Thought Load: Overthinking, Overfunctioning & Exhaustion with Liane Davey | 413
This Is Woman's Work with Nicole KalilShow Notes
We talk a lot about burnout, overwhelm, and productivity — but not nearly enough about the invisible mental gymnastics happening behind the scenes. The remembering, anticipating, overthinking, emotional labor, and “just handling it” that so many women carry every single day. Not just at home, but at work too.
In this episode, Nicole sits down with Dr. Liane Davey — known as the Teamwork Doctor — to unpack the concept of “thought load” and why high-achieving women are especially vulnerable to carrying way too much of it. Liane is a New York Times bestselling author, leadership advisor to Fortune 500 companies, and author of the book Thought Load: Manage the Madness and Free Your Team to Do Great Work.
Together, they explore how over-functioning gets rewarded in workplaces, why busyness and productivity can become traps, and how to stop becoming everyone else’s emotional support system and human reminder app.
In This Episode, We Explore:
What “thought load” actually is — and why it’s draining women at work
Why high-achieving women often become the default problem-solvers for everyone else
The difference between being busy, productive, and actually impactful
How to determine what truly matters instead of trying to do everything
Why managing attention matters more than managing time
How to stop becoming the go-to person for everyone’s problems
Boundary-setting strategies that don’t require becoming cold or unavailable
Why letting go is necessary if you want to grow into leadership
Because the higher you want to climb, the more willing you have to be to let go of the roles, responsibilities, and expectations that are keeping you stuck.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free!
Families are better when they’re working together… go to myskylight.com/WOMANSWORK for $30 off your Skylight Calendar.
Become a Fora Advisor today at Foratravel.com/woman
Connect with Liane:
Website: https://lianedavey.com/
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Thoughtload-Manage-Madness-Free-Great/dp/1774586517
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lianedavey/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/drlianedavey
IG: https://www.instagram.com/lianedavey
Related Podcast Episodes:
How To Tame Your Inner Critic (Without Gaslighting Yourself) with Megan Dalla-Camina | 354
VI4P - Head Trash and Giving Grace on the Journey (Chapter 7)
Holding It Together: Women As America's Safety Net with Jessica Calarco | 215
Share the Love:
If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!
🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil
What happens when a confidence expert has a wardrobe malfunction in front of hundreds of women? One hell of a lesson in self-trust.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Or so we've been told. But what if comparison isn't the problem? What if the real problem is what we do with it?
We've all done it. Avoided the conversation, hoped the problem would magically disappear, or convinced ourselves that someone should just know what we need without us having to actually say it.
For years, remote work has felt like a win. No commute, more flexibility, fewer pointless hours spent proving we're working simply because someone can see us. And for women, especially caregivers, that flexibility can be a game changer.
Somewhere along the way, emergency preparedness got hijacked by doomsday prepping, conspiracy theories, stockpiles of ammo, and a truly unnecessary amount of camouflage. But emergencies themselves? Not exactly far-fetched. Power outages, extreme weather, wildfires, floods, earthquakes, pandemics - shit happens. Being prepared for it isn’t paranoid. It’s practical.