How to Remove Overwhelm - TRY THIS!

Your brain doesn’t need another colour-coded to-do list. It needs a circuit breaker. We start with some very real-life Easter chaos (including questionable chocolate choices and parenting economics), then we get straight into what we’re seeing across salons right now: overcomplication, overwhelm, and decision paralysis that keeps good salon owners stuck in ideation instead of execution.

We share the framework we keep coming back to when everything feels like it’s piling up: AWS. It stands for what I Actually need to do, what can Wait, and where can I Simplify. 
We talk through how this three-question reset helps when you’re juggling clients, leadership, content, home life, and the mental load that comes with running a business. It’s not about doing more, it’s about choosing better, faster, and with less drama. 

We also go a layer deeper into the uncomfortable truth: the doom spiral can be tempting. Cortisol can be addictive, and sometimes we unconsciously chase the reward of being seen as the one who has it hard. We unpack how to catch that pattern and use a simple boundary statement, “I’m not available to spiral”, then bring it back to practical action you can take today with pen and paper. 

If this helped, subscribe, share it with a salon owner who needs a reset, and leave a review so more people can find the AWS method.

To follow our journey:
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Transcript

Sponsor And Welcome

SPEAKER_02 0:00

This episode of the Conscious Elon podcast is brought to you by Revelon Professional Australia.

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Welcome back to another episode of the Conscious Salon podcast. I'm having a little bite of an Easter egg.

SPEAKER_02 0:11

It is, yes. Welcome, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

I don't like I

Easter Eggs And Family Chaos

SPEAKER_01 0:15

don't like hollow wait, is that is that a hollow Easter egg? Yeah, yeah. I don't like a hollow Easter egg.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Like, I'll take what I can get today, but no, you actually said I'd prefer yeah, you you told me that already. Small solids. Yeah, shockingly. When I was stealing from my children their little loot. Um, I didn't I didn't think of size and very I just thought I'll just bring in a couple of Easter egg snacks.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

You're gonna be in trouble when this airs until he finds out.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Now he River doesn't know what's happening. Oh, so that's great. He's got no idea. He didn't even enjoy the hunt. Do you know I actually organised the hunt? Which, like it's not very that's actually so like out of my depth. Mick is like the fun parent. He's the one that will get up and do all the things. Talia found out that the Easter bunny, well, I mean, she knew.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

I know that she knew, but she kept warning if people are in cars where they turned it off.

SPEAKER_02 1:00

But also in a minute. If you're putting this in front of your kid, that's on you, Doll. Because like I should come with a permanent sensory warning for children.

unknown 1:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

So like I'll give you a bit of time to switch down now, but Talia found out last year. She fucking knew though. Like, you know when you can just tell, I was like, Doll, come on. Which I was I get it. Like I used to do that as well with like Santa and stuff. I didn't want, didn't want the jig to be up.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

But um, we told, well, I didn't have any involvement. Mick told her, I think.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Does she know? She's like, well, she certainly does.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

Um, yeah, no, she definitely does. But um, so Mick, first year of not doing the Easter egg shenanigans because River's too young. He's one, he's he isn't, he doesn't even know what a bunny is, really. So um I was like, you know what? I'm gonna I'm gonna throw him a curveball that snuck out the day before the last minute Easter egg collection, which you know they really do, they they do a great job with their sales on that day. It's like me and all the other disorganized parents are all looking at the city. 100% and you know, good on them. They've got their money's worth for sure. But then we went and did the sorry, I got up early, set the alarm early, and Tali was up, which I was like, um, back to bed, Dal. You go and have a have a sleep in. Um, and then yeah, I I did the little the hunt was pretty easy. I've got to I was gonna say, I don't know what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

I've got to keep it. There were like four eggs lined up on the fireplace or eight.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

And then adding a new one to say they were all lined up. Dahlia doesn't really like chocolate and River doesn't need it.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

If you'd like to donate, I I love chocolate.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

But I don't think he's gonna have any Easter eggs though this Easter.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Yeah, I mean I am eating them because um my kids don't like it. And Mick Mick actually reckons he gained three kilos on that weekend purely with um which I hope that's alright, darling. But he he went and got so we went such different routes with Easter eggs. Sorry if we want to talk about something more conscious, but we're on a sub I'm on a tangent now, so we're continuing.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

We're gonna learn something about business in this podcast.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

We'll get to it. We I went the just the the you know what they had at IGA, which also like I spent the I reckon it's about a hundred and something dollars on yeah. I talked the well the next day they're half priced, so note for next year. I'm gonna get up early and go and get it and go and do it that way. But yeah, I reckon I spent about a hundred bucks just on the hot like the 38 eggs and a couple of light lint fancy chocolates. Yeah, the teeny tiny ones, not the big boys. Mick went to like there's a chocolature, chocolatier.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Chocolatier.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Chocolatere.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

That was cool, chocolateer.

SPEAKER_02 3:51

Yeah, like Charlie's chocolate factory, effectively. He went there. He spent $200.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Oh what?

SPEAKER_02 3:57

No. The ridiculous the big bunny. I mean, effectively, three kilos worth of Easter egg. For who? Um me, but I don't like that. I like the basic, like Cadbury ones. So I was like, he gave them to me. I ate them. Well, I had a bite and I was like, I don't like that. I don't like that. So he's had all the it's like the Belgian, you know, ridiculous chocolate. Antalia had a huge um, I think it's like a bilbi or a wallaby or something. The traditional Easter Bilby that we all know and loves. So what's that like $300 worth of Easter eggs in my family's home with people that the only two people that like the chocolate are I'm really I just like the basic Cadbury and Once upon a time we used to we used to buy, were you around when we used to buy the Lint chocolate for the team?

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Yeah, yeah. So we used to buy like go to Lint and get like so like really expensive chocolate, and then we were like out of the channel.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

I did not do that so much more label. You did that, I didn't do it.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

But you know what I mean. Like we used to we used to buy like really fancy chocolate, and then I'm like, they just want the cadbury.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

That's Mick. Mick still hasn't learned that I'm like I'm like, Del I'm the most basic bitch. Like Cadbury, nothing wrong with Cadbury. Well, uh yeah, I mean I love a holiday.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

But we've we've covered the chocolate eggs.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Um did you guys want to chime in with your um Easter budgets or like hunts? You went away, you did it.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Went away, went away to Bright. It was lovely. Um you took Sully camping, but Easter Bunny found us in Bright, which was good. And then I heard Sully talking to his friend Patrick yesterday, and Patrick said I had I got 23 Easter eggs, and then Sully said I had 145, and I said, Well, actually, Sully didn't count your Easter eggs when that never happened. But I'm really noticing he's like trying to one up everything at the moment.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

I wonder where he gets that.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Um I'm not sure. But I um I had to stop him and and really like manage the expectations in front of Patrick? Absolutely, yeah. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

I mean, I'm not against that, I'm I'm for that. I'm a bit of a tough one.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Patrick was so excited with his 23 Easter eggs, and then Sully came in with 145, and I said that absolutely didn't happen, never happened, didn't happen at all.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

That isn't the really hard part of parenting though, I think, like the consistency, because someone told me the other day at school that their kid's first tooth got 50 bucks, which I was like, wow.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

Pete gave Sully like I mean, oh no, another trigger warning, sorry guys. Um the tooth fairy gave Sully hooty something dollars for his first tooth, and then I and I was like, How dare you? And he's like, I wanted to like I wanted to have something that jingled. Um, but I was like, Yeah, also Pete, where did you get that?

SPEAKER_02 6:25

I don't know when Nikki swallowed. You got that.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

But um, but no, I was just like, well, what the hell?

SPEAKER_02 6:33

I do think there should be a rule that there should be like let's create some consistency amongst Yes, yes, I

Parenting Money Stories And One-Upping

SPEAKER_02 6:40

know, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

But as much as we'd love to talk about chocolate eggs and all that all day, uh, we did come on here to talk about something a little bit more tangible for the style on owners. They're all taking notes about the Easter money and body sandwich and whatever else we're talking about. But Teddy, what are

Why Salon Owners Feel Stuck

SPEAKER_01 6:56

we talking about today?

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Oh, I got distracted now because of the thing.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

Is this not the schedule? We are talking about hanging what were we talking about? Talking about AWS. Oh yes, brought that in as well, so that's good. We do no. This is the thing. What Nick, what we're seeing at the minute, this is what we're currently seeing within salons and teams at the moment. So much overcomplication, so much um decision paralysis, so much I've got so much to do. I mean, like overwhelm, I'm not able to do X, Y, and Z. And we came up with a really fun, fun phrasing, which I don't think we've spoken about. Nikki was like, have we spoken about this? I don't think we have.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

No, on live calls we have.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

We talk about it a lot in our yeah, with our private clients and with our um group containers. And like if you're in our if you're working with us, you will hear this phrasing a lot. It is called AWS. So, what we have broken this down to is really getting

Introducing The AWS Method

SPEAKER_02 7:55

clear on what we actually need to do, what can wait, and where can we simplify. And this phrasing, these keywords, has been such a massive expansion, I would say, for the three of us this year to keep the needle moving, to keep moving forward, to not buy into um the like cost of living mindsets or the um world is falling apart mindsets and all of these things. I'm not saying those things aren't happening, but it's what's keeping us continuing to move the needle and continue to level up and move forward.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

I actually used AD AWS last night to prepare for today because I was really behind. And I used, oh, I was like, oh my god, oh my god. I start to spiral and it's so tempting when you're under pressure to go down the rabbit hole. We had this conversation yesterday with a client. It's so tempting when you have that compounding effect and you're under pressure and you think, oh my god, oh my god, I'm spiraling, I'm starting to go down the rabbit hole. And taking that pressure, taking that pressure off for a second and looking at, okay, what do I actually need to do in this moment? And I was running really far behind preparing for these podcasts, and I thought one thing I need to do in this moment is prepare for the podcast. What can wait? Cool. The thing that I started doing that isn't actually, I don't have a deadline for until Friday, that can wait. How can I simplify this? I need to move out and go into my office, move out of the family room where there's so much noise and chaos. How can I simplify my environment? And I was like, oh, AWS.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

AWS. I think this is something that the more that we lean into this, because what usually happens when we're feeling overwhelmed or um stretched out or um yeah, any of those things when we when we're focusing on things that we shouldn't be, it's it's having that feeling of like I've got all these tabs open and I've got to like constantly do a bit of this tab and a bit of that tab, and I'll go here and there and like constantly switch out. But when you start getting really clear on what do I actually need to do, what can wait, where can I simplify, it just makes that flow so much easier. It literally becomes like a to-do list of like, oh, this is priority, this can wait. Let's bridge that gap down and work through it. Say, what do you see with because you have your hats constantly moving, you'll be in salon working with clients, working with the team, being off the floor with the team, working with team leaders, working in conscious, doing podcasts, all of the things.

Real Examples Of Using AWS

SPEAKER_02 10:14

How do you find AWS to support you when you're feeling those moments of overwhelm?

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Yeah, I think excuse me, I am definitely someone who loves like a doom spiral. Like I'm one of the people that like f can like really feed off myself. Like as soon as like he start to go down, it like almost like gives me this like I don't know, not it's not a good, yeah, it's not a good feeling, but I like I love it. Yeah, um, so it definitely just makes me stop in my tracks and really think about yeah, where I am, what I'm doing, and like get really present because I can get quite distracted and get off track a lot. Um, and I think too, like having so many different things moving around, it keeps me really grounded in what I'm doing in that moment. So there was a time where I was getting really caught up in like, oh, my brain's in conscious now, my brain's in a head now, my brain's in leadership, mine's in, you know, being a stylist. Like I was getting really, really lost. And this is when um the first time that you had brought holds up to me. But this is when you first brought it up to me. And it was, yeah, literally thinking of like changing over my hats or taking my apron off and really being present in what I'm doing. Um, and that just it just helps so much with that not going down that rabbit hole and stopping it. Because otherwise, like I'm one of those people, like, I'll start to spiral and then two days later I'm like in a hole and like no one talk to me. Like, you know, like yeah, I feel like I'm just like in a hole just skits and out. That's it.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

It will start that overwhelm process and start that stacking effect for you.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Yeah. So just to like kind of ground myself again and like not feed into my own bullshit basically of like, yeah, it's so hard, you have so much going on, like blah blah blah, and going down that. It's like, no, hang on for a second. Like, what are you doing right now? What do you actually need to do right now? Where can you simplify what's going on? And yeah, it just makes it so much easier. I actually used it because I've been getting on and off of my train of like um being consistent and like really trying. Nikki actually inspired this with one of her other podcast episodes about her getting on her grind. Um, but that really helped me with that because there's moments where I'm an all or nothing personality. And when I'm getting back into things, I'm like, I'm going to the gym, I'm running, I'm you know, eating only letters and like you know, all of those different things.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

But it I've never seen you eat only letters.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

Never, but I mean, probably one day. But it really like anchored me back into okay, what do I actually want right now? Like, do I want to be doing all of this, or is it just more getting being kinder to myself and simplifying things? And you know, what do I need to do now? And then moving from there, okay, cool, I've nailed this, then I can add more things. And like so it works in like every single aspect of my life, basically.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

I totally agree. I think this is something that as human beings, look, and we do, we like we get addicted to the cortisol. We love the rush. It is addictive. We Nikki and I often have to pull each other out of the weeds where we'll be like, hang on a minute, like we're starting to, you know, one thing starts going wrong, and then it's like, and then this other thing happened, and then this and this and this and this, and then suddenly you've got this thing of like really being in the weeds and like martyring yourself with that. What we really need to start doing with this mindset is catching ourselves and just having that that honest conversation. All right, wait, stop. I'm gonna pause for a second. What do I actually need to do in this moment? What can wait? Where can I simplify? And when you start working it like that, it will literally change your wiring, your programming, so that you don't get affected by all of the outside noise and chaos that can

Doom Spirals And Cortisol Addiction

SPEAKER_02 13:39

be so like distracting, or buying into that cortisol of being like, oh, these are all getting too much, and now I'm like frozen and I can't make a decision and I'm like stuck here because there's too much and I feel too overwhelmed. It's a massive, massive thing that we see happen play out so often in our industry. Nick, this is something that you said that you used last night.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

I use it often. You came up with AWS and I use it often. I don't think I've ever told you that how often I use it. But I use it often. Like it especially in um like I am definitely someone who I'm a planner, but I tend to leave important deadlines to the last minute. I don't know why. It that might surprise some people to hear. I definitely plan things meticulously, but then I I thrive when I'm like under pressure a bit. But I use AWS regularly. What are you gonna ask me?

SPEAKER_02 14:26

I do I um that's throwing me now with that. I'm um grateful to hear that. But I think um I'm also really grateful that you shared that you're a um got the the last minute pressures. We do we do always say that we do our best work under pressure.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

I do I do, I work really, really well under pressure, but I only prepared for today's podcast late last night.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

What I want to ask you with AWS is when we start seeing this, this is something that I feel especially, you know, due to some of the conversations that we've had in our private world at the moment in terms of like with our clients. There is a lot of like listening to outside noises or influences or um having more of the um whether it's decision paralysis, but just like I think back to like whether it's like staying stagnant or like just not moving forward with it. What would you say to a salon owner who is sitting here and really identifying with the fact that this potentially is me? It's nice to have that sort of phrasing, but like actually implementing it, how would you actually start moving it forward or stop that decision paralysis where people can have all of the like all what's the thing? All the gear and no idea where they just kind of like sit. That's how they actually take action on it. Just sitting in ideation, not actually taking anything out for sure.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

I'm so qualified to talk about this because I'm a person who is um I love the dramatization of things, and I fucking hate this about myself, but I love to um make things feel harder than what they are. So I'm definitely a person that tends to to like obviously this is not a good quality of mine, but it's something I'm really self-aware of like being a martyr or making things a way bigger deal than what they need to be. And I've had to really consciously be aware of this, and I have to be aware of this every single day. So one of the things that I've made myself no longer available for is I'm not available to spiral. And this is something that I used to do all the time, like all the time. I'd be like, oh my god, like with what's going on right now, um, you know, with the war and things like that, uh a previous version of me would be so fixated on how that would this is a horrible thing to say, but how that would affect me, my business, my situation, and not have any consideration for the bigger picture. And I would use that as, oh my god, this is you know, taking me back to COVID times and how traumatic that was and how hard it is for this and how much small business X, Y, Z. And it I would just go down the rabbit hole. And a part of me really loved being in that spiral because I was addicted to the cortisol. And I have to consciously tell myself I'm actually not available to spiral.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Can I ask you a question on that? Do you think it's that you're addicted to the spiral? Or are you addicted to putting yourself in the spiral and then how you rise out of it? Because I actually like when you were saying that, I was like, I don't know that you're gonna be so honest right now. Yeah, 100%. No lie.

SPEAKER_01 17:19

The part of me is addicted to the feeling of people sympathizing that I'm in the spiral. People being like, oh my god, oh my god, what have you you are just doing so well. Like, what have you what have you been up against? That is what I that's what my personality looks for. That's the sick part of that.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

Like recognition with that?

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Um, recognition or being like, wow, you're doing me being like, oh no, it's like it's just part of the job. Like secretly, I'm like, yeah. But um, like I'm that's me being super honest. And I know that about myself, and it's not who I want to be, but it is a part of what makes me up, and I'm really aware of it. I'm really committed to changing it as well. But I think the the biggest thing is like I've really had to say to myself in the past 12 months, oh, we're actually not spiraling today. It's so tempting with that compounding effect of pressure. When you start to feel that pressure rising, it's so tempting to be like, oh my God, the spiral's just there, and I can fucking go down that rabbit hole. It's so close, it's so easy to just pop myself into that little rabbit hole. But once I'm in there, I'm like I've spiraled down. Whereas now I come into something and I go, it's so tempting, but I'm not available for that. I actually have to physically like imagine myself not being available to hop in the hole. I'm just not going in the hole, I'm walking around it, and we're gonna fit keep fucking walking ahead. And I'm not available to go down that rabbit hole. That has really helped me as someone who's previously loved to go down the rabbit hole and like dance around there for a long time.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

Super honest. I love that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Everyone's like, wow, Nikki is so fucked up. Not at all.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

Not at all. Thank you for being a human and like actually saying what so many people would recog would recognize within themselves. We've got AWS, so I feel like that is something that can be really, really helpful. So truly get a pen and write this down. Anytime you're feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated,

How To Implement AWS Daily

SPEAKER_02 19:10

you feel yourself starting to freeze, you're feeling yourself to go down the doom spiral, all of those things. Write down what do I actually need to do? What do I actually want? What what is actually the thing that we need to prioritize here? The second thing underneath that is what can weight so highlight actual weight and where can I simplify. And if you start doing these things, even if it means writing it out to begin with, even if it's feeling really, you know, mundane and really, you know, like it's not like a vision board, it's not super inspiring, it's going to start teaching your brain to look at what we need to prioritize, what we can put to the side for now until it's appropriate, and where we can make it easier for ourselves. You start training your brain like that, you will naturally start being able to do that without the pen and paper, without the talking through it, just literally looking at something, being like, cool, as you did last night. This is what I need to do, this is what I'm gonna push to the side, and I'm gonna get into a space where I can simplify this myself where I'm away from my family, X, Y, and Z. I think this is something that we need to see so much more of from salon owners, team leaders, team in within themselves. Because I feel what is happening at the minute is that we are addicted to the cortisol, or we want to get into the um spiral, or we want to not make a decision because we might make the right one, we might make the wrong one, and either way, it's just gonna get too much. If you start strengthening this muscle within yourself, you are gonna start building your trust, your confidence, and you're going to be able to start executing things so much quicker. So work on this now because on the other side of this, you will be able to just make decisions and be solid on them and not sit there and second guess and go down that vortex anymore. But it is something that you need to strengthen. It doesn't mean it's gonna be solid every day. It is something that you will continually work on. So I feel for anyone that is resonating with this and catching themselves doing this, if you start working on this now, things can look very different very quickly from really three pretty basic and simple questions. I'd love to see this being leveled up.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

Love, love, love, love. Thank you guys so much for listening to another episode of the Conscious Helen

Final Takeaways And Goodbye

SPEAKER_01 21:23

Podcast. Bye, Conscious.