"My mantra is *this is temporary*" Julia Matthews on juggling motherhood, business, and finding the time to be present

With the Heads Podcast Network.

Hello and welcome back to Slow It Down. I'm your host, PJ Harding, and this podcast, if you're you here, is all about how we can find more peace in the chaos. I think I learned this year as I went back into work full time juggling a toddler, that life is.

Just going to be chaotic for a while.

And so instead of trying to avoid the chaos, I want to embrace the chaos, but find ways that we can stay sane and grounded through these years. Today on the show, I am joined by the incredibly successful Jules Matthews. She is the founder of Two Islands, which is a range of pure potent supplements that enhance beauty, gut health, sleep, stress relief, and more.

She's the mum of.

Three gorgeous children, including twins, so she's got a bit on her plate. And in this episode, do we dive into how Jewels manages her week?

Literally? I want to dissect it.

I'm so fascinated by how people prioritize and organize.

Are they, you know, really routine based? Do they go with the flow? Well? Jewels shares her experience.

She also talks about what she's had to sacrifice along the way, what her non negogiables are, and what success means to her. I really hope you enjoyed this week's episode with Jills Matthews. Hey, Jiles, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today.

Thank you for having me.

Now I've caught you on a Monday morning when this is being recorded.

What do your weekdays usually look like?

Weekdays normally?

Okay, Well, I'm in the office four days a week, so Monday to Thursday, and then I have I'm at home with my quins on Friday. So yeah, just get to work as early as I can. Some mornings as eight, some mornings it's nine, and then just at the office for the day. So meetings, try and fit in at least one gym class. I've actually gotten better at planning my meetings and my day around the gym, Like I'll lock in my classes for the week and I'm like I'm out, Like that's it kind of a non negotiable

Yeah, and then normally, you know, bombs and washing or to get back on my laptop and do some emails.

So yeah, it's pretty the days of full transfit as much as I can. But there's definitely a branch being at the office, that's for sure.

So routine, Like, have you always been quite so?

Are you someone that prioritizes routine or is that something more recently in your life?

No, Like routine keeps me kind of sane.

Yeah, Like when I'm at work, it's chaos and you know, problems flight at me.

I'm putting up fires all the time.

So if I can have my week days as structured as possible with routine, I know what's happening. That kind of helps me know what's coming up next to a point like I'm fine with change and I'm fine if I'm like pervot and thanks flight at me from different angles, but just having that No, I'm going to the office Monday to Thursday, having an idea of what meetings I've got.

That's what I need to like my mental sanity.

And what about your weekends?

Are they little bit more lucy goos or do you also need a bit of a plan.

Yeah, No, definitely And I'm very much a shon body.

Yeah, I prioritize the kids on the weekend because they're a daycare for most of the week, so it's just family time doing things with the kids. But definitely we're at the age I have to get them out of the house because they just fight.

So it's a zoo.

Or really awesome things like that. But my life now is like no time for social It's the kids are first and then work and then I'm like socials kind of.

I talked to my friends, I may not see them as much.

I'm not into going out and partying anymore because hungover when your parents a parent, you couldn't have at you couldn't ask for anything more more horrific. So yeah, it's just family time seeing my parents going on plate dds.

That was going to be my next question around that social aspect of your life, because you are so busy, you're obviously the founder of Tow Islands, You've got three children, and you have to make sacrifices in these seasons. There are times or you just can't do it all. And did you find that kind of hard that transition into you know, your business absolutely killing it and your kids at what point did you realize that you had to say goodbye to some of your old ways.

I think it just kind of came naturally, because again, when you're a parent, you don't like person me. I do not want to be hungover, and when I would go out on a party, I would be at the opposite Monday, and my brain's not at full capacity, like I'm feeling a little bit dummy. So I definitely prioritize like sleep and just keeping my brain as sharp as possible.

So it was like, okay, here are the kids.

By to some of the social life for now, and like you say, it's a season, right like like forever, people.

Come a time when the kids are a bit older and they're a bit.

More independent and not don't rely on me so much that I'll venture back out to the cloud maybe or you know, I still.

Don't do that.

I'm not an absolute yeah yeah yeah, yeah, yeah.

I see my girlfriends, but it's not like it used to be.

It's more long lunches, a more wholesome yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah.

So when you say, you know, the sleep, are you in bed at a certain time every night?

I try to be like sleeps the most important thing on my list of like wellness things that I try and prioritize.

So yes, absolutely, Like ideally I'm.

In bed by nine thirty, but it's really hard sometimes because you know, some nights the kids don't want to go to sleep, and they will, you know, it takes to like eight thirty and I'm rolling out of one of their rooms, and then I need some time to I don't know, clean the kitchen or if I just want to watch one episode of TV, have a bit of a chill out time.

So yeah, it's all can all be different.

But on the nights if I'm up and I'm like in bed at eleven, I definitely notice nex say, I just don't feel as switched on.

And do you have like a remedy or something you go to in those days where you're feeling shit with you know, terrible sleep the night before. Do you have any little jewels hacks that we can tap into.

Like always try and get some exercise in. Yeah, it absolutely helps. I try not to drink coffee.

Because it just screws your adrenals, like it's just that little spike.

Yes, the rest of the day can kind of go downhill. Yeah, just making sure I'm eating good food. But when I'm just so busy at the office, like I'm not, I don't really have time to think about being tired. It's just the day is so quick and so full of things. I don't really need to sit back and thank.

God, I'm tired.

It's almost like being in the office energizes me, being around other people energizes me.

In the Senate, I think it would be very different.

Yes, which crops all the stat of her moms, because like Friday at home with my girls is enough.

Yeah, love then, love my children. But man, it's hard. It's just all day people, are you?

I think also just with the expectations of the times we're living in. You know, you are running a business and we don't have the villages that used to have, you know what I mean, And so there's so much expectation to be succeeding in all these kinds of areas to you, how do you kind of balance your success, like measure your success? When someone says what does success mean to you? How would you define it?

What a success mean to me? Honestly, just been out at like having a business. It's I can come to it all this free day and I've you know, I've got my team and we're creating new products.

I think long terms, what does success look like for me?

Maybe been out of moved to another country with the kids, and being out of work somewhere else.

I always sound like I just want to pack everything up and move to a little village in Italy and like work in a coffee shop. Yeah, I don't know, or like going to ballet for a half a year.

Been able to do both, like spend more time with the kids probably and also been out of work at the same time, because both of those things are really important to me and what I love doing. It's just yeah, right now, that's so little and having them at home plus working and is not also I really have to separate the two, which is while on the weekend I like prioritize them.

Yeah.

Yeah, so maybe yeah success, Yeah, moving to a little collision, Italy, Maybe we'll see.

I love that. I love that.

What actually got you into the health industry in the first place, because it was you started studying nutrition after being in business, Is that right?

Yeah? I studied, so I studied business and then I started I moved to Sydney and I started studying nutrition and I was a vegetarian, and I all like was making weird and wonderful recipes in the kitchen to accommodate.

To my current diet.

And then I just got really interested in the nutrition side of things and what different foods do do your body and how they can influence how you feel. And yeah, was in Sydney and I didn't really have to work, so I went and study, and yeah.

Was there something that made you go, right, like I want to be healthy? Like do you know how sometimes people have those experiences in life, whether they know someone that gets really on Well, was it like that for you or were you just kind of really interested in being the best version of yourself?

Well, like I.

Became a vegetarian, but like ethical reasons, yes, So I just I'm not anymore, Like, yeah, it.

Was very much typical reasons.

Like I would watch videos on YouTube of like whales, spingport and like horrific things.

I'll talk to myself and I'm watching.

Them, So I just, yeah, became vegetarian and then needed to make recipes. None of my family weren't so I would need to come up with recipes that fit into my lifestyle. And then yeah, I just kind of went from there really like I try all these weird like you know, the live and detop stufe.

Yeah, yes, I remember.

How is that even allowed?

I know, I know times you know what, times have changed and there was a lot of that stuff back then, but equally now, like it's so hard to wait through all of the health and wellness information out there.

Do you know what I mean?

Like, do you have any taps on after being in the industry, people trying to work out what is the best thing for them.

It's there's so much information out there, which on one hand is and it's so easily accessible, but you've got all different types of people preaching different things like carnival diet, vegan, you know, all the different things that you can do, and there's not one size that fits all. Right, I think we can all agree that eating less processed food, to sleep, drinking more water, exercising as much as we can,

But you know, as if a.

Big and diet works for you, it's not going to work for everyone. Same with like carnivore, So I think just take from it what suits you, and like, I love trying I'll try all the wellness Dad's trends just because it's it interests me.

And I love how something can make me feel.

And I definitely know what works for me now, like to what briggers me to not feel great and what makes me feel a really good.

So, yeah, it is a real challenge.

With people listening to information and thinking that that's taking it as gospel, yes, and being really having real tunnel vision and living in their kind of own echo chamber and not being open to trying other things or listening to information that potentially goes against a belief that they currently have.

Yes, Yeah, one hundred and with to Islands, was that kind of the inspiration behind it? You know, try it because you've obviously been interested in health. You just wanted to find the quickest way to make people feel better in a way.

Yeah, kind of like learning about the body and how what we eat can have a real influence on how we feel.

Really interested me.

And then yeah, when I moved back to New Zealand after I started step, after I finished that in Sorry, I couldn't find a plant proteine that I love, So I was like okay, I'll make one, and is kind of how the brand started. And I also found it really frustrating when I was studying just how much like there's so much information out there, and some brands can really talk down to you or they try and be too clinical of science, and it's really hard for the

You must be pretty resilient and strong to run a business like I can imagine there's a lot of setbacks and things that make you question your path. Have there been a few moments where you're like, oh my god, I don't know if I can do this all the time.

Yeah, give us some examples, especially.

At the moment, like things are like things are challenging in the market.

We're seeing lots of businesses closing down.

People being made redundant, people not having as much you know, discretionary income. So it is, you know, it's a real challenge. And sometimes I'm like, someone give us some good news, right, and like it's it's really hard for people. And yes, but especially with supplements as we look more into the export market, like it's such a challenge with all the regulatory pieces in different.

Markets, and I'm like why did I make a supplement? Like why can I not just have a food? It's so much easier.

So yeah, there's a lot of times I'm like why am I doing this? But you know, I really do love what I do and I'm so grateful that I get to do it.

And what do you do when you have those moments of self doubt and you're like I just got on to it, Like is there.

Someone you turn to? Do you over a walk? Like how do you get that motivation?

Bag? Yeah, I think just stepping away from things and you're just talking to friends. I've got people that I will like sound boards, so I'll just call them in chat things through, or just even talk to my team because we're kind of very open and transparent with what is shared. Like we're a small team and we know each other and what we do on the weekends and

So, yeah, exercise and talking things through.

And I think that's one thing that I've learned with age is that people are always.

Willing to offer advice.

And talk things through with you instead of I used to kind of hide things away, not share things.

Yes, and I definitely learned like.

Just don't don't hold it and talk to people about it because people are always happy to help support you.

Yeah.

Is there a cloak that you sometimes refer back to or some kind of like mandra in life that when times you get to do get tolf that you think, Okay, okay, this is good, don't forget it.

I'm like I.

Always say to people, like my mantra is this is temporary. Like that comes especially in business and in parenting, Like some nights when I'm like trying to get a child down and it's been like an hour, and I'm like, it's like, say, calm as temporary, this is not going to be. It's not going to be like the spare bit.

Yeah.

Yeah, That's got me through a lot of really challenging.

Days like this is temporary. It's like everything's the season.

Right and so hard to remember in the moment though sometimes I'd have freaking just.

I just felt so overwhelmed this morning.

My toddler, bless him, here's the best, so much character, but because they just get so strong worled, and you just feel so overwhelmed. Sometimes you've got to be work at a certain time and the world feels like it's falling in and then you're like, hang on, I'm going to look back on this moment and wish that I could do it again. Like you know, it's it's so hard to try and be really present and grateful and those really overwhelming moments.

Yeah it is.

No, I so can understand that. It is, like it's yeah, can be some days can be really really really challenging, but it's like, Okay, this is not going to last forever. It's not going to last forever, and it's my thing. It's just so important to be and if you if you do have a job and you are working, have a career, just to be like in a job that you like and that you love. Otherwise, if home's really hard, going to a job that you don't like.

And I know that probably comes from a place of privilege, because.

Not if everyone can do that and can work in a job that they love, they just have to get any job.

But I think for me, especially when.

Home is really challenging and the kids are top, I know that I've got my kind of little outlet of work and vice versa. When works for the card, I know I can go home to my babies and got them a Cardlin.

Yes, okay, what makes you the most proud?

It's a bit of a careful I don't.

Know, probably getting customer feedback from customers of how a product like we've got a lactation support product.

It's our hero product. If you've got low milk supply, it helps supposed to milk supply.

It's just one capsule a day, and the feedback we get from that is incredible. And it could be a mum was really stressed out and had anxiety because she was not able to breastpait her child, or she was going.

Back to work and married she would be able to pump.

So the feedback from that, for example, makes me really proud because I know as a mom myself had three children and tried or breasted them that it can be so hard. A solution to that, like, I'm like, yeah, great, that that makes me proud.

Well, those days are so vulnerable. Those days are so vulnerable for new mums. Jes, I want you to paint like your perfect dreamy day. You get to slow it down, you get to do whatever you like. What does the day look like for you?

Oh, my goodness, it's sunny. I wake up, it's blue sky. Are you really affected by the weather.

I am at the moment. I am craving spring in summer.

Yeah, so affected by the weather, like waking up blue sky. The children wake up and are in a good mood, and it's probably going for a walk together, going and having something delicious to eat, dropping the kids off to my parents, going for a massage or something, just having some time along to myself.

And then just being back at home, Like I.

Really am a hummon body and just love being hottering around the house.

Which sounds probably people are like, you're.

So lame that when you do get older and you are a parent, been able to have those.

Slow days with your kids.

It's like it's really important because they are so little and not only little for a short time.

How important is it creating like good energy in the home.

Are you big on that? Yes, talk me throughout. What do you do?

Oh?

Well, it's always looks like a tornado as in my house, and that really stretches me in and I try, I try not to worry so much.

I'm like, Okay, the house doesn't need to be that you can just hang out with a child.

But for me mentally, and I know this is the case for so many other people, so many of my friends. Can you can feel really overwhelmed when the house is me see, and I'm like, I can't go to bed unless something's everything's clean.

So just having the house as clean as possible.

Like fresh sheets on the bed, the kitchens clean, the fridge is store and just.

Yeah, that helps me overwhelms what I never used to think that affected me.

That's like a mum thing. I don't know what it is.

Is that like about it when I was playing.

I know it's like the continuation of the nesting period or whatever, and you just have to feel like you have to get everything tidy.

I just never feel like it's good enough, do you know what I mean?

Yeah? Yeah, I'm like I wish I could have a cleaner And I used to like think my mom was crazy when she was.

Like, yes, do you have like one zen room in the house where you can retreat to?

Oh, my bedroom for sure, yes, yes, like love my room and it needs to be clean and tidy and set up and the bed needs to be made. Yeah, Or in the garden, to be honest, like being outside in the garden.

Yes, when it's nice, just go and hang out in the garden.

I think it's really important finding like those simple luxuries that you can kind of weave throughout your day so amongst the.

Chaos, you can be like, ah, that takes you back.

Whether it's like a nice soap or like a nice linen on your beers, it's just those tiny simple things that kind of like bring a bit of sanity.

Do you find that Yes, No, absolutely so, Like even getting home and having.

A shower, yes, yeah, when all the kids are in bed and just being clean. Yeah, I know.

And that again, I think that really is an age thing and it's making me feel really old.

It is just you need that.

I'm so so late. Are you a meditation kind of girl?

No?

Do you know? I'm not.

And I've tried to meditate, and so I probably should meditate, So I fa find it really hard.

I'm not. I like, I.

Don't even really like yoga like I need if I'm exercising, I really need to like sweat, and I love like high intensity workout like that's like I'm an act of laxa.

I don't read books. I don't really sit and watch TV.

Like I need to be doing things and that's what keeps me calm. So like I just love the chaos, like I need things to be busy and pull on and people are the wades and going.

That's really no, it's not though, because like I think people get put off by meditation. They're like, there's something wrong with me that I can't do it. I don't know that there's one size fits all, Like yes, it can be very beneficial, but you might get exactly the same or even better, you know, pay off from a workout, And I think if that works for you, fing do it.

There's no guilt bad things about that. That's great.

Yeah, I would listen to like the meditation lady Jennifer Person.

Yeah, yeah, it's like.

A yoga nidra.

Meditation talking at I've completely forgot what it's called, but I'll sometimes listen to her.

Before I go to bed.

So like that, you find the guy I had one slightly easier than just the silence of your brain where it starts going to wake up.

Yeah, I wish I could.

Some people do meditate, and I know that it's absolutely incredible for you, and I love that there's more research coming out about how beneficial it is. Yeah, it's just not that I've set time aside to really try and be good at.

So you've obviously achieved a lot in your life.

Do you find that you're a real big goal setter and manifesto like, do you have kind of discipline behind all of the stuff that you're achieving? Are you quite intentional with it or do you find that this is sort of just come as you've kind of followed what feels good.

Yeah, absolutely, that I'm not like want to write things down in terms of goals or no, I'm probably a bit more onehanded. Really interesting, yeah again, and I think that just is why I kind of love the chaos. I love just things being thrown at me, problem solution, problem solution, Like that's just.

How I love to operate.

So no, but I definitely have people on my team who are like that, and I think that's is the best balance. So I'll have ideas and I'm like, it's just like the other day, there was a product that we I was like, hey, why don't we make this? And we've already started formulating and looking at packaging and it wasn't even part of like our MPD and our MPD pipeline, but I was like, why.

Don't we do this? And we're like, okay, cool, and we can bick.

My agile and our team and do things pretty quickly and change our mind on the things if we want.

So, No, I do not.

Have that's interesting.

I would have thought that you're a big goal setter looking at you, so that's that's funny. Do you have like quite a strong instinct, like good gutting instinct.

Most of the time, I've definitely done things and I'm like, oh, that was the wrong idea, like that I should have not done that.

But most the time, yeah, I'll.

Definitely act on like this doesn't feel right, or let's look into this more, or yeah, but I'm definitely like, let's just most of the time take a risk, just do it, especially if it's something that's low risks, like why don't we just.

Give it a try. Whereas I've got someone on the team who's very risk adverse. So it's just a really good balance.

And it's me sometimes because I am quite left a field and sometimes I need someone to bring me back down to earth.

Yes, no, no, no, let's think about this first. So yeah, no, I love that you think that.

I'm like, fabit, Well, I don't know, you just you kind of I just thought maybe you'd be like, Okay, this is what I want to achieve with the next couple of years. But I love that you've kind of just rolled, you know, by the city of your pants and just go on with it.

Yeah, I don't have big plans to.

Like some people start businesses and they want to sell it in five years or something, whereas I've never seen the plan with me I didn't really have a plan when I started to Island, so it was okay, I'm just speaking of protein, and here we are nearly seven years later.

It was never let's.

Create this and sell it. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but that was just not how I saw things panning out. And I think, just I love so love what I do, and I can see myself doing it forever, plus other things, these other things that I want to do in terms of businesses. But yeah, there's no like right on this data, I hope where our revenues up here and I'm going to sell it. I just keep building and keep adding more products, expanding into

It's amazing. I love it.

Well, it's obviously working very well for you. I'm going to wrap those podcasts up with a bit of advice that you would in part to your younger eighteen year old self, Jewels and what you would say, like, knowing everything that you've been through, what would be the biggest piece of advice you give to young James.

Do you know what I was talking about with the friend the other day, because I was like, someone's like, would you have any more kids? And I was like, I absolutely would if they weren't so expensive.

But I was like, I just don't think my boobs.

Could oh oh god.

Even yeah, my eighteen year OLDLF like enjoy your body, Like enjoy your body, you know. I was so hard on myself, and looking back, I was like, what was I worried about? Very yeah, very insecure about my body and how I looked, And I wish I didn't because

Like an outcast, and like was this something wrong with me?

Because I didn't know what I wanted to do and everyone else did, so like everything works.

Out, I love.

I had that exact same thought about the body thing the other day it was my birthday and all of these memories came off and I was like, I remember thinking I had such huge thighs, Dude, I was like so tight and toned and my skin was flawless.

Like the things that you worry about and get caught up on. Yeah, it's not.

It's so shitty that it's not until ten years later that it really kicks and how good things were. And then you're like, well, shit, I don't appreciate this now, I'm never going to appreciate it.

What's the point. But I'll say this, and I'll.

Continue being really critical on myself, saying my head's really renkle today, do you know what I mean?

And this was before you know, like social media came about.

I can't even imagine what it's going to be like the our kids when they're older and the expectations that they put on themselves. So yeah, I hope that there's AE and things change, same.

Change, But I feel like the system just needs to crash.

Everything just needs to go down and we need to restart a Jels, It has been so nice to actually catch up with you. We've done a few dems in the past, so this has been nice. To properly chat and it's been awesome to have an insight into your life behind the scenes of Two Islands and your supermumming life. So thank you so much for popping on the podcast.

Thanks for having me.

Well, that was slowed down with Jils Matthews, and that was another example of when I hadn't actually upgraded my Zoom membership. It was recorded a while actually, and I would have loved for that chat to have gone longer, but unfortunately I kept getting the little notification saying this conversation is about to end, so it did rush a

Her right now is social life.

You know, she's putting everything into business and family time that she doesn't have the energy for social and you have to realize that we can't do everything at once. I still love the quote you can have it all, you just can't have it at the same time or have it now. You can have everything, just not all at once.

That's it.

So I really liked hearing that honesty from her. Also the mantra that she uses this is temporary, which I need to repeat to myself all the time, particularly being a mom or working and running a business, when you have those really hard days, this is temporary, and you look back and you wish that.

You really absorbed it in the moment.

Going into the newborn phase again, because I've got baby number two coming in April, i am so conscious of really trying my hardest to remember that this too shall pass.

I also like.

That she admitted that she's not into your traditional meditation.

I think people can get really you know.

I think it's easy to feel really inferior when people talk about the benefits of the time of meditation, and for some people it's just not them. So I love how she talked about exercise and how that gives her that feeling of, you know, freshness and feeling better. So meditation looks different on everyone, and maybe a guided meditation is a really good option because there are so many apps. I use the in Sight timer app, which is great.

There's lots of music.

So yeah, that's just one of many many apps, so you can go check them out that I loved chatting with Jewels.

She has got such good products.

I literally just tried the Electrolytes last weekend because pregnant going into summer and so good. In fact, all their products I've tried are really good. If you want to see all of the range, you can check out to alansco dot com, or if you want to follow more of Jewels online, you can check her out at Jules Matthews Jules Underscore Matthews on Instagram. Hope you're enjoyed the chat and I'll see you next week for another episode.

Will slow it down