Just Rest: Burnout Tips for Everyday Radicals

Built on Purpose, Running on Empty: Values, Burnout, and the Theology of Hard Times with Catharine Montgomery

What happens when the mission that fuels you becomes the thing that depletes you? In this episode, Nicole sits down with Catharine Montgomery, founder of The Better Together Agency, a communications firm built to amplify organizations doing good in the world. Catharine has rebuilt her business — and herself — more than once, and she doesn't hold back about what that actually costs. This is a wide-ranging conversation about purpose-driven entrepreneurship, the burnout that hides inside your passion, and what faith traditions have always known about rest that hustle culture refuses to teach us. If you're a values-driven founder, a woman of faith navigating hard seasons, or someone who has quietly wondered whether your sense of purpose is sustaining you or slowly burning you out — this episode is for you. Here's what's in the episode: * What it really looks like to build a business around your values * The shadow side of purpose-driven work: how caring deeply can quietly become the reason you stop taking care of yourself * Bias in AI, and why Catharine built her own tool * The theology of hard times: does God have a plan, does it have to be detailed, and what do you do when you've stopped believing it? * Simple, unglamorous rest practices that are actually working for her right now Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Just Rest and Catharine Montgomery 02:09 Taking a Deep Breath 03:17 Catharine's Burnout Stories 05:13 The Birth of Better Together Agency 08:37 Navigating Racism and Burnout 11:20 Building in Everyday Self-Care 14:23 Spirituality and Personal Growth 16:57 The Nature of Divine Planning 19:19 Understanding Suffering and Divine Presence 21:49 Evolving Values-Alignment in the Second Start-Up 24:37 Navigating Change and Maintaining Mission 28:48 Innovating with AI for Social Good 32:50 Addressing Bias in AI Technology 35:28 The Impact of AI on Racial Wealth Gap 37:42 Perfectionism and Its Challenges 41:08 Balancing Passion and Burnout 44:31 The Importance of Rest and Creativity 48:47 Highlighting Positive Change: Red Rabbit CONNECT WITH CATHARINE MONTGOMERY: Website: https://thebettertogetheragency.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cnmontgomery [https://www.linkedin.com/in/cnmontgomery] The Better Together Agency on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thebettertogetheragency Organization highlighted: Red Rabbit — providing culturally relevant meals to children in schools across New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. redrabbitlunch.com CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA: Newsletter: https://defythetrend.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-havelka-35762022/ Work with Nicole: https://defythetrend.com/contact/ Thank you to the people who helped make this show happen. The Calm Calendar Club is a brain-friendly planning community for neurodivergent adults, ADHD minds, and sandwich-generation caregivers who are tired of systems that don’t fit real life. We help you build a flexible, values-based calendar that reduces chaos and protects your energy. This low-cost, community-based program is ready for you at defythetrend.com/calm-calendar. Send me a message via Speakpipe [https://www.speakpipe.com/JustRest]. A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective [https://feministpodcasterscollective.com/].

Business Advice Is Burning You Out. There's Another Way

What if the way you've been told to run your business was never designed for you? Nicole sits down with feminist business coach, podcast host and author Becky Mollenkamp to unpack the capitalist conditioning most entrepreneurs carry without realizing it. They trace the through-line from toxic corporate workplaces to the inner boss we recreate in our own businesses, and ask the question that changes everything: what's enough for you? Becky's new book, Liberate Your Business: A Radical Guide for Entrepreneurs Building Inside a Broken System [http://beckymollenkamp.com/book], is the resource she wishes she'd had — one that honors the full complexity of building a values-aligned business inside a system that wasn't built for your humanity. What's in the Show * Becky's burnout story — rooted in emotional exhaustion, not overwork * Why capitalist conditioning follows you into your own business * The Hedonic Treadmill and why capitalism keeps moving the finish line * Defining your own "enough" in money, hours, rest, and joy * Consent-based marketing as an alternative to high-volume launch sequences * How Becky used AI to finally write the book her ADHD brain couldn't organize alone * Community-building as resistance — and embroidery as rest * Becky lifts up: Transgender Law Center (transgenderlawcenter.org) Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Rest and Burnout 03:13 Becky's Journey with Burnout 08:58 Corporate Culture and Expectations of Creativity 12:04 The Cost of Doing Business: Burnout as Normal 15:03 Values and Rest: A Personal Reflection 17:03 Becky's Spiritual Grounding: Values-based living 21:02 Agency and Control in Our Lives 22:29 Bringing Capitalism into our work and businesses 31:04 Navigating Capitalism as Entrepreneurs 40:45 Rethinking Commerce and Relationships 43:35 Redefining Enough in a Capitalist Society 47:09 The Hedonic Treadmill and Its Impact on Happiness 49:29 The Privilege of Safety and Security 50:47 Finding Rest in a Demanding World 52:55 Building Community as Resistance 55:40 Empowering Rest Rebels 59:31 Supporting Trans Rights and Advocacy 01:00:16 Connecting with Becky and Her Work Sources Mentioned * Liberate Your Business by Becky Mollenkamp — available at beckymollenkamp.com/book [http://beckymollenkamp.com/book] * Kelly Diels — feminist marketing educator, featured in Liberate Your Business https://kellydiels.com/ [https://kellydiels.com/] * Transgender Law Center — transgenderlawcenter.org [https://transgenderlawcenter.org] CONNECT WITH BECKY MOLLENKAMP * Website: beckymollenkamp.com * Threads: https://threads.com/@beckymollenkamp * Substack: https://feministrants.substack.com/ * LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/beckymollenkamp CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA: Newsletter [https://defythetrend.substack.com/] LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-havelka-35762022/] Work with Nicole [https://defythetrend.com/contact/] Thank you to the people who helped make this show happen. The Calm Calendar Club is a brain-friendly planning community for neurodivergent adults, ADHD minds, and sandwich-generation caregivers who are tired of systems that don’t fit real life. We help you build a flexible, values-based calendar that reduces chaos and protects your energy. This low-cost, community-based program is ready for you at defythetrend.com/calm-calendar. Send me a message via Speakpipe [https://www.speakpipe.com/JustRest]. A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective [https://feministpodcasterscollective.com/].

Grounding Reproductive Justice in Rest: Mutual Aid, Reproductive Freedom and Faith with Elaina Ramsey

What does faith have to do with reproductive justice — and what does either have to do with rest? Everything, it turns out. Nicole sits down with Elaina Ramsey, Executive Director of FaithChoice Ohio, an organization that elevates the moral power of faith communities for abortion justice and reproductive freedom in Ohio and beyond. Elaina shares her journey from fundamentalist evangelical to pro-faith, pro-choice advocate, and how that transformation shaped her understanding of bodily autonomy, mutual aid, and rest as a deeply spiritual practice. Whether you're navigating burnout in movement work or simply trying to stay human while doing hard things in the world, this episode is for you. In this episode you'll hear: * Elaina's journey from fundamentalist evangelical to pro-choice Christian reproductive justice advocate * How a traumatic experience in college cracked open her thinking about bodily autonomy and led her to this work * The difference between reproductive health care, reproductive rights and the broader reproductive justice framework — and why it matters * How FaithChoice Ohio builds rest, grief and mutual aid into their organizational culture as a lived value * Giving practical support for people accessing abortion care in Ohio including through the Jubilee Fund * A "Dear Rest Rebels" message: what you freely give others — permission to rest, grieve and be human — is also a gift you can give yourself Chapters List 00:00 Introduction to Change Makers and Rest 03:25 Time for a Deep Breath 04:33 Elaina's Journey from Evangelicalism to Advocacy 10:45 Outgrowing Evangelicalism is a lot like Burning Out 12:28 The Shift to Reproductive Justice 18:30 Christian Grounding for Rest 23:20 Grief, Lament, and Community Care 28:18 Creating a Culture of Rest in Organizations 31:18 Navigating Expectations in Nonprofit Work 35:01 Understanding Reproductive Justice 42:00 The Broader Implications of Reproductive Justice 44:56 Community Care and Mutual Aid 51:18 Empowering Rest and Self-Care 51:42 Dear Rest Rebels 53:33 Support FaithChoice Ohio 57:18 How to Find FaithChoice Ohio CONNECT WITH ELAINA RAMSEY & FAITHCHOICE OHIO * Website: faithchoiceohio.org * Instagram: @FaithChoiceOhio * Facebook: @FaithChoiceOhio * Podcast: R-Soul https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/podcast CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA: Newsletter [https://defythetrend.substack.com/] LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-havelka-35762022/] Work with Nicole [https://defythetrend.com/contact/] Thank you to the people who helped make this show happen. The Calm Calendar Club is a brain-friendly planning community for neurodivergent adults, ADHD minds, and sandwich-generation caregivers who are tired of systems that don’t fit real life. We help you build a flexible, values-based calendar that reduces chaos and protects your energy. This low-cost, community-based program is ready for you at defythetrend.com/calm-calendar. Send me a message via Speakpipe [https://www.speakpipe.com/JustRest]. A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective [https://feministpodcasterscollective.com/].

Burnout & Perfectionism: Why I’m Letting Good Enough Be Good Enough

Confession time: Nicole didn’t plan to do a solo episode in season one. But, here it is. In this honest and vulnerable episode, Nicole shares why the podcast briefly disappeared from your feed, what happens when real life collides with ambitious plans, and why sometimes the most humane thing we can do is let good enough be good enough. If you’ve ever felt behind, overwhelmed or like you “should” be doing more, this episode is your permission slip to slow down and focus on what actually matters. In This Episode: Why this unexpected solo episode happened The hidden workload behind producing a podcast How my computer dying derailed my January plans Why winter (and life seasons) naturally slow us down Letting go of perfection and embracing “good enough” Building more humane systems for getting things done What I’ve been working on behind the scenes Why I’m still all-in on this podcast Chapters: 00:00 Moment to Breathe 00:53 Why “Good Enough” Matters 01:32 The Reality of Podcast Production 03:55 Winter, Rest, and Slower Seasons 06:16 Creating Humane Systems for Work 08:23 Behind the Scenes: Calm Calendar Club 10:46 Why I Love Podcasting CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA: Newsletter [https://defythetrend.substack.com/] LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-havelka-35762022/] Work with Nicole [https://defythetrend.com/contact/] Thank you to the people who helped make this show happen. The Calm Calendar Club is a brain-friendly planning community for neurodivergent adults, ADHD minds, and sandwich-generation caregivers who are tired of systems that don’t fit real life. We help you build a flexible, values-based calendar that reduces chaos and protects your energy. This low-cost, community-based program is ready for you at defythetrend.com/calm-calendar. Send me a message via Speakpipe [https://www.speakpipe.com/JustRest]. A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective [https://feministpodcasterscollective.com/].

Overwhelmed by Your Calendar? ADHD-Friendly Systems for a Busy Brain with Jacki Hayes

If you’ve ever sat at your desk thinking, Why is time management so hard for me? … or Googled something like “ADHD time blindness” after being late again … or whispered to yourself, I’m so disorganized. Why can’t I stick to a schedule? — this conversation is going to feel very familiar. Because what if the issue isn’t that you “can’t manage your time”… What if the systems you’ve been handed were never built for your brain? In this conversation I’m joined by Jacki Hayes, operations and systems strategist, to talk about ADHD and neurodivergent planning and the burnout that happens when your nervous system becomes your project manager. We explore why traditional time management advice often fails neurodivergent women — especially Gen X and elder Millennial women  — juggling careers, caregiving, leadership and way too many invisible responsibilities. This isn’t about becoming more productive. It’s about building humane systems that reduce overwhelm and actually support your energy. What We Talked About * Why ADHD time management advice often increases shame * The real reason planning feels overwhelming * The identity trap of “I’m just disorganized” * How simple backend systems reduce executive function fatigue * Why structure protects creativity (instead of killing it) Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:38 Introduction of Jacki Hayes 00:03:06 Moment for a Deep Breath 00:03:35 Jacki’s Journey: Two Burnout Stories 00:10:28 Jackie’s Spiritual Grounding to Rest 00:14:02 Typical Objections to Planning & Administration 00:15:53 I just don’t have time for planning! 00:19:40 Creating “emergencies” for the Dopamine Hit 00:23:26 Procrastination and the ADHD Brain 00:28:29 Planning & Administration Take Time Away from Human Relationships 00:31:15 Creating Human Safety through Automations 00:40:23 Planning for your Personality 00:46:11 3 Questions: Rest, Resist, Dear Rest Rebels 00:50:45 Organization Doing Good: One Iowa Meet Our Guest: Jacki Hayes Jacki Hayes is an operations and systems strategist who helps service providers build businesses that actually work for them. She combines Human Design with smart, customized strategy to create simple, energizing systems for leads, onboarding, and delivery. She’s also the host of Here’s What I Learned, a podcast about doing business your way. Connect with Jacki Website [https://www.jackihayes.co/welcome]Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jackihayes_obm]LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackirhayes]Threads [https://www.threads.com/@jackihayes_obm] Connect with Nicole Havelka Newsletter [https://defythetrend.substack.com/] LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-havelka-35762022/] Work with Nicole [https://defythetrend.com/contact/] Resources & Links * Calm Calendar Club [https://calm-calendar-club.teachery.co/buy] — If you’re ready for a slower, saner approach to planning your life and business, this is for you. * Human Design, Discover the Person You Were Born to Be [https://bookshop.org/a/94906/9781577319412] by Chetan Perkin with Steve Dennis  * How Do You Choose? A Human Design Guide to What's Best for You at Work, in Love, and in Life [https://bookshop.org/a/94906/9780063412774] by Erin Claire Jones * Nicole’s Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/shop/defythetrend] page Thank you to the people who helped make this show happen. The Calm Calendar Club is a brain-friendly planning community for neurodivergent adults, ADHD minds, and sandwich-generation caregivers who are tired of systems that don’t fit real life. We help you build a flexible, values-based calendar that reduces chaos and protects your energy. This low-cost, community-based program is ready for you at defythetrend.com/calm-calendar. Send me a message via Speakpipe [https://www.speakpipe.com/JustRest]. A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective [https://feministpodcasterscollective.com/].