Nobody is immune to burnout, so we're sharing our top tips for managing it in various aspects of life. Whether it's creating a healthy daily routine or breaking down goals into smaller, more achievable steps, we've got you covered. Join us on this episode as we spill the tea on our own experiences with burnout and reveal our personal strategies for staying afloat, from having a mental health day to maintaining our "five checks and balances."
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Discount Code: HandlingIt
Dog Supplements | PawMega | We Make Dog Food Better – PawMega - Make Dog Food Better
Dog Grooming Solutions – Botaniqa Global, Inc. (botaniqa-usa.com) Discount Code: HandlingIt
Nobody is immune to burnout, so we're sharing our top tips for managing it in various aspects of life. Whether it's creating a healthy daily routine or breaking down goals into smaller, more achievable steps, we've got you covered. Join us on this episode as we spill the tea on our own experiences with burnout and reveal our personal strategies for staying afloat, from having a mental health day to maintaining our "five checks and balances."
Collections – Botaniqa Global, Inc. (botaniqa-usa.com)
Discount Code: HandlingIt
Dog Supplements | PawMega | We Make Dog Food Better – PawMega - Make Dog Food Better
Dog Grooming Solutions – Botaniqa Global, Inc. (botaniqa-usa.com) Discount Code: HandlingIt
Alright, guys, thank you for listening. This is our first episode and we're going to be talking about burnout this week. Before we start talking about burnout, we're just going to catch up the beginning of our episode. We're going to cover any topics that are close to our hearts or just kind of catch up and talk about our weeks.
Speaker 2:Speaking of that, how was your day in the salon today, Gavin?
Speaker 1:I had a long day at the salon today. I didn't have so. my partner, Adrian, is our salon manager and he's off on Mondays and I forgot and I overbooked myself. So I had like six dogs today and I know that does not sound like a lot, but I'm used to doing like four or five of these days with a bae there And I was all by myself with six dogs and it was a long day but I survived.
Speaker 2:I feel you. My bae there recently put in her two weeks, so I've been pretty much in it by myself as well, but I only do like six to eight dogs at max with my bae there, so I just switched to my schedule. So I'm right there with you. I used to.
Speaker 2:I used to pump out like 12 dogs a day with a bae there but like speaking of burnout, that's exactly why I switched my prices and all the good stuff, yeah, yeah, no, i get you. I was Mackenzie groomed for me today, so I had an office day, it was so nice.
Speaker 1:You had a little backup. That's so nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So how has your week been going, other than grooming?
Speaker 2:Children like tonight. Have you ever had like Adrian or one of your friends be like completely drunk and they don't know words and they don't listen and they're kind of rude.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't want to say I hate that, but it's funny.
Speaker 2:But that was my one and a half year old. So like hanging out with like a drunk person that doesn't know words and they're just mad and they get to the point that they're going to cry if their sock fell off. That's what I was dealing with tonight, but it was my kid. He was only one and a half, but it's the same difference.
Speaker 1:So that's why I would do you like have a routine. Like, is he used to the routine or is he just in a bad mood today?
Speaker 2:Kip is such a good napper, but when it comes to nighttime he wants to be like in my neck and sleeping like in the bed with me. He has never slept through the night in his own bedroom, ever. He's always in my bed. So I wanted him to. I wanted to put him down so then I could do the podcast recording tonight. So it was just. no, this was definitely not routine. Usually he's in my armpit sleeping with me every night. My first born was not like that.
Speaker 1:Kip is a complete mama's boy And yeah, Do your kids like hang out at the salon with you, like when you're grooming if you're grooming dogs are they like? hanging out with you, no.
Speaker 2:No, i like. I love my kids and I chose to have them and I absolutely. The weekends are great, but, no, my career like daycare, that's her career. We will gladly pay daycare fees. But no, I could not Some people do? Some people have their salons with their children inside. I've had to do that when daycare is sick or something, or if my kids are sick, i'll groom with my kids, but that's like a special place in hell for me Motherhood did not come easy for me, so no.
Speaker 1:No. I've had co-workers who have kids and they've had to bring them to the salon and I just feel for them because grooming is already so like demanding of your attention and you're just like you have to be on mentally and emotionally to like pay attention to the dog And then you're also paying attention to your kids. So shout out to all the moms out there, because I can't even I can't imagine It's a whole thing, yeah, and like Corey, i'm kind of like the default parent.
Speaker 2:Corey, his schedule is not as adjustable as mine can be, and like he can't just have two kids in an excavator or in a semi, so it's always me. So it is nice that as groomers I was raised underneath the grooming table and slept in dog cages because my mom was a groomer. So I get it And it's, and that's like the freedom. And one of the great things about being a groomer is, if you are the default parent, you have that luxury of doing such things.
Speaker 2:But, I absolutely love daycare And sometimes I wish daycare was a weekend daycare. Like I swear I love my kids, but, yeah, i couldn't do both, and I know people that can, but not that I feel you.
Speaker 1:We're talking about burnout this week And burnout is not something that like just affects work. Like I was researching and reading through some like scholarly articles about burnout and like the history of burnout And you can even get I was reading like people get burnt out from their like family life, from their social life, from being parents or just being like the breadwinner. Like you can get burnout from anything in any aspect of your life. So even being a parent, Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's something I deal with my therapist a lot is. We call that our checks and balances. Do you want me? to tell you about my therapy sessions. It's a thing I use every day, like if I feel burnout, i have to check my five checks and balances. Have you ever like got like a checkbook and they give you a balancing book to go above your checkbook? Do you remember?
Speaker 1:those? No, I'm too young for that.
Speaker 2:You might be too young. Okay, so there was a point in our life that, before you had online banking or accessible on your phone, you would have to use your own handwriting and write down, like the check that you wrote or the card that you ran, and you had to keep your own balances.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, i'm not even that old I'm 28, but that I was also in the era where, like a phone at 13 was super cool and new, like a dial up computer to laptop, like I was on that. So, like I'm not that old, i was just crossed. I wasn't the crosshair of that. But so my checks and balances is like relationship with my husband, my children, my financial and career friends, and then my home work itself, like laundry and dishes.
Speaker 2:And I usually feel the most burnout when, like two out of those five are completely in the red.
Speaker 1:And when you say in the red, it's like you've just like like overspent there like you're doing too much there or like you haven't spent enough time there.
Speaker 2:I haven't done anything. I haven't put any money into that account. I haven't put any thought into that account. I am withdrawn. I owe the bank money.
Speaker 2:Now is like that kind of thing like reds and blacks. So a lot of my time I am completely OCD. My house has to be in order at all times, so that's just something that I've always had in the black, like always looking at it, i'm always doing things. I'm always putting money and depositing money into that. My laundry it's a thing I make myself. Do I have to do one load a day dishes? I cannot go to bed without my dishes and my dishwasher being ran. I'm a freak. My friends is always in the red, especially my home friends that, like you and our other, like community of dog grooming friends.
Speaker 2:Yeah like we're always in our groups and we're always chatting and we're always doing things. But like my local friends that live here, i am the first to say that is in the red And I have the best friends and they love me, but I like I don't go out and do dinners often or at all, i don't do anything. Yeah, especially with children, and I'm always trying to. you know I'm always looking at my children, making sure I put money in that account, but you always have that mom guilt And then my career.
Speaker 2:I feel like all I've been doing is trying to get that going with my, with my other company that we have going on. And then my second one is always that's in the red is always my relationship with my husband.
Speaker 1:I know that sounds bad. Yeah, it sounds like you have a. No, it sounds like you're a person that has a lot on your plate, and I think that's reasonable. But while we're talking about burnout, i can pull up some of these like definitions that I found, because it was like, yeah, way more layered than I thought, Like it's not just you go to work and you get tired of it, it's really like a psychological thing And it's like this phenomenon that affects so many people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's not just if you're burnout, it's not just because we're grooming dogs all day. It's usually blanketed with one of those other things that we do, one of those five topics that Me and my therapist talk about.
Speaker 1:I'll read this definition that I found because I think it's super interesting. It's kind of long, but bear with me. So it says like, for example, burnout is a process that begins with excessive and prolonged levels of job tension. This stress produces strain in the worker, so like feelings of tension, irritability and fatigue. This process is completed when the workers defensively cope with the job stress by psychologically detaching themselves from the job and they become apathetic and cynical and rigid. So that is one of the like original Definitions of burnout which like yeah, they started like in the 70s.
Speaker 1:This was a thing like it's been affecting people for forever. And There was this weird like Stigma, i guess, about mental illness for so long that people are afraid to label it like a psychological condition, because then it becomes like a mental illness but in a way it is like it affects us psychological.
Speaker 2:It's so I just think you definitely have to like work on that and like change that brain pattern. Um, i Completely like isn't that crazy? and from the 70s, and like well that you know. Like yeah, even back then when husbands provided and the wives were, like the children, the caretakers of the home. What do they call those like the home workers?
Speaker 1:Yeah, but like it's crazy, like as groomers to think about, because it said It says like prolonged levels of job tension and when you think about it like The average pet groomer every day, like we're seeing so many different Types of dogs and they all have such a different energy and trying to like always, always, take that energy and work with it, like it builds up so fast it and yeah when you start grooming You just want to be good, so bad, like you see other groomers and you see groomers on social media And you just want to be like them.
Speaker 1:And then you go to work and all the dogs at your salon are like grouchy and matted And I think that causes burnout for so many people, because even me at this point in my career, like I'll post a groom that I feel like is beautiful, but when I was doing it in my salon I was like this is just this doesn't look good, like I'm not happy with this and I'm angry. And I think a part of reaching that point and burnout is just like We're so hard on ourselves and especially as, like creative people, i think we have this Integrity that we don't want to like sacrifice, but when you're working with dogs, like you don't always get to, it's not always gonna be a work of art, sometimes it's just a comfort thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like you really want to make this perfect, but the dog is totally not for it at all, just moving all its likes, not comfortable. Sometimes we have to throw that out, but that just sucks when you're trying to make, you know, like, when you're trying to make that art out of this dog.
Speaker 1:Yeah so that's what, reading as it at what point in your career Do you feel like you were the most burnt out? is it like when you were in the salon like grooming 12 dogs a day? Or at what point did you feel like this I'm overwhelmed, like I'm I'm burnt out.
Speaker 2:I Would say that point. When I was trying to, i Was trying to be the person that my community wanted me to be, so like, as in, i also have a. I have a boarding groom, so I board dogs 24-7 and I groomed dogs and I also Was the boss and I would employ people, but then they would completely like come and go when they want. But I'm also the world's worst boss. I am a pushover like if they're like I'm not coming in today, i'm like okay, cool, see ya. Like I suck at any confrontation, so it's all things I do to myself. So I would say right now, like a month ago, two months ago would have been like my biggest burnout that I've ever done.
Speaker 2:I'm not when I completely yeah, i completely switched everything. I knocked my boarding half Kennell's down. I opened up my shop and we're painting Are we painted? and I knocked my schedule from like grooming 15 dogs a day down to six to eight and Now, with my baby, they're leaving. I'm gonna book it down to like five to six. So but I did that. I upped my prices. My community wasn't exactly happy with me, like taken like half my boarding facility away And then upping my prices pretty much double. But I just couldn't do the box dogs barking all day long while I'm grooming dogs and then I Don't know. I just needed to wean out some of those clientele. That was just draining my energy. Whatever I did, it was never good enough. And even like Mackenzie grooms at our salon, right, and she's like the world's best groomer, right like quote-unquote like literally.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she couldn't make people happy, so like and. I don't think I saw any of this until she started working here. I Didn't see any of that. I didn't see that like We were just never gonna make anyone happy. So I think was like the, the blindfolds were taken off my eyes And I was like, well, shit, okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's kind of like a blessing, though, yeah it really was.
Speaker 2:It really was. So we sat down and we figured out the new model For the salon, and and that's what we did- And do you think that, like, do you think that's helped so far or do you still?
Speaker 1:sometimes Do you? do you still feel like lingering effects of the burnout or do you think that helped?
Speaker 2:It definitely helped. But I know deep down because the boarding is the hardest part with children, so I can't leave more than four hours at a time. Grace is five, she's only in soccer but still, like you know, you have to rush back after the soccer game to meet people to check out their dogs. People just drive up our driveway. We live on like outside of town in the acreage and it's a good like I don't know half mile driveway to drive up our lane And they just go like 50 miles an hour up our lane and like they're going to like knock out one of my kids. Like it's just, it's just a lot right now. So I think And who knows, i could say it's going to be a perfect, it's going to be a perfect plan, but it could also be awful. But I think I'll feel the best when I completely get rid of my boarding site, of the business and just screw them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's interesting that so much of the pressure you have is coming from your community, but you live in like a pretty small town, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like 3,500 people.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So you can't even go out to eat without someone either complaining or giving you like all the praise. Yeah, like it's one or the other. You can't even eat like a burger until someone comes up and has a conversation like it's just easier to order things to go.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness, i do not like at all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, it's just, it's a lot, it's, it's nice And like, especially when you groom the whole community's dogs like.
Speaker 2:But yeah, and then like the other day I had this client. They were so thankful that we like cut our clientele in half and they gave me like a huge tip, like $300, and they were like you do what's best for your family. We love you. You know this is good. We have wondered how you do all of that, like I'd be holding my infant child and my four year old at the time, like bottle feeding, like doing all the things, letting out 20 dogs, like it was just a lot So.
Speaker 2:I feel, like I just just I'm trying to do my checks and balances and make sure everything's in the black and like I feel like it's gradually getting up there. It's like I feel like I could breathe again. So that's nice.
Speaker 1:That's good, that's really good.
Speaker 2:Where do you think your current burnout is, or like was?
Speaker 1:So I think my burnout comes from this place of like perfectionism, like I'm just really hard on myself and I feel this need to always be like on the forefront of something new. So like if I get bored, like learning a breed, like I'm going to move on to a new breed, because I just I want to know something, i want to learn something, like I I don't know what it is, i don't know where that comes from. I just I'm never content, like I just need more and more, and I think husband He's like a serial entrepreneur.
Speaker 2:And it's exhausting. It's so exhausting.
Speaker 1:It's a. It's a good thing because it makes you innovative, i think. But I go to the salon and I love all my clients, so so, so, so much. But like, after a while you're just grooming the same, like what, 200 dogs just over and over and over, and I just get to this place where I feel like I am stagnant and then it just I get in my head about it, i guess, and that's kind of where my burnout comes from at this point. But before I'm an employee, now I own my own salon and I sold it and I work for the people I sold my salon to, forever grateful to them, because owning a business was just not for me. I tried, i tried so hard to be good at it and it's just it's not for everyone. And I think it's important that people know that, because as groomers, i feel like we're always like pushed to like go do your own thing and go work for it, like, and that's a great thing that we're able to do that, but it's really not for everyone.
Speaker 2:No, and it's so hard, even when that I still own one. Like I can't be a boss, i suck at it. My client like my, i can't make people accountable Like I even like I just suck at that part. So I 1000% get it like I'm one that I'll like I'll just do it myself.
Speaker 1:I don't know why you're not coming back for work.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't even tell them my thoughts. I'm just, you know. It's like okay, all right well, thanks for your loyalties.
Speaker 1:When I opened my business I was still in college And I think that was really First of all. I have to say that I opened my business kind of out of necessity. I had just moved into a new house and there was no salons in the area that I knew like I would be a good fit in.
Speaker 2:I was going to ask you why'd you open up? so that makes.
Speaker 1:I had really no choice. I had to because, when you know, you know, and I was just at this point where I knew I either had to work for myself or I had to find a new career, because I was just, i had to find my place and you made your environment.
Speaker 1:Yeah, i made it and I don't regret doing it. It just wasn't for me And I think a lot of that burnout that I was experiencing when I was a business owner It's like I was in college and I was competing and I was still trying to get better at grooming and I was only a business And I think to have all of those expectations for myself was kind of setting myself up for failure. And when you mentioned checks and balances like I didn't even have those boxes to check, like I I didn't even think about those things because I am like so career focused, i have no like kids to ground. Everything else was like red. Yeah, no, you don't even need kids to ground you.
Speaker 2:I mean you still have relationships and housework that needs done and you still have those clients at the business to still call back And you still have a career to three careers.
Speaker 1:You know you were a business owner the groomer and you have to contact And you have to pay taxes and you have to pay accountants, and it's so. It's so much. There's so many hats to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like just to be a business owner, you need five other checks and balances to make sure you don't get burnout Like that's a whole separate tab.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I feel like people have this stigma of like. If you're burnt out, it's just because you are like an overworked employee. But being a business owner, like my hat is just. I did my hat to all of you business owners out there because it is so overwhelming And unless you've owned a business, i don't think you can really truly understand everything that you pour into it, because you really don't have any time off.
Speaker 2:No, you're truly like seven employees and one HR the accountant, the receptionist, the groomer unless you have a successful business and you just have to be behind the computer and you have employees to do it all. But most of the time that's especially in the grooming area, that's not where it's at Usually, you are the groomer as well. So there's just yeah At home. Yeah, Kudos to all of us business owners out there.
Speaker 1:You guys inspire me because I wanted to be good at it, so bad, but I did it and I sold my business for a profit and I am a part of a team now that I'm just so thankful for, and we've built this like great thing. Yeah, you made your own.
Speaker 2:You should be made your own environment And like that's something to like help here, burn out or even just like be a happy person is surrounding yourself with people you want to be around with, who you want to influence your life with. So like you chose that. That's, i think that's an, that's an X. Wow, that's a success as its own So yeah, and that you know another way.
Speaker 1:I'm trying. But I think that goes into like another Way of curing burnout is like acknowledging how much work you've done, in being proud of yourself. I don't know if it like you feel this too, but I always feel this weird, like guilt, whenever I want to be proud of myself, like I'll have it for just a minute where, like, i just placed in a contest and I'm so proud of myself and I have it for like a day and then the next day.
Speaker 1:I just feel like, okay, what's next? like I can't, i don't, i just feel guilty. I'm gonna call that guilt I think that call that.
Speaker 2:I would call that your drive. Gavin, i think you're misplacing words. I don't think that's guilt, i think it's. I think if someone sits in one, i love when people celebrate their victories and like fanatize their life. I this past, like two years, i've been working extra fucking hard on fanatizing my life, like the small wins, just like those perfect days where, like when the children are being awesome and the husband, like everyone, is like a fairy tale life And you like there's moments that that happens, like I cling on to that and get my camera and I show the world And they don't see like the fire behind me in the next 10 minutes. But like I think you're just misplacing your words.
Speaker 1:I don't think that I think that Envy that about you, but it feels like I wish I could turn it off, sometimes like You know, we're just talking about my business and I I have a hard time seeing it as like I did this great thing and moved on.
Speaker 1:Like You telling me it was a great thing. I'm like, yeah, it was a great thing. And I'm just now having this moment of like It was a great thing, like I can breathe and say that I, i did that and I don't know if that's a common thing that people struggle with. But I Wanted, i want to be able to celebrate the little things like that's nice.
Speaker 2:No, and you will. I think it's just all how you like rewire your brain, mapping like. It's all like. Like, have you ever do you make your bed every morning, gavin?
Speaker 1:Not every morning. Adrian always makes his side. That's a really cute thing, and so sometimes I Wake up and I see it and I'm like, oh my god, he's gonna like be mad at me if I don't. Waking up is like I'm not a morning person, so that's like another thing, but not really.
Speaker 2:Well, it's just like I was gonna use that analogy To for like an analogy is like if you every day make it a purpose to make your bed, then every day, without even thinking, one day you're just gonna be making your bed. So like if you could just like rewire that kind of thinking of to be Those little wins like take a picture, brag about it, call your mom, whatever you need to do. I don't know, i'm all I'm. I'm like my biggest hype man and I'll be all of your guys like.
Speaker 2:But I it took me a long time to do it because I mean, i remember at one point like one of my proudest first moments being an adult. It sounds kind of shallow, but I For the first time had enough money to buy a four wheeler in cash And I've never really I had car payments but I never, like had enough money to buy something that big by myself. So I bought it. I took it home. My parents asked me oh, decorate by that four wheeler. And I go yep, and I didn't tell anybody and like I just remember how awful that felt, that I didn't feel like I could tell my parents because I felt like One they, i don't know they'd want me to like I don't know, i don't know what I thought.
Speaker 2:But I just felt it was braggy or like yeah, like I don't know if it was braggy or I felt guilty, that like if I had that much Money I should be able to help other people like and it wasn't, it was like a four thousand dollar four wheeler, but it was like my first like I saved enough money to go buy something without a loan Moment and I completely I don't know.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of moments in my life that I felt like that, where I just lied and I was like, yeah, cory bought it and just like, yeah, that's kind of just like Yeah, that's like the way the world has conditioned you to react and to feel, and I think you're really on to something saying like You have to rewire those, the way that you see the world and the way that you process things, in order to recover from burnout.
Speaker 2:And I've been working hard on that like hard, because it robbed me of so many things. Even my wedding day my sisters were fighting. One sister didn't even show up, you know, and that should have been like we spent enough money on that wedding day.
Speaker 2:It better be a freaking great wedding day you know It's good, that's like we're at, we're at in the world that you know, like that's how it is. But honestly, cory was great, everything was great, my friends were great and like it took like a lot of little things like that Like you get robbed of, and it took me a long time to like, okay, i'm sick of like family and friends rapping me of these things or like me letting them do that. So I just had to like I Don't know, rewire everything and just fantasize my life and some people think I'm crazy or cocky and I'm like, well, fuck it, you guys don't live here and you're not in my brain. I think that's a great idea And that kind of goes I.
Speaker 1:I was doing some research for this and I found this book. It's called Job stress and the librarian coping strategies from the professionals and it's actually targeted towards like Library professionals, but I was reading through it and I think a lot of this kind of applies to, like any type of service industry Where you're dealing with people, and that was one of the first things. So the first cure that they list here for burnout is to know your best daily schedule and work environment. Stick to it and take frequent breaks. Do you take breaks when you're in the salon every day?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that was one of my things actually when I taught at the college. At my local college I We had dogs come at 8 o'clock and dogs at 1 o'clock. So if you dropped up at 8, you pick up at 12, and if you dropped up at 1, you pick up at 4.
Speaker 2:So, when I came home, when, after I quit that job and I came home, i Took that same schedule because I loved it. It was like the first time in my entire life. My mom was also a dog groomer Okay, so she had dogs come eight, nine, nine, thirty, ten, ten, forty five, like all this all the times, and Like you were constantly like hello, hi, and then put the dog back and all the shop is barking, all the dogs are barking because someone just walked in 45 minutes later, like you're always putting your scissors down. I loved that atmosphere at the college So I took that when I came back about a year ago. And so, yeah, i eat lunch every day. Sometimes I go to the chiropractor over my lunch hour.
Speaker 1:That's a good idea.
Speaker 2:It's not, yeah, and it like I'm not seeing everybody the whole time, so I just see everybody at 8 o'clock. We all have our great things. I still have my warm coffee in my hand. I'm checking in everybody and then the door is locked. We don't let anybody in until 12 o'clock, and then we check everybody out And then we go to lunch or we eat or do something and then, yeah, like that's definitely take breaks.
Speaker 1:And I don't have my schedule, and that's not just taking breaks. That's also like you found a routine, that that works well and it feels good for you and you start to it and I think that's a really that's a really good like model to follow, because a Lot of us that started grooming, like we started at PetSmart, and you don't get a routine schedule. You know, like there's days where you're opening and you're there at 7 am And you're there from 7 to like 3, but the next day you might be closing and you're there from noon to 9 and to like train your body to Do a job as physical as grooming, i think you really do need like a routine, like you need a really regular schedule.
Speaker 2:Yeah, i am one that get oh I get over stimulated, and that's something that will definitely like. By the end of the day, it'll just be burnt out on everybody and everything. I will just need to like, lock myself in the bathroom and like my husband like are you pooping?
Speaker 2:I'm like, nope, it's just silent. Because I had like in this salon, if people just kept opening the door and closing in hello Hi, you know, and just doing all the things and all the dogs barking every time someone came in and like I just I can't do, i will go. I rate, you know. So it was just something. I definitely had a change for my home life, like that was something I definitely needed to figure out in my work life because my home life I was bringing it home.
Speaker 2:Yeah and it was exhausting, yeah, so yeah.
Speaker 1:It sounds like a good plan. That kind of goes into the next thing too, which is the second. One of the second best cures for burnout. It's to develop good time management skills and I feel like this is something, as a groomer, that cannot be Underestimated or undervalued, because once you find that flow like especially your routine for like when you groom a dog, it becomes a lot easier To go through your day without like panicking about what comes next Like.
Speaker 1:I don't know about you if you have like a set routine when you groom a dog, but for me I think every, every dog I groom, it comes in. If it's matted, i'm, i appreciate it. If it's Severely mad at all, appreciate it. If I'm gonna blow it out or even attempt to like, it's gonna go straight to the tub. So probably like 85% of the time my dogs come in, they go straight to the tub and then from the tub We go to the table, bother wet. I do the nails and then I dry the dog and then I do the body. I'm getting ahead of myself myself. No, i go from the tub to the table and then I do nails and then I do pads and sanitary and Then I do body and then I trim feet, and then I trim tail, and then I trim head, and then it's the next dog, and it's over and over and over and I have gotten so much faster that way, because I used to be one of those people.
Speaker 1:I could spend two hours just grooming one dog.
Speaker 2:That doesn't include bathing, just like clipping and scissoring and just nitpicking and And having that like time management routine helps so much I'm saying mine's pretty much the same same thing with, like, if it's a mad, a dog, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I just I like to do the heads first. I think I've just been like too many people in the past try to walk in like 45 minutes before they're supposed to Like.
Speaker 1:I've never got the head done So.
Speaker 2:I always like I'm one that I'll start with the head and then I'll do like, oh, smallest blade till longest. Yeah, that's pretty much same thing.
Speaker 1:I think that's a part of it too is like, just because that your coworker next to you, like they've been grooming for a million years And they have their routine, yours doesn't have to match. You don't have to do the same thing that they're doing and you don't have to do. You don't have to be like them, like you can Experiment with what feels good, and when you find a routine that feels good, you just have to stick to it. And I think that's half the battle is just finding the routine and sticking to it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you are so much faster once you get it like your, your body's almost an autopilot, like yeah, it's just muscle memory the dog.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you could connect with the dog, you could like you develop that relationship because your body's just on autopilot, like your mind could be there with that dog. So it does help. Yeah, and I've, i've seen that and other people help, like when we're training or doing our seminars, and you can see like oh, it didn't let go faster that you use the 40 blade all over that dog And didn't have to put it on and off 10 times and then, yeah, gradually went to the 10 blade and then you went to the body blade and then Like that was faster.
Speaker 1:It's just little things and they add up like so fast It does, it does.
Speaker 2:I agree.
Speaker 1:I'm curious to see what you think about This next step. This is the third best cure for burnout. It is to set realistic goals for your work. How do you feel like you can set realistic goals as a groomer while still Wanting to improve and wanting to do good work, like send out cute dogs?
Speaker 2:I Think it's doing the goals. I think a lot of people set up the goals and they're very realistic. But I know a ton of people, even my friend group. They say they're gonna do something, and I'm watching them and they don't even do it. So I feel like that's half the battle, of like, if you don't even do what you want told yourself to do, you don't even trust yourself bro.
Speaker 2:Like how are you gonna get through life or do anything if you can't even trust yourself after you make those goals? So, like I feel like when, so like an example, i Just lost my train of thought. Gosh, it was a good one too, gavin. But, anyway, it's fine. It was a good story to link with that, but I think where were you going with that?
Speaker 1:I Was kind of thinking like You have to set the goals but you can't just like tell yourself, okay, like I Want to be a good dog groomer and like that's just it. You have to kind of break it down into smaller things.
Speaker 2:So like when.
Speaker 1:I was learning. I feel like what helped me get good fast Well, for me, i felt like what helped me get good to myself and the amount of time that I feel like I was good enough to be like grooming consistently on my own and like sharing my work online, was I want to be a good dog groomer, but how do I break that down into smaller steps? So like I want to be a good dog Rimmer, but first I need to know how to. I need to know how to make my legs look really good, like how to trim these feet to be really cute. So like, maybe today I'm just spending a little extra time like on my legs and on my feet so that I'm happy with them.
Speaker 1:And Then, once you've done that for a few days and you're like, oh, this is looking better than I can move on to like okay, today I'm really gonna focus on Like the head, or even you can break it down into smaller than that. Like I'm gonna focus on the muzzle. Like if I want this really cute Asian fusion muzzle, i'll just spend extra time on the muzzle today and just really focus on honing that one specific skill to like Build to this bigger goal. So I think part of being realistic is Smaller baby steps.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, just baby. I need a hyper like zoom in it's kind of like. Example corn and golf, okay, and my goal is to just get it off the box. Get it off the T box. Cory's goal is to be five inches from the certain spot. So it's like complete different.
Speaker 2:But like I could give two fucks about golf Cory loves golf, i do it because I'm trying to keep my checks and balances in the black with my husband And so we could do some things together. So, same thing, we're like you and I, even um, when we are doing our contest grooming or our master certifications, we seriously had a like hyper zoom Into a certain detail about a certain breed and learn everything we could, even if it's just a headpiece or an ear set Or an eye set, and we had to learn all the things. I completely agree with that. But I see so many people like I am going to like nail this American Concord trim But they don't do. They don't find a mentor, they don't find. They don't even try to find a video to watch, they just put the cocker on their table and take like books are fine, but like if you're gonna compete and stuff, like I feel like you need to go full in on hyper focus and get as much mentorship As you can.
Speaker 1:But I see a ton of people just not Exactly, and that's so much pressure to put on yourself like, yeah, to look at, especially like using that as an example. Like you see these big, beautiful bevels on an American cocker and you see this beautiful, smooth backhoe And you're like I want to do that, like I want to be so good at this, but it's overwhelming when you look at the whole thing right, that kind of sets you up for a burnout, because then you're Your goal.
Speaker 1:Right is good, but it's not realistic. And that's where the kind of smaller goals come into place.
Speaker 2:Right to hyper, you know. Find the mentor, or look up a video, you know. Or just do one foot at a time. You have four shots to make a nice bevel, you know you don't have to do all four bevels in one day.
Speaker 2:That's, that's how I've taught my like with my mentorship, and every Lesson I've signed up for and all the things that I've done. Yeah, was exactly that, or you know, is To really hyper focus on something, but also follow through And don't get mad when you don't do any of that and you just show up and don't be hard on yourself.
Speaker 1:Okay, maybe.
Speaker 2:I'm so nice I've been. I'm like you gotta show up. You're gonna do your work and if you don't even try to do your homework and you think you're gonna ask the test, Sorry bro, you suck.
Speaker 1:But like I, i think it's this thing. Like You can even go further than that, like right, like the bevels are overwhelming and the backcoat is overwhelming, but guess what? none of those things matter if you're not even prepping well, so then you could break it down even further, like To just bathing well, so you just have to find, like, whatever your goal is, break it down into small steps and celebrate those like little wins, and I think that will help a lot with burnout.
Speaker 2:I agree, i agree, and they are little wins. When you, you, when you knock out your first bubble and you don't show a toenail, that is a win, yeah if you like, wash your dog and you dry it beautifully and you do great prep work. That's a win because, You have to start somewhere and I was at Spaniel Club for the first time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, i was at Spaniel Club for the first time. The first dog I bathed, i had to take it out and I was gonna start drying it, and Ava was with me, so I was not alone. I have to say. Ava was there too. Mackenzie had to tell us to go rebath those dogs and we had already been like Like we were both in open and she had to go tell us to rebath those dogs because they like didn't feel right. And that's something that like It's a small thing, like it's a small little goal I want to have something that comes with time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it does, it does. I work side by side with her and like this has just been a blessing for me because, just like the things that she sees or she feels, or she even just like, literally doesn't even have to have our eyes open. She just knows like her goals were so hyper focused and we're definitely going to have to have her on as a guest. But like it's hyper focused, zoomed to like pixel, megapixel, like specs, where she like to see one piece of hair and undercoat that nobody's naked I can see. that's the goals. That's what I want to reach in my career. I don't want to, just you know, like be able to put out a silhouette. I want to. I want to know when Gavin or Eva shows me a wet dog and she could just look at you and say rebate.
Speaker 1:It doesn't feel right, like how would we know this stuff? Yeah, but you can't just come out of the gate like wanting, like I want to be as good as Mackenzie Murphy, because we all do, but you have to start somewhere. So it's just those little goals and finding somebody that can help you and celebrating the little wins I think will help a lot, because if you're setting unrealistic goals, i think you're just setting yourself up for failure in the long run.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a perfect way to wrap this up with them. You know we brought up our friend group, so we both definitely. Now we surround ourselves with people that influence us and make us better, and they make us be the people we want to be.
Speaker 2:Maybe we don't and you're like bye guys, i don't even like you guys but like I, really feel like that is something that's going to help you, either help talk about your burnout and have those people to help you navigate what's going on, what's too much, what's not, something you need to fix. You know kind of situation happen those friends or have. They don't even have to be friends, Just being in like the right mentorship, being in the right like you said environment in the salon, whether you have to create it or you know, you just keep going until you find one. But your atmosphere and the people you surround your life with this huge on burnout.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know that And that can be like. That can be somebody that they're a master groomer and they have been grooming forever and that's somebody you look up to and they're helping you. But that can also be somebody that's at the same place as you like they're wanting to learn to and you can build off of each other and work off of each other.
Speaker 2:I think that's why I love our relationship the most?
Speaker 1:because I agree.
Speaker 2:We have these friends that are like huge in this industry. They've done great things. They're still doing great things, like we're also like me and you. We're also doing big things, but at our own time and we're doing it like at the same time. I don't know if this is making sense, but like, instead of having the people at the top be at our level, i see as gradually, one day like rising to also be at the top and like to know, I have someone like you with me at this time makes me feel secure, like I'm doing the right thing.
Speaker 2:I'm, you know I'm. this isn't a waste of my time. This is, you know, like seeing someone that wants it so bad at the level that I want it, makes me like not even like second guess, because it does get, like, does get overwhelming. You know, being a nine to five groomer and just grooming every day, i look back at those days like, wow, that was such a simple life.
Speaker 1:Now I'm grooming my nine to five dogs and then I'm also learning and that's like your side gig now, like you know, there's so much going on like, yeah, and I think just to have somebody that you're just lifting each other up, it does. I think it makes a huge difference. Like even this, this podcast that we're doing together, that's like we both thought it was cool and we kind of hyped each other up enough that now we're here and I'm so proud of us for that, i'm so excited for everything that we have to come and everything that we have planned and it's going to be really fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're going to have the best guest speakers on here. I'm excited. And when? the topics that we just have laid out in front of us right now. It's going to be great.
Speaker 1:So thank you for tuning in with us for this first episode. Hopefully, the audio quality and everything was good, but this is just the beginning for us, so stay tuned and look out for more to come.
Speaker 2:Bye. Bye.