Your calendar can look totally reasonable and still leave you running on empty. That’s the tension we dig into today: the quiet exhaustion that doesn’t come from “too much to do,” but from giving your energy in the wrong directions, often by habit. I share the moment that forced me to face it, the resistance I felt, and what happened when I finally gave a clear, grounded no instead of another automatic yes.

We build a simple framework you can use immediately: time is fixed, energy is not. Together we walk through an Energy Audit you can do in one sitting by listing everything that filled your week and sorting it into energy drains, energy builders, and neutral or necessary tasks. That quick sort turns vague burnout into real information, so you can see what’s quietly costing you the most and what actually restores you.

Then I introduce my favourite weekly practice for right sizing your energy: the No Plan Night. One evening a week gets a big red X before anything else can land there no dinner plans, no errands, no “quick calls,” no laundry pretending to be restful. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s one unclaimed evening that gives your whole week more patience, presence, and breathing room. Try it this week, then subscribe, share this with a friend who’s depleted, and leave a review telling me what you’re putting under that red X.

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

There’s a moment in caregiving that almost nobody says out loud, yet so many families recognize instantly. That’s where my conversation with filmmaker Anthony Lucero begins and where his movie The Paper Bag Plan goes with honesty, tenderness, and a steady respect for dignity. If you’re caring for aging parents, supporting a loved one with a disability, or quietly wondering what the future holds for your family, this story will feel painfully familiar in the best way.

Anthony shares how the film is inspired by his mother, who cared for his brother with severe physical and cognitive disabilities, and by the loss of his sister, who left behind a daughter with Angelman syndrome. We talk about the emotional weight caregivers carry, the family dynamics that form around long-term care, and the question that keeps people up at night: who takes the next shift when the primary caregiver is gone? Along the way, we dig into purpose and identity, including why work and independence matter so much for people with disabilities.

We also pull back the curtain on independent filmmaking. Anthony explains what a microbudget indie film (under $300,000) really requires, how he navigated casting, why he insisted on authentic disability casting, and how his wife stepped in to help finance and edit the project during the pandemic. You’ll also hear where to rent The Paper Bag Plan, why reviews and word of mouth matter, and a reminder to stay through the credits. If this conversation hits home, subscribe, share it with someone you love, and leave a review so more caregivers can find it.

Watch the trailer here

Get in touch with Anthony here

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/

A brave decision can still feel terrifying once the noise stops. If you’ve ever said yes to a big change then found yourself staring at the ceiling at 2 a.m., replaying every detail and wondering whether you made a mistake, you’re not alone. I’m Amy Schmidt, and I’m sharing a very real chapter from my own life: we sold our family home, moved to Florida to build a more intentional “right-sized” season, and then almost immediately had to rework everything when my husband took an incredible opportunity that put him back in the Northeast Monday through Thursday.

That shift turned our fresh start into something messier and more honest: four days a week alone in a new city, in a condo that still felt unfamiliar, with silence that sounded like a stranger. I talk about the kind of fear that isn’t a single meltdown, but an accumulation of small moments, and how that fear can start to sound like truth if we don’t slow down and look at it. Then I share the practice that helped me most: getting fear out of my body and onto paper, where it becomes sentences you can question instead of a fog that fills the room.

You’ll learn my simple framework, Signal, Story, and Choice: how to treat fear as a signal, how to spot the story your mind builds to explain it, and how to make a clear choice based on what you actually know. I also give you a 20-minute notebook assignment to separate present facts from future projections, reduce anxiety spirals, and build clarity during life transitions. If this resonates, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more women can find these tools when they need them most.

Get a copy of Amy’s Best selling book: CANNONBALL! FEARLESSLY Facing Midlife and Beyond here

Make sure to share with friends and family and would love if you could leave a review. There are so many shows out there floating around and if you are finding value in the The Right Sized Life Podcast share it with the world – a review means so much.

And sign up for the Radiant Woman Reset here

And don’t forget to follow along on all the socials:

http://instagram.com/theamy.schmidt

https://www.facebook.com/fearlesslyfacingfifty/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-schmidt-a5684412/