This one’s personal. And if you’ve ever found yourself rage-fluffing garden cushions while your other half chills out watching telly, then it’s personal for you too. Because it turns out rage fluffing is a thing.

In this episode of It’s Got Pockets, I’m diving headfirst into the reality of mental load — the invisible, exhausting, relentless labour that so many of us carry without recognition. Not just the doing, but the bloody thinking about all the doing. The planning, the prepping, the remembering, the emotional caretaking. All of it.

It's an overshare episode full t'brim of my fabulous gorgeous garden gathering – which was, in reality, also a masterclass in logistics, multitasking, and emotional labour. From jet-washing patios and managing party prep to sorting family logistics, football matches, lost car keys and a gluten-free BBQ tray... I was spinning all the plates, with barely a nod to the weight of it.

This one is all about:

• What mental load really looks like behind closed doors
• Why it’s not just physical work, but emotional and cognitive overload
• How we get caught in the trap of “I’ll just do it myself”
• The gender gap in domestic life (and why it still matters)
• The guilt, the resentment, the exhaustion — and what to do with it

I also talk about the bittersweet reality: sometimes we love doing it. We’re good at it. But it still costs us — our clarity, our calm, our creativity, our Inner Edge.

So this is your permission slip to drop some of that weight.
To stop performing your rest.
To stop holding up the sky.

Because your energy is not infinite.
And your worth is not tied to how well you carry it all.

Let’s talk about what we can let go of, what we can name, and how we can finally reclaim a bit of peace.

Sarah is the founder of FoundHer Fire—a membership space for experienced women in business who know real success isn’t just about strategy, it’s about self; a place, a space, a community where women find their fire, for women who aren't done yet and who are ready to write their own rules of success. Sarah also co-founded The Plot Twist (un)Awards, celebrating female founders and women smashing through glass ceilings with purpose, passion and joy.

Find out more about me and how I can work with you:

• On LinkedIn
• On Instagram
• On the Web
• Or drop me an email sarah@mindthegap.academy

From the House of Lords to Finding Her Fire in Manchester: The Power of Showing Up and Starting Again

In this episode, I’m joined by the blinking brilliant Helen McHugh — former Labour Party strategist, Northern Power Women nominee, and now founder of her own business. And one of the nicest humans you'll meet.

Helen shares her journey from growing up in a political family to stepping into the corridors of Westminster — and the challenges she faced as a woman in a very male-dominated environment. We dig deep into what it really takes to find your voice when the rooms you walk into feel built for someone else.

We talk about her early days and how she forged her career — from getting on a bus to London with nothing but determination to walk the corridors of Westminster, to surviving (and thriving) behind the scenes of political campaigns. Helen reflects on purpose, ambition, and the emotional resilience needed to keep showing up — even when the wins were few and far between.

You’ll hear about:

• Building self-worth after a career defined by "keeping the show on the road" for others
• Her favourite Prime Minister
• The messy, brave transition from politics to entrepreneurship (spoiler: no grand plan, just grit)
• Why advocacy and genuine support among women matters more than ever
• How becoming a parent shifts your lens on ambition, legacy, and leadership
• The often underrated superpower: being nice — and why niceness and leadership belong together
• The power of looking beyond immediate challenges to the wider possibilities waiting for you

This is a story about starting again, backing yourself, and finding your fire after years of playing it small for other people.

And yes, in Helen's words, "Niceness is so underrated, isn't it?" (I couldn’t agree more.)

If you’ve ever felt like you’re rebuilding yourself while building your next chapter, this conversation is going to help you decide where to place your f&cks to give.

Links + Mentions:

• Follow Helen on LinkedIn
• Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony (Helen’s go-to when she needs to reset)
• Northern Power Women Awards

Pockets of Gold:
✨ "It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice." — Scooter (via Helen)
✨ "You are someone your children — and your future self — are watching. Make it count."

Sarah is the founder of FoundHer Fire—a membership space for experienced women in business who know real success isn’t just about strategy, it’s about self; a place, a space, a community where women find their fire, for women who aren't done yet and who are ready to write their own rules of success. Sarah also co-founded The Plot Twist (un)Awards, celebrating female founders and women smashing through glass ceilings with purpose, passion and joy.

Find out more about me and how I can work with you:

• On LinkedIn
• On Instagram
• On the Web
• Or drop me an email sarah@mindthegap.academy

No women I know of a certain age is ever lazy. There's way too much to do. Most women of a certain age are blinking tired - tired because you’re holding the sky up and have been doing for blinking years; fixing it all, constantly scanning on high alert for danger ready to make it all go away.

This episode of It’s Got Pockets is for every woman who’s thinks she just needs to “manage her time better” while simultaneously being the backbone of her business, her home, her family, her life and somehow trying to smile through it all like she’s not running on fumes.

This one’s is about that thing we talk about a LOT; ENERGY. Your real currency. The very thing that’s being nicked left, right and centre without your permission - the thing you're giving away and not replenishing.

These last few weeks I’ve been deep in it. Caring for ageing parents. Still parenting adult kids. Running a business. Trying to hold the sky up with one hand and make tea with the other.

And what I’ve realised is that you don’t need to give more. You need to give to you.

In this solo episode, I’m peeling the mask off and talking real talk about:

• Why energy management is the secret sauce (not that bloody 5am club)
• The truth about what happens when you stop holding it all
• The emotional toll of being “the strong one” (spoiler alert: it’s exhausting)
• How I gave myself permission to not be everything to everyone
• My favourite tool for getting your spark back (the Energy Audit – and yes, I’ll send it to you for free)

Plus a few tales of laundry piles, cereal dinners, and why no-one in my house is currently allowed to ask what’s for tea.

This is for the women who are done performing. Who are done burning out to prove their worth. And who are ready to protect their fire like the precious bloody asset it is.

✨ There’s no medal for martyrdom.
✨ You don’t need to earn your rest.
✨ And the sky doesn’t fall when you take a day off.

So if you’ve been feeling a bit “meh,” a bit hollowed out, a bit like shouting “leave me the f&ck alone!” … lean in. Take a breath. You don’t have to do it all. You just need to do you, for once.

Want to know how to map your energy and start feeling like you again? Drop me a message for the FREE Energy Audit. No catch. Just something powerful to stick in your back pocket.

And if you're ready to go deeper — to stop surviving and start thriving —
Come join me inside FoundHer Fire.
It’s the coaching collective for women like you: experienced, ambitious, absolutely done with burning out in silence.
We don’t do hustle. We do inner edge.
Because this isn’t about proving your worth — it’s about backing it.

You’ve got this.
And I’ve got you, you bloody brilliant woman of a certain age who is f&cking done running on fumes.

Sarah is the founder of FoundHer Fire—a membership space for experienced women in business who know real success isn’t just about strategy, it’s about self; a place, a space, a community where women find their fire, for women who aren't done yet and who are ready to write their own rules of success. Sarah also co-founded The Plot Twist (un)Awards, celebrating female founders and women smashing through glass ceilings with purpose, passion and joy.

Find out more about me and how I can work with you:

• On LinkedIn
• On Instagram
• On the Web
• Or drop me an email sarah@mindthegap.academy