Dear Doers, Builders, Creators, and Seekers:
The old adage “do more with less” is back in rotation, and with it I’m seeing more people quietly panicking about raises, layoffs, and budget cuts. When fear creeps in, we hold tighter and push harder — often past what feels sustainable.
And organizations benefit. They get more out of us while offering less in return. But what if this month, we experimented with taking some control back?
What if we practiced doing less with more impact — choosing intentionality over urgency, boundaries over overextension, and a sensible pace instead of silent burnout?
In this month’s newsletter, I’m sharing a moment in my career when I didn’t manage my workload well (and paid the price), along with the mindset shift and reset tool that helped me rebuild clarity and capacity. My hope is that it offers something concrete you can try in your own week.
And because this season is calling many of us to be more intentional with our time, energy, and resources, I’m introducing the 6-month Career Flow Collective at an accessible introductory price — crafted to support your wellbeing while you build a career that feels sustainable and alive. Learn more.
Cheers, Eileen Murphy
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Reflection: Unmanageable.
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One of the primary sources of burnout at work is workload. Specifically, when that workload becomes unmanageable. And at one point in my career, that was exactly what I wanted. If I had more than enough to do, then surely I couldn’t be considered for a reduction.
Twenty months into my first grown-up job, I was laid off. I was in NYC on vacation, eating a bagel, watching the news as Lehman Brothers collapsed. When I looked away from the TV, the chaos was happening right there on the street. In that moment, I instinctively knew this isn’t going to end well for me.
A few months later, my role was cut. (As I typed this, I almost wrote I was cut a subtle difference that shaped how I carried this story for decades.) I was unemployed for seven months, and I promised myself that once I got a new job, I’d do whatever it took to never be laid off again. I would work hard, work smart, jump when asked, and keep jumping until someone said stop.
This approach worked well for awhile. I was promoted multiple times and rarely turned down for new opportunities because I had the breadth and depth to match. But underneath all of that was a quiet poison: I never said no.
And it wasn’t the yes that hurt me, it was the inability to recognize when I had reached my limit, or when I needed to ask for help. In my young, driven mind, those were signs of weakness. Signs that could cost me everything again.
Now, with wrinkles and grays that indicate my wisdom, I can name the state I was in: burnout. And burnout does something sneaky—it isolates and it judges. I assumed that if leadership was handing me these tasks, they must be manageable… so something must be wrong with me. And so I worked alone, believing it was mine to sort out and mine to manage.
This happened more than once across roles, across business cycles. The breaking point came during a 1:1 with my manager in late 2020. We were reviewing my priorities, and I felt the tidal wave rise from within—my heart pounding, energy surging, eyes widening. There’s no shelter from a tidal wave when you’re standing on the shore watching it grow.
And then it hit. And I was swallowed up.
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Back at my desk, I realized something important: I can survive a tidal wave. Flashback to when I was just two years old, a wave grabbed me from the lakeshore out of my parents’ reach, they were panicked while I resurfaced laughing joyfully from the underwater experience.
Knowing this and sensing a tidal wave forming in my body, I could exam the sensation from a positive perspective: the responsibilities, deadlines, pings, and walk-ins could be manageable—if I started advocating for myself.
So I started asking myself three grounding questions: What are my real priorities? Who can help? What’s one small, simple task that will move me forward and rebuild my confidence?
That’s when things started to feel more manageable, quieter, shall I dear say, even more joyful?
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Restore: Riddikulus Visualization.
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Many clients describe unmanageable workloads in similar ways — a tornado, the sky falling, the walls closing in.
A playful, grounding reset is to visualize that sense of overwhelm and make it less threatening, more playful.
Just like the Riddikulus charm in Harry Potter, take the fear and turn it into something silly.
When I start to sense the tidal wave swelling, I would turn it into a rain shower, a growing wave of cotton-candy, or something familiar, gentle, and manageable that left me with a soothing yet confident smile.
Try it:
Bring to mind a moment you felt overwhelmed this week.
What shape did that feeling take?
Now, turn that shape into something silly, smaller, or softer. Notice your body's response.
Then ask: What’s one small step I can take from here?
Remember, resilience expands through small, consistent steps over time.
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Becoming Your Sensible Self
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Before the tidal wave hits, there’s always a ripple.
What’s your body’s earliest warning sign that you’ve taken on too much?
Is it tension? A short fuse? Avoiding emails? Suddenly feeling behind on everything?
Consider how you could use those early warning signs as invitations to seek safety and support: Could you ask for help sooner? Could you renegotiate a deadline? Could you pause before saying “yes” and check your bandwidth? Could you name your capacity without apologizing? Could you show yourself kindness and simply acknowledge, “I’m starting to feel overwhelmed”?
Self-leadership begins with noticing the first ripple — and choosing to advocate for yourself before the wave gets too big.
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Thursday, February 26 at 1pm CST | 2pm EST
Join me for a free 60-minute webinar From Stressed to Reset where we'll explore the modern day stress experience, identify proven ways to shift away from the stress mode, and curate individual plans to reset. Reserve your spot.
---- Beginning March 27, 2026
If your career has started to feel heavy, rushed, or disconnected, The Career Flow Collective offers a different way forward. This six-month journey was created from burnout—and from the belief that presence, energy, and confidence are skills we can rebuild with care.
Each month, we explore themes like Energy • Balance & Flexibility • Self-Compassion • Non-Attachment • Equanimity • Presence, giving you space to pause, reflect, and intentionally reshape how you work and lead.
You’ll be supported through weekly reflection emails, monthly restorative group sessions, and dedicated 1:1 coaching—so growth happens without overwhelm.
6 Months • 7 Restorative Group Sessions • 6 Private Coaching Sessions
One personalized, human-centered path back to flow.
Let's chat to discover more.
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© Blackbird Life Coaching
2105 Wilmette Avenue | Wilmette, IL | United States | 60091
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