Welcome back to No Filter Fridays.
Real talk on midlife, reinvention, and creating momentum on your own terms.
Each week, I write openly about what I’m learning along the way — in work, life, and everything in between — and share it here for anyone navigating change and wanting to move forward with intention.
Season #3 | Issue 1: Permission Slips For January
The year didn’t ease us in.
It dropped us straight into it.
We started with family travel.
The good kind.
The chaotic kind.
The kind where you make memories and quietly wonder how long it will take to recover from them.
Then January arrived properly.
I’ve stepped into a brand-new industry while the kids are still on school holidays.
New systems. New acronyms. New faces.
Lots of listening. Lots of learning. Lots of smiling while thinking, I will absolutely Google that later.
This week, that’s meant working New York hours from the Central Coast.
Coffee while the house sleeps.
Calls while the birds wake up.
And the occasional moment of panic when I realise I’m nodding very seriously as the conversation moves faster than my coffee.
January doesn’t gently reintroduce you to work when you’re a mum.
It throws you straight into motion and hands you a calendar full of expectations.
What I’ve needed most this week isn’t productivity tips or confidence hacks.
It’s permission.
- Permission to be new.
- Permission to not have it all worked out yet.
- Permission to feel tired, stretched, and slightly confused.
And also permission to feel excited.
Energised.
Proud of myself for starting again.
Sometimes all of those permissions exist in the same hour.
Momentum doesn’t come from having it all figured out. It comes from staying in motion while you’re still learning.
One minute I’m thinking, I’ve got this.
The next minute I’m wondering why my brain feels full and my coffee isn’t working fast enough.
Then suddenly something clicks and I remember why I said yes.
Both things can be true.
All of them can be true.
If you’re starting a new role this year, this is for you.
- You don’t need to be impressive yet.
- You don’t need to be fluent yet.
- You don’t need to feel confident every minute to be doing something brave.
Onboarding is humbling.
January is relentless.
School holidays don’t care about your meeting schedule.
And you’re still allowed to be excited about what’s ahead.
This year, No Filter Fridays will be a place for exactly this kind of honesty.
Real reflections on work, motherhood, midlife, and navigating change without pretending it’s effortless.
- Permission over perfection.
- Curiosity over certainty.
- Real life, as it actually looks.
If your year has started with a lot of emotional gear-shifting, you’re not doing it wrong.
You’re just doing something new.
❓What permission do you need most right now?
I also share reflections and resources through The Mama Assembly for women navigating midlife and reinvention.
If this resonated, you’re welcome to subscribe so next week’s No Filter Fridays lands straight in your inbox.
— Gill
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