Speaker 1: Hey guys, it's Kaylee. And this is too much to
Speaker 1: say asking questions it out you. All right, I'm coming
Speaker 1: to you today from sunny, beautiful Hilton Had, South Carolina.
Speaker 1: I'm here with my boyfriend's family. They do a vacation
Speaker 1: here every year and it is always very special and
Speaker 1: very relaxing. Uh, this year, you know, it's the fourth.
Speaker 1: We typically are here this week every year. Um, but
Speaker 1: the fourth didn't really feel like anything worth celebrating to me.
Speaker 1: So it was just like hot dogs and fireworks. But
Speaker 1: it was definitely less festive noticeably than other years. Um.
Speaker 1: It is definitely hard to celebrate freedom when you no
Speaker 1: longer have it. Um. I still, you know, I live
Speaker 1: between l A and Tennessee, but I'm a Tennessee resident
Speaker 1: and I live, really live in a state where I
Speaker 1: have less bodily autonomy rights than a corpse. And that's
Speaker 1: not maybe being dramatic. That is just a genuine fact,
Speaker 1: and it's really fucked up. So if we have any
Speaker 1: like men listening or people who are having trouble empathizing
Speaker 1: with that, it's just it is insane to realize that
Speaker 1: the government can force you to be a mother in Ohio.
Speaker 1: This week. Um, there was a little girl who was
Speaker 1: brought in by Child Protective Services because she had been
Speaker 1: raped by a family member. And um, she was ten
Speaker 1: years old, and a ten year old can't give birth.
Speaker 1: You just you just can't do that, that is like.
Speaker 1: And her state of Ohio banned all abortions and she
Speaker 1: was not allowed to get one, so they had to
Speaker 1: basically smuggle her over to Indiana to get an abortion.
Speaker 1: But who knows when that could go away too, So
Speaker 1: it's just the fact that that was so narrowly avoided
Speaker 1: and there was no support system for that girl in
Speaker 1: her own dight is insane. Um. So anyways, that's what's
Speaker 1: been on my mind. But this episode, speaking of all that,
Speaker 1: is about burnout. And I think we've all probably seen
Speaker 1: what burnout is on the internet, and if you don't,
Speaker 1: it's you've felt it. It's it's that feeling that the
Speaker 1: world is so heavy and so complicated and there's nothing
Speaker 1: you can possibly do about it, and it bleeds over
Speaker 1: into your own life and your own relationships, and you
Speaker 1: come home from a long day at work and you
Speaker 1: turn on the news and all you see is just
Speaker 1: absolutely horrifying things, and then you'll want you want to
Speaker 1: have a nice night with your partner, but then you
Speaker 1: can't make yourself be intimate because there's too much running
Speaker 1: through your mind. And then all of a sudden, it's
Speaker 1: just like taking over your life. And so like we
Speaker 1: already have bad days, right, but then when you look
Speaker 1: and you see a bad world, it just exacerbates everything.
Speaker 1: And so when you have enough of those days in
Speaker 1: a row, hello burnout. And and given the culture that
Speaker 1: we live in, with the internet and cell phones and
Speaker 1: with the twenty four hour news cycle, it's impossible to avoid.
Speaker 1: And I'm like the last age, Like I'm like the
Speaker 1: one of the last, like the tail and of millennials
Speaker 1: are like the last generation of people who can remember
Speaker 1: life before cell phones and texting and internet and all
Speaker 1: of those things, but also know what it's like to
Speaker 1: have one, like all through high school. So I have
Speaker 1: an interesting perspective on that, Like I remember what it
Speaker 1: was like to not to have to have somebody call
Speaker 1: you on your home phone and to have to wait
Speaker 1: around to be picked up and not have a cell
Speaker 1: phone to the call and be like, oh, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be here. But I also, you know, know what it
Speaker 1: felt like to be addicted to my phone by the
Speaker 1: time I was fourteen years old. Um, and I have
Speaker 1: a hard time turning off empathy, and I think it
Speaker 1: that's a very normal human thing. I don't think I'm
Speaker 1: special for that. I think that we all do that.
Speaker 1: We just might not be able to recognize that that's
Speaker 1: what we're feeling. Um. But when you watch something on
Speaker 1: the news that's very taxing and people are dying for.
Speaker 1: For me, the biggest one recently was the the Uvaldi shooting,
Speaker 1: I couldn't turn that off in my head. I could
Speaker 1: turn off the news, I could stop reading about it,
Speaker 1: but I always found myself circling back to it and
Speaker 1: winding up, like staying up late on Twitter, reading accounts
Speaker 1: from the kids, parents, and UM, it's hard, it's really hard,
Speaker 1: And I don't want to turn off my emotions, Like
Speaker 1: I don't want to become desensitized to this, because that's
Speaker 1: what it feels like we're heading towards as a culture.
Speaker 1: It's just seeing stuff like that, being like, oh, look
Speaker 1: another's shooting and that's not That doesn't feel good to me.
Speaker 1: So I'm trying to find the balance between protecting myself
Speaker 1: but also not like tuning everything out completely and it's
Speaker 1: a delicate balance. And I'm going to tell you a
Speaker 1: little bit about what I found in my search for
Speaker 1: that and also share some advice from some other people.
Speaker 1: So I'll bury that. So. I remember back in I
Speaker 1: Am was roommates with some some people and I was
Speaker 1: talking to them about, you know, all the Black Lives
Speaker 1: Matter stuff and all the hard stuff that was going on,
Speaker 1: and they were just like, oh, you know, I just
Speaker 1: don't really pay attention all that. And I was like,
Speaker 1: what are you kidding? Are you kidding me? Like you
Speaker 1: don't you just don't pay attention. They're like, yeah, Like
Speaker 1: I just really can't, Like it's just really stressful, and
Speaker 1: I just like try to be quote unquote a political
Speaker 1: and I was like, a political that's not fucking real.
Speaker 1: Maybe it was real, but I mean, I just can't
Speaker 1: think of being a political. It is such a privilege.
Speaker 1: It is such a privilege to be able to be like,
Speaker 1: I don't care who is in office, I don't care
Speaker 1: what decisions are being made for my country because at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, I am privileged enough that
Speaker 1: they will not affect me. I've never met a black
Speaker 1: person or a gay person who describes themselves to say political.
Speaker 1: I'm sure they exist out there, but I'm just saying, like,
Speaker 1: being a political is a privilege, and not everybody is
Speaker 1: able to do that. And I know a lot of
Speaker 1: women who considered themselves to be a political but then
Speaker 1: now that the Supreme Court has overturned roev Wade, they're like, oh,
Speaker 1: wait a second, that affects me. It's like, yes, it
Speaker 1: does affect you. Welcome to the life of a minority women. Um,
Speaker 1: this is what it feels like. So no, I just
Speaker 1: I don't know exactly how to like handle that either.
Speaker 1: Like I'm talking about this, but I don't really know
Speaker 1: the best advice because it's like, how do you tune
Speaker 1: stuff out enough that you're protecting your mental health but
Speaker 1: also not become totally ignorant? And so I actually posted
Speaker 1: something about this on my Twitter account and somebody shared
Speaker 1: some really good advice, but my tweet was like, you know,
Speaker 1: basically a moment of desperation and I was just screaming
Speaker 1: into the ether, being like somebody out um. But I
Speaker 1: just was like, how do I find the balance between
Speaker 1: reading the news slash not being ignorant to the plight
Speaker 1: of minority groups? But still protect my mental health. It
Speaker 1: feels like a privilege to tune it out. But also
Speaker 1: my brain is completely consumed by the ship. So I'm
Speaker 1: very depressing to talk to and that's very true. I
Speaker 1: have a really really hard time not talking about it
Speaker 1: because it's consuming me and I have a d h
Speaker 1: D and I think it might be like hyperfixation thing,
Speaker 1: and I hyperfixate on the news and whatever bad situation
Speaker 1: is happening. But I'm very depressing to talk to you sometimes,
Speaker 1: and I don't want to be depressing to talk to.
Speaker 1: So somebody, UM name M she's a fan and she's amazing.
Speaker 1: She shared this newsletter with me called UM s y
Speaker 1: s C A Ship you should care About, And it's
Speaker 1: a newsletter that balances things out with good news, but
Speaker 1: it also shares like really important world updates that you
Speaker 1: need to know. But then it has pop culture as well,
Speaker 1: and that's been really really great. So I don't have
Speaker 1: to pay attention to stuff. Um, it's like I don't
Speaker 1: have to follow all these news things on Twitter. I
Speaker 1: can just kind of like scroll through them, but I
Speaker 1: can read this newsletter in the morning, and so that
Speaker 1: was like really really great advice. UM. But I reached
Speaker 1: out to some friends of mine in the music industry
Speaker 1: because it is a really really special kind of burnout
Speaker 1: that you get because we're taught to say yes to everything. Um,
Speaker 1: We're taught like basically instilled with FOMO. Like from the
Speaker 1: moment you walk into the music industry, it's like if
Speaker 1: you say no to this, like you never know what
Speaker 1: can happen, blah blah blah. So I've said yes to
Speaker 1: so many dumb opportunities because I'm like, you never know
Speaker 1: who could be there. But then also I've had opportunities
Speaker 1: where it's been completely true. So it's like trying to
Speaker 1: figure out how to be deliberate with your time and
Speaker 1: protect your mental health and not to mention like artists
Speaker 1: and creatives are all like very very emotional people and
Speaker 1: that's what makes it even harder. And like I'm an
Speaker 1: angiogram eight and so I'm very just as oriented, and
Speaker 1: so if i feel like something is unfair and it's
Speaker 1: not getting fixed, I lose my fucking shit and I
Speaker 1: can't think about anything else. And I'm just like so
Speaker 1: focused on getting justice, whether it's for myself or for others.
Speaker 1: I just I need that sort of not karma. It's
Speaker 1: not karma, it's being like these people need to know
Speaker 1: they're wrong, and that's my best way to describe it.
Speaker 1: But so, um, up next, I'm going to share some
Speaker 1: advice I got from Butch Walker, my producer, and Maggie Rose,
Speaker 1: an incredible artist, and they both shared some really really
Speaker 1: great advice, having both been in the music industry and
Speaker 1: been you know, professionally ootional for decades at this point.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna share that. Are okay? So I would
Speaker 1: go to Bunchet with advice for anything. Bunchwalker is an
Speaker 1: amazing producer. He produced my EP I got here by accident. Um,
Speaker 1: I've looked up to him my whole life and getting
Speaker 1: to work with him was such a dream. He has
Speaker 1: produced Taylor Swift, he did Um Everything has Changed on Red.
Speaker 1: He's produced many of Pink songs. He wrote and produced
Speaker 1: UM so much for My Happy Ending by Avril Levine.
Speaker 1: He's produced Wheezer, Green Day, Fallout Boy, Panic at the Disco,
Speaker 1: and he is just a beast. Um can't ripe enough
Speaker 1: about this man. So this was his advice when I
Speaker 1: asked him about like what he wished someone had told
Speaker 1: him earlier in the music industry and in this political
Speaker 1: climb it so, he said, I think burnout is inevitable
Speaker 1: with anyone who is constantly working toward goals. If you're
Speaker 1: a writer, you're always trying to be your best. If
Speaker 1: you're an actor, Sam, if you're an advocate for a
Speaker 1: cause and you're passionate about it, you'll burn out. The
Speaker 1: harder the flame burns, the faster it runs out of fire.
Speaker 1: I stepped away many times in my career, whether it
Speaker 1: be from writing, producing records, and touring, or even from
Speaker 1: social media, when I get too wrapped up in it
Speaker 1: and can't find the goal post or what I set
Speaker 1: out to do. I have a little anecdote from my
Speaker 1: journey that I often share. When someone asked me how
Speaker 1: my role of being a producer came to be, I
Speaker 1: tell them that over twenty years ago, I just wanted
Speaker 1: to be a big touring artist. I'd already been on
Speaker 1: the road, playing about two shows a year for a
Speaker 1: decade when I finally reached the point of being frustrated
Speaker 1: with a touring grind and not reaching unrealistic goals for myself.
Speaker 1: So I just walked away. I said to myself, I'll
Speaker 1: just make records in my studio for a while. I
Speaker 1: really enjoyed that part of music, and I hadn't had
Speaker 1: time to explore it because I was always torn. Well,
Speaker 1: that's when all of a sudden, all of these amazing
Speaker 1: opportunities came my way as a producer, all because I
Speaker 1: was burned out on touring. That's when I realized to
Speaker 1: still love something for many years to come, I have
Speaker 1: to be willing to let it breathe. The same applies
Speaker 1: to relationships as well, and I think there's so so
Speaker 1: much truth in that, and that was really good advice
Speaker 1: for me, and also for me to like think about
Speaker 1: reconnecting to the parts of music that I love that
Speaker 1: I might not make time for every day because there's
Speaker 1: so many different parts of it. I mean, you've some
Speaker 1: of you have probably listened to my podcast on the
Speaker 1: creative Process, and they're all very very distinct things that
Speaker 1: you're doing, um to exercise that same creative muscle. So
Speaker 1: next up we have Maggie Rose. Maggie is an incredible artist,
Speaker 1: one of the best vocalists I've ever heard. She's done country,
Speaker 1: she's done rock. Um. She just has this really, really
Speaker 1: soulful voice and she had Her big start was when
Speaker 1: she released a cover of You Somebody by Kings of
Speaker 1: Leon Um on Universal Republic and her name was Margaret
Speaker 1: Darante at that point. Um, she's had songs on the
Speaker 1: Disney Channel. Um. She's Her big single in country that
Speaker 1: like really broke through was the song called and Your Mama,
Speaker 1: And I love that she released a record in called
Speaker 1: Changed the Whole Thing, which really did change the little
Speaker 1: thing for her. Um. She just is such a spitfire
Speaker 1: and I adore her so much. She's towards Cheryl Crow.
Speaker 1: She has done so many things and I'm totally blinking
Speaker 1: on them because like she's so incredible. Um, I just
Speaker 1: could not adore her more. She's one of my best friends. Um.
Speaker 1: She's a fashionista and just amazing. She's been featured in
Speaker 1: so many, like different publications Rolling Stone. Um. Oh, she's
Speaker 1: played the Grand ol Opry over fifty times. I want
Speaker 1: to say maybe over seventy five at this point. Um.
Speaker 1: But her album that came out is called Have a Seat,
Speaker 1: and it is a full soul R and B album
Speaker 1: and you guys have to check it out. It's amazing.
Speaker 1: So that's my very chaotic biography on making Rows but
Speaker 1: this was her advice for burno. I realized recently that
Speaker 1: up until this point in my life I haven't done
Speaker 1: the best job establishing boundaries for myself, which is the
Speaker 1: biggest factor that leads to burnout. In my opinion, I've
Speaker 1: been programmed to believe I have to be the hardest worker,
Speaker 1: a people pleaser, and always on if I wanted to
Speaker 1: enjoy a successful career in the music industry, and everything
Speaker 1: around me reaffirm those beliefs. I do work hard doing
Speaker 1: what I love, and I love making people happy. But
Speaker 1: I realized, after being in this industry for so long,
Speaker 1: that a sustainable career is not made or broken by
Speaker 1: one show or a big moment, and I don't need
Speaker 1: to answer every call that comes in my way if
Speaker 1: it doesn't fulfill me. That takes years of building confidence
Speaker 1: and knowing oneself, which takes work and self exploration. Furthermore,
Speaker 1: if I plan on doing this for the rest of
Speaker 1: my life, which would be the dream, that I need
Speaker 1: to make sure I'm walking my path my way. I
Speaker 1: was told to stay away from hot button political topics
Speaker 1: in my early career, and I felt unrest because of it.
Speaker 1: I listened to my gut a lot more now, and
Speaker 1: I'm at peace with the fact that I'm so much
Speaker 1: more than just an entertainer. So I make sure I
Speaker 1: don't smether those parts of myself that make me a
Speaker 1: more well rounded and wholehearted person, trying to want what
Speaker 1: I have and not want. All I want is a
Speaker 1: daily exercise, and I love that, and I needed to
Speaker 1: hear that. So I'm asking these people for advice to
Speaker 1: share on the podcast, but I'm also like, hey, successful
Speaker 1: person that I respect and look up to, and it
Speaker 1: seems to have a really healthy mental state. How do
Speaker 1: you do it? But if you guys have any good
Speaker 1: tips for avoiding burnout, I think I might do another
Speaker 1: episode on this. I'm on vacation right now, so I
Speaker 1: really was like, Okay, let's do an episode on burnout,
Speaker 1: but let's also not burn ourselves out doing it and
Speaker 1: try to enjoy this vacation. So I also want to
Speaker 1: recognize that some of the coping strategies for burnout are
Speaker 1: inherently privileged. A single mom working three jobs does not
Speaker 1: get to go on vacation to Hilton Head that her
Speaker 1: boyfriend's parents were kind enough to invite us on and
Speaker 1: take that break and get to go to the beach
Speaker 1: and just lay out there all day. So I'm definitely
Speaker 1: just want to check my privilege there because we all
Speaker 1: have to adjust what we're capable of and um our
Speaker 1: expectations for ourselves based on that. So I'm going to
Speaker 1: go take full advantage of this. And UM, I love
Speaker 1: you guys so much. I hope that you are able
Speaker 1: to find some healthy ways of dealing with this. UM,
Speaker 1: stay kind, stay whole, stay safe, and try to stay happy.
Speaker 1: I love you all so much and I'll be back
Speaker 1: next week. My name is Kaylie Short and this is
Speaker 1: too much to say. Don't asking questions now, turn it
Speaker 1: out you