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In this first solo episode of Time Free, Michelle shares the personal story behind the podcast and why she created it for professional women who become mothers and find themselves asking: How do I stay present with my child, keep my professional identity and still build financial independence?

Michelle reflects on her journey from South Africa to London, from law school and corporate legal roles to motherhood, burnout and the painful identity shift that followed having her son during the COVID years. After years of building a legal career in intellectual property, technology and commercial law, motherhood brought a profound wake-up call: the life she had worked so hard to create no longer felt sustainable.

This episode explores the reality of postnatal depression, burnout, financial pressure, childcare costs, career insecurity, perfectionism, weight gain, loss of confidence and the feeling of being fragmented between professional ambition and the desire to be a present mother.

Michelle also shares the lessons she wishes she had known earlier: not to make life-changing decisions from a place of crisis, to ask for help, to remove rather than constantly add, to let go of perfection and to create small, consistent spaces for movement, reflection and self-trust.

This is not an episode about having all the answers. It is the beginning of a quest.

Time Free is a podcast for mothers who want to be brilliant professionals, loving and present parents and self-actualised humans, without living permanently in survival mode. Through honest conversations with women who are carving out different paths, Michelle hopes to create a community where mothers can share stories, find practical insight and build lives with more freedom, meaning and financial security.