The Productivity Detox: How to Heal the Need to Always Be Doing
In this conversation, Andi sits down with therapist, speaker, and creator of Nine to Kind, Lauren Ruth Martin — a leader in the burnout, perfectionism, and productivity-guilt space.
They trace her path from MTV-VJ-in-the-making to radio host to therapist, and into the role she now holds: a voice for the overachievers who “look fine on paper” but are quietly overwhelmed, exhausted, and unsure how to slow down without falling apart.
Together, they unpack grief, urgency, identity shifts, resistance to rest, and why so many women feel behind — even while doing everything “right.”
Andi and Lauren discuss:
Lauren’s unexpected path from radio to graduate school to therapy — and why loneliness, not ambition, pushed her toward this work.
The cycle she lived for decades: push hard, excel, crash, repeat — and how it became the foundation of her work on overcontrol, perfectionism, and burnout.
Why this generation experiences a unique flavor of exhaustion rooted in systems, expectations, and promises that never materialized.
How to identify productivity addiction and burnout, not through calendars or metrics, but through what shows up in the body.
Microdosing rest: why the solution isn’t a vacation, but tiny, repeatable shifts that teach the nervous system safety outside of urgency.
Identity grief: navigating the loss of versions of ourselves we outgrow — including “the reliable one,” “the productive one,” or “the therapist.”
The creation of Nine to Kind: a planner and movement designed for people who don’t need more goal-setting, but more compassion, reflection, and room to be human.
The difference between planning and documenting — and why she now uses planners as self-awareness tools rather than productivity engines.
“Permission slips” as a psychological strategy for self-support instead of self-criticism.
Unlearning urgency, comparison, and the feeling of being behind — and what’s actually happening when those narratives appear.
How she protects her energy as a therapist, creator, and speaker through transition rituals, intention-setting, and role clarity.
Investing in yourself: how Lauren decides when to say yes, when to walk away, and why the “right” investment feels different in the body.
The 9 to Kind Framework: Productivity With Self-Compassion
Nine to Kind wasn’t born from a branding session. It came from years of working with high-achieving clients who lived by planners, calendars, and color-coded schedules — but rarely felt better because of them.
Lauren created Nine to Kind with one intention:
A planner that supports the human, not the productivity cycle.
It rests on three core ideas:
1. Document, don’t just plan
Most planners ask: What will you accomplish?
Nine to Kind asks: How did your week actually feel? What patterns keep repeating? What do you want to remember later?
2. Permission over pressure
Instead of “do more,” users receive space to:
rest
say no
set boundaries
release impossible standards
name what’s truly enough
These “permission slips” shift the inner tone from urgency to gentle honesty.
3. Build capacity, not grit
The planner includes:
boundary scripts
reflection prompts
monthly reset tools
weekly check-ins that reveal true bandwidth
It’s not about becoming efficient at doing more — it’s about becoming honest enough to do less.
Cultural + Mindset Shifts Worth Noticing
Lauren and Andi name several patterns showing up across women, creatives, and high performers:
Burnout isn’t just caused by “bad things.”
High-volume good things — travel, creative bursts, visibility, new opportunities — can overload the nervous system just as quickly as stress.
Most people aren’t actually behind.
They’re miscalculating capacity.
When the energy you put into a project reflects part-time hours or divided attention, progress will mirror that.
Urgency is often a coping mechanism.
It provides clarity (“what’s due next?”) and protects us from discomfort (“if I stop, things will catch up to me”).
But it erodes satisfaction and long-term stability.
Procrastination can be functional.
For many, especially neurodivergent brains, procrastination creates the amount of pressure needed for clarity, decision-making, and momentum.
The key is using it consciously, not chaotically.
Identity grief is real.
Cult-Brand Mindset to Steal
Even though Nine to Kind lives in the mental-wellness world, its growth has followed a distinctly cult-brand pattern:
1. A boldly specific audience
This brand is not for everyone.
It’s for the people who color-code their lives but still feel behind.
That clarity builds loyalty.
2. Tools rooted in lived experience
Lauren didn’t create a conceptual planner.
She created the planner she needed, and her clients needed — practical, psychological, immediate.
3. The “planning journal” crossover
People started calling Nine to Kind a “planning journal,” signaling its hybrid role as both structure and self-reflection.
This hybrid positioning differentiates it in a genre crowded with productivity-first tools.
4. A transparent founder voice
Lauren’s honesty about burnout, grief, ADHD, and transition rituals builds trust faster than aspirational productivity content ever could.
Founder to Watch
Danica Harris (@theempoweredtherapist)
A mental health advocate whose work blends nuance, trauma literacy, and soft encouragement — especially for helpers, healers, and high achievers.
Her content pairs emotional intelligence with grounded practicality.
Ways to Go Deeper with Oui, We Studio
Out of Office Club — Monthly challenges, prompts, and community for founders building brands with intention rather than burnout.
Smart Girls Mastermind + Strategy Experiences — For founders navigating identity shifts, creative pivots, and scaling seasons.
Casa Noon Updates — Follow the behind-the-scenes build of an upcoming hydration-first beauty brand rooted in clarity, calm, and sun-drenched simplicity.
You’re Not Behind — You’re Under-Resourced
One of the clearest truths from this conversation:
Most people don’t need a better system. They need a kinder one.
Feeling behind usually signals one of three things:
You’re doing too much with too little capacity.
You’re chasing goals that aren’t yours.
You’re avoiding the real next step because it requires vulnerability, not productivity.
The antidote isn’t pushing harder.
It’s noticing what your current season actually allows — and giving yourself permission to follow that guidance.
Lauren’s work, and Nine to Kind, offer a grounded reminder:
You can be ambitious, driven, and high-capacity and still choose softness.
Still choose rest.
Still choose yourself.
Kindness isn’t the opposite of achievement — it’s the path to sustainable success.
Links & Mentions
Subscribe to The Unschool Newsletter (now matching the pod)
Intuitive Biz Academy (limited Black Friday return; updates included for current students)
Cult Brand Accelerator (January interest list)
Out of Office Club (join the challenge: Vibe • Viral • Value)
Oui, We Studio on Instagram (education hub)
Follow Lauren Ruth Martin and Nine to Kind on Instagram
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