WednesdAMA: Reader-Submitted Questions
While it’s true we get to do a lot of cool work with various companies, it’s no secret that our individual coaching is considered the crown jewel of The Threadsmith Group. If we can make one person’s life better through the coaching we provide, the business is a success.
BUT, not everyone is able to make the investment to get 1:1 coaching, and we believe in giving back to the community. So welcome to WednesdAMA, in which we take a mix of reader submitted questions and LinkedIn questions and answer them.
LinkedIn: You're feeling overwhelmed by work emails after hours. How can you set boundaries to avoid burnout?
Delete. Your. Work. Email. From. Your. Phone.
Seriously. Unless you’re in a profession where lives hang in the balance—and even then, no one is emailing you CPR instructions—you do not need to be “always on.”
That little unread badge? It’s not just a number. It’s a slow leak in your peace, your presence, your actual life. You are not being paid to be haunted by pings on a Sunday night.
Now, if you absolutely must have access after hours, get a second device. A work phone. And when your workday ends? Turn. It. Off. Put it in a safe if you have to. Do whatever it is you need to keep it away from yourself and hard to access. It’ll get easier as you set those boundaries, but man those first few weeks of boundary-setting are hard.
What’s important is protecting your sacred space and time, because you do deserve to rest and recharge. You are not “lazy” or “uncommitted” for having boundaries.
You are a human being reclaiming your evenings from a job that doesn’t get to follow you into the kitchen, the bedroom, or your dreams.
You can do it!!
Reader-Submitted: I keep getting great feedback, but I still feel like I’m not doing enough. How do I make that stop?
First: you’re not broken. You’re just caught in a loop a lot of high-achievers get stuck in where external validation doesn’t fully land because your internal bar is quietly, constantly moving.
It’s like chasing a finish line that keeps sprinting away every time you get close. And the wild part? That moving target feels like humility or ambition, but more often, it’s just internalized pressure masquerading as “motivation.” As a burnt-out gifted kid, I get it completely.
So what do you do?
You pause. You listen to the good feedback and you believe it. And if you need to pretend to believe it, you pretend. Faking it ‘til you make it both works for external confidence and internal confidence, believe it or not.
Then you do something even harder and you start defining “enough” on your own terms. Not just “did I get praise,” but:
Did I show up with integrity?
Did I take care of what really mattered today?
Did I protect my energy for tomorrow?
If the answer’s yes? That’s enough.
You’re enough. And you need to look yourself in the mirror and repeat it back at yourself until you actually believe it.
And if that voice in your head still says you’re falling short, ask yourself who gave it a mic and why does it still deserve to be in charge?
LinkedIn: “You're juggling tight deadlines and high client demands. How will you conquer stress and exceed expectations?”
You don’t owe anyone “exceeding expectations” when your plate is already full.
Meeting expectations is enough, expecting any more than that is goofy.
Tight deadlines? High pressure? You don’t “conquer” that with late nights and anxiety sweats.
You handle it by being crystal clear about:
What’s actually possible
What trade-offs need to happen
And how you’ll protect your time so you can still do great work without collapsing
Say no when you need to. Ask for clarification. Prioritize ruthlessly.
Because burning yourself out to impress a client won’t make them like you more. It won’t make the next deadline easier. It’ll just set the expectation that you’ll keep self-destructing on demand, and that is a straight line to major burnout and mental health problems.
Show up, do excellent work, and protect your energy like it’s your most valuable asset, because it is. Your mental health is never worth any job, regardless of how much pressure you’re getting to perpetually excel. If they want you to perpetually excel, Microsoft has a product for that.
Ba-dum tss.
Reader-Submitted: “How do I talk to HR about toxic behavior when I don’t fully trust HR?”
Your hesitation is valid and makes total sense. HR’s job is to protect the company. Not you. Not your emotional well-being. Not even what’s right—just what’s legally defensible.
So if you’re going to HR, go in with your eyes wide open and your receipts in hand.
Here’s what I recommend:
Start a dedicated composition notebook. Not a spiral. Not a Google Doc. Something physical that can’t be edited retroactively and can’t have pages torn out without it being extremely obvious. Write down everything: dates, quotes, incidents, names, outcomes. Stick to facts. Imagine writing it like a court stenographer might.
BCC yourself on every relevant email to a personal email address you own. Save copies. Build a paper trail. If conversations happen in person or over Zoom, follow up with written summaries:
“Just confirming what we discussed earlier today…”
Get everything in writing. Do not rely on verbal promises or hallway “I’ll take care of it” chats. If HR insists on keeping things informal, you formalize it. Send the recap email. Protect yourself.
And if/when you do file a report? Keep your expectations in check. HR might intervene. They might not. They might even treat you like the problem for speaking up. That doesn’t mean you were wrong to speak, it means the system is built to minimize risk, not pain.
Go in with documentation, strategy, and support and have a backup plan in case your bravery comes at a cost.
Because if you’re dealing with toxic behavior? The company’s silence is a message.
Make sure you’re ready to respond in kind. HR protects the company, but you are there to protect yourself and have your own back.
The Threadsmith Group Approach
At The Threadsmith Group, we don’t believe in cookie-cutter advice. We believe in real answers for real people, backed by experience, strategy, and a healthy dose of common sense.
Got a question of your own? Send it in. Let’s talk about the things that actually matter.