Burnout shouldn’t be the price of success, but setting boundaries at work is easier said than done.
In her TED Talk, Let Your Ambition Light You Up, Not Burn You Out, the VP of People at Kickstarter, Tarveen Forrester, shares what she’s learned from leading teams through burnout, and navigating it herself.
“Burnout sucks,” she says. “If you know, you know.”
This isn’t just another productivity pep talk; Tarveen offers grounded, practical strategies for real estate professionals, PMs, and business owners who want to protect their drive without running themselves into the ground.
Use your time like a bank account
It’s easy to treat your calendar like a to-do list with no limits. Tarveen’s advice? Treat time like money.
“When you’re frugal with your time, you have more of it for your ambitions and your non-negotiables,” she says.
“And when you’re frivolous with your time, you’re running on that hamster wheel from one thing to another to another.”
Before committing to a meeting, event, or favour, she suggests asking yourself: Is future me going to be mad at current me for saying yes to this?
It’s a filter most agents and business owners could benefit from.
Say no, clearly, and early
In real estate, saying no can feel risky. You don’t want to let people down or miss an opportunity.
But Tarveen says it’s about being direct and reasonable, not dismissive.
She offers simple scripts like:
“I’d love to help with that, but I only have 30 minutes today. Is that enough to get us started?”
“Thank you so much for the invite, but I already have plans.”
“This project sounds exciting, but I’m at capacity. I’ll need to shift deadlines to make room.”
It might feel uncomfortable at first, but she is clear on this: “Your work, your life and your relationships will never set boundaries for you. It’s up to you to create them.”
Finding the middle ground
Rather than reject ambition, Tarveen reframes it.
“The hustle culture that we’ve been entrenched in for too long is being taken over by a generation of workers that are prioritising work-life balance,” she says.
“The Gen Zs have run away from the hustle. The millennials are still stuck in it.”
But what if there’s a middle ground?
“This means we hustle when we need to, because goals do require hard work, and we prioritise balance and boundaries when we need to, because we must rest, recharge and reconnect.”
Get clear on your non-negotiables
When things go sideways, whether it’s a sick child, a missed valuation, or a deal that falls over at the last minute, it’s easy to drop everything. But that’s exactly when boundaries matter most.
“You have to get crystal clear on your non-negotiables,” Tarveen says.
“Tasks and habits that stay in place when life throws you a curve ball.”
That might mean prioritising exercise, attending your kid’s sports game, or carving out an hour to plan the week ahead, especially when time feels tight.
“Ask yourself: What is the trade-off?” she adds.
“You can’t do and be everything.”
A better way forward
Real estate, by its nature, is demanding. But the goal isn’t to run until you collapse, then take a break.
It’s to build a way of working that’s sustainable over years, not weeks.
“A life with boundaries is a sustainable one,” Tarveen says.
“Give yourself the permission to have the time to work, the space to rest, and the energy to keep going.”
For the high-achievers who’ve been running on empty, it’s a timely reminder: your ambition isn’t the problem, but how you manage it could be the difference between thriving and burning out.
