Catharine Perry — A Day In Her Life

Catharine Perry is the chief operating officer of a global trade association, splitting her time between Omaha, Nebraska and Washington, D.C., overseeing finance, HR, operations, and member programs for an entire industry — and she still blocks her 9:00–9:30am Eastern hour as "available by phone" so she never misses daycare drop-off.

In this week’s conversation, Catharine shares the single conversation with her CEO that became the turning point in her career (she asked; he said yes), the color-coded A, B, C priority system she and her husband use to keep two travel-heavy calendars from colliding, and the 15-minute nightly reset that saves her evenings when she's solo parenting during his work trips.

What We Cover:

How Catharine turned "would you consider giving me the opportunity?" into the career pivot that eventually led to COO
The A, B, C priority coding system she and her husband use on their shared calendars to help when travel conflicts arise
The Kelly Nolan Bright Method time-blocking framework that got her out from under a paper planner and an overflowing Outlook calendar
Her honest answer on why dinner is often a separate "toddler dinner" — and why she's letting go of the guilt around that
The 15-minute nightly reset ritual (pajamas laid out, kitchen wiped down) that makes her mornings and evenings run smoother
Why 2026's personal focus word is "community," and the neighborhood social committee, group text, and progressive dinner tradition she started to build it
How she splits Claude and ChatGPT between work and personal life, and why she still hasn't migrated years of ChatGPT history
The weekly Thursday-night check-in where she and her husband say their weekend expectations out loud instead of assuming (love this one!)
What she's letting go of entirely right now, from holiday decor to the pressure of a "perfect" evening

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