Episode 27

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Published on:

9th Nov 2025

Disaster Diaries: PJ Day Productivity & Poolside Problems

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries from The High-Functioning Disaster.

Today’s episode is proof that pajamas and productivity can totally coexist. Sacha embraces a PJ day, gets her weekly planning done, and navigates some tough caregiving moments with honesty and grace.

After convincing her mom to finally pick up her prescriptions, a communication mix-up at the pharmacy leads to an unexpected accident — but also a win: a shower, clean laundry, and progress. Sacha also preps two weeks’ worth of pill boxes (because doing that weekly would be an Olympic sport), updates everyone’s appointments, and celebrates the arrival of her brand-new 2026 Happy Planner and expansion packs (budgeting, meal planning, and productivity layouts for the win).

Outside, it’s snowing in November, the pool still isn’t closed, and patience is wearing as thin as the temperature. But the plan is in motion: new skimmer baskets are ordered, the pool cover is ready, and a warm 69° day is on the way.

She rounds out the night with gentle Sunday yoga, a little self-forgiveness, and Dateline with Brandon — because balance is key.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Weekly planning + Happy Planner updates
  • Caregiving challenges & small wins
  • Medication refills + pillbox prep
  • Snow before the birthday (unacceptable ❄️)
  • Pool still open, new cover + skimmer baskets ordered
  • Mounjaro + bariatric maintenance reflections
  • Gentle yoga + Sunday reset
  • Dateline & downtime with Brandon

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🧭 Key Takeaways

  • Pajama days can still be productive.
  • Caregiving progress counts, even when it’s messy.
  • Planning ahead = fewer fires to put out later.
  • Winter can wait (seriously, snow, chill).
  • Gentle movement and true rest are not negotiable.

⚠️ Content Note:

Mentions of caregiving, toileting accident (handled factually, not graphically), medication management, bariatric surgery, and cold weather stress. Tone is calm, reflective, and realistic.

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Keywords

Disaster Diaries, The High-Functioning Disaster, Sacha Holder, daily audio journal, caregiving, pharmacy mix-up, medication management, Happy Planner, weekly planning, Monjaro, bariatric journey, PJ day, pool closing, skimmer baskets, first snow, gentle yoga, Sunday reset, self-care, Dateline, cozy productivity, authenticity, resilience

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About the Podcast

The High-Functioning Disaster
High-functioning on the outside. Hot mess on the inside.
You’ve got the color-coded calendar, the competent job persona, the “I’m fine!” mask down to an art—and a mental load heavy enough to throw out your back. Meanwhile, life? That's a hot mess express—total chaos with zero chill and a full tank of emotional baggage. And what makes it even worse? Nearly no one’s talking about it.

Welcome to The High-Functioning Disaster, a podcast for people who are doing their best to hold it together while navigating burnout, grief, trauma, anxiety, caretaking duties, family drama, body image issues, and a to-do list that never quits.

Host Sacha Holder isn’t the disaster (neither are you!)—life is. And this show is about making space for that truth and giving ourselves permission to say it out loud. Every week, Sacha explores what it means to be deeply human in a world that keeps demanding more. Sometimes she’s flying solo, sometimes she brings along guests and friends—but the vibe is always real, raw, unfiltered, and grounded in radical self-acceptance and permission to be human.

We talk boundaries. Body image. Mental health. Emotional labor. The moments where everything feels like too much—and the ones where we catch our breath and keep going.

This isn’t a self-help podcast. It’s a self-permission podcast.
Permission to be exhausted.
To not have it together.
To be honest about what’s hard—without needing to package it as a “lesson.”

Because you don’t need fixing.
You need space to fall apart—and still be seen.
Because some of us are just trying to make it through the day.
And here? That’s more than enough.
New episodes every Monday. Come as you are. Seriously.
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About your host

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Sacha Holder

Sacha Holder is a project manager, podcast host, and bariatric patient who’s not here to pretend it’s all perfect. With over a decade of professional experience and a whole lot of lived experience, she creates podcasts that tell the truth about what it means to live, heal, and grow — through chaos, and curveballs, while keeping it together (mostly).

She’s the voice behind Life in the Bari Lane, a bite-sized bariatric podcast for real people navigating post-op life, and The High-Functioning Disaster, a show about showing up even when everything feels like too much. Through humor, honesty, and zero judgment, Sacha builds community through conversation — because no one should have to figure it out alone.