S2 Ep 16: Stop Working So Hard, Work Smarter Instead

Welcome back to the Marketing Muscle Up Podcast Show. I'm Richard Turtungi, and I've got Joey, my wife Turtungi. No, well, Joey Turtungi here.

How are you? I'm great.

Awesome. Now, it's the first time listening to this podcast and you haven't heard Joey, uh, season 1 or 2, we kind of, uh, dive in a little bit deeper. Actually, we did an episode around relationships.

Yes, we did.

Uh, that was a raving success. People said they wanted more of that.

Um,

we're not talking about that in today's episode, but what I will share with you and give you an insider goss here, we are talking about allowing yourself to be perfect.

Sorry. That's another podcast we did.

No, we're not. So I'm going to keep this going because it doesn't have to be perfect, the podcast. But the title of this podcast is about stop working so hard, work smarter. Stop working so hard, work smarter. Now,

yes,

now, and actually the first topic I talked about was perfection. We're talking about that. And Joey, you've got a story around this. Because you're going to share 3 things to do, but you've got a bit of a story and we love understanding stories. I'm a big story— I like to know backgrounds of people. And so when you're talking about this subject, stop working so hard, work smarter.

Yes.

Yeah, good. It's nice. It's cute. But why, Joey? Why? Because we always hear this, you know, don't work hard, work smart. Work hard, work smart. Don't work hard, work smart. But I think that I think there's a level of the hustle, the level of working hard in your business. You know, you hear all the sayings, never give up, keep going, hustle hard, get up earlier, get up earlier. I mean, trainers are already up early anyway. How much earlier do you want to get up?

I know, right?

So, so talk about you because you've been burnt out a few times. Last time you got burnt out, you ended up in hospital, Joey.

Yes, it was a year ago, actually. The reason why I want to share Stop Working So Hard, Work Smarter is because I fell into the trap of working so hard that I got so sick that I was burnt out and ended up in hospital. So I started getting a pain behind my eye, and it led to really, really bad headaches. I woke up one night, was just exhausted and so much pain, and I'd never felt that sick in my life. So I went to hospital. just did not know what was wrong with me, but I had these headaches for a few days. I never had migraines, so I would have no idea what a migraine was. I just never get headaches. So I went to hospital and they thought I had meningitis. So it's during COVID so it was like a year ago when COVID was happening. So I was there by myself and they said to me, I, you know, we need to do this spinal cord, um, where they pull fluid out of your spine to check if you have meningitis. And I'm like, oh my goodness. I've got to have this done. What are the side effects? So they went through everything with me. So I had the process done. I didn't have meningitis. They were testing me and testing me for everything in the hospital to try and figure out what was wrong with me.

But we all know what was wrong with you, didn't we, Joey?

I worked so hard that I burnt myself out, which is no medical, um, definition. There was nothing medically clinically wrong with me other than the fact that I believe I just worked so hard that I just burnt myself out and I was exhausted. So I spent days in hospital. I had a side effect actually from the spinal cord, um, where I had like migraines continuing. Uh, so I ended up just spending days sleeping because I was just so exhausted. And the reason why I want to share about Stop Working So Hard, Work Smarter is I don't want anyone else to go through what I

So if you're listening to this now and you're on the edge of a burnout, first of all, let's describe burnouts a little bit. So you are burning the— they say burning the candle at both ends, Joey.

I was totally doing that. Running a business, being a mom, 2 boys. I just didn't stop. I literally didn't stop. I would stop maybe 9:30, 10 o'clock at night. And I mean, as soon as my eyes are open at 6:00 AM. And on top of that, I think Like my baby, our little boy was teething. So I was up at night most nights with him every couple of hours trying to help settle him as well. So in the lead up to the burnout, there were so many elements and I just didn't take care of myself.

So point number 1 here, you've got to identify the, the what's happening at the moment and list those items down. Um, the extra activities you've taken on, the extra clients you take on. It might be a peak season for you. COVID's been a massive change, consistent change over the last 2 years where, um, there's, there's so many different new things you have to do and then consistent changes. And so this is definitely a way where a lot of people can get burnt out. Mental health is the highest it's ever been by There were 4 massive problems with people burning out mentally.

And homeschooling and being a parent on top of running a business. There's so many elements.

So it's probably safe to say that everybody's most likely burnt out.

Yeah, right. And I think one of the most important things that I want to share with you is you need to listen to the signs. Richard was—

What are the signs? What are the signs?

You were one of my signs. You're like, Joey, you need to slow down. I was the problem, was I? No, you were saying you need to slow down, you need to take some time out. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't. I've got so much to do, you know.

I'm no doctor, but, but I knew what the problem was. I'm just saying, Joey, uh, you can do 1,000 tests, but we all know what the problem is. And, and that's kind of the gut instinct that you've gotta— I guess you gotta know your body and the feeling by now. However old you are, you're the best kind of, um, physician or, or doctor or expert specialist around your own body and mind because you, you've been through it than anybody else. So, so number one, you really gotta kind of understand when you're about to burn out. For me, my throat, my throat goes. And, um, you could probably hear me on any episode probably last year, um, like really bad throat.

That's true. That's your sign, right?

Totally my sign.

Yeah, we're like herbs, water, hot teas.

And it doesn't take much. It doesn't take much at all. So what is your sign What's the sign of your burnout? Maybe just think about that. What is the sign of your burnout? Everybody's got one. For you, Joey, it was your eyes. Me, it's my throat. What is it for you? For other people, just shutting down, can't think.

Overwhelm and just feeling exhausted.

Yeah. So number one, we need to be aware of what is happening. What are some other things you need to do, Joey?

So listening to the signs and people around you, if they're telling you, hey, you've got quite a lot on your plate, The second thing I think—

That's hard also too for overachievers, by the way.

Of course.

We just think that people are trying to make us splurge.

That's right. I mean, overachievers like, I don't have too much on my plate. I can handle all of this, right? Until the point where we do have those signs. So listen for the signs and symptoms and listen to your body is number one. The second thing is non-negotiables in your week, in your day. What are your daily habits? What are your go-tos to help you slow down, to nurture you? For some of you, it may be doing your own workouts. training yourself, meditating, going to the beach for a surf, a rainforest walk, whatever it is. What's your daily habits, your weekly habits, your non-negotiables? Because generally, for me personally, I don't know about everyone else, but when I hit burnout, I started to lose my daily habits because I was just taking on so much work and so much stuff in my life in general, not just in work but in life. that I started to drop my other habits because I was like, well, I don't want to get up and meditate or train because I just, I've got so much to do. So as soon as I opened my eyes, I was in this like adrenaline, you know, the fight or flight mode. I was hitting this fight mode instead of flight.

Does

that make sense?

And non-negotiables are things that creep up. Like an easy one is scrolling at night, you know, falling asleep on the lounge and, and just thinking, that's— I just got to relax doing that. And so yes, however, you've got to understand that, is it a positive habit? Like, are you actually watching a series and enjoying it and then, you know, you get to bed? Or is it just like every night just, just exhausted, exhausted, exhausted? So understand the signs. I believe you really need to know that. Is it a, you know, is it a like habit? You say switch off, but is it just— is it, is it actually something that's going to help, or is it a positive or a negative habit that you're building up? What's number 3, Joey?

I find it hard to get— it's almost like when you almost approach burning out, there's so much chaos around you that clarity becomes harder because you become to a point of exhausted. So if you're feeling really tired, it's harder to think clearer. It's harder to be what Richard and I call sharp. Like, I want to be sharp. I want to be sharp in what I do. I want to show up and serve my tribe really well. But when I'm feeling tired, it's harder to show up and serve to the best of my ability because I'm actually internally exhausted. So just to have clarity around how you're feeling so that you can show up with the best energy levels that you can give internally and intuitively. So, you know, it's very, what's the best word for it? Like it just flows. it's genuine. That's the word I'm thinking about. So it's like a genuine flow for you. So if you're feeling like there's chaos, you've got to find some calmness amongst that chaos, because often when there's chaos, it's overwhelm. And why is there overwhelm? Because we've taken on too much, or maybe we've got fear around something. So if there's fear around something, the simple solution to the fear is getting help, getting a coach, finding out what you got fear around, getting support. A lot of the times to avoid burnout, all we have to do is ask Ask for help.

Joey, who do you ask for help from?

You often.

Okay.

Yeah. You're my often go-to person for help. You know, there's different people in my life that I ask for help. My parents for my kids, if I need some time, they're my go-to family-wise. I ask my team for help. I'm And I'm so blessed for our amazing team, our coaches and our team for help around me. So it just depends on what facet of my life it is, of who I ask.

Okay. So asking people for help, knowing you've got some people around you, and if you don't, start building up some new relationships to make that happen.

Yeah. Even reaching out to a friend just to chat.

Yeah. That's always a good one. It's always a good one.

Sometimes you just, honestly, you just need to download it. Like your best friend, nothing's better than calling your best friend up and being like, Can I just— I just want to chat about how I'm feeling, because if we bottle it all up inside, it gets worse. You know, you've just got to chat to someone.

All right. And so the reason why I wanted to bring this topic up today, and there's some 3 points there: avoid burnout, non-negotiables, and you can't find any clarity in any fear that you have, and start talking to people, getting help. That's really important. Because when we are trying to grow and scale our business, and our tagline is grow your fitness and wellness studio, when you are trying to do that, or your personal training business, or your fitness studio, or your gym, or any other business, you, you can't do that, uh, when you are in that state. So it is really important to know if you want to. And this is the why for me. This is the why for me, is that as much as I don't want to stop, as much as I don't want to accept if someone says, oh, Richard, you're really run down. Or sometimes I get a bloodshot eye. I think, I don't know, but I reckon that's got to do with burnout. It's got to be. Or my throat. I've got to listen to those signs and symptoms and go, okay, cool. That's, I've got to make some adjustments here. So, and the reason why we're talking about that today is because most people that are in a good business has a concept of loving their life as well, and they have a balance of some sort. And so where if you listen to this show and it's like, well, okay, I didn't learn how to run a Facebook ad. Well, that's okay, but you're not going to be able to learn how to run anything if you're in a state and it's just a lot of fear, it's a lot of overwhelm, it's a lot of burnout. I had a strategy session with a a new, uh, one of our new ninjas, uh, recently, probably last month. And we do, when any ninja comes on at the moment, uh, we do a strategy session, a one-on-one. I do the one-on-one session initially, and we basically line somebody up for the next 90 to 120 days of exactly what they need to do to grow their health and fitness business, give them a whole bunch of trainings and show them exactly what to do. And In this particular client, she was so overwhelmed, Joey, that I actually had to just go and break down the fear before we can actually get into the strategy because nothing was kind of like absorbing.

Yes.

So sometimes, team, if you are wanting to grow your fitness or wellness business, this conversation is key. This is the thing you have to do first, and then we can start working on the tactical pieces. That will move you forward. But again, this is the tactical piece today. Stop working so hard, work smarter.

Not harder.

Not harder, work smarter. And knowing that, you know, yeah, you remember in this long game, if you are solo business, you're probably up early in the mornings, you're in back in the evenings. And so we need to then do the simple things. Okay, that's the position we're in right now. We need to play that play that position. Yes, we might take some mornings or afternoon off, but if we need to do that right now, we also need to understand that it's okay to have breaks. It's okay, you know, to have those rest periods because we're full on and especially the fitness industry that we give a lot. And anybody that presents, anybody that educates, anybody that demonstrates, anybody that is giving a lot to a service means that you're very extroverting out. And so Any introverts here where there's a lot of introverts is that we're a mix. We're extrovert out there in the game, but when we're at home or when we're by ourselves, we just like to, you know, be calm. And that's obviously depending on the age. Joey, I know you were a bit— you were much more of an extrovert.

When I was younger.

A bit younger. And sometimes you've got to reserve your energy now, go between extrovert and introvert just so you can reserve energies for both sides. So it just really depends on where you are in your world and what that looks like for you. But remember, guys, To grow your fitness and wellness studio, you need to get this right, you need to get this clear, you need to get working. So question is, you, what are you gonna do to avoid your burnout, to lock in your non-negotiables, and ensure that you can get help if you're, uh, uncertain? You want to find some clarity, remove the fear.

That's right. And remember that you're listening into this right now, you're not alone. There's so many of us who, like Richard said, we're high achievers, we work really hard, and just know that you've got the support around you. Do the reach out, ask for help. And that's what I love so much about our Marketing Ninjas in our community with our scalers is that we have this beautiful community of each other who support each other through anything. So reach out to your community and ask for help and avoid the burnout. And remember, stop working so hard. Work smarter.

Awesome. Thanks, Joey. If you've enjoyed this episode, all you want to do is share it. Share it with a friend who needs to hear it. Or if you don't want to share with a friend, just give it a good rating because then that also leaves some good credits and people go, yeah, okay, I'm gonna listen to this episode. They need to listen to this. So I'll catch you next time on the Marketing Muscle Up Show. Remember, if you listen to this on Audible, Or podcast, or you can also check it out on YouTube as well. We've got a YouTube channel and you can see Joey here and myself. So if you do prefer that way, you can also go that way too. Thanks, team. I'll speak to you next time.

Thanks so much.