This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil - The Episode About Balls | Unfiltered & Unhinged

Episode Date: April 3, 2026

In this unfiltered and unhinged solo episode, Nicole Kalil gets brutally honest about something every high-achieving woman hates to admit: she’s been dropping balls. A lot of them. From missed appointments to forgotten commitments, Nicole pulls back the curtain on what happens when even the most organized, detail-loving, color-coded-calendar kind of woman hits a breaking point. And instead of spiraling into shame (okay, maybe a little), she revisits a powerful mindset shift that changes everything. Enter: glass balls vs. rubber balls. Because not everything that gets dropped is a disaster — and treating it like one is exactly what’s burning women out. This episode is a reality check and a permission slip: Not all mistakes are catastrophic Not everything deserves your guilt And no, you’re not “losing it”… you’re human Nicole breaks down how to: Identify what actually matters (your glass balls) Stop overreacting to the things that don’t (your rubber balls) Give yourself grace without lowering your standards Protect your energy, your priorities, and your sanity Because the goal isn’t to juggle everything perfectly — it’s to know what’s worth catching. And if a few balls bounce? Let them. Thank you to our sponsors! Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww  Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It’s all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use—so you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere! Try Gusto today at gusto.com/TIWW, and get three months free when you run your first payroll. Refresh your spring wardrobe with Quince. Go to Quince.com/TIWW for free shipping and 365-day returns! Connect with Nicole: Subscribe to Nicole’s Substack: https://nicolekalil.substack.com/  Join the Inner Circle: https://nicolekalil.myflodesk.com/newsletter  Related Podcast Episode: Women Are Tired — Stop Pointing It Out | Unfiltered & Unhinged Restless Life Syndrome (Why I Want 14 Different Lives) | Unfiltered & Unhinged Yell for Help | Unfiltered & Unhinged Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When WestJet first took flight in 1996, the vibes were a bit different. People thought denim on denim was peak fashion, inline skates were everywhere, and two out of three women rocked, the Rachel. While those things stayed in the 90s, one thing that hasn't is that fuzzy feeling you get when WestJet welcomes you on board. Here's to WestJetting since 96. Travel back in time with us and actually travel with us at westjet.com slash 30 years. I am Nicole Khalil and you're listening to the This Is Woman's Work podcast, the unfiltered and unhinged edition.

Short episodes, big truths, absolutely zero perfection. All right, friend, I got to tell you. Over the last few weeks, I have dropped so many balls that I'm pretty sure I've set a new personal record. And listen, this is unsettling for me. Because if there's one thing that I pride myself on, it's being a master ball juggler. I follow through. I pay attention to details. I show up when I say I will.

I have systems, reminders, I have the color-coded calendar, the whole deal. And lately, balls are dropping everywhere. And sure, I could blame paramedipause brain fog, a crazy amount of travel, running a business while parenting, or the fact that lately my brain feels like a browser with 47 tabs open. Now it's just doing that spinny thing like it's buffering. Whatever the cause, it's been a lot. So let me give you a few examples. One of my oldest friends were talking like 30 plus years of knowing each other was in town and we made plans to hang out.

I didn't forget the plans, but somehow I completely lost track of time and what day it was until she literally pulled into my driveway. And then there was Ove's dog grooming appointment. It was in my calendar. I absolutely confirmed it and I still completely no-showed. And then JJ's guitar lesson. The lesson that happens every single week on the same day at the same time and we missed it entirely. It just like vanished from my brain. And those are just the obvious examples from one week, by the way.

There are also follow-up emails that I owe, the messages that I fully intend to send and then end up getting sidetracked, the conversations I have with people in my mind and then I can't remember if I actually had them in real life. you know, all the things that I'm normally pretty on top of. So naturally, I'm wondering, am I losing it? Like what the actual fuck is happening here? Because I'm not somebody who drops balls. I'm the person people hand their balls too, which now that I think about it, really should have been my dating profile tagline back in the day.

But that's neither here nor there. Anyways, I hate this feeling. I hate not following through. I hate dropping. balls. But there is a lesson that I heard years ago that I keep coming back to, something that's actually helped me navigate the mess and the guilt. And I wanted to pass it along to you in case you too are currently struggling with your balls. And yes, the totally immature part of me is loving how many times I get to say balls in this episode. But anyway, I once heard a woman

speak, who shared a simple and what turned out to be unforgettable lesson. She basically said that there are two kinds of balls. And I'd argue that there are many kinds of balls, but for the purpose of this lesson, there are two. And these two that we juggle in our day-to-day lives, and they are glass balls and rubber balls. When glass balls drop, they shatter. They break into a million pieces. And cleaning up the mess can be really hard. And most of the time, you just can't glue that ball back together. But when rubber balls drop, they bounce. It's no big deal. You pick them back up and you keep on juggling. The problem is that most of us treat every ball like it's made of glass. Every missed email, every scheduling mistake, every dropped detail feels catastrophic. But the truth is, most of the balls that we're juggling

are rubber. So, yes, I've dropped more balls than I'm comfortable with lately, but the ones that I've dropped have all been rubber. Yeah, sure, JJ missed a guitar lesson. I apologized, paid for the lesson, and JJ and I talked about what happened, and life moved on. I'm pretty confident that this won't come up in some future therapy session of hers. And yes, Ove didn't get groomed. So we gave him a bath, and I paid for the appointment that I missed because nobody should go under the time. paid for my mistake. And yes, paying for things that we don't use just because I screwed up is super annoying. But guess what? My dog still loves me. And my friend of over 30 years might not have been super impressed that I didn't know what day it was, but we still got to spend time together.

And it was so good to see her. Plus, we go way back. I mean, way, way back. So she already knows the best of me. And she has seen way worse, I can assure you of that. And at the end of the day, nothing shattered. No irreparable damage, just rubber balls. Now, this doesn't mean details don't matter. Of course they do. And I'm tightening up my systems because clearly something is slipping. But what I'm not going to do is beat myself up like I just screwed something up that I can't recover from. So I'm giving myself grace, trusting that my track record of showing up when it matters most has earned me the benefit of the doubt. And I'm focusing on protecting my glass balls instead of obsessing over the rubber ones. Because the things that matter most,

the real glass balls, those are still firmly up in the air. My relationships, my integrity, my family, my health, the work that I care so much about. Those balls are still up in the air and I am protecting the shit out of them. If a few rubber balls have to bounce along the way, that's fine. that's what they're designed to do. So if you're feeling like you've been dropping balls lately, welcome to the shit show that we call being a working woman. How about we all take a breath and ask ourselves, was that ball actually made of glass?

Or do we just see it bounce? Because, friend, I know you know this, but not all balls are created equal. So let's let those fuckers bounce. Here's two rubber balls, exercise balls, beach balls, bouncing balls, all the balls. But most importantly, those glass balls. Let's take care of them and ourselves.

Because this messy and perfect, very human juggling act that we're all doing, this is woman's work. I'm Chris Stewart, and I invite you to come and join us here at the History of China podcast. We've got it all. Wars with millions on each side to help drive home exactly why you should never get involved in a land war in Asia. Come along on the Silk Road to partake in its riches. Join the great cons of the steps on campaign, ply the seas on treasure ships,

or strike out with pirate crews to take their riches for your own. Experience the sumptuousness of the imperial court behind the guarded gates of the forbidden city. All this and so much more here at the History of China podcast.