Feeling stuck, tired, or just… off? It might not be burnout—it might be strategy fog. In this episode, I’m breaking down the difference between true burnout and a lack of clarity, aka strategy fog. Knowing the difference can unlock a whole new level of productivity and joy in your business.
As creators, we often confuse exhaustion with failure, but sometimes we’re just unclear about where we’re going. I walk you through five simple questions to assess your current clarity level and share real examples from my coaching clients who were spinning their wheels—until they got strategic.
DM me on Instagram with “burnout” or “strategy fog” to chat more!
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[00:00:00] Welcome to the Thrive Podcast, where we believe creators deserve more, more money, more freedom, and even more love for what they do. I'm Bree p, your coach for content creators. And I know the struggle, the long hours, the endless ideas, the feeling that success is just out of reach. But here's the truth.
[00:00:24] You've got what it takes. And this podcast, it's your shortcut to getting there from strategies that actually work to behind the scenes insights. We are unlocking your potential one episode at a time. So if you're ready to turn your creative hustle into a thriving business, let's get started.
[00:00:45] You are not lazy, you are not failing. You just might be unclear. In today's episode, we're unpacking the difference between feeling overwhelmed and simply not having a clear aligned plan and how knowing the difference can change everything. So to start this episode, I want to talk about, I. The symptoms and see whether or not you have true burnout or strategy fog, they can start to feel very similar.
[00:01:19] And so that is why I want to share. How exactly we can know the difference and even just sit with it for a second and acknowledge where we truly are. So if you're burnt out, it could look like this. Sitting down to work and being so exhausted, you wanna cry staring at computer or at your phone and just.
[00:01:46] Hating it, right? Or not being able to get your brain to come up with anything at all, and scrolling on social media to numb versus strategy fog. If you're in strategy fog, you could be wanting to work and being excited, but being very uncertain on what to do, so you feel stuck. You are worrying that you're wasting time or that you should be doing something different, something other than what you sat down to do, and then scrolling.
[00:02:23] Hoping for inspiration to strike. So what do we do about both of these? The thing is clarity is the antidote to spinning your wheels. Clarity is going to quiet the chaos that can go rampant in our brains. And when we don't have clarity, we feel our creativity dim. Or extinguish altogether. I've worked through this myself and with my clients, and I can tell you from experience and with my clients, it is not fun, right?
[00:02:58] Like maybe you've been there before and feeling your creativity just kind of like fade into this fog and in the background is such a debilitating and just exhausting place to live. Because your creativity thrives on structure, and in order to have structure, it starts with clarity and the real talk.
[00:03:23] Like if we're being super honest, I mean like, all right, here's the highlight. Creators often over work when they're unsure about what's working and don't have clarity. That is when we overwork ourselves, that is when we spin our wheels. That is when our brains are going 5,000 miles an hour. If we're just feeling like I, I don't know if it's working, I'm gonna keep going.
[00:03:46] I'm gonna keep trying. I'm gonna hope it's going to work. I don't have a full whole lot of clarity. I. Then we crash and burn. So here's how, I wanna give you some examples of how a lack of clarity and being in a strategy fog has shown up for some of the gals that I have been coaching lately. So I've had a client that was spending more than four hours a day on Pinterest.
[00:04:12] It did not happen overnight, right? Like we never get to these places. Overnights we're never like completely fine, solid on our strategy, good to go, and then the next day everything is horrible. If, if that happened, we were never actually solid on our strategy. We just tricked ourselves into thinking that we were so, she did not get to this place.
[00:04:31] So spending four hours a day on Pinterest, thinking that was going to be the solution to her brand and to growth, it happened over time. Have somebody else that was posting five times a day to Instagram, and I'm talking about the feed, not stories. Somebody that was jumping from tool to tool, just hoping that one of them would make everything work.
[00:04:58] I'm gonna try this one. Now. Somebody else said this, so I'm gonna try that. Oh, somebody said this strategy, right? That could really apply to multiple people I've worked with if they're jumping from tool to tool or strategy to strategy before they meet me. Somebody relying too much on chat, GPT maybe, and feeling like they're losing their own voice for the sake of productivity.
[00:05:20] So let's do a quick exercise to assess your clarity. Level. And what I want you to do is I want you to answer each of these out loud. If you're somewhere like a coffee shop, you can just whisper them quietly or say them in your head, but answer these while you're listening. So I want you to say yes, no, or kind of in response to these five questions that I have for you.
[00:05:46] So the first one, do you know what your top one to two business goals are for the next 90 days? If you don't, everything might feel urgent. Question two, do you have a clear plan or strategy to reach those goals? If not, you might be feeling like you're throwing spaghetti at the wall. Can you explain what you do and who you serve in one to two sentences?
[00:06:15] If you don't, your messaging might be muddy. This is going to affect engagement, growth, visibility, profit, all the things. Do you know what is actually moving the needle in your business right now? If you don't know that, you're probably spending time on tasks that aren't actually making a difference. And the fifth one is, do you have clear priorities for this week or does everything currently feel equally important?
[00:06:46] If everything feels essential, I. It's a sign that your strategy needs some simplifying. So for any that you said yes to, I want you to write it down and plan a day that you need to sit down and work on it. And this needs to be a priority over everything else. Yes, I am serious because. If this isn't a priority, you're going to be spending time on things that might not be making a difference.
[00:07:14] And for any of those questions that you said kind of too, I want you to grab a piece of paper and I want you to journal about it. What feels muddy? What made you answer kind of, what made you feel like, oh, maybe yes, maybe no, I'm not sure. We can't dive into these things unless we dive into these things.
[00:07:36] We can't just, you know, say, oh yeah, it is kind of, you know, not really clear. I, I kind of know what's moving the needle, but not really. Um, like a couple things are working, but I'm not sure I, yes. Maybe kind of. That's not going to help us move forward in a productive way and in a way that is going to make sense for our business goals.
[00:07:59] So that is your action step, okay. To go through each of those things. And I wanna invite you to join Bold Fluence if you need help building clarity and momentum and to have the strategy to know what are my two business goals for the next 90 days, and what are those action steps? What is the plan to actually hit those goals?
[00:08:22] Sometimes that can be very overwhelming and very daunting to do on our own, and that's why we created Bold Fluence. So. Head over to Thrive Together, blog slash bold fluence to check that out, or of course, click the link in the podcast description. I would love to hear your thoughts on are you feeling. A strategy, fog, or true burnout, my dms are always open.
[00:08:47] So hop over to Instagram, send us a message, and just type in burnout or strategy fog because I wanna have a conversation with you. If this episode helped you, help us grow, leave a review, share it with a friend, and tag us on social media. We can't wait to cheer you on.
Burnout vs. Strategy Fog: What’s the Difference?
Burnout is emotional and physical exhaustion that makes you dread work. Strategy fog is different. It shows up as confusion, second-guessing, and a lack of direction—even if you still want to work. The symptoms can feel similar, but the solutions are not.
How Strategy Fog Drains You Without You Noticing
Overworking, tool-hopping, and chasing every new trend? These are all symptoms of strategy fog. I’ve had clients post 5 times a day or spend 4+ hours daily on Pinterest, all hoping for momentum that never came. What they lacked wasn’t motivation—it was clarity.
The Clarity Check-In: 5 Questions You Need to Ask
Let's walk through five simple but powerful questions to ask yourself to assess your clarity. From your 90-day goals to your weekly priorities, your answers will tell you whether you’re spinning your wheels—or ready to grow.
1. Do you know what your top one to two business goals are for the next 90 days?
If you don't, everything might feel urgent. Without clear, time-bound goals, your energy gets scattered and it’s easy to fall into reactive mode. Focused goals create direction and help you prioritize your time and energy.
2. Do you have a clear plan or strategy to reach those goals?
If not, you're probably throwing spaghetti at the wall. You might be working hard but not seeing results because there's no cohesive strategy guiding your actions. A plan turns your vision into actionable steps.
3. Can you explain what you do and who you serve in one to two sentences?
If you can’t, your messaging is probably muddy—and that affects everything from engagement to visibility and even your profit. Clear messaging attracts the right people and makes your brand memorable and trustworthy.
4. Do you know what is actually moving the needle in your business right now?
If you’re unsure, you’re likely wasting time on tasks that aren’t making a real impact. Understanding what drives results helps you focus your efforts where they matter most and eliminate busywork.
5. Do you have clear priorities for this week, or does everything currently feel equally important?
When everything feels essential, your strategy likely needs simplifying. Without weekly priorities, it’s easy to stay stuck in reactive mode instead of taking aligned action that supports your long-term goals.
The Cure: Clarity Through Boldfluence
If you're ready to stop guessing and start building a clear, aligned plan, come join us inside Boldfluence. This is where we build clarity, strategy, and serious momentum—together.
Resources Mentioned
