You Can’t Scale Burnout: 3 Steps to Get Out of the Weeds and Build Real Time Freedom
Let’s be honest for a second —
You didn’t start your business to feel like you’re drowning in Slack notifications and losing sleep over whether your newsletter went out or not.
But if you're anything like most coaches and service providers with memberships, that's exactly what it feels like right now.
You're stuck in the day-to-day.
You’re in full-blown survival mode.
And you’re wondering, “Is this what I signed up for?”
You’re trying to think big-picture and grow this thing into what you know it can be—but you can’t even get through your inbox without someone asking you a question, needing your input, or waiting for you to give them the go ahead to move forward. The worst part? It feels like everyone else you see online already has it all figured out.
You're watching all those other business owners post about their million-dollar launches and their “easy” passive income memberships. And you’re sitting there thinking, what am I doing wrong?
Why am I still in the weeds?
Is it just me?
I want to stop you right there and say—
It’s not just you.
And no, the solution I’m going to give you here is not to just “hire a VA” or “make another SOP” or “delegate more.” I know you’ve tried that already, downloaded all of the guides, took the courses and are still left holding the bag at the end.
The truth is, this isn’t about whether you know how to create systems or know what needs to be done in your business to get yourself out of the weeds.
You’re smart—you already know what you want to do. You’ve got the vision. You’ve got the ideas. You probably even have the tools.
The real problem is, you’re too close to it.
Have you heard that phrase, “I’m really good at solving a problem for someone else, but when it comes to my own [business, life, kid, etc]....” 🙈 ? Yeah - That’s what’s happening here.
The pile of “things to do” to get your business organized so your team can actually work without you feels massive and neverending, and it doesn’t seem like they will ever stop coming to you for every single thing! When you're in the thick of it—answering Slack messages, trying to remember if a task has been completed, if your VA has scheduled your email, if you had time to pee today (yes, even this one!)…..—it’s almost impossible to see a way out on your own.
We both know that you don’t need more hustle or another list of best practices.
What you need is perspective—someone outside of your brain and your day to day, who can look at everything without the emotion, without the overwhelm, and help you figure out:
What’s actually important
What will actually move the needle forward
And how you can finally get to that time freedom you’ve been craving
Imagine this for a second: You take four uninterrupted hours on a Friday morning to focus on your marketing strategy—no pings, no notifications, no random questions. 🙌
Or maybe you spend two quiet hours on Monday (instead of the weekend!!) mapping out your week - with a clear head and a cup of coffee that is actually still hot! ☕️
Did your shoulders just drop a little? Good - that’s the kind of relief you get when you let someone else help you with the organization.
It is possible, but it also shouldn’t be an afterthought, or even a second thought. So many business owners think that they don’t need to focus on their systems or their processes and getting organized until they are bigger. But in the end, if you don’t take the time to create a stable foundation for your business to be set up on, you will continue to be running on fumes, and the only one left holding it all together.
It’s not a pipe dream. You don’t need a new planner or a different task management system. You need a clear plan that’s built for you—and someone to help you carry it out.
That’s exactly what we do inside the P.E.A.K. Operations Blueprint. Like when I worked with my client, Dr. Mayoni. After just one Strategy Session, we laid out her 90-Day Plan, she said:
“I think it's honestly, f**ing awesome, if I can swear for the record. I mean, that's just everything that was in my head. You totally systemised it and made it something that someone could actually do.”
THAT is what happens when you finally get it out of your head and organized in a way that your team can actually run with and help build you up, not just be a pain in your a$$.
That’s when things start to feel lighter.
And that’s exactly what we’re diving into in this post.
We’re talking about:
How to plan and prioritize the right tasks with your team
How to empower them to take ownership and stop relying on you for every little thing
How to align your documentation so you’re not starting from scratch every time something changes
Are you ready to finally find some breathing room? Then, let’s dig in.
Step 1: Planning and Prioritizing with Your Team
There are always a million things to do in your business—especially when you run a membership. But the truth is, your members and your community are your lifeblood. Without them, you don’t have a business.
And in order to keep them engaged, you need to deliver consistently. Notice I didn’t say constantly here….I said consistently. That means you and your team have to be clear on what you are agreeing to deliver to your members (for example: weekly calls, monthly meet ups, guest speakers, etc), when or what frequency are each of the activities happening, and what needs to be done to make it happen—without you being in the middle of every single task.
In theory, you know all of this already, right? You’ve heard it in other programs and understand that is what you need to be laying out.
But, here’s where I see things break down:
You say, “I want to send a weekly newsletter,”
…but your team is waiting on you for the content.
You say, “We’re doing a monthly live call,”
…but you haven’t told them which day or time or theme, so they can’t promote it.
So what happens? They’re Slacking you with questions all week trying to check off their tasks in the project management system and you’re losing your mind because you actually just feel like you could have just scheduled the email faster yourself. The task may be “delegated,” but actually you’re still right there in the weeds.
So how do we fix this?
Here’s what I walk my clients through:
Start by listing out all the recurring activities you want to offer your members (weekly newsletter, monthly live call, quarterly in-person event, etc.)
Use a Google Sheet or a Project Management tool, like ClickUp to keep track of each track
If you need a Google Sheet Template, check out Time Freedom SOP ToolKit here.
Pro Tip: If you are going to use your Project Management Tool, create a new List or Space called: Recurring Tasks for this work so that you can start with a clean workspace!
List how often each task should happen (for example: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, etc).
For each task, list out what your team needs from you to complete it (e.g. newsletter content, call theme, event location, etc.)
Decide how often you’ll give them that input (for example, maybe you plan all the newsletters once a month so they can handle the weekly part)
Focus on the tasks that support your Member engagement, retention or interactions with the community first!
When you break down your tasks this way, your team now has what they need to run with the task without bugging you. And more importantly, your brain isn’t stuck looping, “Did the newsletter go out?” while you’re trying to eat dinner.
Step 2: Empowering Your Team to Own and Optimize
Now you’ve got your recurring tasks set up and your team knows what they’re responsible for. Amazing! Now here comes the real game-changer:
Let them take the “first pass”.
Ok, before you call me crazy - here me out! Empower your team to start thinking like you.
Why does this matter? Because the person closest to the task is usually the one who sees the opportunities—and also the one who has the best ideas on how to support and optimize. This only works however, if you give them the space, time, and trust to do it.
Before we go through these steps, the most important thing to remember is: this WILL NOT happen overnight! You have to remember to be patient!
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
Let’s go back to our newsletter example. After a few months of you providing the newsletter content, record a Loom video walking your team through how and why you choose topics, what types of things you include, and what the general tone should be for each of the Newsletter sections.
Then:
Add that video to a column of your Task Sheet or next to the task you created in your project management tool for gathering the Newsletter Content
Have your Community or Ops Manager take a stab at planning the next batch of topics
Ask them to send it to you 3 days before it needs to be scheduled so you have time to review it, give feedback and revise/redo
Review and give them feedback via Loom so they can learn from you on what they could do differently next time to achieve what you were looking for—save that video, too!
You might still end up doing the final version at first, and that’s totally okay. But now your team is learning, growing, and stepping into more ownership. It’s not just you doing all the things.
Here’s what one of my client’s team members said after going through this process:
“Thanks so much Lindsay, you’ve been so patient with me. This really feels great! 😊 I’m glad we have some extra time for me to learn so I can feel confident for next time!”
This approach not only creates space for your team to grow into their role, it will give you space to finally grow into yours. Plus, doesn’t it feel good to make others feel good? And it doesn’t hurt that it helps you out too, right?
Inside my P.E.A.K. Operations Blueprint, I help you set this up with your team so that you’re not holding their hands forever—but instead building something that actually gives you the space to take your business to the next level.
Step 3: Aligning Your Documentation So It Doesn’t All Fall Apart
So, now you’ve delegated. Your team is thriving. You’re finally breathing.
And then… your Community Manager takes a two-week vacation.
Or worse, they quit.
Now what?
This is why documentation matters. I know, many people think this is the boring part and love to ignore it, but without it, honestly, you are screwed!
You didn’t just spend all of this time building these systems and processes with your team so you could start over again. You built them so your business could run whether you’re in the room or not.
Here’s the deal: Demo Videos are awesome! You can show your screen, talk through your decisions, share context, and explain the why behind how you do things. I’m a big fan of using them during training or delegation—they’re a great starting point.
BUT… they are just that - your starting point. You cannot grow and scale on Demo Videos alone!
They are not the final system.
Why?
Because what happens when that Loom is 12 minutes long and your team just needs one tiny piece of information?
They give up trying to find that piece of detail in the video (or they don’t even try) and then either don’t do it or try to reinvent it from their memory.
Or when someone new joins and doesn’t know what the task is even called in your project management tool?
Another hundreds of dollars and hours spent retraining live on calls instead of allowing them to learn at their own pace and do Q&A sessions after they have done introductions to the process.
Or when the process changes and you definitely do not have time to re-record that Loom?
We have all been there!
This is where SOPs come in.
An SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) gives your team a living, searchable, easy-to-edit document that lays out exactly how a task should be done—from start to finish—and what to do when things don’t go as planned.
Here’s why you need SOPs in addition to your demo videos:
➤ You can call out specific sections for quick reference
Your team won’t have to dig through an entire video just to find one answer. They can search, scan, and move faster.
➤ You’ll cater to all learning styles
Some people are visual, others prefer written instructions. Having both ensures everyone on your team can follow along and feel confident.
➤ You can easily update the process
You’re not re-recording a Loom every time something shifts. With an SOP, you (or your team) can quickly plug in a new step, clarify an FAQ, or update a screenshot—without starting over.
➤ There will never be a single point of failure again
If someone leaves or goes offline, the process lives on—because it’s documented, accessible, and actionable.
And the best part? Creating an SOP from your Demo Video doesn’t have to be some huge, time-consuming task. Especially now that we’ve got some very smart AI team members at our fingertips. 😉
Here’s how to turn your Loom into a clear, effective SOP:
Have your team download the Loom transcript
Paste it into ChatGPT (or your AI Bot of choice) and ask it to build an SOP that includes:
Prerequisites: What needs to be done or ready before this task starts?
Purpose: Why does this task matter in the big picture?
Policy: What are the non-negotiables or brand standards to follow?
Procedures: Bullet-pointed steps grouped into parts, with screenshot notes
FAQs: Common questions, “if/then” scenarios, or roadblocks that might come up
Title the SOP with the same name that’s used in your project management tool or Google Sheet
Save it to your SOP Library (like Google Drive, Notion, or wherever your team works)
Link the SOP to the task inside your project management system
Pro Tip: That Loom video you recorded with feedback in Step 2? Add it to the FAQ section of the SOP! Future team members will thank you—and you won’t have to repeat yourself.
This is what I call, creating the “circular reference” between your team, your tasks, and your SOPs.
Everything is connected. Everything is documented. Everything is linked.
And best of all—everyone feels empowered to find the information they need, when they need it.
No more bottlenecks.
No more restarting from scratch.
No more “I’ll just do it myself.”
This is how you build a business that actually supports you—not one that constantly needs you to hold it together.
You might be saying: “Lindsay, I’ve heard all of this before…”
I know. You’re probably thinking:
“Everyone says I just need a VA or a system.”
“I already have ClickUp or Asana or whatever.”
“I tried all of this and it didn’t work.”
Or… “I don’t have time for this s**t.”
Here’s what I’ll say:
You can’t scale broken, and you can’t scale burnout.
If you have nothing left to give to your business strategy, there will literally be no place else to take it. That’s the hard truth.
You’re still reading this because something’s not working and you know it.
I’ve been there. I’ve seen it. And I’ve helped people like you fix it.
Running a business isn’t always rainbows and butterflies—no matter what Instagram says. And it definitely isn’t for the faint of heart!
But once you get your back-end systems in order and your team working independently?
THAT’S when you can get your freedom back.
Here’s What to Remember
If you want out of survival mode, here's your path:
✓ Figure out what recurring tasks keep your community engaged (Don’t forget what promises you’ve already made to them as well!)
✓ Get real about what input your team needs from you
✓ Train them with Looms and feedback so they can run with it
✓ Create SOPs so you never have to start from zero again
And repeat after me:
Other people can be trained to run your membership and engage with your audience just as well as you can.
This is the first step to the time and brain freedom you’ve been craving. And this is exactly what we build inside the P.E.A.K. Operations Blueprint.
Ready to Finally Get Out of the Day-to-Day?
What we covered today is just the baseline of what’s possible when you have a strong operational foundation.
Inside the P.E.A.K. Operations Blueprint, we walk through Planning, Empowering, Aligning, and Key Insights—so that your team and your tech can support your growth, not hold it back.
If you’re ready to figure out the next best step for you and your business, here’s what to do next:
Templates, prompts, and tools to help you get out of the weeds—starting today.
Let’s set up your foundational systems—so your business runs without burning you out
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