October 21, 2025 • 41 mins
Have you ever pushed yourself to the limit -- skipping sleep, meals, or anything that doesn’t feel “urgent” -- in order to crush your To-Do List… and then crashed for days? You’re not alone. It’s ADHD Awareness Month, and in the third episode of this four-part series, we’re unpacking the Overdrive-to-Burnout Cycle—why it happens (even if you don’t have ADHD) and how to finally step out of it without losing your drive.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why the go-go-go-then-crash pattern isn’t a time management issue (and what it really is instead).
- How dopamine, interest-based nervous systems, and executive functioning shape this burnout cycle.
- The role of interoception (aka, your ability to notice what your body’s telling you) in preventing burnout.
- How to spot early warning signs before your body forces you to stop.
- Realistic ways to interrupt the pattern—without losing your drive or productivity.
Progress over perfection, always.
If This Resonates…
If you’re ready to stop swinging between overdrive and shutdown, I’d love to help. Book a free consult and we’ll map out how to build sustainable productivity that actually works for your brain. You’ll leave with a clear plan and real next steps.
📌 Book a free 1:1 consult → https://cutt.ly/ywVWsPy5
🎧 Related Episodes:
Ep. 53 - Navigating Burnout: Should You Leave Your SLP Job?
Ep. 97 - This is What They Didn't Teach Us About Being an SLP
Ep. 103 - Burnout or Bad Fit? The Question That Could Change Your Career
Ep. 109 - Is Your Relationship With Time Fueling Your Burnout?
Ep. 115 - Crushing It or Just Masking? The Hidden Burnout Plaguing SLPs
👥 Join the FB group → SLP Support Group
Keywords: ADHD burnout cycle, executive dysfunction, ADHD productivity, overwhelmed SLP, neurodivergent time management, ADHD rest, ADHD energy regulation, productivity coaching for SLPs
To find out how I can help you improve your work-life balance, click here.
Come join the SLP Support Group on Facebook for more tips and tricks!
Follow me on Instagram! @theresamharp
Learn more about Theresa Harp Coaching here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
theresa-harp_1_10-17-2025_1 (00:02):
Hey podcast listeners.
Welcome back to the show.
I am squeezing in this episodebefore my kids get home and I
anticipate that they will behome probably before I have
wrapped this up,'cause I lovethis topic so much, there's so
much that I wanna say about it.
So, towards the end you mighthear a bunch of, you know, wild
(00:24):
animals.
Literally like my, you know, notwild, but my, my dogs barking
and freaking out and then my, mychildren, but that's your
warning.
Okay.
Okay.
So I'm going to do my best tostay focused, to stay on task
and on topic and to give you asmuch value as I can in this
(00:47):
episode.
This is another episode relatedto A DHD.
It is October A DHD awarenessmonth.
But you do not need to have aDHD to relate to this topic
because I'm talking about theburnout cycle.
(01:07):
Okay?
And I will give you some infoabout how A DHD fits in here for
sure.
But you don't have to have a DHDto burn out, right?
So a lot of this information inhere is going to be relative to
you regardless of whether or notyou have a DHD or suspect that
(01:27):
you do.
Okay?
So here we go.
What is this?
A DHD productivity then collapsecycle.
This like burnout cycle.
Okay.
And to be clear, I just, youknow, a, um.
Oops.
A uh, to be clear, I'm not adoctor.
(01:50):
I'm not a licensed therapist orcounselor or social worker.
This is not medical advice.
This is just me, my own livedexperience through and through
my coaching training, um, inneurodiversity and executive
functioning.
Okay?
So just wanna throw that littledisclaimer out there.
Uh, so here's what I wanna talkabout.
(02:11):
Okay?
First of all, what is thiscycle?
That I'm, that I'm describing,and it's gonna look slightly
different.
It comes in like differentflavors for different people for
sure.
But it's basically the go, go,go, go crash.
It's that cycle of go, go, go,go, go, go, go, go, go.
(02:31):
Crash done.
Can't do anything.
And we get in this cycle.
Pretty often, at least accordingto all of you.
You know, those who I, I seeposts in Facebook groups and I
hear from colleagues I know frommy coaching clients, and I have
had a ton of personal experiencein this pattern, for sure.
(02:56):
For as long as I can remember, Iwould push, push, push, and then
crash like it was.
A cycle for me and a pa.
It was definitely a pattern, andit was not until I enrolled in
(03:17):
my Neurodiversity coachingcertification program that I
realized actually somebody elsehad to point this out to me,
that I discovered that this isa.
Classic A DHD trait.
I had no idea.
And to be clear, I'm not sayingthat if you have a cycle of go,
go, go, go, go burnout, thatmeans you have a D, h, D.
(03:38):
So just throwing that out there.
But it is a pattern within theneurodivergent brain, and it was
definitely my pattern, right?
So.
You go at like a million milesan hour for as long as you can.
You're like burning the candleat both ends, and then the
candle burns out.
So you are literally then inburnout, right?
(03:59):
Can't do anything, and you startto shut down.
Then you start to feel guilty,and then you start to panic
because while you're in thisburnout shutdown mode, nothing
is getting done, or very littleis getting done in your mind,
right?
That's what your mind is tellingyou.
So the panic sets in.
Then cue the go, go, go cycleagain, right Now, this is not a
(04:26):
time management issue, okay?
Does time management come intothis and play a role?
A hundred percent.
But this is not a timemanagement issue, and if you
have been trying to fix the waythat you spend your time during
the day to get out of thiscycle.
(04:47):
Chances are it hasn't been verysuccessful.
And I say this with the utmostrespect, love, and support.
Okay?
So what I wanna do today is giveyou some insights about why it's
happening and what actually isgoing on.
If it's not a time managementissue, what is happening?
And of course, most importantly,what can you do about it?
All right?
(05:08):
Because spoiler alert, this is apretty predictable pattern.
And it is a pattern that we caninterrupt.
We have to disrupt the pattern.
Okay?
We have to disrupt it.
But you, and you can, you canchange this pattern.
I know that you can because Ihave changed this pattern.
(05:31):
Now, does this mean I never burnout?
No, but it certainly looks a lotdifferent than it did before.
Okay.
So let's talk about why thishappens, and I'm not gonna spend
a ton of time here because Iknow you all want like the
answers, but don't fast forward,stay with me because if you
(05:52):
don't know exactly why this ishappening or if you don't have
some good ideas and guessesabout why this is happening,
it's going to be really hard foryou to solve the problem.
You have to identify the problemfirst before you can solve it,
right?
I think I heard someone say theother day on a podcast, a
well-defined.
A well-defined problem ishalfway to a solution.
(06:14):
Something like that.
Like you gotta actually reallyclearly define what's going on.
What is the issue?
What is the problem.
So with A DHD, we know thatthere are differences in
dopamine.
Production.
And it's not just the dopamine,the quantity of the dopamine
that's being produced, but it'salso the consistency.
(06:35):
So the, the pattern and thefrequency that the body is
producing dopamine is irregular,is inconsistent for someone in
someone with a DHD.
Okay?
And so.
There's, I'm not gonna get intoall the specifics.
It's not all that important tobe honest, but just know that
(06:55):
less dopamine or inconsistent orlate producing dopamine, like
it's not hitting you until thetask is due in an hour, and then
boom, you gotta go.
Right?
That is contributing here.
And when we have less dopamine,we are oftentimes trying to
chase those dopamine hits.
(07:15):
We're trying to create that sortof like high.
Or sometimes it results in likean adrenaline rush and the body
responds to that.
The brain is respo.
That happens in the brain andthe body's responding.
So with those irregularities inthe dopamine can come.
(07:36):
Some shifts in yourproductivity, in, in your
action, in how, in what kinds ofactions you're taking, when
you're taking them, the energywith which you are taking or
making those actions.
Taking those actions.
Okay, so there's definitely adopamine component here, but
keep in mind too, it's not justabout.
(07:58):
Neurochemistry.
There's also, there's a lot ofpieces that go into this, and on
a very basic level, if we justacknowledge that many of us have
what you could call an interestbased nervous system.
So a nervous system that is a,it's not mo, we're not motivated
(08:19):
by the shoulds.
Like we're not motiv motivatedby the have tos.
We're motivated by the interest.
What's.
Ping my interest.
What's keeping my interest?
Because people with A DHD canfocus.
They can focus real nice, theycan focus.
(08:40):
We can focus really, really wellon things that interest us on
things that are exciting andrewarding.
But when it's something that isboring or we don't.
Agree that it's something thathas to be done or we don't agree
with how it's supposed to bedone.
Like lots of different factors,we are gonna have a harder time
(09:02):
initiating the task and thensustaining the attention and,
and kind of re turning back,returning back to, um, focus.
When our mind starts to shift orwander.
Okay.
There's also this piece of thislike unstructured time or like
open time where it's like, whatdo I do with my day?
(09:25):
Like, what do I do right now ifI don't have a deadline?
If I don't have anything thathas to happen today?
Like what do I do with this?
Like open time, so.
That can sometimes beuncomfortable for an A DHD brain
or for, for lots of people thatcan be uncomfortable and
sometimes we start to busyourselves with, we might not
(09:48):
even know what it is that we'redoing.
We're just taking action.
More of like, it's more reactivethan proactive.
We're just like reacting to whatwe see and what we think and
we're going, but we're notnecessarily intentionally.
Spending our time on specifictasks or doing certain things.
And so we are like expendingthis energy, but it's on the, I,
(10:12):
I'm gonna use air quotes here onthe wrong things, or in the
process of spending our energyon those things, the things with
those deadlines, those shoulds,those have tos might not be
getting done.
And by the time we get there,it's like we're depleted.
Right?
And then there's also.
(10:32):
This piece about theinteroceptive awareness, the
interoceptive skills.
So for somebody with a DHD, thesubtle cues, the subtle, uh, the
subtle cues or informationthat's in our environment are
brain, doesn't clock it, not aseasily and consistently as a
(10:54):
neurotypical brain, as you know,as a.
As a neurotypical brain would.
So if these cues, if thisinformation signals are not.
In our face getting ourattention, we may miss them.
So how does that affect, or howdoes that tie into this burnout
(11:15):
cycle?
Well, burnout doesn't justhappen like out of nowhere.
It might seem like that.
But there are warning signs.
There are lots of warning signs,there's lots of information,
lots of cues, little lights onthe dashboard that are going
off, but.
(11:35):
A DHD brain might not benoticing them or they might not
be noticing them at, might notbe noticing as many of them.
They might not be noticing themas quickly or as consistently,
so that by the time the body hascaught up and you're in like in.
(11:56):
In the burnout phase, or you'reknocking on the door of burnout,
it's too late because at thatpoint the cues are really loud,
right?
Like now you're really noticingin your body, like shutting
down, cannot do this, cannot dothis anymore.
Those are the loud cues thatyour body can't ignore.
So, but when we get to thatpoint, it's too late.
(12:18):
Okay.
So I, I think about this a lotwith like my kids and with
myself even.
And for those of you who aremoms, and when I'm talking about
sort of interceptive skills, soknowing what's happening in your
body, recognizing the cues.
Uh, so for example, um, when youhave to, when you're hungry,
when you have to use thebathroom, when you have a, a
(12:41):
headache or you're not feelingright, you're not feeling well
physically.
Uh, so those are things thatare, are a lot easier to slip
through the cracks for someonewho's neurodivergent.
I can't tell you how many timesI have been running around the
house chasing after the fourkids and you know, the dogs and
doing all whatever and start tolike snap and lose my.
(13:05):
Patience.
And I'm like, what is going onhere?
And then I sort of paused for asecond and realized, oh my gosh,
I have not eaten anything inlike seven hours.
Or, oh my gosh, I've, I've hadto go to the bathroom since like
lunch and here we are.
And it's like almost bedtime.
And I'm, I haven't gone yet,right?
So.
Those cues, like I'm giving yousome like in the moment
(13:27):
examples, but like zoom out alittle bit.
There are lots of cues, lots ofwarning signs about that, about
burnout that's approaching, butwe might not be picking up on
them.
Okay, so we're gonna talk aboutthis.
I love this topic.
Could you tell how pumped I amabout this?
I love burnout.
False.
I don't love burnout.
I just love talking about thistopic and helping, helping with
(13:50):
it because I've.
Lived it for, so like, ugh.
It's just, it's so, I'm such abig part of my, of my, I don't
know, probably the last like 20plus years of my life.
Okay.
Let's talk about why burnout.
Persists or like why we haven'tdone anything about it.
(14:13):
And I don't mean to put it thatway.
I'm not shaming you.
If you've been in this patternfor a while and it's, you, ha,
it hasn't changed, you areabsolutely not alone.
Like you are so not alone.
And I want to explain some ofthe reasons why, why this hasn't
changed for you.
(14:34):
Okay.
Because you're, it, it's, thisis, this is part of the process
and there has to be some thereha you have to take some
different actions and choosesome different thoughts if you
want different results.
So we're gonna talk about that.
But some of us out there, um,myself included, will.
(15:00):
Say or think or believe thatthis is what I signed up for.
So when we're in the go, go, go,go, go.
And then burnout, like sometimeswe think that this is part of
like, this is normal, this ispart of our role.
Well, I'm an SLP.
This is like, this is how it is.
This is what I signed up for.
(15:21):
This is our field.
Like this is just what it is.
Nothing has gone wrong here.
Like, oh yeah, this is like,this is how it's supposed to be.
Right?
Or as a mom, as a parent, wethink that, well, this is like,
this is what motherhood is.
It's like putting everybodyelse's needs above your own, and
you just go, go, go, go, go, go,go, go, go.
(15:43):
This is part of motherhood andsomeday it will be better.
Someday it will be different.
And busy becomes this badge ofhonor.
It becomes like how we value, wedetermine our value, our our
self-concept.
It, it revolves around what weare accomplishing, what we are
doing.
And that is a very tricky trap.
(16:05):
It is a very tricky trap.
Try to say that 10 times fast.
Okay.
We're approaching, we got fiveminutes before the kitties get
home, so definitely gonna beinterrupted by, uh, by some
noise, but I will go on onward,as my son would say.
Secondly, this pattern.
(16:26):
Serves us.
Like if we are being honest, andI like to be honest, um, like to
be just kind of open thispattern is serving us.
If it wasn't serving us, wewouldn't, it wouldn't keep
happening.
It serves us in a lot of ways,and I think we have to get
really clearer on that.
(16:48):
Number one, that can sort of bevalidating, like, oh, okay.
No wonder I've like this.
This has been going on for awhile because there's been some
benefit to it, at least we thinklike surface level, there's
benefit.
It gets, we are able to getstuff done.
We're able to, you know, meetthose deadlines.
We're able to add something onto our schedule that like we
(17:11):
otherwise wouldn't have beenable to do.
It serves us okay, but it comes.
At such a cost, and there are somany more ways that it takes
from us that it doesn't serveus.
We have to talk about that aswell.
But let's just acknowledge thereis some, there is some value
(17:35):
that we're getting out of it,but that doesn't mean that it's
worth continuing.
Okay.
That's, that's just throwingthat out there.
We'll get there.
Some people.
This isn't.
Some people may think or believethat if we change it, we won't
(17:55):
get anything done.
This is the only way I can getstuff done.
If I just go, go, go, go, go getlike just get it all done as
much as I can, as quick as Ican, and then I rest.
Like if I were to change that,wait, what?
You want me to change that?
So you're saying like, don'twork as hard, you're saying
don't try and get it all, likeall these things accomplished,
(18:17):
but look at all these things Ihave to accomplish and the only
way I can accomplish them is ifI burn the candle at both ends.
That is a thought error.
That is a limiting belief andthat is absolutely contributing
to the burnout cycle.
It's not true.
It's totally human and normaland, and understandable that
your brain offers you that, butit's not true.
(18:39):
Okay.
We might also think that thisis, and this is that this is
what we.
This is impossible to change.
So it's sort of like the firstreason where I said like, this
is what we signed up for, butthis is a, this reason is a
little bit different.
We think that even if we wantedto change it, even if we changed
(19:00):
fields and went to anothercareer, like this is just, this
is the pattern and there's noother way.
Like this is just the only waythat it could be.
And spoiler alert, it isabsolutely not.
It's absolutely not.
Remember pattern disruption?
We talked about that.
I mentioned that a little bitearlier.
(19:21):
Pattern disruption.
We're gonna talk about how todisrupt the patterns.
And then of course, last but notleast, this is not a complete
list.
But the last thing that I willshare in terms of why this
happens is the executivedysfunctioning, right?
The, the executive functioningskills are struggling.
So.
(19:41):
They get in the way here.
They absolutely get in the wayhere.
So it's not just like a thoughterror, it's also stuff that's
happening in our brain.
Both Neurochemically, whichwe've established, but also just
in terms of the executivefunctioning skills.
Those when there are breakdownsor there are lags in the
(20:04):
executive functioning skills, itimpacts our ability to get work
done.
It impacts our ability toexecute on tasks, and so it can
run the risk of putting us intothis cycle.
Okay.
All right, so let's talk aboutwhat to do, how to interrupt the
(20:28):
cycle, all right?
Don't shoot me, don't, don'thate me.
The first thing that I wannaoffer, and some of you might,
you, some of you're gonna groana little bit maybe, but I, I
would too, like my past selfwould do, but I can't stress
(20:48):
enough how important andcritical this, this.
Point is the strategy isbecoming more present To me,
this is so impactful that Iwanna do a whole podcast episode
or maybe a couple of episodesabout being more present and all
(21:09):
the ways that it can change yourlife for the better, becoming
more present.
Noticing what is happening inour body, in our mind when we,
and this is hard to do,especially when we're in that
go, go, go, go, go mode.
We are not necessarily verypresent to what's happening.
(21:31):
We're on autopilot many times.
We are tunnel vision hyperfocus.
Oh man, I wanna go down ahyperfocus rabbit hole.
And the role, and the role thatthat plays in the burnout cycle,
but I'm not, we're we're.
Staying put, staying in thislane.
Okay?
So you need to be able to beslow down and become more
present in order to do so manyof these skills.
(21:54):
And if you can work on yourability to be more present, the
other strategies that we'll talkabout will be so much more
effective.
Secondly, noticing patterns.
Noticing patterns.
There are absolutely patternswhen it comes to our burnout
(22:15):
cycles.
So many patterns.
There's patterns in terms of thehyper focus, like the go go, go
stage.
What are some patterns there?
For example, are there certaintimes of the month, times of the
quarter, times of the year whenyou are more prone to those
(22:40):
cycles, are there certain typesof tasks that will get you into
that cycle of go, go, go, go, goburnout?
Maybe it's in term, maybe it'sum, you know.
Maybe it's more likely for youto happen with physical tasks
like chores, household projects,maybe it's work tasks with
(23:03):
deadlines, right?
What do you notice that'shappening in your body and in
your mind?
When you're in that go, go, gophase.
For me, I, if I, and you have tobe present in order to notice
this, you have to be mindful inorder to notice this, but I'll
just notice that my body is justracing, like my body is going a
million miles a minute and Iknow right now I am racing with
(23:26):
my voice because I'm actuallyrushing through this.
Sorry, people, sorry.
But it's also my excitement aswell.
So there's some patterns in thego, go, go phase.
Is it like certain like firesthat you have to put out in your
private practice, or maybe it'slike family dynamics.
It's like go, go, go, and you'redealing with like a family
(23:48):
crisis or family situation.
There are patterns.
Look for those patterns and lookfor the patterns and the warning
signs about your fatigue.
How.
Are you, here, come the, herecome the kids.
How is your body responding?
(24:09):
Like you have to notice thoseinterceptive cues.
Like I said, that interceptiveawareness of what's going on
here internally and externally.
Sometimes I'll notice, uh, mybreathing is different when I'm
in this phase.
Um, I'm more impulsive.
(24:30):
And get and take action, youknow, much more quickly.
But it's not necessarily thequote unquote best action or the
right action.
You know, that's all relative,but you get the idea.
Early warning signs.
Is it, um, stress in your, likemuscle tension in your
shoulders, in your neck?
(24:51):
For me, my back starts flaringup.
It's not the only time my backwill flare up, but that's a big
time my back will flare up.
Do you, uh, you know, obviouslysigns of exhaustion and fatigue,
but um, maybe you notice.
Bags under your eyes, or you'renoticing that your feet are
hurting more often, and likethere are different cues, but we
(25:14):
can't notice them if we're notpresent.
So refer back to the laststrategy and keep in mind what I
said, a lot of those cues arenot loud and in your face, so
they're easy to miss.
So I can't stress enough theimportance and the benefit of
slowing down and really lookingfor those clues.
(25:34):
Okay.
You also need to get on boardwith the idea that breaking free
from this pattern cannot, like,hands down the, the most, in my
opinion, the most beneficialreason of getting out of this
pattern is better quality oflife, like the quality of life,
the quality of yourrelationships.
(25:55):
Just huge impact.
But I'm gonna throw in onelittle, almost like borderline.
Not toxic, but borderline, um,what's the word?
Uh, I'm, I'm having wordretrieval issues, but I hesitate
to share this because I don'twant to perpetuate this pattern
(26:16):
of getting things done.
So take this.
If it serves you, leave it if itdoesn't.
But for my productivity junkies,those of you who are like, I
have to get these things done.
I have to get things done.
I can't afford to slow down,Theresa, blah, blah, blah,
right?
For those of you, if, if this,what I'm about to say motivates
(26:37):
you to change or like inintrigues, you sparks your
curiosity, then awesome.
What if.
The slowing down, the breakingfree from the burnout cycle can
actually help you get more done.
What if, sorry, what if thatwere the case?
(27:02):
Because for me, it absolutelyhas been true total game
changer.
And it's so counterintuitive.
We think that if we slow downthe level at which we are.
Getting things done, then wewill get less done if we rest.
(27:23):
We're not getting somethingdone, right?
If I'm resting, I'm not gettingthis done on my list.
Oh, we talk about this incoaching a lot, and this is one
of the things that I helpcoaching clients with.
So it is possible to actuallyaccomplish more when you get out
of this burnout cycle.
(27:43):
I also can't stress enough thebenefits of noticing your
thoughts.
I believe.
I believe that burnout is notsimply about doing too much.
It's not just a result of doingtoo many things.
It's also about what you arethinking.
(28:07):
It's about what's going outgoing on inside your brain, in
your mind.
Because you could be doing atask and two people could be
doing the same task, let's saywriting an evaluation report.
And each of them could bethinking very different things
(28:27):
in their brain as they arewriting it, and they could have
very different experiences inthe process.
If somebody is writing a reportand they're thinking.
Oh my gosh, this is horrible.
Oh my gosh.
There's no way I'm gonna get allof this done before the
deadline.
This is, I don't even rememberwhat we did in this evaluation.
(28:48):
I don't even know how to saythis.
What am I forgetting about that?
If I had done this, you know,three days ago or a week ago, it
would've been way easier freshin my mind.
Now I'm like struggling tostring sentences together.
Someone's gonna read this,they're gonna find a.
Mistake or an oversight, andit's gonna ruin my career, it's
gonna ruin my reputation.
That leads to a very differentexperience than the person who's
(29:14):
writing a report thinking thingslike, all right, well.
I know that I've gotta get thisreport done.
I'm gonna do the best that Ican.
I'll remember what I can.
I've got my notes to refer backto.
I'm a seasoned, experiencedclinician.
I've got this.
Or I'm a student, or I am anewer clinician.
(29:35):
I don't have to be perfect.
I'm not expected to knoweverything.
This is one piece ofinformation.
In a big file of information.
So this is not the only piece ofthis patient's puzzle, right?
That is a total differentexperience, totally different
energy.
So it also, you also need tolook at the thoughts that you
(30:00):
are thinking because they impactthe way that you're feeling.
And can lead you towards burnoutfor sure.
This is a huge piece of what Ido in coaching.
It's such a game changer.
Okay.
Another thing you can do is getvery clear on your values and
(30:21):
needs, especially in this case,your core needs.
When it comes to burnout,knowing your core needs is so
helpful because if you know whatthey are, you can figure out
ways to squeeze them in, sneakthem in, incorporate them, even
in just small doses.
(30:42):
They will give you so much more,you'll get so much more out of
that than you would in doingthings like doom scrolling,
right.
Um, you know, Netflix and justtotal like Netflix binging and
from a place of like.
This is, I've been doing thisfor days and I can't get, I
(31:03):
can't stop.
Like I'm all for a good Netflixbinge.
And I'm not saying that's a badthing, but it is, it can be a
bad thing depending upon the,the reasoning behind it and what
you're thinking as you're doingit.
So if you know what your needsare, then you can.
Incorporate them and you'll havesuch a, it will impact you on
such a, a greater level.
(31:24):
So for me, I know some of mycore needs, two of them are
quiet and movement.
So.
Just even 10 minutes.
Uh, perfect example.
Yesterday I got up, I waitedtill the last possible minute to
start my workout, and, but Imade myself do it.
(31:46):
I, I got on there, I initiatedit, and I did it for 10 minutes.
That's all I did was 10 minutes,and it was incredibly effective
because it, that is one of mycore needs.
So it doesn't take a whole lotof it.
In order for me to feel theimpact and I've, those 10
(32:08):
minutes probably added so muchmore energy on the backend.
Of my day, I was able to do moreand feel better, more
importantly, throughout my daybecause I took that time.
So knowing what your needs areand looking, okay, what are my
needs and what needs are notbeing met and this, these are
(32:28):
the first things that we drop.
You guys, you know this, this isthe first stuff that we let go
of when we are in a period oflike, go, go, go.
Gotta get stuff done.
We neglect our own stuff, ourown basic needs, our own core
needs, our own values, and wethink that that is necessary and
(32:48):
it's not.
We think that that's going tohelp us get more done and it
doesn't.
So.
Figure out what those corevalues and needs are.
I have a resource for this.
I will link to it in the shownotes.
I actually also have anotherresource that's coming.
I'm like just about finishedwith it, where I've created a
GPT and chat GPT that will helpyou in like less than three
(33:13):
minutes, get your core valuesand needs outlined for you.
So stay tuned for that.
Uh, I will, I'll.
Link it back on the show orI'll, I'll let you know when
it's ready and make sure thatyou guys have access to it.
Okay.
But for now, even just lookingat the values and needs resource
that I currently have that'sfree is really helpful.
(33:34):
Okay.
So take a look at that in theshow notes.
All right.
I've got just a couple thingsleft for you.
Couple final tips.
This one has been really helpfulfor me noticing and listening
to.
My energy levels.
So remember back to the firstcouple strategies.
(33:54):
You need to slow down, be morepresent and mindful noticing
patterns, okay?
Those are important here when itcomes to noticing what your
natural rhythms and energy islike.
Okay?
There are gonna be days whereyou're gonna wake up and you're
gonna have.
(34:14):
You're gonna feel great, right?
You're gonna, well, I hope thatthere are days like that.
You wake up, you feel energized,or maybe you don't wake up and
you, maybe that is never thecase for you, but shortly after
you start your day, at somepoint you're having a, a really
high energy feel good kind ofday, right?
You could tackle just aboutanything.
And then there are gonna be daysor moments where you just don't
(34:39):
have much in the tank.
And sometimes it's reallyfrustrating when the energy that
we have doesn't match thedemands on our schedule.
And the thing that I havelearned to that has been so
helpful for me is to honorthose.
(35:01):
Shifts are those differences inmy energy and to listen to them
as much as I can.
So I might have the best laidplans of all this stuff I wanna
get done on a day.
And let's say I wake up and Ijust am not feeling it.
I'm just not feeling it.
Does that mean nothing getsaccomplished?
No, almost never.
(35:22):
That's, that's almost never thecase.
So don't you know my all ornothing thinking here?
Or like all or nothing thinkershere don't that, that's not what
I'm saying.
But what I am saying is when Istarted just saying to myself,
okay, you know what, today isjust a little bit lower.
I'm feeling more physicallytired.
I'm feeling a little bit, youknow, my emotions are running
(35:45):
high.
Um, you know, whatever it is.
Just noticing that and allowing.
For that, allowing space forthat and just shifting my
expectations.
Will I still get the things donethat I have to get done?
Maybe probably, you know, if itreally needs to get done, but
what can wait, what can I do atlike.
A B minus level instead of an aplus level, what could I just do
(36:10):
a little bit of and not actuallyfinish?
What could I add into my day interms of my needs or self care
that to just listen to my body,that would actually support me
and help me take care of me?
Okay, so once you sort of noticethat and honor it.
Oh gosh.
(36:30):
It was such, it's such a gamechanger.
It just gives you thispermission.
It's very permissive and youjust feel like, alright, I am
who I am.
I, I feel how I feel and I'mjust going to be a little bit
more gentle with myself todayand everything is gonna be
absolutely fine.
Okay.
I sometimes used to tell myself,this is speech therapy, not
(36:51):
chemotherapy.
I just,'cause sometimes in mymind I would hype it up so much.
Like, oh, I can't cancel asession.
There's no, oh my gosh, what arethey gonna think?
It's last minute.
Oh my gosh.
They're gonna think I flakedout, or they're gonna think this
isn't important, or blah blah,blah.
Right.
It's okay.
It's okay.
The world will not stop turning.
All right.
(37:13):
Okay.
And then the last thing that I'mgonna offer you here is to
protect.
And honor rest, not just on yourlow energy days or when things
are feeling off, but proactivelybuilding in time for rest.
When you notice that your bodyis pushing through, that's when
(37:36):
you need to optimize thosemoments of rest, prioritize, and
protect that rest.
Now, if you are in the burnoutphase of this cycle.
Absolutely.
Rest, rest, rest, rest.
And that's a period of timewhere hitting your own needs and
really listening to your bodyand your needs is really, really
important.
But also in that ramp up.
(37:59):
To burnout in the in the go, go,go phase.
When you're in that, we have toget you, we have to start
shifting that to change thatpart of the pattern, and one way
that you can do that is byprioritizing and protecting
periods of rest.
Normalize this.
When I started thinking aboutrest as a productivity strategy,
(38:20):
that was a game changer for me.
Like, oh, okay.
Do I want to stop doing what I'mdoing right now and go to bed?
No.
'cause I really like doing thisthing.
I'm really interested in it.
It's feeling good right now, andI, I'm not tired at this moment.
I'll be tired tomorrow, butthat's tomorrow's problem, not
today's, but when I shifted thethinking to, to, okay, by
(38:43):
prioritizing rest, now I willfeel better and actually be more
productive tomorrow.
That was like, okay, yeah, thishelps me be productive.
Rest helps me get things donethat I wanna get done.
It is a way to regulate and takecare of yourself, and it's
absolutely a requirement.
(39:05):
It's never a reward.
Okay, I hope you hear that Restis not the reward.
It's the requirement, it's aresponsibility and you are the
only one who can do it for you.
No one else is going to liketake you and sit you down and
(39:26):
make you a meal and you know,give you quiet and like no one
else can do that for you.
No one else is gonna do it foryou.
You have to know what your, whatways you like to rest and what
your core needs are, and youhave to meet them yourself.
Okay.
And as always, I know I say thisa lot, but as always with
anything progress overperfection, there is no such
(39:49):
thing as perfect.
And this is all about makingprogress, especially with the
N-A-D-H-D brain.
Okay.
I hope that this was helpful.
I've got a bunch of otherepisodes on burnout.
I will link to them in the shownotes, but episode 53, episode 1
0 3, 1 0 9 and one 15 are all.
(40:12):
They all touch on burnout, socheck those out.
If this is a topic that you wantsome more support with, and if
you're ready to take this tothe, to the next level, to the
point where you're like, yes, Iwanna do this and I want help.
I wanna make it easier onmyself.
I wanna invest in myself and dothis for me.
Book a call.
I'm happy to walk you throughhow I can help you.
(40:34):
You are the only one that can dothat for you as well, so just
throwing it out there.
I would love to tell you how Ican help, and consults are
always free.
You'll leave there with at leasta very clear plan of what you
need to do to start feelingbetter.
(40:55):
All right.
That's it for this week'sepisode.
This was a long one.
Hope you hung in there.
I will talk to y'all next week.
Bye.
Hey podcast listeners.
Welcome back to the show.
I am squeezing in this episodebefore my kids get home and I
anticipate that they will behome probably before I have
wrapped this up,'cause I lovethis topic so much, there's so
much that I wanna say about it.
So, towards the end you mighthear a bunch of, you know, wild
(00:24):
animals.
Literally like my, you know, notwild, but my, my dogs barking
and freaking out and then my, mychildren, but that's your
warning.
Okay.
Okay.
So I'm going to do my best tostay focused, to stay on task
and on topic and to give you asmuch value as I can in this
(00:47):
episode.
This is another episode relatedto A DHD.
It is October A DHD awarenessmonth.
But you do not need to have aDHD to relate to this topic
because I'm talking about theburnout cycle.
(01:07):
Okay?
And I will give you some infoabout how A DHD fits in here for
sure.
But you don't have to have a DHDto burn out, right?
So a lot of this information inhere is going to be relative to
you regardless of whether or notyou have a DHD or suspect that
(01:27):
you do.
Okay?
So here we go.
What is this?
A DHD productivity then collapsecycle.
This like burnout cycle.
Okay.
And to be clear, I just, youknow, a, um.
Oops.
A uh, to be clear, I'm not adoctor.
(01:50):
I'm not a licensed therapist orcounselor or social worker.
This is not medical advice.
This is just me, my own livedexperience through and through
my coaching training, um, inneurodiversity and executive
functioning.
Okay?
So just wanna throw that littledisclaimer out there.
Uh, so here's what I wanna talkabout.
(02:11):
Okay?
First of all, what is thiscycle?
That I'm, that I'm describing,and it's gonna look slightly
different.
It comes in like differentflavors for different people for
sure.
But it's basically the go, go,go, go crash.
It's that cycle of go, go, go,go, go, go, go, go, go.
(02:31):
Crash done.
Can't do anything.
And we get in this cycle.
Pretty often, at least accordingto all of you.
You know, those who I, I seeposts in Facebook groups and I
hear from colleagues I know frommy coaching clients, and I have
had a ton of personal experiencein this pattern, for sure.
(02:56):
For as long as I can remember, Iwould push, push, push, and then
crash like it was.
A cycle for me and a pa.
It was definitely a pattern, andit was not until I enrolled in
(03:17):
my Neurodiversity coachingcertification program that I
realized actually somebody elsehad to point this out to me,
that I discovered that this isa.
Classic A DHD trait.
I had no idea.
And to be clear, I'm not sayingthat if you have a cycle of go,
go, go, go, go burnout, thatmeans you have a D, h, D.
(03:38):
So just throwing that out there.
But it is a pattern within theneurodivergent brain, and it was
definitely my pattern, right?
So.
You go at like a million milesan hour for as long as you can.
You're like burning the candleat both ends, and then the
candle burns out.
So you are literally then inburnout, right?
(03:59):
Can't do anything, and you startto shut down.
Then you start to feel guilty,and then you start to panic
because while you're in thisburnout shutdown mode, nothing
is getting done, or very littleis getting done in your mind,
right?
That's what your mind is tellingyou.
So the panic sets in.
Then cue the go, go, go cycleagain, right Now, this is not a
(04:26):
time management issue, okay?
Does time management come intothis and play a role?
A hundred percent.
But this is not a timemanagement issue, and if you
have been trying to fix the waythat you spend your time during
the day to get out of thiscycle.
(04:47):
Chances are it hasn't been verysuccessful.
And I say this with the utmostrespect, love, and support.
Okay?
So what I wanna do today is giveyou some insights about why it's
happening and what actually isgoing on.
If it's not a time managementissue, what is happening?
And of course, most importantly,what can you do about it?
All right?
(05:08):
Because spoiler alert, this is apretty predictable pattern.
And it is a pattern that we caninterrupt.
We have to disrupt the pattern.
Okay?
We have to disrupt it.
But you, and you can, you canchange this pattern.
I know that you can because Ihave changed this pattern.
(05:31):
Now, does this mean I never burnout?
No, but it certainly looks a lotdifferent than it did before.
Okay.
So let's talk about why thishappens, and I'm not gonna spend
a ton of time here because Iknow you all want like the
answers, but don't fast forward,stay with me because if you
(05:52):
don't know exactly why this ishappening or if you don't have
some good ideas and guessesabout why this is happening,
it's going to be really hard foryou to solve the problem.
You have to identify the problemfirst before you can solve it,
right?
I think I heard someone say theother day on a podcast, a
well-defined.
A well-defined problem ishalfway to a solution.
(06:14):
Something like that.
Like you gotta actually reallyclearly define what's going on.
What is the issue?
What is the problem.
So with A DHD, we know thatthere are differences in
dopamine.
Production.
And it's not just the dopamine,the quantity of the dopamine
that's being produced, but it'salso the consistency.
(06:35):
So the, the pattern and thefrequency that the body is
producing dopamine is irregular,is inconsistent for someone in
someone with a DHD.
Okay?
And so.
There's, I'm not gonna get intoall the specifics.
It's not all that important tobe honest, but just know that
(06:55):
less dopamine or inconsistent orlate producing dopamine, like
it's not hitting you until thetask is due in an hour, and then
boom, you gotta go.
Right?
That is contributing here.
And when we have less dopamine,we are oftentimes trying to
chase those dopamine hits.
(07:15):
We're trying to create that sortof like high.
Or sometimes it results in likean adrenaline rush and the body
responds to that.
The brain is respo.
That happens in the brain andthe body's responding.
So with those irregularities inthe dopamine can come.
(07:36):
Some shifts in yourproductivity, in, in your
action, in how, in what kinds ofactions you're taking, when
you're taking them, the energywith which you are taking or
making those actions.
Taking those actions.
Okay, so there's definitely adopamine component here, but
keep in mind too, it's not justabout.
(07:58):
Neurochemistry.
There's also, there's a lot ofpieces that go into this, and on
a very basic level, if we justacknowledge that many of us have
what you could call an interestbased nervous system.
So a nervous system that is a,it's not mo, we're not motivated
(08:19):
by the shoulds.
Like we're not motiv motivatedby the have tos.
We're motivated by the interest.
What's.
Ping my interest.
What's keeping my interest?
Because people with A DHD canfocus.
They can focus real nice, theycan focus.
(08:40):
We can focus really, really wellon things that interest us on
things that are exciting andrewarding.
But when it's something that isboring or we don't.
Agree that it's something thathas to be done or we don't agree
with how it's supposed to bedone.
Like lots of different factors,we are gonna have a harder time
(09:02):
initiating the task and thensustaining the attention and,
and kind of re turning back,returning back to, um, focus.
When our mind starts to shift orwander.
Okay.
There's also this piece of thislike unstructured time or like
open time where it's like, whatdo I do with my day?
(09:25):
Like, what do I do right now ifI don't have a deadline?
If I don't have anything thathas to happen today?
Like what do I do with this?
Like open time, so.
That can sometimes beuncomfortable for an A DHD brain
or for, for lots of people thatcan be uncomfortable and
sometimes we start to busyourselves with, we might not
(09:48):
even know what it is that we'redoing.
We're just taking action.
More of like, it's more reactivethan proactive.
We're just like reacting to whatwe see and what we think and
we're going, but we're notnecessarily intentionally.
Spending our time on specifictasks or doing certain things.
And so we are like expendingthis energy, but it's on the, I,
(10:12):
I'm gonna use air quotes here onthe wrong things, or in the
process of spending our energyon those things, the things with
those deadlines, those shoulds,those have tos might not be
getting done.
And by the time we get there,it's like we're depleted.
Right?
And then there's also.
(10:32):
This piece about theinteroceptive awareness, the
interoceptive skills.
So for somebody with a DHD, thesubtle cues, the subtle, uh, the
subtle cues or informationthat's in our environment are
brain, doesn't clock it, not aseasily and consistently as a
(10:54):
neurotypical brain, as you know,as a.
As a neurotypical brain would.
So if these cues, if thisinformation signals are not.
In our face getting ourattention, we may miss them.
So how does that affect, or howdoes that tie into this burnout
(11:15):
cycle?
Well, burnout doesn't justhappen like out of nowhere.
It might seem like that.
But there are warning signs.
There are lots of warning signs,there's lots of information,
lots of cues, little lights onthe dashboard that are going
off, but.
(11:35):
A DHD brain might not benoticing them or they might not
be noticing them at, might notbe noticing as many of them.
They might not be noticing themas quickly or as consistently,
so that by the time the body hascaught up and you're in like in.
(11:56):
In the burnout phase, or you'reknocking on the door of burnout,
it's too late because at thatpoint the cues are really loud,
right?
Like now you're really noticingin your body, like shutting
down, cannot do this, cannot dothis anymore.
Those are the loud cues thatyour body can't ignore.
So, but when we get to thatpoint, it's too late.
(12:18):
Okay.
So I, I think about this a lotwith like my kids and with
myself even.
And for those of you who aremoms, and when I'm talking about
sort of interceptive skills, soknowing what's happening in your
body, recognizing the cues.
Uh, so for example, um, when youhave to, when you're hungry,
when you have to use thebathroom, when you have a, a
(12:41):
headache or you're not feelingright, you're not feeling well
physically.
Uh, so those are things thatare, are a lot easier to slip
through the cracks for someonewho's neurodivergent.
I can't tell you how many timesI have been running around the
house chasing after the fourkids and you know, the dogs and
doing all whatever and start tolike snap and lose my.
(13:05):
Patience.
And I'm like, what is going onhere?
And then I sort of paused for asecond and realized, oh my gosh,
I have not eaten anything inlike seven hours.
Or, oh my gosh, I've, I've hadto go to the bathroom since like
lunch and here we are.
And it's like almost bedtime.
And I'm, I haven't gone yet,right?
So.
Those cues, like I'm giving yousome like in the moment
(13:27):
examples, but like zoom out alittle bit.
There are lots of cues, lots ofwarning signs about that, about
burnout that's approaching, butwe might not be picking up on
them.
Okay, so we're gonna talk aboutthis.
I love this topic.
Could you tell how pumped I amabout this?
I love burnout.
False.
I don't love burnout.
I just love talking about thistopic and helping, helping with
(13:50):
it because I've.
Lived it for, so like, ugh.
It's just, it's so, I'm such abig part of my, of my, I don't
know, probably the last like 20plus years of my life.
Okay.
Let's talk about why burnout.
Persists or like why we haven'tdone anything about it.
(14:13):
And I don't mean to put it thatway.
I'm not shaming you.
If you've been in this patternfor a while and it's, you, ha,
it hasn't changed, you areabsolutely not alone.
Like you are so not alone.
And I want to explain some ofthe reasons why, why this hasn't
changed for you.
(14:34):
Okay.
Because you're, it, it's, thisis, this is part of the process
and there has to be some thereha you have to take some
different actions and choosesome different thoughts if you
want different results.
So we're gonna talk about that.
But some of us out there, um,myself included, will.
(15:00):
Say or think or believe thatthis is what I signed up for.
So when we're in the go, go, go,go, go.
And then burnout, like sometimeswe think that this is part of
like, this is normal, this ispart of our role.
Well, I'm an SLP.
This is like, this is how it is.
This is what I signed up for.
(15:21):
This is our field.
Like this is just what it is.
Nothing has gone wrong here.
Like, oh yeah, this is like,this is how it's supposed to be.
Right?
Or as a mom, as a parent, wethink that, well, this is like,
this is what motherhood is.
It's like putting everybodyelse's needs above your own, and
you just go, go, go, go, go, go,go, go, go.
(15:43):
This is part of motherhood andsomeday it will be better.
Someday it will be different.
And busy becomes this badge ofhonor.
It becomes like how we value, wedetermine our value, our our
self-concept.
It, it revolves around what weare accomplishing, what we are
doing.
And that is a very tricky trap.
(16:05):
It is a very tricky trap.
Try to say that 10 times fast.
Okay.
We're approaching, we got fiveminutes before the kitties get
home, so definitely gonna beinterrupted by, uh, by some
noise, but I will go on onward,as my son would say.
Secondly, this pattern.
(16:26):
Serves us.
Like if we are being honest, andI like to be honest, um, like to
be just kind of open thispattern is serving us.
If it wasn't serving us, wewouldn't, it wouldn't keep
happening.
It serves us in a lot of ways,and I think we have to get
really clearer on that.
(16:48):
Number one, that can sort of bevalidating, like, oh, okay.
No wonder I've like this.
This has been going on for awhile because there's been some
benefit to it, at least we thinklike surface level, there's
benefit.
It gets, we are able to getstuff done.
We're able to, you know, meetthose deadlines.
We're able to add something onto our schedule that like we
(17:11):
otherwise wouldn't have beenable to do.
It serves us okay, but it comes.
At such a cost, and there are somany more ways that it takes
from us that it doesn't serveus.
We have to talk about that aswell.
But let's just acknowledge thereis some, there is some value
(17:35):
that we're getting out of it,but that doesn't mean that it's
worth continuing.
Okay.
That's, that's just throwingthat out there.
We'll get there.
Some people.
This isn't.
Some people may think or believethat if we change it, we won't
(17:55):
get anything done.
This is the only way I can getstuff done.
If I just go, go, go, go, go getlike just get it all done as
much as I can, as quick as Ican, and then I rest.
Like if I were to change that,wait, what?
You want me to change that?
So you're saying like, don'twork as hard, you're saying
don't try and get it all, likeall these things accomplished,
(18:17):
but look at all these things Ihave to accomplish and the only
way I can accomplish them is ifI burn the candle at both ends.
That is a thought error.
That is a limiting belief andthat is absolutely contributing
to the burnout cycle.
It's not true.
It's totally human and normaland, and understandable that
your brain offers you that, butit's not true.
(18:39):
Okay.
We might also think that thisis, and this is that this is
what we.
This is impossible to change.
So it's sort of like the firstreason where I said like, this
is what we signed up for, butthis is a, this reason is a
little bit different.
We think that even if we wantedto change it, even if we changed
(19:00):
fields and went to anothercareer, like this is just, this
is the pattern and there's noother way.
Like this is just the only waythat it could be.
And spoiler alert, it isabsolutely not.
It's absolutely not.
Remember pattern disruption?
We talked about that.
I mentioned that a little bitearlier.
(19:21):
Pattern disruption.
We're gonna talk about how todisrupt the patterns.
And then of course, last but notleast, this is not a complete
list.
But the last thing that I willshare in terms of why this
happens is the executivedysfunctioning, right?
The, the executive functioningskills are struggling.
So.
(19:41):
They get in the way here.
They absolutely get in the wayhere.
So it's not just like a thoughterror, it's also stuff that's
happening in our brain.
Both Neurochemically, whichwe've established, but also just
in terms of the executivefunctioning skills.
Those when there are breakdownsor there are lags in the
(20:04):
executive functioning skills, itimpacts our ability to get work
done.
It impacts our ability toexecute on tasks, and so it can
run the risk of putting us intothis cycle.
Okay.
All right, so let's talk aboutwhat to do, how to interrupt the
(20:28):
cycle, all right?
Don't shoot me, don't, don'thate me.
The first thing that I wannaoffer, and some of you might,
you, some of you're gonna groana little bit maybe, but I, I
would too, like my past selfwould do, but I can't stress
(20:48):
enough how important andcritical this, this.
Point is the strategy isbecoming more present To me,
this is so impactful that Iwanna do a whole podcast episode
or maybe a couple of episodesabout being more present and all
(21:09):
the ways that it can change yourlife for the better, becoming
more present.
Noticing what is happening inour body, in our mind when we,
and this is hard to do,especially when we're in that
go, go, go, go, go mode.
We are not necessarily verypresent to what's happening.
(21:31):
We're on autopilot many times.
We are tunnel vision hyperfocus.
Oh man, I wanna go down ahyperfocus rabbit hole.
And the role, and the role thatthat plays in the burnout cycle,
but I'm not, we're we're.
Staying put, staying in thislane.
Okay?
So you need to be able to beslow down and become more
present in order to do so manyof these skills.
(21:54):
And if you can work on yourability to be more present, the
other strategies that we'll talkabout will be so much more
effective.
Secondly, noticing patterns.
Noticing patterns.
There are absolutely patternswhen it comes to our burnout
(22:15):
cycles.
So many patterns.
There's patterns in terms of thehyper focus, like the go go, go
stage.
What are some patterns there?
For example, are there certaintimes of the month, times of the
quarter, times of the year whenyou are more prone to those
(22:40):
cycles, are there certain typesof tasks that will get you into
that cycle of go, go, go, go, goburnout?
Maybe it's in term, maybe it'sum, you know.
Maybe it's more likely for youto happen with physical tasks
like chores, household projects,maybe it's work tasks with
(23:03):
deadlines, right?
What do you notice that'shappening in your body and in
your mind?
When you're in that go, go, gophase.
For me, I, if I, and you have tobe present in order to notice
this, you have to be mindful inorder to notice this, but I'll
just notice that my body is justracing, like my body is going a
million miles a minute and Iknow right now I am racing with
(23:26):
my voice because I'm actuallyrushing through this.
Sorry, people, sorry.
But it's also my excitement aswell.
So there's some patterns in thego, go, go phase.
Is it like certain like firesthat you have to put out in your
private practice, or maybe it'slike family dynamics.
It's like go, go, go, and you'redealing with like a family
(23:48):
crisis or family situation.
There are patterns.
Look for those patterns and lookfor the patterns and the warning
signs about your fatigue.
How.
Are you, here, come the, herecome the kids.
How is your body responding?
(24:09):
Like you have to notice thoseinterceptive cues.
Like I said, that interceptiveawareness of what's going on
here internally and externally.
Sometimes I'll notice, uh, mybreathing is different when I'm
in this phase.
Um, I'm more impulsive.
(24:30):
And get and take action, youknow, much more quickly.
But it's not necessarily thequote unquote best action or the
right action.
You know, that's all relative,but you get the idea.
Early warning signs.
Is it, um, stress in your, likemuscle tension in your
shoulders, in your neck?
(24:51):
For me, my back starts flaringup.
It's not the only time my backwill flare up, but that's a big
time my back will flare up.
Do you, uh, you know, obviouslysigns of exhaustion and fatigue,
but um, maybe you notice.
Bags under your eyes, or you'renoticing that your feet are
hurting more often, and likethere are different cues, but we
(25:14):
can't notice them if we're notpresent.
So refer back to the laststrategy and keep in mind what I
said, a lot of those cues arenot loud and in your face, so
they're easy to miss.
So I can't stress enough theimportance and the benefit of
slowing down and really lookingfor those clues.
(25:34):
Okay.
You also need to get on boardwith the idea that breaking free
from this pattern cannot, like,hands down the, the most, in my
opinion, the most beneficialreason of getting out of this
pattern is better quality oflife, like the quality of life,
the quality of yourrelationships.
(25:55):
Just huge impact.
But I'm gonna throw in onelittle, almost like borderline.
Not toxic, but borderline, um,what's the word?
Uh, I'm, I'm having wordretrieval issues, but I hesitate
to share this because I don'twant to perpetuate this pattern
(26:16):
of getting things done.
So take this.
If it serves you, leave it if itdoesn't.
But for my productivity junkies,those of you who are like, I
have to get these things done.
I have to get things done.
I can't afford to slow down,Theresa, blah, blah, blah,
right?
For those of you, if, if this,what I'm about to say motivates
(26:37):
you to change or like inintrigues, you sparks your
curiosity, then awesome.
What if.
The slowing down, the breakingfree from the burnout cycle can
actually help you get more done.
What if, sorry, what if thatwere the case?
(27:02):
Because for me, it absolutelyhas been true total game
changer.
And it's so counterintuitive.
We think that if we slow downthe level at which we are.
Getting things done, then wewill get less done if we rest.
(27:23):
We're not getting somethingdone, right?
If I'm resting, I'm not gettingthis done on my list.
Oh, we talk about this incoaching a lot, and this is one
of the things that I helpcoaching clients with.
So it is possible to actuallyaccomplish more when you get out
of this burnout cycle.
(27:43):
I also can't stress enough thebenefits of noticing your
thoughts.
I believe.
I believe that burnout is notsimply about doing too much.
It's not just a result of doingtoo many things.
It's also about what you arethinking.
(28:07):
It's about what's going outgoing on inside your brain, in
your mind.
Because you could be doing atask and two people could be
doing the same task, let's saywriting an evaluation report.
And each of them could bethinking very different things
(28:27):
in their brain as they arewriting it, and they could have
very different experiences inthe process.
If somebody is writing a reportand they're thinking.
Oh my gosh, this is horrible.
Oh my gosh.
There's no way I'm gonna get allof this done before the
deadline.
This is, I don't even rememberwhat we did in this evaluation.
(28:48):
I don't even know how to saythis.
What am I forgetting about that?
If I had done this, you know,three days ago or a week ago, it
would've been way easier freshin my mind.
Now I'm like struggling tostring sentences together.
Someone's gonna read this,they're gonna find a.
Mistake or an oversight, andit's gonna ruin my career, it's
gonna ruin my reputation.
That leads to a very differentexperience than the person who's
(29:14):
writing a report thinking thingslike, all right, well.
I know that I've gotta get thisreport done.
I'm gonna do the best that Ican.
I'll remember what I can.
I've got my notes to refer backto.
I'm a seasoned, experiencedclinician.
I've got this.
Or I'm a student, or I am anewer clinician.
(29:35):
I don't have to be perfect.
I'm not expected to knoweverything.
This is one piece ofinformation.
In a big file of information.
So this is not the only piece ofthis patient's puzzle, right?
That is a total differentexperience, totally different
energy.
So it also, you also need tolook at the thoughts that you
(30:00):
are thinking because they impactthe way that you're feeling.
And can lead you towards burnoutfor sure.
This is a huge piece of what Ido in coaching.
It's such a game changer.
Okay.
Another thing you can do is getvery clear on your values and
(30:21):
needs, especially in this case,your core needs.
When it comes to burnout,knowing your core needs is so
helpful because if you know whatthey are, you can figure out
ways to squeeze them in, sneakthem in, incorporate them, even
in just small doses.
(30:42):
They will give you so much more,you'll get so much more out of
that than you would in doingthings like doom scrolling,
right.
Um, you know, Netflix and justtotal like Netflix binging and
from a place of like.
This is, I've been doing thisfor days and I can't get, I
(31:03):
can't stop.
Like I'm all for a good Netflixbinge.
And I'm not saying that's a badthing, but it is, it can be a
bad thing depending upon the,the reasoning behind it and what
you're thinking as you're doingit.
So if you know what your needsare, then you can.
Incorporate them and you'll havesuch a, it will impact you on
such a, a greater level.
(31:24):
So for me, I know some of mycore needs, two of them are
quiet and movement.
So.
Just even 10 minutes.
Uh, perfect example.
Yesterday I got up, I waitedtill the last possible minute to
start my workout, and, but Imade myself do it.
(31:46):
I, I got on there, I initiatedit, and I did it for 10 minutes.
That's all I did was 10 minutes,and it was incredibly effective
because it, that is one of mycore needs.
So it doesn't take a whole lotof it.
In order for me to feel theimpact and I've, those 10
(32:08):
minutes probably added so muchmore energy on the backend.
Of my day, I was able to do moreand feel better, more
importantly, throughout my daybecause I took that time.
So knowing what your needs areand looking, okay, what are my
needs and what needs are notbeing met and this, these are
(32:28):
the first things that we drop.
You guys, you know this, this isthe first stuff that we let go
of when we are in a period oflike, go, go, go.
Gotta get stuff done.
We neglect our own stuff, ourown basic needs, our own core
needs, our own values, and wethink that that is necessary and
(32:48):
it's not.
We think that that's going tohelp us get more done and it
doesn't.
So.
Figure out what those corevalues and needs are.
I have a resource for this.
I will link to it in the shownotes.
I actually also have anotherresource that's coming.
I'm like just about finishedwith it, where I've created a
GPT and chat GPT that will helpyou in like less than three
(33:13):
minutes, get your core valuesand needs outlined for you.
So stay tuned for that.
Uh, I will, I'll.
Link it back on the show orI'll, I'll let you know when
it's ready and make sure thatyou guys have access to it.
Okay.
But for now, even just lookingat the values and needs resource
that I currently have that'sfree is really helpful.
(33:34):
Okay.
So take a look at that in theshow notes.
All right.
I've got just a couple thingsleft for you.
Couple final tips.
This one has been really helpfulfor me noticing and listening
to.
My energy levels.
So remember back to the firstcouple strategies.
(33:54):
You need to slow down, be morepresent and mindful noticing
patterns, okay?
Those are important here when itcomes to noticing what your
natural rhythms and energy islike.
Okay?
There are gonna be days whereyou're gonna wake up and you're
gonna have.
(34:14):
You're gonna feel great, right?
You're gonna, well, I hope thatthere are days like that.
You wake up, you feel energized,or maybe you don't wake up and
you, maybe that is never thecase for you, but shortly after
you start your day, at somepoint you're having a, a really
high energy feel good kind ofday, right?
You could tackle just aboutanything.
And then there are gonna be daysor moments where you just don't
(34:39):
have much in the tank.
And sometimes it's reallyfrustrating when the energy that
we have doesn't match thedemands on our schedule.
And the thing that I havelearned to that has been so
helpful for me is to honorthose.
(35:01):
Shifts are those differences inmy energy and to listen to them
as much as I can.
So I might have the best laidplans of all this stuff I wanna
get done on a day.
And let's say I wake up and Ijust am not feeling it.
I'm just not feeling it.
Does that mean nothing getsaccomplished?
No, almost never.
(35:22):
That's, that's almost never thecase.
So don't you know my all ornothing thinking here?
Or like all or nothing thinkershere don't that, that's not what
I'm saying.
But what I am saying is when Istarted just saying to myself,
okay, you know what, today isjust a little bit lower.
I'm feeling more physicallytired.
I'm feeling a little bit, youknow, my emotions are running
(35:45):
high.
Um, you know, whatever it is.
Just noticing that and allowing.
For that, allowing space forthat and just shifting my
expectations.
Will I still get the things donethat I have to get done?
Maybe probably, you know, if itreally needs to get done, but
what can wait, what can I do atlike.
A B minus level instead of an aplus level, what could I just do
(36:10):
a little bit of and not actuallyfinish?
What could I add into my day interms of my needs or self care
that to just listen to my body,that would actually support me
and help me take care of me?
Okay, so once you sort of noticethat and honor it.
Oh gosh.
(36:30):
It was such, it's such a gamechanger.
It just gives you thispermission.
It's very permissive and youjust feel like, alright, I am
who I am.
I, I feel how I feel and I'mjust going to be a little bit
more gentle with myself todayand everything is gonna be
absolutely fine.
Okay.
I sometimes used to tell myself,this is speech therapy, not
(36:51):
chemotherapy.
I just,'cause sometimes in mymind I would hype it up so much.
Like, oh, I can't cancel asession.
There's no, oh my gosh, what arethey gonna think?
It's last minute.
Oh my gosh.
They're gonna think I flakedout, or they're gonna think this
isn't important, or blah blah,blah.
Right.
It's okay.
It's okay.
The world will not stop turning.
All right.
(37:13):
Okay.
And then the last thing that I'mgonna offer you here is to
protect.
And honor rest, not just on yourlow energy days or when things
are feeling off, but proactivelybuilding in time for rest.
When you notice that your bodyis pushing through, that's when
(37:36):
you need to optimize thosemoments of rest, prioritize, and
protect that rest.
Now, if you are in the burnoutphase of this cycle.
Absolutely.
Rest, rest, rest, rest.
And that's a period of timewhere hitting your own needs and
really listening to your bodyand your needs is really, really
important.
But also in that ramp up.
(37:59):
To burnout in the in the go, go,go phase.
When you're in that, we have toget you, we have to start
shifting that to change thatpart of the pattern, and one way
that you can do that is byprioritizing and protecting
periods of rest.
Normalize this.
When I started thinking aboutrest as a productivity strategy,
(38:20):
that was a game changer for me.
Like, oh, okay.
Do I want to stop doing what I'mdoing right now and go to bed?
No.
'cause I really like doing thisthing.
I'm really interested in it.
It's feeling good right now, andI, I'm not tired at this moment.
I'll be tired tomorrow, butthat's tomorrow's problem, not
today's, but when I shifted thethinking to, to, okay, by
(38:43):
prioritizing rest, now I willfeel better and actually be more
productive tomorrow.
That was like, okay, yeah, thishelps me be productive.
Rest helps me get things donethat I wanna get done.
It is a way to regulate and takecare of yourself, and it's
absolutely a requirement.
(39:05):
It's never a reward.
Okay, I hope you hear that Restis not the reward.
It's the requirement, it's aresponsibility and you are the
only one who can do it for you.
No one else is going to liketake you and sit you down and
(39:26):
make you a meal and you know,give you quiet and like no one
else can do that for you.
No one else is gonna do it foryou.
You have to know what your, whatways you like to rest and what
your core needs are, and youhave to meet them yourself.
Okay.
And as always, I know I say thisa lot, but as always with
anything progress overperfection, there is no such
(39:49):
thing as perfect.
And this is all about makingprogress, especially with the
N-A-D-H-D brain.
Okay.
I hope that this was helpful.
I've got a bunch of otherepisodes on burnout.
I will link to them in the shownotes, but episode 53, episode 1
0 3, 1 0 9 and one 15 are all.
(40:12):
They all touch on burnout, socheck those out.
If this is a topic that you wantsome more support with, and if
you're ready to take this tothe, to the next level, to the
point where you're like, yes, Iwanna do this and I want help.
I wanna make it easier onmyself.
I wanna invest in myself and dothis for me.
Book a call.
I'm happy to walk you throughhow I can help you.
(40:34):
You are the only one that can dothat for you as well, so just
throwing it out there.
I would love to tell you how Ican help, and consults are
always free.
You'll leave there with at leasta very clear plan of what you
need to do to start feelingbetter.
(40:55):
All right.
That's it for this week'sepisode.
This was a long one.
Hope you hung in there.
I will talk to y'all next week.
Bye.
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