Anna Addoms on Burnout, Boundaries and Building a Business - Part One

In Transition

On this episode of the In Transition podcast, we talk to Anna Addoms, a badass former tech industry professional who faced burnout on multiple occassions working in the Silicon Valley tech startup space and realized the importance of self-care. After experiencing a family tragedy, Anna began to question her path and eventually started a business helping entrepreneurs and solopreneurs avoid tech overhwhelm. However, she soon realized she was exhibiting the same behaviors as before and decided to make a split-second decision to fire all clients and start fresh. Stay tuned for part two of this episode next week.

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[00:02:53] Tech culture burnout led to building her own fulfilling venture. Mother's cancer diagnosis gave perspective on life priorities. Employer supported her taking leave during crisis.

[00:06:42] Anna experienced significant loss and realized she wasn't fulfilled. After leaving her job, she spent time in San Francisco and eventually moved to North Carolina to work for a med tech company.

[00:12:21] Anna left non-fulfilling company, moved to Denver and started freelancing. Ended up starting own business, taking every opportunity and saying yes to weird things.

[00:15:05] Taking risks led to a fulfilling career, but also meant dealing with toxic corporate cultures and working long hours during the pandemic.

[00:18:37] Anna burnt out from overworking in tech, cut ties with unethical clients before the holidays for mental health reasons.

[00:25:02] She learned about human design after burning out and found it helpful for understanding her energy cycle and rest needs. She is a projector and need rest in between blocks of work time. Her inner authority is based on splenic response.

[00:27:59]She learned to listen to her body's response to avoid burnout, set boundaries, and only work with companies that have women on their teams and boards.

[00:29:28] Anna enjoys her work and being around people, but needs time alone to recharge. She typically travels internationally for self-care, but has had to switch to domestic trips due to the pandemic. Overall, she emphasizes the importance of self-care for avoiding burnout.

[00:34:52] She wanted to travel somewhere different but was cautious due to COVID-19. So she took road trips and traveled domestically, including a trip to Hawaii where her brother proposed to their sister-in-law. They were careful due to having immune-compromised family members.

[00:37:09] Anna struggled with boundaries due to her caretaker nature and family history, but her mother's death was a catalyst for setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care. She learned to set boundaries by living far away from a problematic family member.