253 // Building Sticky Habits That Work for Your Busy Mom Life - with Monica Packer from About Progress

You tell yourself that you’re going to get your life together - drink more water, journal, exercise, declutter. You do great for a few days and then your kid gets sick, or there’s an emergency at work. You feel like a failure and wonder if you can ever create habits that will actually stick.

If this sounds familiar, don’t despair. Traditional habits wisdom, largely created by men, fails women because it ignores invisible labor and praises consistency that relies on perfection.

Monica Packer is a mom of five and the founder of About Progress, a top-rated podcast about adopting progress over perfection. She has served thousands of women online as a certified habits and identity coach.

In this episode, we dive into her new book Sticky Habits: A Woman’s Guide to Reclaim Happiness, Ditch Perfectionism, and Create Habits That Last.

We chat about:

• why women feel like failures when trying to follow traditional habits advice
• a different definition of consistency that takes the unpredictability of womens’ lives into account
• the 4 S’s that make habits sticky
• why tying identity with habits is an integral piece many habits experts miss

...and much more!

Resources Mentioned:

You can grab Monica’s new book Sticky Habits (and learn about the pre-order bonuses) here.

Fair Play by Eve Rodsky

Flecks of Gold journal

Related Episodes:

Episode 57: Want Your Routines to Stick? 3 Habit Hacks You Have to Try!

Episode 173: How Atomic Habits Can Transform Your Mom Life in 2025 - with Emily Nichols from Habit Hack Your Health

Episode 217: Could Habit Stacking be the Key to Get Your Out of Overwhelm? - with Jessica Przulj from the Habit Stacking Mom Podcast

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I help moms declutter their homes, heads, and hearts.

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