Hi! I'm Nicole :)
If you’ve landed here, there’s a good chance something feels off.
You’re capable. You’re accomplished. You’ve managed complex roles, a full life, and competing demands for years. And lately, everything seems to take more effort than it should.
You might recognize yourself in some of this:
- You’re doing all the right things, but your energy, focus, or motivation feels unpredictable
- Work that once felt challenging now feels disproportionately heavy
- You’re holding a lot, often without enough support
- You can still perform, but the cost is higher than it used to be
- You’re tired of being told to push through, optimize your mindset, or try harder
This doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means the way you’ve been operating is no longer aligned with what your body and life need now.
This Does Not Have to Be Your Path
For years, I was the person who could manage anything put in front of me. I built and led high-performing design teams inside large organizations. I was a single parent. I carried responsibility professionally and personally, and I knew how to rise to the moment.
Until I didn’t.
What I experienced was not a lack of ambition or resilience. It was a growing mismatch between expectations, physiology, and support. The harder I pushed, the more depleted I became. And like many women, I initially assumed the problem was me.
I wanted to understand what had changed, what actually needed support, and how to redesign my life in a way that respected my capacity instead of fighting it.
That search is what ultimately led me here.
My Mission
I help high-achieving people what their needs are so they can build systems that actually support their energy, health, and capacity.
This work is not about fixing yourself.
It's about learning how to listen before you force solutions, understanding how physical, emotional, and systemic factors interact, and making intentional changes in the right order.
When you do that, clarity returns.
Energy becomes more predictable.
And you stop wasting effort in the wrong places.
My Story
I bring nearly three decades of experience in UX, service design, and leadership inside complex organizations, alongside formal coach training and years of personal research into burnout, midlife physiology, and sustainable performance.
But the most important qualification I bring is this:
I have lived inside the gap between being highly capable and deeply depleted.
I know what it feels like to question yourself when what is actually required is a new framework. I know how easy it is to internalize systemic strain as personal failure. And I know how powerful it is when you finally see the pattern clearly.
The work I do now sits at the intersection of design thinking, coaching, and lived experience. It's practical, grounded, and deeply human. There is no bypassing, no toxic positivity, and no pressure to become someone else.
The goal is not to do more.
The goal is to build a life that works with your body, your responsibilities, and the season you are in now.
A Few Things About Me
Because you're not just hiring a framework. You're working with a person.
-
I have 27 years of experience in UX and product leadership across organizations like Amazon, Target, and Best Buy
-
I am an ICF-trained coach and lifelong systems thinker
-
I am a full-time single parent
-
I care deeply about equity, sustainability, and designing systems that do not extract from people
-
I believe burnout is often a predictable outcome of misaligned systems, not a personal weakness
-
I read constantly, research obsessively, and translate complex information into usable insight
-
I value humor, honesty, and spaciousness in how we work together
Professional Bio
Nicole Johnson is a UX leader and coach who supports high-achieving people as they navigate burnout, care for their bodies and needs, and build boundaries that support a sustainable, energized life.
With nearly 30 years of experience in human-centered design and organizational leadership, Nicole helps people make sense of what is changing and build systems that support their energy, health, and capacity.
Through private coaching, workshops, and programs like The Sustainable Energy Reset, she brings together research, coaching frameworks, and lived experience to help people stop pushing in the wrong direction and start designing lives that actually work.
Ready to Work Together?
If something here resonates, the next step is simple.
You do not need to have everything figured out.
You just need to be willing to get clear about what needs support first.
