It puzzles me why Laura and Sarah think that their listeners would be interested in hearing what they eat in a week or learning about how their nannies and/or house manager shop and/or prepare their meals. I’m wondering why Laura mispronounce words (“Raw Sha Shanah” and “challah”). If I were unsure of the pronunciation of a word, I’d check it out before I said it. I’m also wondering why they don’t edit the podcast for any issues.

I literally stopped my getting ready routine in the middle of listening to your episode to write this review. I appreciate your viewpoint on why it does matter if moms care about and continue their careers, and how the ability to give experiences can be just as valuable as time. So often moms are made to feel guilty for working, and to hear solid examples of the benefits of working is so encouraging. Thank you!

These two hosts offer such honest and practical advice - a must for any working mom!

There are so many voices saying the opposite that it’s refreshing to hear from two moms who have more kids than I do and similar work demands who are managing to reach their personal and professional goals by being deliberate and continually revising their approaches. I always walk away with the feeling that maybe i can do this!

Been a long time listener but lately it’s just been hard. I’m sorry but Laura actively mocking Sarah (especially during the Cal Newport interview!!!!) was such a turn off. Never mind the fact that Cal was genuinely interested in what Sarah had to say. Please also don’t act like sleepless nights is a working mom myth from the baby years. I’m sorry but there are LOADS of us whose kids (KIDS not babies!)don’t sleep. Seven years of sleep deprivation being tossed aside like a silly “myth” was a little insulting as I know my husband and I are far from the only ones…I am just bringing up two solid examples but there are so many more. Working moms, not just those in the 1%, deserve better.

I have a toddler and work a demanding job (my husband works an even more demanding job with lots of travel so I feel like a single mother often). I have 3 older sisters but none of them have kids nor demanding jobs. This podcast has saved me in so many ways bc I feel like there are great tips and female camaraderie. I feel like I’m not alone when it comes to juggling parenting and having a career. On top of that i absolutely love all of Laura’s books, and anything that has to do with time management, organization, and tips that help my sanity (example: golden hour tips). The books and this podcast have been game changing and I really hope they keep this alive for many years to come.

I really appreciated your recent episode “Summer Struggles.” I always look forward to your new episodes. Thank you for this because I love both my boys and biz.

Years ago I found this podcast helpful. However in recent years I’ve been turned off by the tone deafness, particularly of Laura. For me the HUGE turn off is Laura dismissing everyone’s time/flexibility. She seems to think everyone is their own boss and can turn work on or off whenever they want. She constantly says how everyone inflates their hours. She is an author and speaker and has that flexibility, but I’m willing to bet there are many listeners in corporate America with bosses, clients and investors that bring urgent fire drills and create a lack of flexibility that she just doesn’t get. I’m not new in my career, I have a masters and am in my 40s and many careers you still need to answer to someone. I just unfollowed this show because I got so mad at Laura basically every recent episode.

Love how real these two hosts are about their motherhood journey. Love their advice, tips, and more than motherhood episodes. They understand there isn’t ever only one solution to an issue and that us moms are more than just moms.

I look forward to this podcast every week! I’m a working mom of two, and I love Laura and Sarah’s positive approach to having a career and enjoying motherhood, all without guilt. I’ve taken away so many useful tips and really appreciate the community they’ve built for working moms. I particularly love Laura’s career advice - any woman considering part time or making a big career move after having kids should hear what she has to say.

I love how Laura and Sarah thoughtfully discuss important and useful topics related to work and family. Every episode has concrete tips as well as the camaraderie of knowing other moms out there have big, fulfilling careers. I feel like this podcast does its part to reduce pop culture/societal bias around “what a mom has to give up.” (As an attorney, former elected official, and now single mom, I am deeply familiar with this bias.) No, in fact we have plenty of time and energy for work and kids!

There is some very valuable discussion that occurs in the podcast but the ideal audience is not all inclusive. There certainly is a baseline level of privilege the ladies operate from that is not shared by some other working parents. Nothing to take away from the success of these hosts, but in particular do find Laura to have a condescending tone when it comes to answering questions and giving advice (e.g. genuine questions about how to balance a busy schedule met with in my opinion an ill received joke emphasizing how we’re all busy thereby downplaying the concern). Good content, just not for everyone. Helpful to have some thick skin to withstand the style of banter.

I truly loved this podcast at first. I came to it from best laid plans but immediately was put off by Laura. Her advice is consistently out of touch with working parents and lacks any empathy for different life situations to her own very privileged one. The breaking point for me was when she discussed 5-8 pm as golden hours. I just could not believe this would be a time when anything gets done besides surviving. With two young kids and my husband and I both making under 70k as educators (a job we truly love) we’re trying to do it all but this podcast has become a source of completely unrealistic expectations and advice. We can’t afford to outsource anything and that is the case for the majority of working parents. I really wanted to like this and the concept is so good, but I think they’d benefit a lot in talking with true working class (or even just not high income AND working from home) parents to suggest actual strategies instead of ones they’ve never actually used besides outsourcing.

This podcast achieves the difficult balance of being both relatable and actionable.. maybe the best of both worlds? 😀 Often when I am having a relatable conversation, it doesn’t come with solutions—so I love that Laura and Sarah can be in the trenches with me but also sharing ideas for what has worked for them.

I like the mix of topics discussed and variety of guest and host-led episodes. I find the topics relevant to my life. I don’t think podcast content needs to be universally inclusive and find this podcast having a niche audience acceptable. I am in the target audience, and so I find the questions and suggested solutions feasible and give me ideas. I really like Sarah. I find her a pleasure to listen to. She’s very positive and ambitious, yet very humble. She’s almost like your friend who always does what she supposed to do and makes you feel a little bit bad, but also inspires you to be a better person. Laura, on the other hand is rude and comes across as really mean. She’s even mean to Sarah and sometimes mocks her. I don’t think she is a bad person, she just seems to have no self-awareness of her privileged position and makes no attempt empathize or acknowledge what others deal with. It’s almost like she never listens back to assess her performance and identify how she might improve. Overall, I like the content, like Sarah, hope Laura does a little work on how she comes across.

Do your research. They give factually incorrect information, particularly about au pair rules and regulations.

I used to enjoy this podcast. As a single, working mom, I welcomed advice about how to balance it all. But now the podcast feels very privileged and very out of touch w working parents’ actual lives. The message seems to be outsource as much of the parenting as you can and focus mostly on yourself and your hobbies, not even your job. I’d love to see the hosts manage without a house manager, nanny, extra weekend nanny, meal-prepper, cleaner and driver and instead talk about how most of us deal with everyday life. I’d love to hear about time spent with kids, reading with kids, struggles and joys w different age groups, instead of luxury vacations, running marathons, reading x amount of books, retreats etc.

Great podcast! Tons of helpful advise about balancing work and home. Their advice lands better for their target audience. Their episodes are a mix of theme advice and interviews with experts.

Even though I am not a mom, I am in a dual “big” career marriage and I find the content of this podcast very useful. I especially love the different approaches from Sarah and Laura, especially towards things like goals. I have gone back through the archives and listed to many episodes but especially the goal ones! Really look forward to this podcast every week.

This used to be a favorite, but I just cannot handle Laura anymore. I like Sarah quite a bit, so I may pick and choose an episode based on host. Laura is condescending, quick to judge, and privileged.

I used to love this podcast when I was a new mom adjusting to my new responsibilities. I would download and listen to every episode, but these days I maybe download and listen once every 2-3 months for a couple of reasons. First, I think there are only so many things that can be said about the experience of being a working mom. At some point you figure out what works for you or your kid’s needs become specific enough that general advice isn’t relevant anymore. After you reach that point, staying engaged hinges a lot on whether you jive with their personalities which brings me to my second point. While Sarah is very likable, Laura is just not my cup of tea. I find her to be very abrasive and judgmental. She has strong opinions about what is or is not worth a working mom’s time and is very dismissive of approaches that are contrary to her viewpoint. Third, and as others have pointed out, many of the recommendations simply aren’t financially feasible. Many episodes are drawn from Sarah and Laura’s experiences parenting, understandably, but without appreciating that their experiences reflect parenting as 1% households. So much simply doesn’t translate to a general audience. And I say this as a person whose household income is in the top 5% of household incomes in the US. In a recent episode I listened to, they at least acknowledged that a particular recommendation may not be financially feasible for everyone, which is certainly an improvement. However, acknowledging their ideas are outside the reach of most people doesn’t change the fact that the recommendation is functionally useless for most people. I wish they interviewed more people who aren’t like them in terms of their socioeconomic class. Why not target interviews of people who work in less lucrative fields? Like teachers, non-profit workers, city or state employees, etc. Anyways, I would still recommend new working mothers listen to the early episodes which lay out so many wonderful and practical tips, and listen to the later episodes as topics are relevant.

There are some good messages but the overall tone of this podcast is oozing privilege, and on occasion, toxicity. Both hosts are completely out of touch. While I enjoyed some of the earlier episodes, recently it’s been made very clear their target audience is high income earners who are married to high income earners. These two white, upper class women’s recurring advice is to hire help and outsource everything. From childcare and extra Nannies, to cleaning and cooking. On top of that, you must not feel guilty about it. If you are a nurse making 80k or a teacher making 60k, the hosts will make it very clear this podcast is not for you. I was listening to one episode, where a listener sent in a question. Laura in particular was so rude and condescending bc this person wasn’t “high income”. Sarah has a more tactful, kinder approach but she too is completely un relatable. Laura must not realize how she comes across. She talks about going to church, but then is judgmental and snooty towards listeners and even towards her co host, Sarah. Podcast would be better if Laura wasn’t a part of it. Recent episodes are focused on extravagant vacations and very specific situations they are facing. I will be unsubscribing as I don’t like the hosts’ haughty attitudes and limited world view. It’s antiquated, polarizing, and non inclusive.

An absolute gem. I’m already a very organized and thoughtful person and yet have learned so so much from this podcast. It’s made my life as a professional, mother, and wife so much more meaningful and peaceful. I recommend to any person, but especially employed mothers.

It’s great to have a podcast that looks at the whole self - not just a professional, not just a mom, not just <insert hobby or other attribute>. I do think this podcast will be best suited for women who have or aspire to career ambitions as this podcast pushes back on a lot of notions that women have to make certain career compromises to be good mothers. I like how the hosts also have differing views and they’re always accepting of those differences (with guests or people who write in too). Overall, great podcast and it has really opened my mind as to what is possible with my days - highly recommend

I enjoy this podcast and no woman should be apologetic for their success. But I do find often their life hacks hinge upon hired help. House cleaners. Nannies. Au paires. House managers. These are wonderful luxuries that are unattainable for the average working woman, as many of us struggle just to afford traditional center or home-based childcare. This is just something to be aware of but does not prevent me from enjoying their content. Sometimes I philosophize that back in the day, historically it seemed the only way for women to live fulfilling lives as their own person was to either be childless or without a husband, or to have enslaved people or paid servants doing all the essential tasks. It’s remarkable that even with all our technology, there is still a significant class divide in how women can get the most out of life. Not the fault of these successful women who have worked hard to get where they are. It’s just something this podcast triggers for me, as a middle class working mom. If you are a working class mom with limited or no paid leave in a job rather than an inspiring career, this podcast may not feel good to listen to.

Love the balance of mom topics & work topics on this podcast! Being a working mom is my core identifier these days and I love hearing from people in the same shoes.

Look forward to the new episode every Tuesday. Really appreciate Sarah and Laura’s (and guests!) practical and insightful perspectives on work and life, especially for women with big jobs and large(r) families

I used to really enjoy this show! I have also benefited from Laura’s earlier books. However, after hearing all about the significant outsourced help, global family travel, huge house with renovations, high-end gourmet restaurant outings, expensive 1:1 child playdates and overnight trips I realized that this podcast makes me feel like my life doesn’t measure up. This is sad and unnecessary, as both Laura and Sarah are very bright, hardworking women. The virtue signaling and wealth flaunting have no place here. These episodes could even unintentionally send a message to women that you have to be married to a very high earning husband to have the best of both worlds. That is not true. One of the unstated but felt messages is that your worth is dependent on what you have and/or do. This is fleeting and dangerous. I have been fortunate to be successful professionally and financially. I could likely afford many of the luxuries that are woven into these episodes. However, from a faith based perspective I know my value is inherent in the God who created me, not the transient wealth that is showcased here. It’s best for me to no longer listen.

Very helpful for all moms with big jobs!

Love this podcast and listen to it regularly (am a big Laura Vanderkam fan and have read all her books!). Today’s guest was Gretchen Rueben whose podcast “Happier” is also a favorite. I just want to caution listeners not to tie their identity to their tendency. You are not an Obliger or a Rebel … these just describe how you will “tend” to react, especially when under stress. Understanding them can help you make better decisions about how you want to respond. But they do not predetermine your responses.

Like listening to your most functional friends explain how they do it all.

The first and only episode I listened to seemed like a bunch of women complaining about how difficult it is to be a woman. Not interested

This podcast is all about balance, and the hosts deliver. They are real about their own challenges and their guests share information that helps me to feel that I can be the best version of myself - without being overwhelmed by trying to be perfect at everything. Highly recommend.

Having these two ladies share their stories is interesting in every podcast. The variety each podcast keeps me coming back for more. Love Laura’s new book too, Tranquility by Tuesday.

Finding the balance between parenting and work and life is so stinking hard, and it’s so helpful to know that a) I’m not alone, and b) there are strategies and skills that will make it easier. Laura and Sarah are fantastic hosts, and this podcast is full of useful, relatable information that inspires me rather than leaving me feeling guilty or overwhelmed. I highly recommend BEST OF BOTH WORLDS for every working parent!

I always look forward to their weekly podcast. As a working mother I relate to all of the topics they discuss. Highly recommend if you’re a working mom who wants to figure out ways to balance work and family life.

Yes, if I had a plumber-installed $4,429 coffee maker in my kitchen, it would be on my love list, too. I wasn’t sure why I’ve been feeling bad after listening to this podcast, I love them both individually, but that confirmed it for me. It’s totally fine if some relate, I just don’t, so it’s hard to listen to. I would love to plan and pay for my upcoming vacations for the next year, but darn it if my husband isn’t holding out for a better offer, too!

I was disappointed in Laura’s response to Sarah talking about her daughter getting a cell phone in the recent episode. Essentially Laura said that if your eleven year old doesn’t have a cell phone, they will be “managed out” of friendships. Yikes! 🥴 I don’t believe that to be true. She said it rudely too when Sarah was just verbalizing trying to figure it out. I agree with the others below that state that both come from extreme privilege. I know they worked hard for what they have but they also are privileged and they should acknowledge it more. That said, I do enjoy listening to their tips and tricks at managing work and home life.

This podcast would be more impactful if hosts were clear on their target audience. I have listened for two years and have grown more and more disappointed with the amount of privilege and entitlement in each episode. I would love to hear more about how to find a balance when you can’t outsource and pay for extra help at every turn. I know there are working parents who do this amazingly well and cannot afford a full time nanny or house manager. The lack of diversity in guests is disappointing too.

I have been listening to this podcast since the first episode. I have enjoyed the growth they have made as a podcast and how they have adapted with the changes in the world through the conversations they have and the guest they invite on. I had my twin babies right at the time they started this podcast and now they are five and I’ve added another baby. Their podcast has been really valuable from baby years through kindergarten years and thinking about the next stages. Both of the podcast hosts are very inspirational and I admire the choices they have made in their lives and how they share their life advice on the podcast. It’s a really great space for a working mom and they do a great job bringing valuable content to the show. I really feel inspired listening to the show and want to reach for more in my work and personal life from the ideas they share. Thanks Laura and Sarah!

I couldn’t figure out why I felt bad about my life after listening to all these fun ideas. Then I googled Laura and Sarah and realized which income bracket they are in. Let’s just say a 13,000 square foot, 4.5 million dollar home for one and a 700K income for another explain why I felt some differences. 😁 If you are wealthy, you might find them very relatable, but I think I’ll enjoy the show more now, with an understanding that I just need to filter their ideas down through a middle class lens.

Listen to Best Laid Plans

I enjoy Sarah’s blog and voice, but was not really familiar with Vanderkam. This podcast does not make me want to explore her work further. As a working professional and mom I really wanted to like this, but very basic information about how to accomplish simple life tasks. Maybe I am just too old to be in the target audience? The rest of the podcast is a seemingly unedited stream of talking about the hosts’ very specific situations, ie Vanderkam lamenting about how scarce 7 bedroom homes are and how she surmounted that obstacle.

Advertising Fox News? No thanks. Long time listener :(

I love Laura’s books and have enjoyed Sarah’s blog but I don’t really think they work as co hosts. They don’t seem to have chemistry or give the supportive friends chatting vibe. It actually sounds like they are always one upping each other which makes me not want to listen to their advice because I don’t really want to be like that. I also think they could do more to look at big picture themes in work parenting and not just saying things they have done in their own lives because they are too specific to their circumstances. I am not sure if podcasting is a core competency for them(as Laura would say in her books), at least for both of them together.

Such an important podcast - I’m not sure what I would do without you two! You’ve made me think differently about my career, salary, investing, childcare, and what it means to have it all. Thank you for your candid conversations and all of the personal details you share that help make the abstract concrete. Always exciting to see a new episode published, especially interviews with the fantastic guests you bring on. I would feel so alone as a working mom without you.

I love how this podcast answers all of my questions about being the best parent and career person I can be, while still leaving time for myself. This balance is so tricky, and Laura and Sarah help me navigate it. Thanks, keep being great!

I initially heard Sarah on another podcast and came to this one in hopes of gaining more insight on time management and planning as a working parent. I appreciate the content and tips Sarah provides on this topic but overall do not find this podcast to be very relatable. To be frank, Laura comes across as very judgmental and crass. Both hosts speak from an obviously higher class perspective - this is completely fine, however it does not translate to practical tips for working mothers without the same financial resources for outsourcing help. I also feel like there is more objective way to address COVID/vaccine related content as well.

As a working mom of two little kids, I find this podcast really relatable and inspiring and I tune in to most of the episodes. I love how Sarah and Laura are so human about their experience raising eight kids combined—flaws and all—while working in careers they are passionate about. I also love how this podcast brings together their two superpowers—Sarah’s planning skills and Laura’s time management expertise—to show other working moms how it IS possible to have enough time for work, family, and fun.

I love hearing what these ladies have to say. Their ideas and mindset are so hopeful in getting the most of these 2 worlds!!!