Preventing Burnout In The Tech And Design World – Exclusive Interview With Yana Carstens
- Oct 2, 2023
- 5 min read
Yana Carstens, Holistic Wellness Coach & Founder of Lively Lion Wellness. Yana Carstens is a holistic wellness coach specializing in burnout prevention and recovery based in Austin, TX, with twelve years of experience as a leader in the tech and design industry. Sign up for her free bi-weekly thrive-in-tech tips on her website.
Yana Carstens, Holistic Wellness Coach
Please tell us about you and your life so we can get to know you better.
Hello, I’m Yana Carstens, a Holistic Wellness and Burnout Prevention Coach. With over 12 years of experience in the tech and design industry, I’ve had the privilege of leading and designing digital products for various startups, corporations and consultancies in the vibrant city of Chicago. Today, my practice is rooted in the serene area of Austin, Texas, nestled in the Hill Country, where I share my life with my husband, our wonderful daughter, and two furry companions. My passion lies in embracing life to the fullest, both personally and professionally. I’m known for my unwavering drive and ambition, qualities often characterized by high achievers. However, these very traits can often blind us to embracing self-care and creating boundaries that protect our well-being. This realization prompted me to shift my career from practicing design to coaching designers and technologists on optimizing their well-being, empowering them to prevent burnout and thrive in an ever-changing, fast-pacing, and demanding industry.
What inspired you to create Lively Lion Wellness, and what is the main focus of your wellness offerings? My inspiration for founding Lively Lion Wellness comes from a deep desire to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives. While my career in UX and Product Design was enjoyable and allowed me to contribute and grow with numerous brands, true fulfillment for me comes from helping others elevate and enhance their individual well-being.
With firsthand experience in the tech industry, I witnessed the pressing need for wellness. Many peers and colleagues are experiencing burnout symptoms, diminishing their joy, fulfillment and their potential to fully contribute to the world of tech. My goal is to coach them so they can thrive in their fast-paced fields while experiencing authentic joy and fulfillment. The statistic are astounding–54% of tech professionals are experiencing burnout symptoms, and an alarming 74% of women-in-tech who are also parents are experiencing overwhelm and burnout. What’s concerning is that only 52% actively seek help. The rest are like me, silently shaming themselves for not doing-it-all, with a smile on their face, who inevitably burn out. This leaves a significant portion at severe risk for burnout, which not only negatively impacts their own lives but all of those around them–their families, colleagues, friends, and communities. It’s a vicious cycle that can potentially drive them to exit the influential tech sector. I believe the solution isn’t solely dependent on corporate wellness programs; it’s about empowering individuals to take charge of their own well-being. That is where personalized integrative coaching for high achievers in tech and design comes in. It’s not only about preventing burnout; it is a holistic approach that leads to transformation by learning how to recalibrate bodies, realign minds, and revive hearts. This comprehensive approach not only leads to remarkable, meaningful positive change for the individual lives but also has a ripple effect on the lives on those around them. It is designed to not only prevent burnout but also guide my clients toward thriving, helping them become the healthiest, and most fulfilled versions of themselves. How do you ensure that your wellness products/services are high quality and safe for your customers to use or engage with? High quality has always been at the core of my approach, stemming from my background as a designer. My passion and dedication to excellence have consistently driven me to deliver top-notch digital products that not only are pleasant to look at but effectively and elegantly solve users’ problems. This commitment to excellence is a personal and professional value that guides all my decisions, including the ones that went into creating my coaching program. To further ensure I provide a high-quality coaching and safety of my wellness services, I received professional certification from the International Association of Wellness Professionals which is a accredited school for Holistic Wellness Coaching. My personal experience and the knowledge and skills I acquired through the school equipped me with the skills and confidence needed to provide the highest level of care to my clients. Also, the design and development of my Recalibrate and Realign Program is deeply rooted in my own personal journey of healing from and overcoming burnout. I’ve experienced powerful transformation and know it is valuable to others. It has been proven invaluable to clients struggling with overwhelm and burnout.
Are there any particular wellness philosophies or approaches that guide your business, and how do they set you apart from others in the industry? The philosophy and approach that guide my coaching practice is rooted in holistic and integrative principles. I believe in taking a comprehensive view of my client’s well-being, considering all facets of their lives. This includes the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relational, financial, and career aspects. Holistic, to me, means recognizing the interconnectedness of these areas and how they influence one another. This approach provides clarity on how symptoms and challenges are connected and which areas hold the most significant impact on achieving success. Moreover, we explore beyond the observable external symptoms and environment, by exploring the rich layers of a client’s internal experiences. This process fosters profound self-knowledge and self-appreciation. When clients are experiencing burnout symptoms, it’s a sign that their focus has been excessively directed towards external factors, causing a disconnection from their internal needs. My role as a coach is to guide clients and empower them to regain full agency over what they can control – their internal well-being.
What are some unique aspects to consider for burnout prevention in tech and design? Burnout is a pervasive issue in certain sectors–tech and design being one of them. A fast-paced environment where designers and product teams must conjure creativity on demand, meet relentless goals and deadlines, and contend with copious critical feedback on their work. It’s a realm where product teams and developers invest substantial energy in crafting working, usable, elegant digital products only to find that they may not perform as expected in the real world, requiring continuous updates and upgrades. This ever-evolving nature of the work can blur the lines of completion, making it difficult to identify gratifying measures of success. In that environment, we deal with constant criticism, opinions and sometimes harsh feedback that may be too much to process for certain personality types. Moreover, the direct corelation between digital products and ROI can gradually start to erode ones self-esteem and identity if we aren’t careful to detach ourselves from our work and outputs, something that doesn’t come naturally to high-achievers.
Studies have shown that significant portion of burnout is rooted in unhealthy work environments, often traced back to unhealthy relational dynamics. To counteract this those experiencing burnout, it necessitates a high degree of relational and emotional intelligence to navigate diverse working relationships effectively.
To prevent burnout in tech and design, it’s crucial that we proactively care for our well-being and address both external and internal causes of burnout. This involves setting clear success metrics, prioritizing healthy connections and relationships, maintaining healthy detachment from our work, setting clear boundaries with colleagues and bosses, and fostering consistent growth that is informed by our personal core values.
Where can your target audience learn more about how you can help?
You can find valuable resources on my website, where I post updates and insights regularly. For bite-sized tips and inspiration, I also maintain an active instagram page. To get the most out of the content I create, I recommend joining my newsletter, where you’ll receive monthly digests packed with valuable information and guidance.
