Last week we asked when everything got so complicated.

This week… we’re still talking. 😂

Welcome to Part 2 of our 2016 vs. 2026 spiral.

We’re looking at what has actually changed over the last decade — from small businesses, craft markets and originality online to cancel culture, AI, dating apps, social interactions, self-diagnosis and the strange feeling that everyone now has to defend every opinion they have.

Because yes, there are things about 2016 we miss.

But 2026 isn't all bad.

The internet has made it easier to find communities of people who understand what you're going through. It's given smaller creators, musicians and businesses opportunities they might never have had before. We're talking more openly about grief, mental health and experiences that people used to navigate alone.

So maybe we don't actually want to go backwards.

Maybe we just want the best parts of then AND now.

Would you go back to 2016? Stay in 2026? Or skip ahead another ten years?

🎙️ S4 EP. 29 — 2016 vs. 2026: Can We Have the Best of Both? | Part 2

Remember 2016?

Instagram feeds had one aggressively committed filter. Pinterest was still where you went to figure out how to do basically anything. We were playing Rock Band and Just Dance, watching YouTube without feeling like every second of our lives needed to become content, and apparently calling things from the early 2000s “vintage” wasn't yet an attack on our emotional wellbeing.

Ten years later… things feel a little different.

This week, Sara and Eve are looking back at who they were in 2016 versus who they are in 2026 — and somehow a nostalgic trip down memory lane turns into a much bigger conversation about how much life, social media and our expectations of ourselves have changed.

But somewhere between 2016 and 2026, the internet changed too.

Curated Instagram feeds became influencer culture. Sharing your life became monetizing your life. So… was 2016 actually simpler? Or are we just nostalgic for a version of ourselves that had no idea what the next ten years were going to bring?

We had WAY too much to say about this one and recorded nearly two and a half hours, so consider this Part 1.

Grab a coffee, put on your imaginary 2016 Instagram filter and come spiral down memory lane with us.

New episodes every Monday.

Find us at BurntOutPerfectionist.com and BurntOutPerfectionist.ca, and follow Burnt Out Perfectionist on social media.

Summer's finally over and honestly? We've never been happier. This week Eve & Sara talk about why summer burns them out completely — the heat, the smoke, the "summer of doing everything" pressure — and why fall is when they actually come alive. We're getting into seasonal productivity dips (is it S.A.D.D. or just exhaustion?), the online obsession with "hot girl summer" content, back-to-school chaos, hockey romance novel binges, and why the second it rains we're dancing in the yard in a cardigan.

Plus this week's Survive & Thrive: a living room dance party, wildfire smoke wrecking a lunar eclipse viewing, and Alex Warren's Wild Child album on repeat.

🎙️ New episodes every Monday. New blog post every Wednesday at burntoutperfectionist.com

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#FallVibes #Podcast #BurntOutPerfectionists #EndOfSummer

Because apparently the right planner, productivity app, Kindle, kitchen appliance, subscription, or aesthetically pleasing organizational system was finally going to turn us into people who have their shit together.

Spoiler: it did not.

This week, we're de-influencing ourselves and talking about all the things we've bought because social media convinced us they would make us more productive, organized, healthier, happier, more well-read, or just generally better at life. From planners we don't use and apps we forget we pay for to ADHD-targeted products, mystery boxes, e-readers, kitchen gadgets, and more—we're asking the important question:

Did this actually make our lives better… or did TikTok just get us again?

Grab your emotional support beverage and join us for a completely unplanned, mildly chaotic conversation about buying things, abandoning things, and accepting that maybe the secret to getting our lives together isn't another $300 app.

Sara and Eve reveal the weirdly specific things they'd buy as millionaires — laundromat washers, rain walls, a family compound, and more chaos.

00:00 Cold Open 00:23 Survive & Thrive

05:05 This Week's Topic: If We Were Millionaires

07:03 The Ultimate Laundry Room + Mind-Reading Coffee Machine

09:44 Buying a Summer Camp & Building a Family Compound

14:36 Overwhelm the Label Shoutout

15:16 Retro Kitchens, Physical Media & a Pajama Business

18:34 Buying Back Dairy Queen

20:15 Fountain Drinks, Popcorn & Condiment Subscriptions

22:08 The Ultimate Frozen Meal Prep Service

24:03 Sunken Living Rooms, Foam Pits & Indoor Slides

26:03 Sundae Bars, Fabric Printers & Rain Walls

30:58 Bringing Back Payless & Pop-Up Shops

33:52 Tutoring, Adulting 101 & Our AI Hot Take

41:49 Fixing the Concert Ticket Industry

45:22 A Service That Reports Internet Trolls

51:21 The Ultimate Personal Stylist

52:16 Wrap-Up & Where to Find Us

Want me to also draft the thumbnail concept/text or a couple of short-clip caption ideas from this one (the concert ticket rant and the "stalked by ads" AI bit both feel clip-worthy)?

Find us everywhere:

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📧 Email: burntoutperfectionist@gmail.com

paper plates, jarred garlic, screen time, and skipping the gym to clean the house — we're done apologizing for all of it. this week we go through everything society guilt-trips us for and why none of it deserves the guilt.

We're breaking down every "you should feel bad about this" list society hands us — food shortcuts, parenting choices, ADHD workarounds, and the hustle culture lie that rest has to be earned. Spoiler: paper plates aren't ruining your life.

📺 Also on YouTube: https://linktr.ee/burntoutperfectionist 🌐 More from us: https://burntoutperfectionist.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burntoutperfectionists/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/burntoutperfectionist ✉️ Say hi: burntoutperfectionist@gmail.com

Sara and Eve are talking about the productivity trap — that thing where you plan a chill day, end up reorganizing the entire house, and somehow feel like you did nothing. Laundry that procreates, chia seed explosions, making someone sign a contract before you clean their room, and why doing more is making you feel worse.

If you've ever had the most productive day of your life and still gone to bed feeling like you failed — this one's for you.

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you get your podcasts

📺 Watch full episodes on YouTube

💜 New episodes every Monday at 6 AM PST

📌 All links + socials: linktr.ee/burntoutperfectionist

00:00 Intro

00:26 Survive & thrive: it's hot + Canadian wildfire chaos

03:23 The productivity trap explained

03:50 The ADHD morning spiral (pajamas → laundry → gym?)

06:01 Dishwasher discourse

09:20 Productivity ≠ actually doing the task (laundry edition)

11:59 The washer/dryer all-in-one rabbit hole

16:28 Social media cleaning vs. realistic cleaning

17:00 The bathroom = Eve's productivity kickstart

19:47 Icing sugar bags and pantry chaos

20:19 Chia seed explosion (RIP clean kitchen)

21:03 The clothes declutter spiral

23:50 Weekend productivity planning + bottle returns

27:15 "Chill but productive" days (husband's term)

29:30 Relying on other people to keep your momentum

30:57 Being productive when others are productive

34:49 The worst: finishing everything and someone says "but did you do THIS?"

37:55 Priorities first — then organize your socks by colour

41:30 Baking fails and freezer meal regrets

43:48 Outro

Stay as warped and twisted as ever.

We're halfway through 2026, so it's time to check our pop culture bingo card — Ed Sheeran's surprise comeback, dumbphones making a comeback, momcoms taking over, and way too many book-to-movie deals. Grab your card and see how many you called too.

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you get your podcasts

📺 Watch full episodes on YouTube

💜 New episodes every Monday at 6 AM PST

📌 All links + socials: linktr.ee/burntoutperfectionist

00:00 Intro

00:26 Survive & thrive: it's hot outside

02:12 Kicking off the 2026 Pop Culture Bingo Card

02:38 Dancing with the Stars all-star season?

03:48 TP becomes a Broadway lead (Trisha Paytas)

04:28 Crush lime returns to Canada in bottle form

05:03 Reader rewards & author merch ideas

05:42 Chain wallets make a comeback

06:10 Jennifer Garner's new rom-com

06:46 John Cena stars in a rom-com

07:57 Button making becomes the new hobby

09:19 One Direction reunion (kind of)

09:59 Tessa Bailey gets a movie adaptation

11:11 Top baby name of 2026: Taylor or Primrose

11:35 Ed Sheeran drops "Rewind"

12:21 Individual media makes a comeback

13:46 Free space

13:52 Ninja releases a bread maker

14:43 A little Overwhelm the Label shoutout

15:15 Book nooks become mainstream

16:17 New Wicked book/movie announced

16:45 Bull terriers become the #1 dog breed

17:16 Jenny Han's The Summer I Turn Pretty movie

17:32 GTA 6 becomes game of the year

18:14 Subscription fatigue is real

18:48 Broadway shows adapted from movies

20:24 Grocery prices drop 25–30%

20:54 Amazon buys Warner Brothers?

21:10 Messenger bags return

21:55 Momcoms are officially back

24:37 Final scores + call to action

Stay as warped and twisted as ever.