Self-Care Practices for the Go-Getter

How to take care of yourself (without guilt) so you can show up stronger than ever for yourself and your community

If you’re like me, this could be your most busy and impactful year yet. Some have embraced self-care this year, which makes sense if you’ve suddenly found more time to yourself than ever before. But for others (myself included), this year was about work and growth. Pivoting and adapting.

While working from home isn’t new to me, the shift in our work culture this year most definitely impacted how I approached my work. They say your work expands to fill the space you allow for it — which I found to be incredibly true.

In the past, there have been coffee dates or yoga classes that created structure in my schedule, and held me accountable to balance. This year, it became easier to stay at the computer all day, to address just one more email, or bring a sudden new content idea into execution (because, what else was there to do?!).

I’m hearing this from my community too: clients and colleagues are sharing that this year — adapting to its twists and turns — took a toll on them both personally and professionally. Everyone is saying: we’re tired. And the feedback I keep getting is that everyone is craving simplicity.

For me personally, I’ll be spending these last few months of 2020 setting firm boundaries around my time and capacity in order to give myself the space to reflect, to plan for 2021, and most importantly, for self-care.

If you’re ready to jump off the hamster wheel, celebrate how far you’ve come, and really take care of yourself (so you can continue being a go-getter) — start with these strategies to simplify your work life.

So here are 4 self-care practices for the go-getter

Schedule your working hours
After weeks (okay, maybe months) of working late into the evening and all weekend long. It was time to (re)implement — and follow — a work schedule. I let my team know when I’d be most available (between the hours of 8a-6p) — and that I would like to stop working on the weekends. By communicating this with my team, it set clear expectations on what and when to expect things from me, but it also served as a reminder to myself when I should and shouldn’t be working. By setting these parameters it made my “work time” more productive and my rest time entirely for me. It also modeled the expectations for my team so they could do the same.

Time block large recurring tasks
We all have certain days or a time of day where we find ourselves most productive; which is how I structured a time-blocking schedule. At the start of the week I like to ease into things before I get busy and really focused in. So Mondays are my admin and CEO day — which is entirely flexible week to week. Depending on if we have a large launch coming up it could be strategizing or content creation, or if it’s slower, it could just mean that I allow myself to do some serious R&R. My Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are entirely for client meetings and strategy. Then my Fridays are more relaxed and flexible again, focusing on social connection and creativity, and allowing space for coffee meetings and any projects that need wrapping up. This step was huge in my productivity. It created a reliable schedule that I (and my team) could count on — and it made long-term planning so much easier and streamlined.

Delegate
It can be hard to let go of tasks as an entrepreneur, leader, or manager… but if something is draining you, it’s time to see if it can be moved to someone else. If you’re not liking a specific task, chances are you aren’t the most dedicated or efficient at the task as you should be anyway. Once the task is delegated to someone else (make sure the task is aligned with their role) you’ll be able to use your time doing things you actually enjoy and are good at.

Take a vacation and truly unplug
One of the best ways to practice self-care is to just walk away for a bit. Whether it is for one day or for a week, just take a break. Set your out-of-office automatic email response, delete your instagram app temporarily, and/or set a plan for how your team members should complete tasks in your absence. Taking a break will allow your brain to break out of autopilot and execution, and be re-inspired by all the things around you, making you that much more effective when you return.

You can, of course, do all those things the traditional self-care articles tell you to do… like doing an avocado mask or getting a massage, but chances are, for a change-maker like yourself, those things will only get you so far. If you really want to make a lasting impact on your life and work, implement these tactics into your routine long-term — not just temporarily — and watch your impact and success wildly grow.

Curate Well Co. is coaching + community that supports female entrepreneurs in starting and scaling service-based businesses. Known for turning pain points into action items, Pia Beck, CEO of Curate Well Co. combines purpose and process to help our clients build savvy, streamlined, strategic businesses — so they can make massive aligned + authentic impact and leave a legacy. At Curate Well Co., we believe in a curated life on purpose through sharing your unique gifts.

Curate Well Co. has been featured in Thrive Global, Darling, Medium, Create & Cultivate, and more, and has collaborated with brands like Bumble, Havenly, Lululemon, and The Riveter.