PODCAST: Season 6, Episode 39
Grab your coffee and settle in for this raw conversation with Jo Hooper, founder of GetWildlyFree. From two mental health breakdowns that ended her corporate career to building a business that actually serves her life (not the other way around), Jo shares the real talk about boundaries, burnout, and why rest doesn’t fix everything. This episode is for anyone who’s tired of working all the damn hours and ready to design a business that energizes rather than exhausts them.
Meet Jo Hooper
Jo went from ambitious head of communications (achieving her goal by 30) to two consecutive mental health crises within six months. After engineering her own redundancy, she launched GetWildlyFree the next day – perhaps not the most chill move, but it led to six years of helping others break free from burnout patterns.
Key Topics Covered
The Reality of Burnout and Breakdown
- Why rest doesn’t fix burnout – you have to change what burnt you out in the first place
- The difference between burnout and actual breakdown (“nervous breakdown”)
- How thought patterns like “I need to prove myself” drive destructive behaviors
- Jo’s recovery journey: traditional therapy, medication, and later embracing alternative therapies like Reiki and sound baths
The Permission Slaps System
Jo’s innovative approach to interrupting habitual behaviors:
- 10 two-minute audio recordings for moments when you’re about to break your own boundaries
- Examples: “Put the phone down now,” “Take the day off,” “You can sit and read your book”
- Creating neurological speed bumps (like moving the Instagram app on your phone)
- Why habits are like muscle memory – both physical and cognitive
Building Sustainable Business Boundaries
Jo’s current structure:
- Working 4-6 hours per day maximum
- Call days only on Tuesdays and Thursdays (two calls max per day)
- Available to clients on Voxer only Tuesdays and Thursdays
- No calls before 10:30am or after 4pm
- Fridays completely call-free
The “Me First” Method
Jo’s framework for transformation:
- Beliefs: Identifying limiting thoughts like “If I want to earn more, I have to work more”
- Decisions: What choices are you making from those beliefs?
- Actions: How are you perpetuating the cycle through your daily behaviors?
Challenging Common Business Myths
- Why “if I’m not working really hard, I’m lazy” is capitalist conditioning
- The false belief that difficulty equals value
- How to separate revenue from profit when evaluating “success”
- Why authenticity in marketing matters more than being “vanilla”
Featured Insights
On Work-Life Integration
“I know myself well and I know when I’m bullshitting myself. If I give myself an inch, I’ll take a mile. So if I start to work in the evenings, I will keep working in the evenings.”
On Client Boundaries
“You are allowed to disappoint people. If there are people who don’t want to work within my time zones and boundaries, that’s absolutely A-OK. They can never pay you enough to make it worth it if there’s a red flag or it doesn’t feel right.”
On Recognizing Burnout Warning Signs
“Reading is one of my self-regulating behaviors. If I can’t concentrate on a book, then I know my brain is not in a good place.”
Quick-Fire Revelations
- Biggest boundary: Working hours (10:30am – 4pm max)
- Burnout warning sign: Can’t concentrate on reading
- For those white-knuckling it: “Let go. White knuckling will only end with your fingers breaking or letting go. Which would you rather?”
- The antidote to “should”: Ask yourself what you actually want
Resources Mentioned
- Voxer: For client communication with boundaries
- Todoist: Content ideas repository
- Permission Slaps: Audio interventions for boundary breaks
- Alternative therapies: Reiki, sound baths, reflexology, mindful walking
Let’s Connect
Find Jo on:
- Instagram: @GetWildlyFree
- LinkedIn: Jo Hooper
- TikTok: For animal memes and serialized TV show clips (Jo’s watched all of Grey’s Anatomy in 1.5-minute TikTok segments)
Take Action
- Move your most distracting app to a different location on your phone
- Ask yourself: “What do I actually want?” (The antithesis of “should”)
- Identify your personal burnout warning signs
- Create one non-negotiable boundary and stick to it
- Remember: You don’t have to make work harder than it needs to be
Remember: White knuckling will only end with either your fingers breaking or you letting go. Choose wisely.