EP117 Lazy Girl Reinvention: The Anti-Burnout Identity Shift Every Woman Needs

If you’ve been secretly fantasising about running away to a hotel for 48 hours of silence and room service, this episode is your love letter.

Lazy Girl Reinvention (or Lazy Queen Reinvention, if we’re being honest) isn’t about being lazy. It's about being done living like you’ve got to earn rest with suffering. It's about choosing ease without guilt, dropping the martyr routine, and giving your nervous system an actual break instead of another bloody to-do list.

This episode is for the woman who:

• Says “I’ll just…” 47 times before sitting down.
• Reheats the same cup of tea until it tastes like regret.
• Thinks she’s “busy” but is actually exhausted from over-functioning.
• Hasn’t had a slow morning since the dial-up era.
• Feels jealous of people who rest… which is basically her soul tapping the mic saying “excuse me, we want that too.”
  
  

Inside this episode, we dig into:

• Why you don’t need a personality transplant, a Bali retreat, or a colour-coded life plan to reinvent yourself
• The myth of the Overachieving Phoenix (you do not need to rise from ashes like a dramatic Disney bird)
• What lazy actually means when you're a woman (spoiler: society sees men resting as “strategic” but calls women “lazy” …. obvs)
• The tiny identity shifts that create massive peace without costing you more energy
• The emotional apps you need to delete (like “say yes when you mean no” or “must be productive to have worth”)
• The energy audit that’ll quietly save your sanity
• Lazy manifestation that doesn’t involve a full moon, a candle, or a ritual that takes longer than your patience
• Why ease = alignment, not apathy
  
  

Plus, I’m giving you:

• Micro habits that actually work on your worst day
• Lazy Queen mantras to stick on your mirror
• A tiny homework piece that’ll slow your whole nervous system (in the best way)

And yes, we take a little detour into:

• Drinking your tea while it’s hot
• The death of burnout-as-a-personality
• Rest as rebellion
• And the life-changing moment I stopped checking shitty work emails before 9am

If you’re a high-achieving woman who’s been living like she’s late for a life she’s already in… this one is going to land. Hard. In a good way.

Your new identity doesn’t need a full reboot. Just a softer pace.

And maybe a pair of Ugg slippers.

Mentioned in this episode:

The 7-Minute Badass Power Morning Audio Bundle… seven bite-sized rituals for chaotic women who want calmer mornings without performing for the internet.

Find it at https://thequeenofreinvention.com/work-with-me/

Come say hi on Instagram: @queenofreinvention …. tell me what you’re quitting, what you’re slowing down, or what you’re doing the lazy girl way this week.

Sarah x

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🔥 DOWNLOAD FREEBIES TO FUEL YOUR REINVENTION

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Transcript

Sarah Elizabeth  00:00

Hello, hello and welcome, welcome. Welcome to the reinvention era podcast, the place for women who are absolutely done hustling and people pleasing and plodding their way through life and are ready to do things differently and feel good being human again, whatever that looks like for you, whatever that looks like. I'm Sarah Elizabeth, your resident queen of reinvention. I'm a social worker turned life shifter, professional overthinker turned identity Alchemist, if you like, and over in this corner of the world, although I'm saying that, that's a bit of a weird saying, isn't it, the world's round, right? So where were the corners in this corner of the world? Anyhow, over here in our reinvention era, we're not always trying to live our best lives. Often, we're just trying to live our lives full stop, but in a way that's calmer, happier, maybe louder and maybe occasionally in your pyjamas. So today we're talking about something I've named lazy girl reinvention, or lazy Queen reinvention. Should I say not because we're actually lazy, but because we're done pretending we have to do everything the fucking hard way. I'm talking about the kind of reinvention that doesn't need bali and an hour breath work a day or a bloody personality transplant, the kind that actually happens in dressing gowns with messy buns half charged AirPods and questionable levels of caffeine, because somewhere along the line, we've somehow turned self development into a freaking full time job, haven't we? And I don't know about you, but I definitely did not sign up for another bloody full time job. Thank you very much. So grab a brew love. We're dropping the guilt over here, and we're going to talk about how to rebuild yourself the lazy girl way, with some honesty, maybe a bit of humour and absolutely zero spreadsheets needed, nada. 

Sarah Elizabeth  02:37

So I'm going to start by talking about the myth of the over achieving Phoenix, right? Because every reinvention story we've ever been sold goes something like she hits rock bottom, she has an epiphany. She gets a peloton. Suddenly, she's glowing, organised, meditating on a clifftop at sunrise, drinking green juice that costs more than your rent. You know, very cute, very inspiring, but also totally unrealistic for 98% of us, yes, because real life reinvention doesn't happen with background music and product placement. It happens when your hair is in a greasy bun that you can't remember when you last washed it because you keep forgetting to buy the fucking shampoo. It happens when you're arguing with the damn washing machine because it's beeping like it's judging your life choices or something, and you have no idea why lazy Queen reinvention is like the anti Pinterest version. It's the I'm reinventing my life, but I'm still in my PJs kind of energy you got me, because you know what? Reinvention isn't about productivity. It's about permission, really, permission to rest, permission to care a little bit less about what other people think, permission to be a work in progress, without turning it into a fucking Instagram post. Permission to be who the fuck you want to be. You don't need to be the phoenix rising from the ashes. You can be a woman crawling out of the duvet fort after a bed rotting session, blinking in the daylight, going, Okay, let's go again, and that shit still counts, that still rebirth, just a whole lot quieter, and then hug slippers, just saying, because the trap a load of us fall into is that we think that in order to reinvent ourselves, we. Have to start over completely like new career, new hair, new wardrobe, new man, new hobby, new personality downloaded from the App Store, that would be a thing so new watch, but lazy girl reinvention. Lazy Queen reinvention is more about that you don't need a rebrand. You just need a bit of a reboot. You know, think of your life like your iPhone when it starts glitching. You don't chuck it out and buy a new one automatically. Do you? You hold down the buttons, you give it a bit of a reset, switch on and off again, maybe delete a few apps that keep draining the battery, and that's what we're doing here. We're giving ourselves a fucking break deleting the apps that don't serve us anymore, you know, like the people pleasing app, or like the say yes when you mean no app or the must be productive to have any worth app. Delete those buggers gone, gone, gone in the bin, in the trash. Bye. You don't have to reinvent your life like a CEO doing a hostile takeover. You know, you can just do it like a woman quietly muttering to yourself. This version needs fewer meetings and more naps because we do lazy Queen reinvention is not about doing more, it's about doing less of what makes you fucking miserable. Okay, so let's do a bit of a vibe check. Let's see if you're due a lazy girl upgrade. Shall we what are some of the signs? Well, I think you might be ready for a lazy Queen reinvention. If you say I'll just, I'll just about 47 times before actually sitting down. I'll just throw a wash on I'll just check that email. I'll just solve world peace real quick. You know that kind of shit shows that you're stuck in perpetual caretaker mode. Let's just sort everything else and leave ourselves until last. Or if you listen to last week's episode, it's reheating your tea 100 times because you ain't had time to drink it. Or another sign is might be that you've started fantasising about being alone in a hotel room with complete silence and room service, not even for holiday, just for sanity. You know what I mean, don't you? I know you know what I mean. You're just done and want to run away. Or it might be that your catchphrase is, I'm just so busy, but really you're over functioning and fucking exhausted. There's a massive difference. There's a big difference. Or another sign is your envy and utter jealousy of people who actually rest like if someone says they're having a slow morning and your first thought is, well, that must be bloody nice. I can't remember the last time I was lucky enough to have one of them, then that's basically your soul going, hello, we want that as well. Remember, you know, and if this is you lazy queen. Reinvention is your sign to stop glamorising burnout like it's an Olympic freaking spot, and at the core of that is that we have to shift our beliefs around all of this. We were taught that doing less makes us less. The rest is lazy that if you're not grinding, you're failing. But what if? What if doing less actually makes you more? You lazy queen. Reinvention is kind of like efficiency with your energy. It's saying I'm not pouring my best into everyone else's chaos and shit and leaving myself the leftovers. It's like what we talked about last week. It's about choosing ease without guilt, because ease doesn't mean apathy. It can mean alignment with you. When you choose the path of least resistance, you're not cheating, you're just finally listening to yourself. I used to set myself such high expectations on my capacity, like trying to succeed in a high risk senior day job, building a business to make an impact, being the best nanny and nanan to my five beautiful grandkids being there for my amazing friends who supported me so much to no end. Honestly, they've been amazing, and I'd beat myself up if I dropped any of the fucking balls for letting the Crones wear me down.

Sarah Elizabeth  09:58

Only what I'd realise. This. It was my body's way of going. Enough Enough already, sir. We have got to find a way to get peace in ourselves. And this is as much for me as it is for you. Let me tell you. Can you imagine if we started measuring success not by how busy we are, but how peaceful we feel. I am revolutionary, right? So what are some tiny, real life reinvention shifts we can make? Let's get practical, Lazy Girls style. I'm going to go through a couple of actual reinventions that take next to zero extra energy, right? They're not going to take any more from you. Number one, the outfit upgrade sounds basic, I know, but please stop saving your favourite perfume or your favourite scarf or top or whatever, any anything, please stop saving your favourite whatever for air quotes. Best when is best. Fuck that best is now you deserve to smell expensive while you're buying Luvo and Aldi love you've got the stuff already, so freaking use it. That's switching into main character energy and another small shift you can make. And I mean, so small, so small. It's like the micro, mini version of the phone detox. Okay, so Mini, I'm talking 20 seconds. 1020 seconds before you open your phone in the morning, put one hand on your heart and ask yourself, Who do I want to be today? And listen for the answer. That's 10 seconds. Congratulations. You just meditated love or actually, while we're talking energy hacks for reinvention, particularly mornings, as the micro mini phone detox did prompt, prompt me just then the best hack of all for lazy Queen reinvention is the seven minute badass power morning audio bundle seven mind and body rituals that change your day in seven minutes for about the price of a coffee and a Danish. This hack will change your mornings. It's over at the Queen of reinvention.com or in the show notes, you know, just saying, but yes, micro mini phone detox, seven minute badass power morning wear the perfume. What else have we got on my list right next up on our lazy reinvention hacks the very simple no apology boundary. Next time you say no, don't add a paragraph of justification, just go that doesn't work for me, that shit that's like emotional Pilates, no extra effort needed. Or for more lazy Queen tricks, you can actually try the really fucking lazy manifestation trick instead of scripting what you want, the vision boards, the moon rituals. Just act like you already bloody, trust yourself. You can do that right now. Immediately say yes to what feels light and no to what feels heavy. That's basically manifestation, emotion. Oh, another one on my lazy queen bee invention hack list. You can't tell me there's not something to you you can do love, energy audit, notice who or what leaves you feeling like a deflated bloody Lilo. Then quietly, just start opting out, no announcement, no drama. You don't have to tell them you're leaving. Ghosting isn't immature when it's energetic, self protection. If it's not a fuck yes, it's a no. So there was a few, quite a few lazy girl tips there, and none of them. None of them need a spreadsheet or a five year plan. You know, it's honestly the tiny, tiny shifts that ripple. Big, huge Julia Roberts Rodeo Drive, big mistake, huge, big ripple, huge. And whilst we're talking lazy Queen reinvention, let's have a think about and maybe review what hashtag lazy really means, and let's reclaim the fucking word. When a woman rests right, the world calls her lazy. I. When a bloke rests, the world calls him strategic. What the actual fuck is that about? Lazy is the label that stuck on us when we refuse to martyr ourselves anymore. So fine, call me lazy. Don't give a shit if lazy means I rest when I'm tired, feed myself when I'm hungry, say no when I'm done, put myself first. I'll fucking take it. Thanks. Lazy girl, reinvention is basically self respect with snacks. It's refusing to earn rest like it's some kind of prize at the end of suffering. It's making peace with being enough enoughness. It's remembering that your value isn't in how fast you spin. It's in how anchored you feel when everything else is spinning around. You always remember the eye of the storm is actually the calm bit. Just saying lazy Queen reinvention isn't about doing less forever, but it's about building a new identity that doesn't require this constant self betrayal. Change the language, change the meaning. You're not lazy. You're recalibrating. You're changing your set point from chaos to calm. Every time you choose to pause instead of push or rest instead of Rush, listen instead of fucking perform, you become a different woman every single time, especially when you stop sprinting through your life like it's a group project with no end date, right? So I've written down here a couple of new lazy Queen reinvention mantras to carry us when we might have a little bit of a slip to keep us going and remind us right? So if it's not a fuck yes, it's a no, pull a nap, whichever you choose. Or I can't pour from an empty mug, but I can sip it while it's hot. Still want to drink your tea while it's hot. Thing over here, I still haven't moved on. Or what about rest is productive? Chaos isn't. Or I'm not falling behind, I'm falling into place. Yes, you can take any of them, put them on your mirror with a sticky note. Love. They'll work better than any fucking to do list. It's just not worth it. Do you know what? When I realised I'd had enough, when I woke up and genuinely, I genuinely thought, I can't do another day like this. I can't it wasn't because anything tragic happened. It was just because I was done living like I was late for life I was already fucking in. So I made one new role. I made a new rule for myself, no more heroics, particularly before 9am Thank you. No fixing the world before I even had breakfast. No answering emails while I awake. Actually, you know what someone said to me, that when you're thinking about work, you're at work. So if you're sitting there thinking about emails or something going on at work, when you're watching Netflix or when you're in bed or in the shower, you're actually at work. And that really stuck with me because, like, reading emails from crappy people at work in my bed, letting those fuckers in my space fuck that, Matt. I'm not letting my day start with other people's energy. That's when I sat in bed and made a green tea and created my seven minute badass power morning ritual for seven minutes, just me, my mind, my body getting set for the day. And you know what that change? It was fucking glorious game changer. And that's kind of when I realised that the big reinvention isn't always about changing your whole life, burning the old one down, sometimes it's just about changing your pace a bit. So here's your lazy Queen homework or home play for this week. And don't panic. You won't need a spreadsheet for the next week. I want you to do just one thing slower than usual, just one. That's it. Just one. Make your tea, slowly, reply to messages, slowly, get dressed, slowly. Think of it like a rebellion in slo mo, because when you slow down, your real self starts to catch up a bit. And that that is reinvention, that's power. And yes, that can happen in your fucking PJs. Who knew I do love my PJs.

Sarah Elizabeth  19:53

So that's lazy girl reinvention, lazy Queen reinvention. Lazy, whatever you want to call it. It ain't laziness. It's strategy. Of compassion. It's you learning to live like you deserve to bloody breathe. So I hope that's given you some easy hacks to reinventing in a micro, mini way. And if this has hit home and helped you, then please do share it with a mate who's permanently air quotes fine, but actually secretly hanging my thread if you laughed and nodded or felt like I was calling you out lovingly, of course, the loving share it with your best mate who's also running on caffeine and hope and honestly, if you're ready to stop over complicating this shit and start doing it the lazy girl way, come and hang out with me on Instagram at Queen of reinvention. Come tell me what you're quitting this week, what you're taking slowly, your Micro Mini hat for you, whether it's drinking your tea while it's hot, whether it's resting without guilt, whatever it is, remember, you don't need a whole new life. You just need a new way of living, the one you've already got. So on that note, I love to have a chill. I will be back in your beauts badass earbuds again next week. So until then, I am sending you so much love. Bye.