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"We really shouldn't have to choose between career aspirations and family aspirations. There's no one way to do this!

We need to continue to push for more flexible organizations, supportive public policy, and progressive conversations at home."—Jessica DeGroot This page is for anyone looking for a "third path" to create time for work and for life: for rewarding careers, for family, and/or for other personal pursuits. Too often we imagine an "either-or" scenario: Either we work and outsource more care than we'd like—for children or other loved ones, or we sharply divide the labor of childcare and outside employment between two partners. ThirdPath is interested in re-inventing the standard ways we structure time: for work, for family, for life. This space isn't for deciding a parenting/professional ideal. It's meant for generating ideas, rethinking assumptions, sharing information about how to spend our time that's most in line with our values. If you have discovered a solution that works for you then please let us know. We would love to hear your story and maybe share your wisdom with the wider ThirdPath community.

10/20/2026

Holiday overwhelm rarely begins during the holidays. It begins now, in the assumptions nobody has discussed yet. Who is traveling? Who is hosting? Who buys gifts? Who manages school events? Who remembers traditions? Who coordinates care? Who absorbs the extra work at home and at the office? Before November arrives, start the conversation. What do we actually want this season to require of us?

10/19/2026

🎙️ We’re back! A new season of Taking Your Third Path is HERE!

This season, we’re asking one big question: “What’s your why?”

Maybe it’s being more present for your kids. Maybe it’s caring for aging parents. Or maybe it’s simply creating a life where work doesn’t crowd out the people and things you love.

Whatever your why, there’s a Third Path for you.

🎧 In our season premiere, Jessica sits down with author Warren Farrell to explore why fathers matter, how traditional gender expectations shape our choices, and why so many couples struggle to balance careers and caregiving.

Then, Melissa talks with Mary about how she and her husband keep rethinking their roles and adapting as life changes.

💡 One big takeaway? Sometimes the biggest barrier to change is simply believing it's possible.

That's why we're here: to help you imagine what's possible and take small, meaningful steps toward it.

Watch the new episode on YouTube!

💬 Now we want to hear from you: What's YOUR why? What would you like to make more room for in your life?

🔗 Episode link and ways to connect with our ThirdPath community are in the comments!

10/14/2026

Sick days happen. Appointments happen. Care arrangements fall through. Trains are late. Bodies need rest. Life doesn't stop because an organization enters its busy season. Resilient workplaces are not the ones where people never have disruptions. They are designed so disruption doesn't automatically become crisis. Where does your team still depend on one person being endlessly available?

10/13/2026

🎙️ A new season of Taking Your Third Path drops THIS WEEK!

Who decided caregiving was women’s work? And what happens when we challenge the gender norms that have shaped how we work, parent, and care for one another?

We’re kicking off the season with Warren Farrell for a thought-provoking conversation about breaking traditional gender norms, rethinking caregiving, and creating more possibilities for everyone.

✨ New perspectives. Deeper conversations. A different path forward.

🎧 Stay tuned for our season premiere!

BreakingGenderNorms

10/13/2026

People should not have to disclose every private detail of their lives to earn humane treatment at work. Flexibility can support parenting, elder care, disability, health, relationships, community, faith, chosen family, personal goals, and needs that are nobody else’s business. A better question than “Why do you need flexibility?” is often simply: “Can we make this arrangement work while meeting the needs of the role?”

10/08/2026

Some of the hardest work-life questions do not have tidy answers. That is exactly why we need to talk about them. How do we protect care and meaningful work at the same time? What happens when flexibility depends on one manager's generosity? How do families share responsibility instead of simply dividing chores? How do we stop asking individuals to solve structural problems alone? These are the kinds of conversations Taking Your Third Path exists to hold.

All new season drops NEXT week.
Follow and subscribe to join us.

10/07/2026

Not everything that arrives urgently is actually urgent. Before sacrificing an evening, moving another commitment, or pulling someone away from focused work, ask three questions:

1) What happens if this waits?
2) Who decided this deadline?
3) What are we displacing to meet it?

Sometimes urgency is real. Sometimes it is simply a habit no one has challenged. Which question would help your team most?

10/07/2026

Sometimes the hardest part of workload management is finding language that does not sound like “I just can’t handle it.”

Try this instead: “I can take this on. To do it well within that timeline, I need us to decide which of my current priorities should move.” That changes the conversation from personal endurance to shared prioritization. Leaders can make this easier by asking the question first.

Save this script for the next time “one more thing” lands on your plate.

10/06/2026

Q4 planning often begins with everything we want to accomplish. Try beginning somewhere else: What can we realistically sustain?

Review your workload before year-end urgency makes the decisions for you. What must happen? What can move? What can be simplified? What can someone else own? What should stop altogether?

Capacity planning is not lowering standards. It is making intentional decisions with finite time. Save this audit and use it before adding another Q4 priority.

10/05/2026

Q4 has started. Before asking how your team can accomplish more, it may be worth asking a different question:

Is there actually room for more?

Capacity isn’t an attitude problem. It’s the finite combination of time, attention, staffing, energy, and resources available to do the work.

When something urgent gets added, something else may need to move. That’s why one of the most useful questions a leader can normalize is:

“If this becomes a priority, what should become less of one?”

These are exactly the kinds of conversations we’re continuing inside The HUB, with people rethinking how work, leadership, caregiving, and life can fit together more sustainably.

Join The HUB and keep the conversation going with us - scan QR code!

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Philadelphia, PA

Telephone

+12157478790

Website

http://www.thirdpath.org/

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