Just Rest: Burnout Tips for Everyday Radicals

Rest Rebels, we've come a long way in just 10 months! In this solo episode, I celebrate how the Just Rest community has grown from zero to more than 1,200 downloads, and I share the real reason I want more people to find us. I want burned out change makers to get support for burnout recovery right when they need it, not two years later. I also invite you to help us grow in season 2, and I give you a sneak peek at the conversations coming your way, starting October 16. Head to the blog post for the full celebration, my season 2 goals, and learn about the guest lineup!

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to Just Rest Podcast

00:01:53 Celebrating 10 Months of Just Rest

00:06:23 Meaningful Moments and Community Impact

00:09:22 The Burned Out Ones: Why I Want This Podcast to Grow

00:11:37 Goals for Season Two

00:19:41 Teasers for Season 2 Just Rest

00:26:10 Moment of Gratitude

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Oct 14, 2026 28 min

Creative Burnout and How to Recover From It with Kevin Chung

Season 1, Episode 20

Show notes

What happens when two restless creatives sit down to talk about big leaps, burnout, and why rest might be the fiercest protest of all?

In this episode, I'm sharing my very first Substack Live, a conversation with my friend and fellow podcaster Kevin Chung of Standout Creatives. It's a little unpolished (it was my first live, and only Kevin's second), but it's full of honest, energizing talk about creative burnout and how rest and resistance feed your creativity.

Kevin and his wife recently left Miami for San Juan, Costa Rica, chasing a life more aligned with nature and creativity. Our conversation ranges from downsizing to improv, from the myth of the starving artist to Theater of the Oppressed, and from capitalism's obsession with hustle to the radical idea that rest is what fuels resistance.

And around the 5-minute mark, I blurted out my own scary, thrilling dream for the year ahead: living nomadically. It was the first time I'd said it publicly. (Spoiler: I'm doing it now!)

In this episode, we talk about:

• What creative burnout looks like and how to recover from it
• The myth of the starving artist, and why it keeps creatives depleted
• Art and rest as resistance
• How listening to your body protects your creativity
• Improv and Theater of the Oppressed as creative and liberatory practices
• Downsizing, big moves, and building a more intentional life
• Kevin's move from Miami to Costa Rica, and my plan to live nomadically

Links from the show:

Was it Chance? Podcast with Alan Seales and Healther Vickery featuring Historian Tad Stormer.

Theater of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal

Make Art Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson for Fueling Your Creative Life by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens

Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey

About my conversation partner

Kevin Chung helps creative people finish what matters: the book, the business, or the life they actually want, through creative thinking, mindset shifts, and marketing advice. He hosts The Standout Creatives, Standout Reinventions, and Standout Authors, and he recently left the United States to live out his creative dreams in Costa Rica.

Connect with Kevin:The Standout Creatives newsletter and podcast

Rest with me

If you want a place to rest so your creative juices can flow again, become a paid Substack subscriber to Just Rest. You'll get my full reflections on living nomadically, tips for preventing and recovering from burnout, and more opportunities to rest.

You are worthy of rest!

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Sep 30, 2026 39 min

Self-Care for Solopreneurs: Gratitude Geek Encore

Season 1, Episode 19

Show notes

Running your own business is rewarding, but let’s be honest—it can also be exhausting, overwhelming, and sometimes downright soul-sucking. In this episode, I got to guest on the Gratitude Geek podcast with three powerhouse solopreneurs — Deb Davis, Di Hilstad and Gratitude Geek host, Kandas Rodarte. We talked about survival-level self-care strategies for women over 40. From setting boundaries and asking for help to creating your personal “Survivor’s Toolkit,” we cover practical, real-world ways to protect your energy, thrive in your work or business, and still find time to breathe. Whether you’re facing burnout, health challenges, or just want to reclaim your calendar, this episode is packed with actionable tips to help you survive — and even enjoy — entrepreneurship.

This encore presentation of the Gratitude Geek episode is part of my summer playlist series, where I'm re-sharing some of my favorite conversations from guesting on other podcasts this past year. I'm so grateful to Kandas for creating a space where I could share my hard-won lessons about self-care and share my toolkit with you.

00:00 Introduction to Self-Care for Solopreneurs

00:49 Introducing Self-Care for Solopreneurs guests

04:20 Mortality and Self-Care

07:32 Self-care Toolkit for Solopreneurs

10:22 Being Intentional, Setting Boundaries

20:09 Pause before your body tells you to

28:47 Giving or being taken advantage of?

36:49 Comfort sharing story, setting boundaries

40:51 Lightening Round Questions

47:06 Conclusion: Spill the Tea on Setting Boundaries

Links

• Deb:https://upage.in/deb
• Di:http://instagram.com/dihils
• Energy Mapping:https://designingyour.life/insights/find-your-flow-with-energy-maps/
• Full Show Notes:https://kandasrodarte.com/287

Meet the Host of Gratitude Geek

Kandas Rodarte is a business coach, podcaster, and internet marketing pioneer who has been helping women solopreneurs over 40 grow businesses that fit their lives for decades. Living with metastatic breast cancer since 2014, she understands firsthand the importance of self-care, boundaries, and working smart—less hustle, more impact.

Meet the Guests

Deb Davis is an accomplished headshot photographer and author, known for her stress-free sessions and expert expression coaching. She serves as President of Professional Photographers of Michigan (2024–2025) and is an elite Associate with the Peter Hurley Photography Group. Deb helps professionals over 40 show up fully, inside and out, using photography as a tool to highlight confidence and authenticity. Her personal journey as a breast cancer survivor has reshaped her approach to self-care and legacy, making her a relatable guide for solopreneurs navigating life and work simultaneously.

Dianna “Di” Hilstad is a bold, creative entrepreneur and solopreneur coach who helps women build businesses that feel authentic. Known for blending strategy with sass, Di has reinvented herself multiple times, including navigating breast cancer, a hysterectomy, and a broken ankle. She champions asking for help, setting boundaries, and thinking outside the box, making her insights invaluable for women balancing health, life, and business.

Connect with Guest Host

• Gratitude Geek Email list here:http://kandasrodarte.com/subscribe
• Help finance the show:https://kandasrodarte.com/support
• Affiliate Disclosure: Some links in the show notes may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show!

Connect with Nicole Havelka

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Sep 16, 2026 49 min

Both/And, Not Either/Or: My Life Journey with Amy Stone

Season 1, Episode 18

Show notes

Listening back to this conversation with Amy Stone a year after we recorded it, what struck me most is how much of my story is really a story about frustration. Not frustration as a problem to fix, but frustration as the thing that has prompted almost every pivot I've made — from journalism to ministry, from church administration to yoga teacher training, and finally to founding Defy the Trend. Amy has a gift for drawing out the best nuggets from a person’s story, and in this episode she pulls the thread through nearly all of mine, landing me right where I am today: an imperfectly adulting burnout recovery coach and sustainability strategist who believes rest is liberation.

This episode is part of my summer playlist series, where I'm re-sharing some of my favorite conversations from guesting on other podcasts this past year. I'm so grateful to Amy for creating a space where I could go deep on faith, burnout, and the "both/and" mindset that changed everything for me.

What we talked about in this episode:

• My career journey from journalist to minister to burnout recovery coach
• The inside story of church administration — institutional resistance, advocating for change, and where that frustration led me
• How burnout showed up in ministry, and why yoga became a lifeline and a "both/and" practice
• Leaning on spiritual practice to move through tough, high-pressure decisions
• Leaving the church as a disgruntled teen, and finding my way back to faith and community decades later
• Real talk on salaries and sustainability in faith-based work
• The moment mid-yoga-practice when "either/or" cracked open into "both/and" — and how that became the seed of Defy the Trend
• Where my work, my podcast, and this "both/and" philosophy stand today

Chapters:

00:00 Intro to The Art of Imperfect Adulting

00:53 Amy's Into to Nicole's Journey

03:50 Warm-up: Words of Kindness

05:50 Frustration that Lead to a Pivot

09:11 Cause of Frustration

10:45 Navigating Resistance in Innovation

12:30 Hiring in the Church

20:36 Structural Support for Innovation

21:48 Religion: A hot button and good case study

29:45 Nicole's Quarter Life Crisis of Faith

36:40 What Working for the Church is Like

41:41 Yoga in Nicole's Path

46:23 Yoga and Ministry: Both/And

52:40 Life as a Burnout Recovery Coach

54:35 Nicole's Podcast Journey

56:26 Fun Questions

59:23 Graititude

Connect with Amy Stone, Host, The Art of Imperfect Adulting):

• Website: https://www.imperfectadulting.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartof_imperfect_adulting
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@imperfectadulting
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@imperfectadulting
• Support the show: https://imperfect-adulting.captivate.fm/support

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA:

• Newsletter: https://defythetrend.substack.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-havelka-35762022/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/just-rest.bsky.social
• Work with Nicole: https://defythetrend.com/contact/
• Leave a Voice Memo: http://speakpipe.com/justrest

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Sep 2, 2026 1 hr 3 min

Burnout Recovery & Creating a Culture of Rest: An Empowered and Embodied Encore

Season 1, Episode 17

Show notes

This is my summer playlist of podcasts where I guested this past year. I was honestly challenged by coaches Kim Romain and Louise Neil on the Empowered and Embodied Show to reflect more thoughtfully on what has shifted for me as I’ve worked on preventing and recovering from burnout in my own life. This is a side of the conversation you’d rarely get when I’m the one asking the questions.

Two things really stood out:

• The discussion about “proving myself” and what energy have I replaced that with?
• And the conversation about what success looks like for you? I’m not going to spoil what Louise says is her answer, but please listen because it is really good.

We also dive into:

• How burnout shows up differently for each of us, and why it’s not just an individual problem but a collective one
• The pressure to constantly prove our worth through productivity and “being the best”
• Why the word can’t disempowers us, and how to reclaim choice in our lives and work
• The surprising overlaps between burnout, perimenopause, and values misalignment
• Practical ways to create compassionate workplaces, embrace rest, and focus on impact instead of output

If you’ve ever felt buried under the weight of doing it all, this conversation will remind you that rest is not only possible, it’s essential, powerful, and deeply radical.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Empowerment and Embodied Show Encore
05:54 "Proving Yourself" Energy
11:56 The Challenge of Being Present
14:20 Defining Success for Ourselves
22:15 The Ripple Effect of Slowing Down
23:36 Different Causes of Burnout
31:30 Perimenopause Contributing to Burnout
39:05 The Joy of Making Your Own Choices
42:51 What is my work to do?
45:55 Nicole's Conclusion & More Great Pods

Join a circle of changemakers committed to leading with purpose, presence and ease inside Kim's Rising Visionaries mentorship program and check out her new podcast, Questioning our Conditioning. Reclaim your career and confidence during midlife through Louise's Rise & Redefine program.

Rising Visionaries: https://kimromain.com/rising-visionariesRise and Redefine program: https://louiseneil.com/services/rise-and-redefine

Questioning our Conditioning podcast

On Substack: https://thekimromain.substack.com/p/why-i-started-questioning-our-conditioning

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekimromain

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Aug 19, 2026 49 min

Contact (1997): Faith, Science & My Formative Film (Media/Lit Encore)

Season 1, Episode 16

Show notes

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/therestofus.podcast/#@media.lit.pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is my summer playlist of podcasts where I guested this past year. I am really excited to share this podcast with you because it shows a different side of me that rarely gets out in public. (DIdya know I trained to be a film and theater critic in college?) I was invited on Media/Lit where all media gets treated as great works of literature with hosts Randy Allain and Kris Ingersol. I was overjoyed to invite these generous hosts to watch and discuss one of my all-time favorite movies, Contact (1997). You get to hear why this movie was formative in my journey and how it still resonates with me today.

We cover everything from interstellar transmissions to a killer performance from Jodie Foster. We compare this piece of media to other important cultural texts, and most importantly, we explore the intersection of science and faith. As always, the panel wraps up the chat with an extra credit section in which we pick our “Bardo Buddies” and take home a prop from the film

Chapters

00:00 Nicole's Excitement to be on Media/Lit
01:09 Welcome to Media/Lit (encore)
03:39 Burnout Recovery Coaching in Challenging Times
04:59 Introduction to Contact (1997)
11:32 Insights on Rewatching Contact's Famous Intro
17:46 Personal Connections to the Movie
28:20 Gender Representation in the Film
33:40 The Role of Science and Faith in the Narrative
37:19 Contact as Literature: CGI Corner
43:27 Themes of the Film
55:18 Pop Culture References and their Impact
59:43 Contact Comparatives
01:08:09 Favorite Performance in the Film
01:20:40 Favorite Scenes
01:30:10 Most Quotable Line
01:46:15 Who is your Bardo Buddy?
01:52:21 What prop would you take?
02:00:22 Closing
02:06:07 Nicole's Final Thoughts on Media/Lit

CONNECT WITH RANDY, KRIS & MEDIA/LIT:

Website:https://therestofuspodcast.com/https://mediaslashlit.weebly.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MediaLitPodcast

Bluesky:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@media-lit.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@MediaLitPod

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Aug 10, 2026 2 hr 7 min

Guide to Resisting Hustle Culture: noseyAF encore

Season 1, Episode 15

Show notes

This is my summer playlist of podcasts where I guested this past year. I am so excited to share this provocative conversation I had with Artist and Activist Stephanie Graham on her podcast, nosey AF.

We talk about what it actually takes to stop running on empty. I share how I went from being a self-described "recovering grind culture addict" to building a whole business around helping high-achievers and everyday radicals reclaim their time and energy. I get to introduce you to the Calm Calendar Club, a program built around planning your life in a way that actually honors your energy — not just squeezes more out of it. If you've ever felt like you're dropping the ball, this conversation will remind you: you're not dropping balls, you're just carrying too many.

What We Talk About

Okay, so pull up a chair — this one goes places.

• How Nicole went from overachiever to burnout recovery coach (and what growing up in Omaha, Nebraska had to do with it)
• Why hustle culture is literally designed for you to fail — and why that's not your fault
• Burnout in ministry and why being "on call 24/7" is just not human
• What COVID quietly taught us about the power of saying no
• The seven types of rest from Sacred Rest by Sandra Dalton-Smith — sleep is just ONE of them
• How planning your calendar with your values first changes everything
• Why ADHD and neurodivergent folks need planning systems that actually work for their brains
• The Calm Calendar Club: what it is, how it works, and who it's for
• Why "you're not failing the system — you're just trying to do too much"
• The radical act of rest as resistance, especially for Black women (shoutout to Tricia Hersey's Rest Is Resistance)
• Doing your part in activism and community work — without burning yourself all the way down

Things We Mentioned

Calm Calendar Club: https://defythetrend.com/calm-calendar

Rest Is Resistanceby Tricia Hersey (affiliate link)

Sacred Rest by Sandra Dalton-Smith (the seven types of rest: physical, mental, sensory, creative, social, emotional, and spiritual) (affiliate link)

Artist Admin Hour — Stephanie's weekly co-working session for artists tackling the admin work that makes the work work → artistadminhour.com

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Summer Playlist

02:11 Welcome to noseyAF

03:16 My Grind Culture Story

09:35 Burnout is Common in Ministry

16:32 The Impact of COVID on Volunteerism and Community Engagement

19:26 Involving more people as volunteers

24:57 Cultural Attitudes Towards Busyness and Rest

27:02 Reducing your judgement of laziness

33:04 Understanding the Time Management Challenge

36:03 Creating Accessible Planning Solutions

39:44 Time Management for Self-Care

42:30 The System is Designed for Failure

50:44 Engaging with the World Without Burnout

01:06:09 Ask Nicole Anything

Connect with Stephanie

• Website:https://therestofuspodcast.com/noseyaf.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniegraham?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
• Substack:https://therestofuspodcast.substack.com/https://substack.com/@noseyaf
• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-tenille-weekes/https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniegraham/

Connect with Nicole Havelka

Leave a Voice Memo

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Jul 22, 2026 1 hr 8 min

“You're Not Lazy, You're Depleted: Invisible Labor & the Burnout Epidemic”

Season 1, Episode 14

Show notes

"Burnout" by Emily & Amelia Nagoski

This is my summer playlist of podcast where I guested this past year. In this appearance on “Burnout, Invisible Labor & the Feminist Fight to Rest” on Feminist Founders, I talk with host Becky Mollenkamp about how women’s invisible labor – caregiving, administration, and housework – contributes to their higher rates of burnout. I’ve alluded to this dynamic all of the first season, but I go into much more depth with Becky Mollenkamp on Feminist Founders about how this impacts women, their relationships, their bodies and we talk about simple, game-changing strategies.

Take a listen to my conversation with Becky on Feminist Founders:

💬 Discussed in This Episode

• What burnout really is (and why it’s more than just being tired)
• How gendered expectations and invisible labor feed chronic overwhelm
• The critical role of embodiment and nervous system work in healing
• Why capitalist and white supremacist systems depend on our burnout
• The illusion of spaciousness and what it means to actually rest
• How meditation doesn’t have to look like sitting still and saying "om"
• The power of giving yourself permission to not volunteer at the damn PTO
• How to plan your schedule to not be a human version of a doctor's waiting room
• Why moms get guilted and dads don’t—and what that says about our systems

📚 Resources Mentioned

"Fair Play" by Eve Rodsky

"Sacred Rest" by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

"Essentialism" by Greg McKeown

"Rest is Resistance" by Tricia Hersey

The Nap Ministry on Instagram

🎧 This show is part of the Feminist Podcast Collective, a community of progressive creators reclaiming media through storytelling and solidarity.

📙 Get "Liberate Your Business" by Becky Mollenkamp at https://liberateyourbusiness.com/

00:00 Introduction to Summer Playlist Series on Just Rest

01:22 Introduction to Feminist Founder's series on Women's Invisible Labor

02:33 New Awareness of Burnout

03:11 Definition of Burnout

06:11 Invisible Labor and Its Impact on Women

08:25 Cultural Pressures on Women that Contribute to Burnout

14:13 Strategies for Managing Burnout

22:00 Creating Space for Rest and Joy

26:17 The Importance of Mindfulness and Somatic Practices

32:55 Collective Trauma and the Impact of Modern Life

34:58 Strategies for Avoiding Burnout

38:21 Understanding Rest and Its Many Forms

43:30 Creativity, Consumption, and the Need for Spaciousness

Connect with Becky Mollenkamp & Feminist Founders

Website: https://feministfounders.co/

Threads: https://threads.com/@beckymollenkamp

Substack: https://feministfounders.substack.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/feminist-business/

Connect with Nicole Havelka

Leave a Voice Memo

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Jul 8, 2026 49 min

Season 1 is a Wrap. The Expansion Is Just Beginning. Bonus

Season 1, Episode 13

Show notes

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Work with Nicole Leave a Voice Memo

Season 1 of Just Rest is officially done — and I went live on Substack to celebrate, say thank you, and make some big announcements about what's coming next, including a major life change that starts this fall. (Note: the sound of the episode isn’t the quality I usually have because of being live and some tech issues.)

In this live session, we talk about:

• The Season 1 Cozy Wrap Party highlights — trivia, favorite clips, and community
• 12 episodes, 700+ downloads, and the people who made it happen
• A reading of every single name who helped crowdfund this podcast into existence
• The summer season: guest appearance episodes dropping every other week
• The Year of Expansion — what it is, where I'm headed first, and why I'm doing it
• An invitation for you to help shape Season 2

Want to support the Year of Expansion? Here's how:

• 🎙️ Become a Rest Rebel Collective subscriber —https://defythetrend.substack.com/
• 💛 Become a Founding Member —https://defythetrend.substack.com/
• 🙏 Help fund Radical Dharma Camp — https://square.link/u/Q8yx3Fqq
• 🎧 Suggest a Season 2 guest or topic — defythetrend@gmail.com
• 🎤 Leave a voice memo on SpeakPipe —speakpipe.com/justrest
• 📨 Send a note of encouragement — defythetrend@gmail.com

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Just Rest Podcast and Season One Wrap-Up
02:20 Just Rest Summer Playlist
04:12 YOUR suggestions for Season 2
06:43 Life Update: Year of Expansion and Nomadic Living
10:22 Exploring New Places and Networking Opportunities
12:36 Ways to Support the Podcast and Community
14:46 Help Nicole Attend Radical Dharma Camp

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Jul 1, 2026 21 min

Your Rest Affirmation for Hard Days (Save This One)

Season 1, Episode 12

Show notes

Season one ends the way it began — with radical permission. In this final episode, Nicole compiles the "Dear Rest Rebels" messages from every guest this season, and the result is something you'll want to save, return to, and play on repeat. Hear wisdom from Dana Tenille Weekes, Jordan Maney, Jacki Hayes, Taina Brown, Elaina Ramsey, Ixchel Lunar, Becky Mollenkamp, Malik Turley, and Catharine Montgomery — each offering their own unique reminder that you are enough, you are worthy, and it is safe to rest. And Anna DeShawn gets the final word, because honestly? She earned it. Bookmark this one. Come back to it when the world is loud and your body is tired. This is your permission slip, on repeat.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dear Rest Rebels Compilation Episode

02:39 Dear Rest Rebels Notes

07:13 Season Wrap-Up and Future Plans

CONNECT WITH GUESTS

Dana Tennille Weekes: https://therestofuspodcast.com/Jordan Maney: https://substack.com/@thejordanmaneyJacki Hayes: https://www.jackihayes.co/
Taina Brown: info@tainambrown.com
Ixchel Lunar: https://ixchellunar.com/Malik Turley: https://tapasmovement.comCatharine Montgomery: https://thebettertogetheragency.comBecky Mollenkamp: https://beckymollenkamp.com/Elaina Ramsey: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org
Anna DeShawn: https://queernewspod.substack.com

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Jun 24, 2026 11 min

The Messy Truth about Indie Podcasting & Burnout with Guest Interviewer Taina Brown

Season 1, Episode 11

Show notes

What happens when the host gets interviewed? In this special episode, Nicole hands the mic to friend, coaching colleague, and Messy Liberation podcast co-host Taina Brown — and the result is one of the most honest, wide-ranging conversations yet. From the behind-the-scenes chaos of launching a podcast to the theological roots of rest as resistance, Nicole opens up about what she's learned, what's surprised her, and what's coming next for Just Rest and for her own life. If you've ever wondered what a burnout coach actually believes about rest — and whether she walks her own talk — this one's for you.

What we talked about in this episode:

• What it actually felt like to finally launch a podcast years in the making
• The messy, imperfect reality of building workflows behind the scenes
• Why irregular release cadence hasn't hurt the show
• How guests have expanded Nicole's own understanding of burnout
• The surprising double-edged sword of doing work you're passionate about
• The role of COVID in reshaping how people think about work and burnout
• How Nicole's background as a clergy person and interfaith practitioner informs her approach to rest
• Rest practices Nicole has adopted — or deepened — from her guests
• Why burnout is not a personal failure — it's a systemic one
• The invisible labor carried by people socialized as women and how it compounds burnout
• Why you cannot productivity hack your way out of exhaustion
• Nicole's Friday screen-free practice and the joy of staring out a window while it snows
• What's coming in Season 2
• Nicole's upcoming year of nomadic living — and why she's doing it

Organization(s) doing good in the world:

New American Welcome Center (Champaign-Urbana): https://nawc.universityymca.org/
Amica Center for Immigrant Rights: https://amicacenter.org

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Just Rest and Taina Brown
04:27 Grounding breath
05:26 The Journey of Podcasting: From Idea to Reality
08:54 The Messy Start to Just Rest
13:40 Letting Go of Perfectionism in Podcasting
17:39 Expanding Ideas about Burnout
19:53 The Dual Nature of Passion: A Double-Edged Sword
22:21 Theological Perspectives on Burnout and Rest
25:29 The Radical Nature of Rest
30:38 Seasonal Rhythms and Personal Practices
36:25 Understanding Burnout: It's Not Your Fault
42:44 Naming Priorities in Planning
45:14 The Weight of Perfectionism
47:43 Embracing Rest in Nature
50:58 Supporting Immigrant Rights Groups
52:46 Plans for the Pod and Nomadic Living

CONNECT WITH GUEST INTERVIEWER TAINA BROWN:

Website: https://www.ifthenand.org/

Messy Liberation Podcast: https://messyliberation.com/

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Jun 10, 2026 1 hr 4 min

Grounding in Joy: Choosing Rest, Faith, and Radical Purpose with Anna DeShawn

Season 1, Episode 10

Show notes

What does it look like to stay in the fight — week after week, story after story — without losing yourself in the process? In this episode, Nicole sits down with Anna DeShawn, founder of E3 Radio and The Qube, and host of the Ambie Award-winning Queer News podcast, for a rich conversation about burnout, joy as a practice, faith as a foundation, and what it really means to build something that sustains you. Anna's journey from corporate burnout to full-time entrepreneur and queer media powerhouse is a case study in trusting the pivot — and in taking care of yourself first so you can keep advocating for your community.

In this episode:

• How COVID pushed Anna from corporate burnout to full-time entrepreneurship
• What it felt like to relearn how to work on her own terms
• The sacred meditation corner in Anna's home that grounds her before every episode of Queer News
• Why reporting the good news is just as important as bearing witness to the hard stuff
• The difference between battles and wars — and why showing up matters even when you lose a round
• Anna's deeply rooted faith background (Black Lutheran and Baptist — yes, both)
• Joy as a choice and a commitment — and why Anna quits the moment joy leaves
• The new relaunch of The Qube: building the largest searchable database of Black and Brown podcasts, and why discoverability is an equity issue
• Why podcasters are the storytellers and public record-keepers of our time

Organizations you should support:

• Affinity Community Services — serving Black queer women on the South Side of Chicago for 30 years.https://affinitycommunityservices.org
• Sisters in Cinema — a nonprofit supporting Black women, girls, and gender-expansive media makers with free programming and a 35-seat brick-and-mortar theater on the South Side.https://sistersincinema.comhttp://sistersincinema.com

P.S. Become part of the joy in Anna’s new community on Substack!

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Just Rest and Anna Deshawn
02:45 Moment for a Deep Breath
03:55 Burnout, Leaving Corporate American in COVID
06:33 Redefining Work and Success
09:34 Wellbeing in Entrepreneurship
12:07 Authenticity in Podcast
17:14 Staying Grounded Amidst the Bad News
19:37 Seeing the Big Picture in Activism
20:47 Faith and Identity in Activism
26:33 The Intersection of Faith and Identity
28:03 Faith and the Podcasting Journey
30:51 Letting Go of Control in the Journey
32:19 The Importance of Self-Care
34:09 Finding Joy in Work
39:01 Relaunching The Cube
42:55 Creating Access in Podcasting
44:51 Ways to Rest and Resist
49:41 Dear Rest Rebels
50:22 Highlighting Organizations Doing Good in the World

CONNECT WITH ANNA DESHAWN

Website:https://e3radio.fm

Substack:https://queernewspod.substack.com

Instagram:https://instagram.com/annadeshawn

Facebook: https://facebook.com/annadeshawn

LinkedIn:https://linkedin.com/in/annadeshawn

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

May 27, 2026 56 min

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

Season 1, Episode 9

Show notes

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

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/

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Apr 29, 2026 54 min

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

Season 1, Episode 8

Show notes

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, 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 athttp://beckymollenkamp.com/book
• Kelly Diels — feminist marketing educator, featured in Liberate Your Business https://kellydiels.com/
• Transgender Law Center — 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:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Apr 15, 2026 1 hr 5 min

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

Season 1, Episode 7

Show notes

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:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Apr 1, 2026 1 hr

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

Season 1, Episode 6

Show notes

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:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Mar 11, 2026 15 min

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

Season 1, Episode 5

Show notes

Website Instagram LinkedIn Threads

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

Connect with Nicole Havelka

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Work with Nicole

Resources & Links

• Calm Calendar Club — 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 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 by Erin Claire Jones
• Nicole’s Bookshop page

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Feb 18, 2026 53 min

Liberating Rest: Reclaiming Agency in an Era of Political Violence

Season 1, Episode 4

Show notes

In this episode of Just Rest: Burnout Tips for Everyday Radicals, host Nicole Havelka sits down with Dana Tenille Weekes — lawyer-lobbyist, creative and voice behind The Rest of Us podcast — to talk about what rest actually is (and isn’t), how burnout reshaped Dana’s life, and why conversations about rest feel so hard and a little as political violence escalates.

We acknowledged that we are recording the podcast in a moment of incredible political and social pain in the United States — including the recent fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis. which have sparked widespread protest and grief nationwide.

In this vulnerable and unfiltered conversation, Dana and Nicole explore:

• Dana’s burnout story
• What rest did to the nervous system
• Why rest matters right now
• Rest as liberation (not resistance)
• Rest in organizational culture
• Practicing liberating rest

Dana’s definition of rest — deeply connected to your agency and truth — reframes tired clichés about self-care into something political, perceptive and embodied. By relearning how to feel, name, and act from our truths, rest becomes a practice of liberation even in times of upheaval.

Whether you’re navigating burnout, activist fatigue, nervous system overwhelm or just trying to stay honest with yourself about how exhausted you really feel — this one’s for you.

Sources cited and recommended

“U.S. witnessed many ICE-related deaths in 2026. Here are their stories” by Ali Harb on AlJazeera Newshttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/27/us-witnessed-many-ice-related-deaths-in-2026-here-are-their-stories“Renee Macklin Good, murdered by ICE, was a prize-winning poet. Here’s that Poem,” by Jonny Diamond in Literary Hub.

Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey

“Want to be Respected? Tell People How You Want to Be Helped. Part 1” The Rest of Us Podcast with Host Dana Tenille Weekes

Dana’s Organization Recommendation: Torch Literary Arts

CONNECT WITH DANA TENILLE WEEKES

Website

Instagram

Substack

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA:

Send me a message via Speakpipe.

A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Feb 4, 2026 1 hr 5 min

Decolonizing Time with Ixchel Lunar

Season 1, Episode 3

Show notes

Do you feel like you are constantly "behind," racing against a clock that never slows down? For many revolutionary leaders and creators, time feels like an extractive resource that is always running out. This pressure isn't a personal failing—it is the result of colonial time, a system designed to sever our connection from the land, our bodies, and our natural rhythms to serve toxic capitalism.

In this episode of Just Rest, Nicole Havelka talks with Indigenous-Time Ecologist Ixchel Lunar about the radical practice of decolonizing time. Ixchel shares their journey from high-stakes political activism and tech-culture burnout to finding liberation through ancestral wisdom and somatic healing. If you are ready to stop "spinning plates" and start living in a more relational, spiral, and cyclical rhythm, this conversation offers the roadmap to move from an adrenalized state to a place of deep, restorative flow.

Ixchel Lunar Ixchel Lunar is an Indigenous-Time Ecologist, writer, and ancestral medicine guide known for decolonizing Time. They help multi-passionate creators and revolutionary leaders break free from the capitalist grind to reclaim time, realign energy, and reconnect with creative flow. Blending ancestral wisdom, modern neuroscience, and somatic practices with the technologies of personal cosmology—including the Mayan Cholq'ij, Human Design, and Astrology—Ixchel guides visionary misfits in reshaping their relationship with Time, creativity, and their innate rhythms. A former vice-mayor and activist, they champion decolonial leadership and Indigenous land stewardship, offering transformative guidance for those seeking liberation beyond the clock. Their trauma-aware, culturally rooted approach helps people move through burnout and cultural disconnection by returning to ancestral reverence, relational ritual, and cyclical spiral Time.

Key Takeaways

• De-adrenalizing the Body
• Colonial vs. Decolonial Time
• Flow Begins with Rest
• The Power of Nepantla
• The Seven Types of Rest

"Dear Rest Rebels: You’re not behind. You’re not failing. You’re living in a moment that asks for new rhythms. Time is not your enemy. Just remember how to listen."

Support the Work: In honor of Ixchel’s time today, consider supporting The International Mayan League.

Learn more about Just Rest at https://defythetrend.com/

CONNECT WITH IXCHEL LUNAR:

Substack

Instagram

Website

CONNECT WITH NICOLE HAVELKA: