The Pro Vibe: Avoiding Burnout with Lily Silverton
At TGB, we know that being a nail technician is about so much more than the perfect apex or a flawless French manicure. You’re the listeners, the confidantes, and the informal therapists for your clients. While you spend your days making others feel beautiful and heard, it’s easy for your own tank to run on empty.
To celebrate the launch of our new VIBE Collection, we’ve teamed up with mindset coach, author, and speaker Lily Silverton. Inspired by the vibrant reds and yellows of our new shades — which perfectly match the cover of Lily’s new book, Prioritise This: A practical guide to thriving in a world that won’t slow down — we sat down to discuss her essential tips to bring balance and calm into the non-stop schedule of the modern-day nail tech.
Prioritise This — Top Tips from a Mindset Coach
Here, Lily shares her roadmap for thriving in a world that won’t slow down.
Q: As a working mum of two, I find it difficult to manage everything — the job, the kids, my time. I don’t know how to do it all.
A: I feel you! I think the big thing for this is accepting that there never is enough time! We grow up imagining that as adults we will ‘have it all’ including a perfect balance between work and life, but in reality, that’s a myth. There are certain periods in life that feel overwhelming, and parenting small children is one of them. I think everyone needs to give themselves a break, especially mothers. Instead, responding to what works for them, not what they see on social media (as hard as it is to ignore!) or what their friends are doing.
There’s no one right way, there’s only your way. Understand what you need, lean on others, give yourself a break, be kind. Modern life is overwhelming, and doing more doesn’t necessarily make us feel less overwhelmed (in fact often it makes us feel more overwhelmed and stressed), which is why priorities are so important. Finally, accept that sometimes you’ll have to make sacrifices — sometimes your work will take priority and sometimes your kids will. That’s the reality of life, there is no perfect day-to-day balance for most people, but hopefully you can find some semblance of balance overall.
Q: How do you stop feeling guilty for slowing down when your schedule is full?
A: We live in a culture where we’re expected to be constantly available and on, and where busyness is mistaken for productivity, and I think this helps create an environment where we link slowing down with falling behind or not being enough, which is why we feel ‘guilty’ when we stop. To break this pattern, I would first recognise that this is conditioning rather than reality. Then look to nature — nothing grows non-stop all the time, everything needs fallow periods and times of rest. I’d say the key is not in ridding yourself of the guilt, but in challenging it. Slowing down isn’t a weakness, it’s the opposite! It’s a genuine form of self-care, it’s how you take care of yourself and stay effective in the long run. Don’t wait to feel okay about it, slow down anyway. That will teach your system that it’s okay to do it.
Q: Do you think burnout looks different in hands-on jobs like beauty?
A: Yes, I do. Ultimately with a job like beauty (or even my job as well) you’re not just doing tasks, you are the service — it’s not just mental, it’s physical, emotional and relational too. How you show up — your energy, presence, body language, it’s all part of the work. And when you’re burned out, it will show up in ways such as feeling “touched out” or losing the emotional capacity to hold space for your clients. As is often the way with preventing burnout (in any industry), don’t just look at how much work you have on but also how you can build boundaries, as well as revaluate your capacity and how you relate to your work.
Q: If you had a super busy salon day, what would be your non-negotiable priority?
A: Probably thinking about how I protect my energy, not just my time. As above, your energy, your ‘self’, is the experience so if that’s depleted everything falls apart. That might look like taking 1 minute every hour to just shut my eyes and breathe, or not abandoning boundaries to squeeze people in, or making sure there is one proper pause in the day between clients. Staying as regulated as possible, staying as aligned with my own needs as possible, and trying not to make a habit of fully booked days while running on empty. The odd one is fine and normal, but if every day looks like that, it will start to wear you down.
Q: How do you think your tips on prioritising apply to people like us in the beauty industry?
A: In the beauty industry, you’re not just managing tasks or files, you’re managing people’s energy, expectations and emotions all day. So, prioritising becomes not just about getting through your to-do list, but about protecting your capacity. The main thing to consider is how you can prioritise what’s important to you even when the day looks full, or prioritising boundaries that stop you from over giving, just because it’s a habit. It’s about making sure that at the end of the day, you still feel like you.
Get The Look (And The Mindset)
Lily’s manicure was created by Karen Rodriguez using two standout shades from our new VIBE Collection:
Cherry Glass: A juicy cherry red glass gel
Limoncello: A bright lemon yellow
Ready to reclaim your time? You can find more of Lily’s transformative wisdom in her new book, Prioritise This: A practical guide to thriving in a world that won’t slow down, available now.
SHOP THE VIBE COLLECTION HERE.