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Why Your Burnout Isn't a Time Management Problem

I've been thinking a lot about why so many of us are running on empty, and this conversation with Amanda Miller Littlejohn gave me language for something I've been feeling for years. We're not just tired—we're operating from a fundamentally broken blueprint about what makes life worth living.

Amanda's new book, The Rest Revolution, cuts through all the productivity hacks and time management systems to get to the real issue: we've been taught to measure our worth by our output. And frankly, it's killing us. What struck me most about our conversation wasn't just her story of severe burnout after having her third child during the pandemic (while not taking maternity leave), but how she traced this pattern all the way back to childhood.

This isn't another "work-life balance" conversation. Amanda challenges the entire framework of ambition in our post-pandemic world. She's a sought-after executive coach, brand strategist, and now Rosalyn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow whose work has appeared in the Washington Post and Forbes. But more than that, she's someone who hit the wall hard and found a different way forward.

If you've ever felt like you're supposed to be grateful for being overwhelmed, this episode will shift something in you.

Show Notes

• The childhood origins of overwork - How being rewarded for effort and achievement creates adults who don't know they have limits

• Back-burnering vs. front-burnering - Why we systematically deprioritize health, hobbies, and key relationships for things that "matter" financially

• The breaking point pattern - How burnout manifests when we either get physically sick or lose someone and have no space to grieve

• Machine mindset vs. human needs - Why "I can't afford to take my foot off the gas" is a lie that keeps us trapped

• The village we've lost - How hyper-capitalism destroyed the natural support systems our grandparents had

• Friend-making in your 40s - Amanda's practical approach to "proposing" to potential best friends and showing up consistently

• The three P's of friendship - Proximity, positivity, and frequency (why adult friendships require intentional effort)

• Redefining the measuring stick - Moving from productivity-based worth to relationships, joy, and health as success metrics

• Why this all becomes urgent in your 40s - How decades of bad habits finally catch up and force a reckoning with what actually matters

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

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🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!