top Ten Who Made Their Mark”).
Sarah was raised in Birmingham, Michigan with two younger brothers and happily married parents (for 55 years and still going strong). She attended Georgetown University, as a scholarship athlete, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Business Administration with a major in marketing. She was a four-year starter on the Georgetown University Volleyball Team.
Sarah loves traveling the world and has been fortunate to travel to 55+ countries. She enjoys exploring new cities and spending time with Grace whenever possible. Sarah lives in San Francisco, where she loves walking along the water and enjoying the city’s natural beauty.
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About the Host: Lori Oberbroeckling
Lori Whitney Oberbroeckling is a mom of four, corporate leader, podcaster, productivity expert, and author of the book Secrets of Supermom: How Extraordinary Moms Succeed at Work and Home & How You Can Too!
She is passionate about helping parents who want fulfilling careers–or side hustles or passion projects–while also wanting to feel present and connected to their families.
