How Women Are Untangling Work‑Life Overload

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for feeling buried under a never-ending to-do list. No checklist for when work becomes your identity, and life feels like something you’re barely holding together. I’ve seen this quietly unfold among women I admire, like colleagues, friends, and even myself. Women who seem to “do it all,” yet privately admit they’re exhausted, disconnected, or wondering if this is what success is supposed to feel like?

It’s a question more women are asking.

To understand how high-achieving women are untangling work-life overload and moving toward a more grounded sense of harmony, Her Agenda spoke with four career and life coaches who work closely with women navigating these transitions.

We’ve all heard it: “You just need balance.” But what if balance itself is the trap?

“Many clients come to me feeling burnt out from trying to keep every area of life perfectly balanced,” said Jane Msumba, founder of Inner Glow Clinic. Through her Inner Glow Method™, a mindset-first coaching framework, she guides women to honor their natural rhythms instead.

“Some seasons are for visioning, some for action, some for rest and integration,” she said. “When women begin to mirror this rhythm in their own lives, they move through change with more ease, flow, and self-compassion.”

Alice Geoffroy, a holistic success coach, agrees.

“True work-life harmony looks more like a blend than a balance,” she said. “Some weeks demand more from career, others from family or self. The key is being intentional so the rhythm feels like theirs, not someone else’s ideal.”

For Remi Baker, founder of The Third Chapter, the symptoms of overload in her midlife clients often run deeper than just being busy.

“Work overload isn’t just about too much to do; it’s a signal that something is misaligned,” she said.

So many women, she said, have spent years being the glue for everyone but themselves, at work and home.

“By midlife, that pattern becomes unsustainable,” she said.

This is where the shift happens.

“Rather than aiming for perfect balance, women are starting to redefine success on their terms,” she said. “That might mean stepping off the linear career ladder, setting firmer boundaries, or recognizing they’re in a different life phase. Midlife is the moment to redesign life around what matters now.”

Another shift she sees is around identity.

“When women begin to separate who they are from what they do or who they care for, space opens up to ask: What do I want now? What matters most in this chapter?,” she said.

That self-inquiry, she says, often leads to braver, more intentional choices. 

The theme of redefining success came up in every conversation. Leah Farmer, a leadership coach, described how one of her clients had spent most of her life chasing a version of success shaped by her father, a well-known lawyer.

“His definition was clear: status, salary, and never slowing down,” she said.

It wasn’t until Evelyn connected with other women who had made different choices (and still felt powerful) that she began to ask herself: What if I get to define success for myself?

“That changed everything,” Leah said. “Letting go of someone else’s definition didn’t make her less ambitious. It made her more honest.” This is what work-life harmony looks like for Leah’s clients: not perfect schedules or polished routines, but a deep sense of ownership over their time, values, and ways of being in the world.

Work-life harmony is about asking: What matters now? And what kind of life feels like mine?

The women I interviewed aren’t coaching their clients to push harder or do more; they’re helping them listen more deeply, trust more fully, and move through life in a way that supports them.

You don’t have to abandon ambition to untangle overload. But you do have to stop chasing someone else’s version of success.

Harmony, as it turns out, begins at home, with yourself.