Holding back on self-care can hurt you because you aren’t meeting your needs for your physical, mental and emotional well-being.

But it can be an incredible struggle when you have a plateful of shoulds, especially when you’ve been receiving mixed messages from your parents, colleagues, and entrepreneurs.

Of course, you would love to do all the things at high performance and have the ability to juggle all things life.

And at the end of the day when you think about all the things you didn’t get done, it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day.

For many years I utterly and completely failed at self-care. Heck, I didn’t even know it was a thing. Who knew that a nap in the middle of the day could lead to me having incredibly productive days?

Every morning I got up ensuring that the demands of my family, my bosses and my partner were met. When I transitioned into a being a business owner, it didn’t really change then either. I was in constant go and work mode and there was zero time for self-care.

Sure, we did regular family activities, like road trips and hiking. But on an individual level, this wasn’t enough. I was cranky, grumpy and frustrated on multiple levels.

When my son spent 180 days in the hospital, it dawned on me just how little I cared for myself. And honestly, I at times still have a hard time with this whole self-care concept.

In part as a full-time entrepreneur, partner, and mother, there is always something that needs to be done. And as a creative, I always have new ideas that I want to follow down the rabbit hole.

Taking a timeout can actually help you be more productive

When you know that you are taking a day off, getting enough sleep and say no to some of the shoulds, you will feel more rested and energized with more clarity and focus.

Holding back on self-care isn’t going you or anyone else in your life a favor. When you honor your needs, you are teaching and showing others they too can honor themselves and take better care of their own physical, mental and emotional well-being.

Here’s the truth:

That laundry?
It’s not going anywhere.

Your clients?
They’ll respect you and look to you as a leader.

Your partner?
He will appreciate you more when you stand your ground about your own needs. This may take a bit of time but it’s totally worth it.

There’s no question that self-care is important for your overall well-being. And this is where self-awareness is crucial as you are paying attention to your activities.

Sure there will be times that you overdo things and overwork but you’ll know how to scale back too!

But self-care isn’t just taking a day out and hanging out on the couch watching your favorite TV Show or getting lost in thought in the tub with a glass of wine.

Self-care is

• enforcing your own healthcare routine
• saying no to family and friends
• deliberately take time off from work

Self-care is about creating a daily practice that helps you meet your own needs because there isn’t anyone going to do this for you.

When I decided to unplug from work or the net more often, I found myself to be more productive in getting things done and definitely more rested to do all the things. It also helps to keep a planner and make self-care a non-negotiable.

I believe that when everything is in harmony – work, life, and self-care – you don’t need a vacation from your life. And self-care has been represented by being just that when in truth it’s something you do every single day.

That’s not saying don’t take a day to binge on TV, eat cake and have a glass of whatever is your pleasure, but don’t allow this to be your last resort to get your physical and mental needs met.

What can you do to stop holding back on self-care so that you are feeling more grounded and less scattered and stressed?

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