The Burnout‑Proof Podcast

Ellyn Schinke — Sustainable Performance Coach & Systems Architect
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Sustainable performance, systems, and CEO playbooks — for the love of the game. The Burnout‑Proof Podcast is where high-capacity humans stop white‑knuckling success and start building sustainable performance. I’m Ellyn Schinke—sustainable performance coach + systems architect (former scientist). We talk systems, mindset, boundaries, and “game film” decisions so your business runs on infrastructure—not heroics. If you want to win the season and love the game, you’re in the right place. https://www.coachellyn.com/podcast

  1. 1h ago

    "I Work Too Much": Quarterly Business Planning for Real Life

    Right next to my Q3 wins, I wrote a four-word sentence I did not love writing: I work too much. Q3 was a good quarter. Client work landed, my bootcamp ran, the summit assets shipped. And work still ate the parts of my life I said I was protecting. So my Q4 plan had to do two things at once: build dependable income, and stop treating my Christmas break like overflow storage. In this episode I walk you through the five-part quarterly review I use (review, reality, decide, build, install), then show you exactly what it changed in my own quarterly business planning. Chapters 00:00 I work too much01:20 The workshop I ran this morning02:00 The five parts of a quarterly review05:40 My Q3 review: what worked and where the friction lived08:10 The money: tutoring income and the pivot I want09:50 The one intention Q4 has to answer to10:15 Planning the quarter I actually have12:20 Leaving room to change my mind13:15 When my goals start competing: the not-to-do list15:45 Black Friday as the stress test16:50 Asking AI to find the holes in my plan18:15 The System School workload I almost missed20:20 Testing is part of finished21:45 Reality-checking the money22:35 Getting the plan into the week25:00 Why I don't time block26:00 Your next step TAKEAWAYS: Count the work around the event. A trip, a launch, an offer update. Each one comes with prep, communication, follow-up, and recovery. If those aren't in the plan, they still happen. They just happen to your evenings.Decide what wins before your goals start fighting. My Q4 not-to-do list says I'm not treating Black Friday as more important than dependable organizational income. Now I don't have to re-argue it every time I get excited about a campaign idea.Testing is part of finished. Broken links went out all through Q3 because "drafted" quietly turned into "done." Not this quarter. NEXT STEPS: Follow the show so next week's episode finds you. And if you want the system behind this, grab the Weekly Game Plan OS. It includes my quarterly game plan workshop, free. The next live one is in January.

  2. 6d ago

    New Notion Features That Have Dropped This Year (2025-2026): The Full Year Rundown

    Notion shipped roughly 25 major updates in the last year, and most of us caught about three of them. In this episode I run through everything that's actually launched since September 2025: the Agent rebuild that turned Notion AI into a real multi-step coworkerthe interface overhaul that gave us Dashboards and Tabs (the same two features from my upcoming "Features I'm Loving" episode)the new automation layer with Workers and Plan Modea stack of smaller releases worth knowing about. No hype, no "implement all of this now" pressure, just the real rundown so you're not finding out about a feature eight months late. Follow the show, I'll do this again in about six months. Note: Hindsight is 20/20 and I did forget to mention a couple in this rundown, but the blog I wrote here is comprehensive.

  3. Sep 22

    Boundaries Weren't the Problem. Skipping the Vetting Was.

    I joined a networking group for a full year on the spot because they waived the sign-up fee. Sounds small. It wasn’t. I went to four meetings… and then my body started voting “no” every week, while my brain kept calling it “busy.” Then I got pulled back in by something that felt wholesome: wine on a rooftop, a Seahawks game, and genuine friendship with the people who ran the group. I said yes to “help” and give feedback—and watched that feedback get waved off and repackaged into a pitch. If you’ve ever stayed in the wrong room because you like the people, already paid, or don’t want to be the difficult one—this episode is your mirror. This is the follow-up to “The Hidden Cost of Being the Flexible One”. And if you want the system for catching these reads sooner, Burnout-Proof Business Bootcamp is still live and the replays close on the 30th!

  4. Sep 15

    What Actually Replaces Overworking: Burnout Recovery for High-Achievers

    "Just rest more" has never actually worked for you, and it has nothing to do with being bad at resting. Overworking is doing a real job for you (certainty, control, proof of your worth), and rest fails the second it removes the activity without replacing that job. In this episode, I walk through the mechanism that actually works: naming what overworking is really giving you, then building one small, non-negotiable practice that delivers the same feeling for a fraction of the cost. That's the difference between rest that sticks and rest that turns into more guilt. Follow the show, and if you want the business-side version of this fix, the Burnout-Proof Business Bootcamp is live now through September 23rd. Catch the replay link in the show notes.

  5. Sep 8

    The System That Finally Works for a Scattered Brain: ADHD-Friendly Systems for Entrepreneurs

    If your brain can turn a five-minute task into a three-hour spiral, you do not have a discipline problem. You have a system that is missing edges. In this episode, I break down the four leak points that make ADHD founders feel behind even when they are working their asses off: time blindness, task amnesia, working-memory drop-off, and the transition tax. Then I give you simple, ADHD-friendly ways to design around each one so your days stop disappearing. The older ADHD episode here. Follow the show, and if this is the kind of fix you need at the business level too, registration is open now for the Burnout-Proof Business Bootcamp, live September 14th.

  6. Sep 1

    What Happens When You Trust the System (and It Still Breaks): Sustainable Systems for Founders

    You did the responsible thing — you built the system, you trusted the process — and it still broke. If your first instinct is to scrap everything and start from scratch, this episode is here to stop you. I'm walking through the three-question diagnostic I use with clients before we ever talk about rebuilding: did the system fail, or did an input into it fail? Is this a pattern or a one-off? And what's the smallest fix that actually solves it? Because most "broken systems" aren't broken — they're just telling you exactly where the crack is. Follow the show so you don't miss what's coming — including a first look at the Burnout-Proof Business Bootcamp, live September 14th.

  7. Aug 25

    Trust your SYSTEM to Trust Yourself...

    If you’ve been telling yourself “I don’t trust myself,” this might be the plot twist: it’s not always a mindset issue—it’s evidence. Specifically, the evidence your systems keep handing your brain when you can’t find things, your dashboard is out of date, or your setup only works for the version of you who’s rested, hydrated, and emotionally regulated. In this episode, we’re reframing self trust systems as an infrastructure problem: how your backend can either reinforce burnout and executive function overload—or rebuild confidence by making your life findable and your decisions easier. We’ll cover: findability trust (can you find the thing?)truth trust (is your system accurate?)fit trust (was it built for real-you?)judgment trust (does it help you decide?). I’ll also share a practical re-entry ramp so a “bad week” doesn’t reset you to zero.Follow The Burnout-Proof Podcast—and if your business is still stored in your brain, come to The Burnout-Proof Business Bootcamp at coachellyn.com/bootcamp. And don't forget to join my email list here.

  8. Aug 18

    Organization for Founders: Why You Keep "Getting Organized" But Never FEEL Organized

    You know the high of a reset: the new planner, the fresh Notion dashboard, the tiny belief that this time you’ll become “the organized one.” And then the reset energy wears off… and you’re right back where you started. If getting organized keeps failing you, the problem probably isn’t your willpower—or the tool. It’s the target. Join the Bootcamp here: https://www.coachellyn.com/bootcamp Get the NEW Private Podcast here In this episode, we’re replacing “getting organized” with a better goal: building a system that still works when you’re tired, busy, behind, and your brain is holding seven open loops. We’ll talk about why organizing can become productive-adjacent (it feels good, but doesn’t fix the behavior), why “Sunday systems” collapse on a Tuesday, and the questions that actually diagnose what’s breaking: what falls apart first, what you’re asking yourself to remember, and what needs a default instead of another decision. Reply, DM, or comment with the thing you keep trying to organize that still doesn’t actually feel handled.

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About

Sustainable performance, systems, and CEO playbooks — for the love of the game. The Burnout‑Proof Podcast is where high-capacity humans stop white‑knuckling success and start building sustainable performance. I’m Ellyn Schinke—sustainable performance coach + systems architect (former scientist). We talk systems, mindset, boundaries, and “game film” decisions so your business runs on infrastructure—not heroics. If you want to win the season and love the game, you’re in the right place. https://www.coachellyn.com/podcast

Information

  • Creator
    Ellyn Schinke — Sustainable Performance Coach & Systems Architect
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    248
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Ellyn Schinke — Sustainable Performance Coach & Systems Architect
  • Show Website
    The Burnout‑Proof Podcast