Kate Northrup on Doing Less and Being Good with Money
Bestselling author and mother of two Kate Northrup shares her refreshing perspective on how tuning in to nature (and listening to your body) can help you find the time and energy to devote to what matters most.
Our Interview with Kate Northrup
In a culture that glorifies busyness, Kate’s message feels like a deep exhale. With wit, wisdom, and lived experience, she invites us to step off the hamster wheel of hustle and tune into a more sustainable and soulful way of living.
In our conversation, Kate shares how aligning with nature — through seasonal rhythms, menstrual cycles, or the lunar phases — can help us reclaim our time, energy, and personal power.
The art of doing less
Amity: Your new book about time and energy management is called Do Less. When I first saw the title, it felt like one of those paradoxical verses of the Tao Te Ching: “The Tao does nothing but leaves nothing undone.” But in the book, you make a compelling case for the productivity and sanity benefits that come from actually doing less.
Kate: Actually a different but somewhat similar Lao Tzu quote was part of the inspiration for the book: “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” I resonated with it because when we take a step back, we can see the natural world quietly at work all around us. It’s really a gift to know we can rest in the pace of Mother Earth. Our bodies are made from her, and if she can do it, we can do it.
But, yes, a lot of people have something to say about the paradox of the title. “Do less? If I do less, my whole life will fall apart!”
To be clear, “Do Less” doesn’t mean do nothing. It means do less of the things that don’t matter, or that don’t bring you joy, or that don’t get you results. So you can do MORE of the things that do.
Following cycles just like nature
Amity: You explain one way of following nature’s lead by using your menstrual cycle or the lunar cycle to help plan your schedule. Can you explain how to work with our natural cycles?
Kate: Yes! Women are cyclical creatures. Men are in some ways as well, but with women it’s more obvious because we have a menstrual cycle. And even if you don’t have a menstrual cycle, you’re still affected by the phases of the moon.
Some people think this is weird or woo-woo. But it’s actually our biology. The moon has the same four phases as the menstrual cycle, and they’re happening whether we pay attention or not. Basically, these energetic phases represent the four qualities of energy required to get anything done, and they are:
Follicular / Waxing crescent moon: Creativity, planning, new beginnings, and high physical energy
Ovulation / Full moon: Communicating, collaborating, attracting, and peak fertility or magnetism
Luteal / Waning crescent moon: Energy turns inward, focus, details, finishing projects, and putting in the work
Menstrual / New moon: Looking within, deeper connection to intuition, rest, and course-correcting
We’ve been taught to push against the ebbs and flows of our bodies and try to be super-energized and productive every single day. But women aren’t built that way. It doesn’t mean we’re less productive. It means we’re productive in a different way.
It’s helpful to track our cycles so we can support ourselves with the right activities at the right time. We’re able to be more productive and be more powerful by following what’s already happening inside the body instead of pushing against it.
Egg wisdom explained
Amity: Speaking of a natural guidance system, can you talk more on the concept of egg wisdom?
Kate: Biologically when a woman ovulates, the egg emits a signal that makes the sperm swim faster toward her. Metaphorically speaking, that is our feminine-energy-ability to attract what we want, and actually through our clear desire, speed the rate at which it comes to us.
Next, the egg decides which sperm to let in. It’s not up to the sperm. So we get to be the gatekeeper with our boundaries – deciding what is for us and what isn’t for us. Once the sperm is allowed in, if there’s something wrong with the sperm’s DNA, the egg has the ability to repair it.
The egg also has enough nutrients within her to feed herself and the sperm as they travel down the fallopian tubes to embed in the uterine lining where they’ll have a new source of nutrients. So, she attracts her desire, she approves her desire, she improves her desire, and she has the ability to nourish it.
Egg wisdom is an amazing model for us to manifest what we want in a way that doesn’t require us running all over the place, texting our girlfriends, freaking out that our desire is not coming to us and so on. There’s such tremendous trust, and knowing, and queen energy.
The beauty of asking for help
Amity: We often feel guilty or “less than” for asking for help. But you say it’s extremely important to ask for and graciously receive help when we need it.
Kate: We have to ask ourselves what we’re afraid of when we don’t ask for help. The truth is – not asking for help just makes us lonely and tired and resentful. But asking for help builds connection and intimacy. We’re being vulnerable, and in turn we give others permission to ask for help when they need it.
It makes us more available to others because when we receive help, we are more replenished and then we are more free to give when others need it. Research shows that new mothers deal better with stress and are able to see their babies in a more positive light when they receive support from friends and family. They have higher self-esteem, feel more confident, and are more resourceful when it comes to problem-solving around raising their child.
We’re so busy making sure everyone else’s needs are met, but it’s vital to put ourselves on the list. Being willing to ask for help is a true sign of strength, because it means that we know our worth is not dependent upon our own ability to handle things. And we can fully understand that our strength comes from something so much deeper than that.
The power of gratitude
Amity: Personally, I can never get enough reminders about the importance of practicing gratitude. Can you share your perspective?
Kate: One of the practices that all the happiness data in the world agrees upon is that focusing on gratitude for what we already have helps us to live more abundant lives. When we practice gratitude for what we already have – love, friendships, good health, financial stability – it actually fills us up energetically.
And then when we’re in a conversation where when we are engaging in an activity that would potentially draw more to us, when we have already grounded in what’s already good by using the practice of gratitude, we begin to behave in magnetic ways. And when we do that, what we want is drawn to us and feels safe in our presence because there is no energy of desperation.
Becoming good with money
Amity: You’ve talked recently about how many women either claim to be bad with money or say they’re too wrapped up in their goddess energy to worry about something so tedious as money. And one of the most eye-opening things I ever heard you say was that if you ignored your spouse as much as you ignore your finances, they probably wouldn’t stick around very long!
Kate: I don’t know at what point in our evolution it was modeled to us or told to us that being in our feminine energy precludes us from being in a beautiful relationship with money. But let me be the first to tell you – it does not. In fact, in fact, being in a loving, conscious relationship with your money can be one of the most important foundational bedrock aspects of being able to surrender into receiving and and feminine energy financially and otherwise.
Financial avoidance – whether it’s because you’re overwhelmed, whether you think you’re not smart enough, or you’re just like, “I’m just not good with money,” or because you think that capitalism is ignorant – is blocking the flow of money to you.
When we don’t want to handle or think about our money, it’s like saying, “I want an incredible, loving relationship with my partner, and yet I don’t wanna think about them or engage with that person in any way.”
So, we have to create and then nurture a relationship with our money. Be curious about your finances. Set a date with yourself, light a candle, and get into a feeling of safety so that your nervous system knows that looking at your bank account or business plan doesn’t require a fight or flight reaction.
When you embrace doing less, accepting help, and healing your relationship with abundance, everything else in your life becomes infinitely easier.
Attend Kate’s free workshop Good with Money
Starting April 17th, Kate Northrup is offering a free workshop with three different sessions. She’ll be covering:
Day 1: The Counterintuitive Key to Financial Stability
Why chasing more money can keep you stuck in scarcity—and what to do instead.
Day 2: Rewiring Your Financial Nervous System
The practical process that transforms financial fear into calm clarity—even when things feel tight.
Day 3: The Relaxed Money Blueprint
How to align emotional safety with practical money systems to create lasting peace.
Most financial advice focuses on the external — more income, better budgeting, or cutting back.
But if your nervous system still feels unsafe around money, no amount of action will create lasting peace. Nervous system healing is one of Kate’s specialties, and I always pick up something helpful when I attend one of her classes.
I’m attending and would love to see you there! The dates are April 17, 22, and 24. If you can’t attend live, you’ll still get the replays emailed to you. Find all of the Good with Money details here. And if you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments or send me an email.