216 | The Secret to Avoiding Burnout as a High-Achieving Entrepreneur with Erin Harrington

Does it feel like no matter how hard you work, there’s never enough time? As an entrepreneur, there’s always more work to do–but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the process. Today’s guest will help you break free from the stress cycle and enjoy calmer, more peaceful productivity. 

Erin Harrington helps busy, overwhelmed high achievers align their work with their well-being, empowering them to integrate success across all areas of life and make time for what truly matters. Anchored in a lifelong passion for self-care and spirituality, Erin's journey began with balancing life goals amid significant challenges. As a top-performing sales leader in a startup that successfully went public, she faced burnout despite her accolades.

Later, confronting complex neurological disabilities led her to discover that managing her stress response was key to well-being. This transformation from survival to thriving fueled her passion for helping others. Now, she shares the concepts and tools that reshaped her life. She is the Founder of Soul Values and author of The Whole Life Planner: An Integrated Toolkit for Purpose, Productivity, and Peace. 

What Makes Entrepreneurs Susceptible to Stress

Entrepreneurs are wired differently from most people: they're visionaries, problem solvers, and high achievers. But those strengths can backfire when you fall into the stress response trap.

At the end of the day, when you still have this long list of things that you intended to get done and didn't make it through all of them, that starts to impact other areas of your life. Stress can show up as constant firefighting, decision fatigue, work-life compartmentalization, perfectionism, or feeling like you never have enough time.

The good news is, you can train your brain to respond differently, with a few simple changes.

Adding Microhabits to Your Day

Erin recommends shifting a few small things throughout your day to help counteract stress. First, try a brain dump in the morning, writing down everything that’s on your mind: ideas, problems, reminders. This helps clear the mental clutter and improve your decision-making.

Next, try celebrating wins at the end of each work day, however small. Some days you may be celebrating financial windfalls, but other days it could be as simple as remembering to eat lunch or getting outside for a walk in the sunshine. Lastly, avoid distractions, especially things like scrolling social media (which can easily hijack your body’s stress response). 

Enjoy this episode with Erin Harrington…

Soundbytes

6:06-6:25
“Entrepreneurs are wired for stress naturally. They are naturally wired differently. They're visionaries, they're problem solvers, and naturally high achievers. But these strengths can backfire when they fall into the stress response trap.” 

12:58-13:19
“Our brains crave habits. It literally wants to have reinforced habits. And so when you make these micro adjustments, whether you're using my tools or whatever else that you're doing, daily habits really do increase your effectiveness. It's proven by science.”

Quotes

“As an entrepreneur, if you take small daily micro actions, you can actually fuel your work.”

“I want people to take that control back, because it's available to you, and it's not as hard as you think.”

“You don't need to spend hundreds of hours in therapy. It’s simple rewiring that can be achieved by anyone, by small shifts in micro habits.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

From Our Guest

Website: https://soulvalues.com/ 

Connect with Erin Harrington on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harringtonerin/

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