Reshma Saujani Shares No. 1 Piece of Advice For All Working Moms

Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, has her hands full when it comes to running a business, being a wife and a mother. The CEO and first-ever Indian American woman to run for Congress, who was also named one of Fortune’s world’s greatest leaders, sat down with Arianna Huffington for the latest Thrive Global Podcast episode, brought to you by Sleep Number, and shared the best advice she received as a working mom and more.

The bestselling author of books Girls Who Code and Women Who Don't Wait in Line, shares 3-year-old son Sean with husband Nihal Mehta and balancing work and family life is no easy task.

Considering her busy and ever-growing schedule, Arianna’s first question for Reshma was how she finds time for herself.

“I struggle with it,” Reshma admitted, adding that one of her friends helped instill in her the best working mom advice she’s received. “When I had my son, one of my best friends told me, ‘Every new mom [should] pick one thing and make sure you pick it and stick with it, because everybody else will eat up all your time.’”

Reshma explained that she ended up picking working out for her “me time” and that she’s benefitted from it.

“[My friend] said, ‘Pick the thing at the most inconvenient time for everybody,’ so I picked it at 7:30 A.M. every day, when Stanley my dog wants to go out, when my son is waking up — right when my house is basically being activated — that's when I picked my ‘me time,’” she continued. “So that everybody understood, including myself, that I was going to put myself first and not always put everybody else before me, at one moment in the day.”

Although Reshma said her husband — and even her dog! — took time to adjust to her “me time,” she’s happy she decided to carve out time for herself.

“I could go after work, I could go wake up at five in the morning like I know some moms do, but I knew that I had to establish a place in my house, where everybody understood that it was OK for me to take time for myself,” she added.

Reshma is also carrying this advice into her career when it comes to educating young girls with Girls Who Code, the nonprofit organization she founded in 2012 while running for Congress which aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science.

“I think we’re teaching them about bravery and about resilience and about sisterhood,” Reshma shared with Arianna. “I think what happens, Arianna, is often times we think we're the only one. ‘I’m the only one who feels this way.’ So when you're put in this classroom of other girls who are having similar anxiety or questions about their selves or their confidence, they realize they're not the only one. It's not lonely anymore and I think that in of itself is incredibly healing.”

To hear more from Reshma, listen to the audio above. The Thrive Global Podcast with iHeartRadio, hosted by Arianna Huffington, where she speaks with notable leaders, celebrities, athletes and influencers to learn how prioritizing well-being — instead of burnout and overwork — has made them happier and more successful. This podcast provides tips, tools and microsteps to transform your life and go from surviving to thriving.

The Thrive Global Podcast is brought to you by Sleep Number.


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