19. Preventing Burnout: How Self-Care Makes You a Better Leader with Diane Schroeder
- Jul 25, 2023
- 10 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
why preventing burnout should be your leadership priority
If you lead people, run a small business, or juggle the messy magic of family and work, you already know the cost of running on empty. Preventing burnout isn't a trendy hashtag — it's a leadership requirement. When leaders model self-care, they create cultures that are more productive, calmer, and far better at retaining talented people. Leaders who neglect self-care burn out, and when leaders burn out, teams and families follow.
Over the last decade I’ve spoken with dozens of women who work in high-pressure, male-dominated fields, and one theme comes up again and again: the single best investment a leader can make is the kind of consistency that protects their energy. This article pulls together those stories, a practical framework, and easy-to-apply selfcare tips for women and men who want to avoid burnout and lead with clarity and compassion.
If we haven't met yet, I’m Brittany, an online marketing strategist for female entrepreneurs. I teach women how to make their entrepreneurial dreams a reality through smart, actionable marketing strategies that get them seen, loved, and paid. Whether you’re eager to DIY your way to success or hire professionals to help you along the way–my goal is to make sure you walk away with the clarity you need to see the results you desire and build a life you love.
Meet Diane Schroeder: a real-life example of transformation
Diane spent 24 years in a physically and emotionally demanding career. She led in a male-dominated service, carried heavy responsibility, and—like many of us—lost parts of herself trying to fit in. After a messy personal season and major career shifts, she intentionally chose herself. She rebuilt a life and leadership style that centers self-care, clarity, and authenticity.
Why Diane’s story matters: she didn’t trade performance for comfort. She learned that preventing burnout is compatible with ambition. In fact, it makes her better at the things that matter most—decision-making, connection, and long-term creativity.
Table of Contents
Why self-care improves leadership (not weakens it)
Here’s a shift that changes everything: self-care isn’t indulgence—it's infrastructure. Diane encourages you to think of it like maintaining a car. You wouldn’t ignore the oil light and expect to pass your next road trip. Preventing burnout is the maintenance that keeps leaders operational, responsive, and ethically strong.
Concrete ways self-care improves leadership:
Improved decision-making: less reactivity, more perspective.
Greater emotional availability: leaders can hold hard conversations with compassion when they’re rested.
Higher productivity: working with energy beats working with hours alone.
Modeling healthy boundaries: teams learn to protect their time and energy too.
Self-care rebuilds the physical and emotional resources that burnout drains. It stabilizes sleep, reduces reactivity, improves decision-making, and models healthy expectations for teams. When leaders practice self-care consistently, their ability to hold pressure, make wise choices, and lead with empathy increases, which reduces the factors that cause burnout.
Also, a good reminder is that productivity isn’t the opposite of rest. Rest is a component of sustainable productivity. When leaders redefine rest as an investment, they protect their creative capacity and reduce the odds of crashing later.
The difference between time management and energy management
Time management tells you when to schedule a task. Energy management tells you whether you have the resources to do it well. Leaders who focus only on calendars end up burnt out and resentful. Preventing burnout begins with aligning tasks to your energy curve.
Try this today:
Track your energy for three days (morning, midday, afternoon).
Label tasks as "creative", "operational", or "administrative".
Block your creative work during peak-energy windows and low-energy windows for admin.
Hear even more insights from Diane and I in the full episode of the Go Get Great podcast, tune in here:
Build a morning routine that anchors you
Diane and I both think a simple, repeatable morning routine is one of the most effective tools for preventing burnout. It doesn’t need to be elaborate. It needs to be sacred.
Essential parts of a grounding morning routine:
Wake a little earlier than your household to claim quiet time.
Journal for five to ten minutes — list what matters today and what you are grateful for.
Move your body for 20–40 minutes: walk, lift, stretch, or a short HIIT session.
Eat or drink something nourishing and hydrate.
Quick planning: pick the three most important wins for the day.
Diane’s version: she gets up before her kids for journaling and a workout. She calls this “I get to” time instead of “I have to,” which reframes the practice into a gift. That mental switch is part of preventing burnout—changing how you talk to yourself about self-care.
How to protect your sleep — the non-negotiable foundation
Sleep is the single most important lever for preventing burnout (and also for ensuring you can have a morning routine that anchors you). Leadership decisions made on poor sleep are almost always costlier than the time you think you’re buying by burning the midnight oil.
Basic sleep hygiene steps that actually work:
Consistent sleep/wake times (even on weekends as much as possible).
Wind-down routine 60–90 minutes before bed: screen down, low light, calming activity (reading, light stretch, or a warm shower).
Limit heavy meals, alcohol, and vigorous exercise within two hours of bedtime.
Use short naps strategically—10–20 minutes—if your schedule demands it. Avoid longer naps late in the day.
Everyone's sleep is different but these are some great places to start if you can. Finding tools to monitor your sleep can help as well.
Boundaries as the ocean and the sand
One of the most helpful metaphors I’ve heard for boundary-setting is the "ocean and the sand" which Diane shared on the podcast. Boundaries aren’t rigid walls; they're fluid like tides. Sometimes the tide comes in and you need to give more. Other times, the sand is dry and your boundary holds firm.
How this helps preventing burnout:
It gives permission to bend when life requires it without guilt.
It reduces the binary thinking that makes boundaries feel like punishment or weakness.
It allows intentional recalibration rather than an all-or-nothing response.
Practical boundary templates you can start using
Here are a few phrases you can use to set and remind others of boundaries you have:
Work emails: “I respond to non-urgent emails M/W/F — if it’s urgent, please text.”
Family time: “Phones away during dinner” or “Saturdays are for family mornings.”
Client/work meetings: block your focus hours in your calendar and mark them as unavailable.
Personal requests: practice a simple “I can’t help right now, but I can help tomorrow” rather than an immediate yes.
How to say no without guilt (quick scripts)
Saying no is a muscle. It gets easier with a few go-to scripts:
"I can’t take that on right now and I don’t want to do it halfway. Can we revisit next quarter?"
"I’m at capacity. I can refer you to someone excellent, or we can schedule it for later."
"That sounds important; it’s not a fit for me today."
These phrases are simple, direct, and preserve your integrity. They’re a huge part of preventing burnout because most people won’t try to squeeze more from you if you’re clear and calm in your delivery.
How to avoid burnout when your work is unpredictable (entrepreneur life)
Entrepreneurship often brings unpredictable income and irregular hours, which can ratchet up anxiety and make preventing burnout feel impossible. Here are strategies that actually scale:
Set financial guardrails: save a variable-income buffer or create a predictable monthly baseline with retainers or subscriptions.
Designate predictable admin days: block 1–2 half-days per week for operations so your creative time stays sacred.
Outsource one thing this month: bookkeeping, scheduling, or content repurposing—trade money for the energy you can't buy back.
Create a client intake process that sets expectations about response times and working hours.
Repurposing content to protect your energy and grow your reach
I share one practical way to prevent burnout as a content creator or leader is to repurpose what you already make. If you produce a weekly podcast or workshop, that content can become five or more social posts, an email newsletter, an IG reel, and a blog post. One core piece of work becomes many touch points.
Example plan for a weekly episode (a low-energy, high-impact template):
Publish episode.
Create 3 social posts: guest intro, favourite quote, top 3 takeaways.
Send an email summary with a direct link and a curious subject line.
Compile a short blog post expanding one key idea from the episode (this article-style approach is efficient and SEO-friendly).
Practical social media advice that preserves energy
For entrepreneurs who rely on social media, content creation can become a grind—one that accelerates burnout. Here are tactically smart ways to keep your presence consistent without exhausting yourself:
Plan content around pillars (e.g., tips, stories, offers). Repurpose one longer piece into smaller posts.
Batch create: spend one afternoon per month recording or writing core content.
Use templates for captions and repurpose visual layouts—consistency over perfection.
Limit time scrolling: set daily timers for social apps to reduce mindless consumption.
Selfcare tips for women that actually fit a busy life
Selfcare tips for women (and busy parents) aren’t about spa days—though those are lovely when possible. They’re small, repeatable practices that compound. Here are accessible ideas to avoid burnout and keep you present:
Micro-breaks: 3–5 minutes of breathwork between meetings.
“Opt-out” rituals: a short walk after school drop-off or a 10-minute solo coffee mid-morning.
Social connection: weekly low-pressure friend time (a walk, not a two-hour dinner) to refill emotional tanks.
Mini-delegations: swap carpool one day a week or trade a chore with your partner to free 60–90 minutes.
Personal check-ins: schedule 15 minutes on Sunday to review wins and set realistic priorities—this reduces decision fatigue.
Design your self-care strategy in five steps (to prevent burnout)
Creating a self-care strategy doesn't need to be complicated. Use this five-step framework to get started this week. These are practical actions that help you avoid burnout and sustain leadership effectiveness.
Inventory — List your current energy drains and energy gains for a week. Track moods, sleep, meals, and what takes you off-course.
Prioritize — Choose three must-haves (sleep, movement, connection) that you will protect for the next 30 days.
Schedule — Put those must-haves into your calendar like appointments. Treat them as non-negotiable.
Guardrails — Create two boundary scripts for work and two for home life (email, calls, expectations with kids/partner).
Review — Weekly, reflect for 15 minutes: what helped prevent burnout? What tipped you toward it?
Failure, boundaries, and picking yourself — lessons from a tough season
One leader Diane spoke with remembers an early career disappointment where a promotion fell through. It felt devastating, but the moment pushed her to consider other options. She learned two things: first, a single setback doesn’t define you; second, sometimes losing the thing you wanted opens space to choose yourself.
Turning failure into fuel for preventing burnout means:
Separating the event from your identity: you are not the failure.
Using failure as data to adjust what you value.
Choosing your next step deliberately instead of reacting out of fear.
How to create a supportive community without feeling competitive
Many women in male-dominated professions told me they felt intimidated by the idea of female-only circles. The truth is that healthy female communities can feel like oxygen. They provide perspective, accountability, and empathy—three pillars for preventing burnout.
To build a low-drama, high-support network:
Start small: one mentor and one peer who are honest and kind.
Set clear expectations about time and reciprocity.
Use structure: a monthly check-in, rotating “wins and needs”, and a shared resource file.
When you miss the mark (how to course-correct without shame)
Everyone slips. Missing a week of your routine isn’t proof of failure—it’s data. Preventing burnout is about resilience, not perfection. Do this instead of punishing yourself:
Notice without judgment ("I didn’t sleep well this week.").
Identify one small corrective action for tomorrow (10-minute walk, earlier bedtime).
Choose one kind response to yourself ("I’m learning; today I will...").
How choosing yourself first changes everything
There’s a common fear: choosing yourself will hurt others. The truth Diane and I have seen repeatedly is the opposite. When you model self-care, you give permission for others to do the same. Kids, partners, and team members learn that boundaries are healthy and necessary.
Choosing yourself first looks like:
Asking for what you need and living by it.
Being honest about capacity and limits.
Accepting that relationships sometimes shift when you change.
Tools and resources to help you prevent burnout
Timer apps for focused work (Pomodoro-style)
Sleep-tracking or calming-sound apps for better rest
Simple habit trackers for accountability
Short guided journaling prompts: "What do I need today?" "What would make me feel replenished?"
3 Frequently Asked Questions
How can I avoid burnout as an entrepreneur with unpredictable hours?
Design predictable anchors: consistent sleep, one weekly admin block, and at least one non-working day. Create financial guardrails (e.g., savings buffer or a monthly retainer) to reduce anxiety. Outsource a task and batch content to protect your energy.
Is saying no selfish? How do I say no without feeling guilty?
Saying no preserves your ability to show up well for what matters. Practice short, kind scripts that protect your capacity. Reframe no as "not now" or "I can help in a different way." The guilt fades when you see the return: more focus and better quality work.
How do I set boundaries with family around self-care?
Start with clarity and small promises. Tell your family what times you’re unavailable and what you will do when the time ends. Use the ocean-and-sand metaphor: be flexible sometimes and firm when you need to replenish. Over time, people adapt and respect those rhythms.
Parting thoughts — lead with yourself first
Preventing burnout is not a selfish act. It’s a practical leadership strategy. When you protect your energy, you protect your team, your family, and the long-game success of your work. Start with one small practice this week, be patient with the process, and remember: choosing yourself is often the bravest step toward creating the life and leadership you want.
If one thing from this article resonated, pick it and do it this week. Block the time on your calendar now. Preventing burnout doesn’t need permission—it needs action. Also, don't forget to connect with Diane and I on social media, @thefireinsideher on IG and @brittanymillersocials on IG.
Find the Fire Within with Diane
@thefireinsideher on IG
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Give us a follow if you're ready to take life from good to great, you'll be the first to know when we share more about motherhood and business. If it really resonated, the kids and I would do a happy dance if you left us a review💗 ~ Brittany
00:00 Intro & Introductions
4:00 How I got into social media
6:00 Podcast promotion strategy
9:00 Finding time to spend with kids
12:00 The story behind self-care
15:00 Turning your hobby into a job
19:00 Creating work-life balance as an Entrepreneur
22:00 What social media balance could look like for you
26:00 Family
30:20 Get to know Diane
35:40 How to shift to a self-care mindset
39:00 Being an entrepreneur
41:00 The Fire Inside Her podcast
44:00 Making business and life work together
47:50 Failure and learnings from Diane
51:20 Advice on choosing yourself
53:00 Wrap up
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