If you're anything like the powerhouse women I work with, actually showing up and producing is hella important to you.

You're a woman with big dreams and desires. 

Meaningful and impactful work you care about?
Authentic and intimate relationships?
A healthy, strong, nourished body?
A clean and beautiful home?

 

I can practically hear you sighing in satisfaction as you tick each one off your to-do list.

 

I know that you want to show up and DO all the things. So here's where I need you to listen.

 

Making a longer to-do list, blocking off more hours on your calendar, saying no to time outside or with friends and working MORE isn't the answer to being more productive. 

 

The number one thing you can do to access consistently higher levels of focus and productivity? TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.

 

Don't eye roll and immediately dive back into your color-coded planner, hear me out.

 

Self-care tends to be the first thing that goes in the name of getting more done. Women are experts at putting ourselves dead last on our lists and pushing harder, longer, and as far as needed to take care of everyone else's needs.

 

This looks like setting aside self-care that just FEELS GOOD like massages, bubble baths, and curling up with your favorite Harry Potter book for the seventh time until you are so burnt out it's all you can do.

 

But it also looks like:

• Sneaking in a few extra hours of work after dinner, and then not being able to fall asleep until 2am.
• Packing your calendar so tight that meal prepping simply isn't an option so you end up scarfing down a can of tuna for lunch of defaulting to take out all week.
• Skipping your workout or even just a short walk in the name of getting one more task done and then popping a few more Tylenol to ease the pain in your achy, 85-year-old low back.
• Going at full speed ALL day long then wondering why you can't shut your brain off at night and choosing to scroll Instagram instead of meditating.

 

Neglecting our own self-care seems like a no-brainer, easy way to get one more important thing done. But it has disastrous consequences. 

 

In fact, according to a recent survey, approximately one-third of people visited a doctor about something stress-related, with 57% admitting they’re paralyzed by stress.

 

More than 1 in 5 women in the United States experienced a mental health condition in the past year, such as depression or anxiety and the percentage of women being treated for mental illness was almost 50% higher than the percentage of men.

 

Other studies have found that workers who reported insomnia or insufficient sleep spent three times as long on time management throughout the day as workers who reported quality sleep. The sleep-deprived workers also reported difficulties with motivation, focus, memory, and decision-making.

 

What if actually prioritizing your self-care was the MOST IMPORTANT thing you could do for yourself, your wellbeing, and yes your productivity? 

 

What if you took it one step further and claimed that taking care of yourself was the MOST IMPORTANT thing you could do for yourself regardless of how productive it makes you, simply because you deserve it?

 

Your self-care is non-negotiable. Imagine if you truly and really prioritized the bare minimum like:

• Committing to a winddown routine and practices that allow you to get consistent, deep, recharging sleep and to wake feeling rested and excited....
• Actually moving your body in a way that feels compassionate, just the right amount of push, and FUN each day...
• Eating ENOUGH food firstly and really nourishing and fueling your body so that you feel energized, balanced, and ready to GO...
• Finding a mindfulness and presence practice that gets you out of your head, quiets your racing mind, and gives you a bigger perspective...

 

How might you feel? Imagine how much more calm and grounded your conversations with the people you love would feel, how self-compassionate you'd be towards your body, how focused and energized you'd approach your work.

 

The Rebels I work with are reclaiming self-care as a radical act of self-love, a non-negotiable they are worthy of protecting - simply because they deserve to feel good.

 

It's why in the month of May in the Rebel Alchemy Club we're committing to a daily self-care challenge.

There will be guidance, checklists, support, and of course prizes. Because YOU are worth taking care of yourself. We're here to give you all the support, helpful reminders, and tools you need to actually show up for yourself and do it.

 

Wanna join? It's not too late!

 

Check us out in the Rebel Alchemy Club. In addition to the magical community and rad tools you always get in the club, you'll also get the support and tools to get out of your head and truly make your self-care a priority this coming month!

 

It's time you make yourself and your self-care a priority. Yes, it'll make you more productive.

 

AND you're worthy of it regardless.