Case study
From burnout and overwhelm to a calmer, better workflow.
Julia Borelli was ten years into a busy mixing and mastering career, with steady work and a team, and burning out again and again. Coaching gave her systems she could trust, clearer boundaries and more room for the mixing itself.
The numbers
- 10 years
- in the work when she started coaching
- 6 burnouts
- by the age of 29, from overcommitting and unclear boundaries
- 12 weeks
- of 1:1 coaching, November 2024 to March 2025
- 2 years
- burnout-free, as she put it in April 2026
Busy, successful, and burning out
Julia mixes and masters electronic and dance music in Berlin. By most measures her business was working: consistent income, regular referrals, confidence talking about rates, and a team around her.
But the work kept needing her. Clients became friends and everyone wanted to message her directly, and many things still required her personal attention. By 29 she had burned out six times.
“I started coaching because I was regularly experiencing burnout and struggling to manage my workload effectively. My main goal was to improve my workflows, structure, and prioritisation to avoid overworking myself.”
Systems that carry the load
They documented how her work actually runs, from session templates and file structure to project tracking and how revisions are handled, so her assistants and manager could follow the same process without asking her.
When she changed assistants partway through, onboarding the new one came down to sending a link.
“The biggest impact came from systems that reduce cognitive load, like standardized session templates, consistent file structures, clear project tracking, and defined revision workflows.”
The part she didn’t expect
Julia came for workflows. What surprised her was how much of the work was about her thought patterns, boundaries and energy. It changed how she mixes, too: less second-guessing, fewer rounds of revisions on her own work before anything goes out.
She also started building her peer network on purpose, and hosted a dinner for fifteen engineers.
“…because of the all the mindset things, I feel a lot more confident like um even when I’m mixing like I’m like uh not doubting or like doing a trillion revisions for myself before sending out and stuff like that.”
Energy, not time
Today Julia limits how many projects she takes on, structures her days, delegates where she can, and talks openly with her manager when a week starts to get heavy, so they adjust before it becomes a problem. A year after the program she described herself as burnout-free for the past two years.
She talks about all of it in her full interview on systems, energy and a career that lasts.
“The biggest realization is that energy is the limiting factor, not time.”
In Julia’s words
What really exceeded my expectations was how personalised and thoughtful the coaching process was. It wasn’t just about surface-level strategies; it felt like a deep dive into my habits, values, and mindset.
That said, it’s important to know that this process requires work — Michael won’t do it for you. He’s an incredible guide, but the progress comes from showing up, being open to change, and putting in the effort. If you’re willing to do the work, the results are incredibly rewarding.
Julia Borelli Mixing & Mastering Engineer, BerlinMore client stories
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