Instagram story viewer> @allikushner> Posts

Alli Kushner

@allikushner

87

posts

558

followers

389

following

Learning to not be cringe on camera. All things ambition, caregiving, and the future of work. NYT · Forbes · Mom of 2 · Drinker of ☕️

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

Real support means the calculation of the cost for leaving the family for a few days is little or nothing in accumulation of invisible labor by @allikushner

903

17

8 months ago

I tried to bury my postpartum depression story. I tried to forget. But I couldn’t.

And with the floods of messages that pour in every time I talk about it, I now know I was never alone. There’s someone out there right now going through it — wondering how, and why, and if it ever gets better.

For me, the thing I tried desperately to hide became the foundation for everything I’m building now. Writing. Speaking. Doing. Becoming.

And while I once held this chapter with complete shame, I now lovingly hold it with both hands.
#maternalmentalhealth #momsofinstagram by @allikushner

59

12

8 months ago

We talk a lot about boredom for kids… but almost never for adults. Especially at WORK.

In my latest @forbes piece, I reached out to @drbeckyatgoodinside after hearing her talk about why boredom is essential for children.

It made me wonder: What if boredom is just as necessary for adults — not a bug, but a feature of career growth?

Some spoilers:

🌟 Doing nothing is not inefficiency — it’s discomfort.
We avoid space because we’re conditioned to fill every second.

🌟 Some of our best ideas come when we stop trying so hard.
Dr. Becky explained that margin and stillness are often the birthplace of effectiveness.

🌟 Pausing is not laziness.
It’s self-respect. It’s sturdy leadership.
It’s the practice of saying, my time matters, my energy matters, my value isn’t measured by constant doing.

As parents, especially MOMS, we’re experts at cramming productivity into every crevice of our week. But what if the thing we’ve been taught to avoid is exactly what propels our careers forward?

Swipe for a few highlights — and the link is in my bio for the full article. And don't forget to follow @allikushner for more motherhood meets ambition content! by @allikushner

2k

16

8 months ago

There’s a short list of things you commit to not doing as a parent. Mine was sooo cute. I was going to explain everything.

I was going to use logic and reason. My kids would understand the WHY behind everything because we’d have a rational, respectful little conversation and they’d nod thoughtfully.

Are you laughing yet?

I now find myself saying “because I said so” so freaking fast.

And I’m genuinely annoyed at myself, not at them. At me and my pre-kids smug confidence.

We’re in survival mode over here… by @allikushner

23

3

5 days ago

I have started and deleted this video MANY TIMES. And, it’s not because I don’t know what to say but because some part of my brain is convinced everyone is going to watch it and think who the f* does she think she is. And that’s totally possible. But here’s what I’m doing about it: I’m making that the whole damn point.

Welcome to “From Cringe to Competent!” This is a series where I document my journey learning to make video for social media in public. They are going to be very bad at first, because I have no idea what I’m doing. And that, my very few followers, i isthe whole point.

And there’s a reframe that I want to be on record calling out, and basically the whole reason I’m doing this…. the discomfort isn’t a sign I shouldn’t do this. It’s a sign I’m doing something I don’t know how to do, YET. And “I don’t know how to do this yet” is the starting line for every skill I’ve ever actually built. And every skill you’ve ever developed too. So judge away, but at least I’m learning 🤷‍♀️

Now the ask… I’m asking YOU to be my faculty. Tell me what’s working, what’s painful to watch, what you’d do differently. I’ll take the notes, possibly cry in private, and then try to learn from them.

I assume this is going to be a VERY humbling experience for me. And my first lesson, which I’m guessing I’ll need to keep reminding myself of, is that the caring-what-people-think doesn’t go away. You just stop letting it stop you from trying.

See you in class. ⬇️

#careeradvice #learninpublic #personalbrand #creatorjourney #cringetocompetent by @allikushner

25

6

8 days ago

I’m bad at making content. So I’ve decided to do it in public until I’m not…

Why? Because learning video creation is a skill, and it’s about time I stopped sucking at creating it. And since skills are best built in the open, where you get datapoints and feedback, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Here’s the funny part: I do A LOT of writing, and I think I’m pretty good at it. I’ve been published in the New York Times. I’m a contributor at Forbes.com. And I’m a pretty good speaker too, I’ve been paid to give talks at places like Google and Hershey.

But hand me a camera to make a short-form video and… yeah. Cringey. So I’m learning video content for social media in real time. I’ll be talking about what I know while learning how to create content. What do I know? Good question… I talk about all things nonlinear: life, career, and caregiving.

Follow along if you’re also trying to get better at video and content creation in 2026 or if you’re interested in nonlinear living. And tell me: what’s working, what’s awkward, what should I try next? 👇 by @allikushner

28

13

11 days ago

You don’t have to love your job. Somewhere we decided that getting a paycheck wasn’t enough and we also also had to find meaning and derive an identity from our job. Some of us have made it our entire personality. You don’t need to LOVE your job. Crazy concept, huh?

#careeradvice #9to5 #corporatelife #workingmom #ihatemyjob by @allikushner

20

2

15 days ago

Mrs. Bennet from Pride & Prejudice is one of literature’s most mocked mothers, “hysterical,” obsessed with marrying off five daughters. We laugh at her, but not the system that made her… In a world where women couldn’t inherit, earn, or own anything, it wasn’t hysteria, it was risk management. We still do this. We call women “too much,” “anxious,” “obsessed,” and somehow never bother to look at the systems beneath those things.

I did a deep dive on the invisible labor in Pride and Prejudice and a full defense of Mrs. Bennet on my Substack, link in bio.

#invisiblelabor #mentalload #fairplay #mom #workingmom

So sorry about the name mess up, Paige Connel! by @allikushner

450

34

16 days ago

No one really prepares you for the moment you leave work… but the work doesn’t leave you.

The mental replay loop. The rushed transitions. The pressure to be present while your brain is still somewhere else. The invisible line between professional mode and parent mode.

We asked leaders: How do you navigate the thin line between work and parenting?

The answers touched on everything from emotional presence and burnout to boundaries, communication, and the systems people rely on to mentally transition between work and home   @with_sundays @ashleychangdawson @momupco @mom_coach_deborah @momcareoasis @mother_a_i @allikushner

The full conversations and reflections are also live on the Josie blog today. Link in bio.

#ShiftHappens #Transitions #WorkingParents #Caregiving #Burnout by @allikushner

14

7

2 months ago

HR said the results would be ‘taken seriously’ — a horror story in 6 words
#corporatehumor #9to5life #corporatejokes #corporatelife #9to5 by @allikushner

7

1

2 months ago

May 6 is World Maternal Mental Health Day.
A year ago, I wrote about my PPD journey in the Modern Love column in The New York Times.

It was the hardest thing I’ve ever published. And the response told me everything I needed to know about how many women carry this quietly...

1 in 5 women experience a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. It is the most common complication of childbirth. And it isn’t talked about enough.

PMADs include postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and psychosis. They can show up during pregnancy, not just after. And they are NOT a reflection of how much you love your baby.

If you’re in it right now: you are not failing. You are not alone.

May is Maternal Mental Health Month. If this resonates, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Gifted link to my Modern Love piece in the comments.

#ppd #mentalhealth #postpartum #postpartumdepression #maternalmentalhealth by @allikushner

21

4

3 months ago

Delusion is the most undervalued superpower… Just over a year ago I hadn’t given a keynote or been published. My delusion propelled me to achieve a lot in a very short amount of time.
#careeradvice #motivational #careergoals #inspiring #whatif by @allikushner

33

8

3 months ago