Work-Life Balance and Self-Care
In today’s fast-moving world, success is often measured by how much you can do — how many projects you complete, how many meetings you attend, how many goals you cross off your list. But true success isn’t just about doing more. It’s about doing what matters most while maintaining the energy, focus and resilience you need to live a full and healthy life.
That’s where self-care and work-life balance come in.
Self-care isn’t just about occasional indulgences like spa days or vacations (although those can certainly help). At its core, self-care is the ongoing practice of protecting your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. It’s the secret sauce that allows you to stay productive, engaged and creative without burning out. When you build these healthy rhythms into your daily life, you’re not just helping yourself, you’re strengthening the foundation that supports your family, your team and your long-term success.
On the other hand, neglecting self-care can have serious consequences. When we push through exhaustion without taking time to rest and recharge, it impacts more than just our mood. It creates a negative effect on the quality of our work, our decision-making, our relationships and our health. Over time, this lack of balance can lead to stress, burnout and even chronic health conditions. So, it’s important to remember: working longer hours doesn’t always mean working better. Sustainable success comes from managing your energy, not just your time.
If you’re ready to take a more intentional approach to self-care and work-life balance, here are a few simple practices to help you get started:
- Set clear boundaries. Protect your personal time by setting start and end times for your workday. Resist the urge to constantly check email or take calls outside of those hours. Create physical and mental separation between your work and personal spaces whenever possible.
- Prioritize rest and sleep. Sleep is a powerful tool for recovery and performance. Build a consistent sleep routine by going to bed and waking up around the same time each day. Small habits like unplugging from devices before bedtime or establishing a calming evening ritual can make a big difference.
- Move your body. You don’t have to commit to hours at the gym. Even short bursts of activity like stretching during breaks, taking a walk at lunch or standing up between meetings can boost your energy, mood and focus.
- Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness doesn’t have to be complicated. Take a few minutes each day to pause, breathe and check in with yourself. Apps like Headspace, Calm or Insight Timer can guide you through quick meditations that help build resilience over time.
- Reconnect with what matters most. Take time to reflect on which parts of your work and life bring you the most fulfillment. If you notice that most of your time is spent on tasks that drain you, look for ways to rebalance. Focusing your energy on meaningful work supports both your satisfaction and your success.
- Give yourself permission to say no. Saying no is an act of self-respect. You can’t do everything, and that’s okay. Protect your priorities by respectfully declining tasks, meetings, or commitments that would overextend you or pull you away from what’s most important.
The key to building a sustainable work-life balance isn’t perfection it’s consistency. Small shifts, practiced regularly, can add up to major improvements in how you feel and perform. Start by choosing one or two new habits to focus on, and give yourself time to adjust. Real, lasting change happens gradually.
It’s also important to remember that self-care looks different for everyone. What recharges one person might feel draining to another. Take time to learn what truly helps you feel grounded, energized and connected to yourself and the people around you. Listen to your body and mind. If you’re feeling stretched thin, it’s not a sign of weakness, It’s a signal that you need support and rest.
By valuing your own wellbeing, you’re not just helping yourself. You’re modeling healthy habits for your teams, families and communities. You’re showing that success doesn’t have to come at the cost of your health, happiness, or personal life. You’re proving that balance is not a luxury. Instead, it’s a critical part of a thriving, sustainable future.
Taking care of yourself is the most important investment you can make — for your career, for your loved ones, and most importantly, for you.
Source: muih.edu
Wise & Well Webinar
Bringing Joy to Your World
Tuesday, May 13 | 12:00pm EST
Are you ready to add more joy and fulfillment into your life? Whether you’re looking to enhance your personal happiness, feel more engaged at work, or simply live a more joyful existence, this webinar will support you. Join us for an interactive journey into the world of positive psychology—the science behind what makes life worth living. In this fun and transformative class, you'll learn the proven building blocks of happiness and discover how to cultivate more of it in both your personal and professional life.
During this webinar, we will explore:
- Positive Psychology and Happiness
- The Building Blocks of Happiness
- How to Identify Your Unique Sources of Joy
- How to Create an Action Plan for Cultivating Joy
- A Guided Exercise to Help You Identify Your Unique Sources of Joy
Monthly Moves
Five Ways to Gently Begin Strengthening Your Core
Your core muscles help strengthen and stabilize your spine and pelvis, which is why developing a powerful core is the first step to making your whole body stronger. Start firming up your core with this gentle Pilates-based exercise routine created by Brook Benten will help give you a solid foundation for all other movements. Perform 15 repetitions of each exercise, most days of the week.
Your core muscles help strengthen and stabilize your spine and pelvis, which is why developing a powerful core is the first step to making your whole body stronger.
To perform these exercises:
Pelvic Bowl
Lie flat on back with knees bent and feet gripping floor, arms facing down at sides. Raise right hipbone as high as you can toward ceiling. Hold momentarily. Slowly shift and raise left hipbone. Gently sway from right to left, as if you have a bowl of soup between your hip bones and you’re gently rocking it without spilling. Counting right and left as one rep, perform 15 repetitions.
Pelvic Tilt
Lie flat on back with knees bent and feet gripping floor. Lift hips up toward ceiling in bridge position and place thumbs on ribcage with middle fingers on hipbones. Tilt pelvis toward ground, expanding distance between fingers and thumbs. Next, tilt pelvis upward, decreasing distance between fingers and thumbs. The two movements from downward to upward should complete one breath cycle. Perform 15 cycles.
Spinal Impressions
Sit upright with arms out in front of shoulders, elbows slightly bent. Round back softly, and slowly roll backward, imprinting lower back (lumbar spine) then mid-back (thoracic spine), and lastly upper back (cervical spine) down into cushioned mat. Once rounded all the way down and head and neck rest on mat, grab behind hamstrings to assist yourself back to upright seated position. Perform 15 repetitions.
Modified Hundreds
Lie flat on back with arms at sides and knees bent to 90 degrees, hovering knees directly over hips and shins parallel to ground. Engage abs to lift head, neck and shoulders off floor. Lift arms, depress shoulders away from ears and reach fingertips away from you. Begin pulsing arms down and up. Complete five pulses on an inhale, then five pulses on an exhale. Perform three breath cycles like this.
Cat Cow
Start on all fours on mat with knees hips-width apart and hands directly beneath shoulders. Exhale and round back toward ceiling like a cat, head drooping down. Pull navel in toward spine. Hold momentarily. Inhale and drop belly down toward floor, lifting head high. Allow ribcage to expand and chest to stretch. Hold. Perform 15 cycles.
Source: prevention.com
Monthly Recipe
Creamy Corn Pasta
There’s something about summer that makes comfort food feel like self-care — especially when it’s this simple. Creamy Corn Pasta is peak seasonal indulgence: sweet corn blended into a velvety sauce, beautifully coating the pasta and finished with fragrant basil. With just a handful of ingredients and only 20 minutes from start to finish, this dish is proof that nourishing yourself doesn’t have to be complicated.
Ingredients
- 6 ears of fresh corn, shucked
- 12 oz. shell pasta or orecchiette
- 1 oz. Romano cheese, finely grated, plus more for serving
- Kosher salt
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/2 cup basil, plus more for serving
- Hot sauce (optional)
Directions
- Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add corn and cook 2 minutes. Transfer to cutting board.
- Add pasta to same pot and cook per package directions. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta.
- When corn is cool enough to handle but while pasta is still cooking, cut off kernels (you should have about 3 cups). Transfer 2 cups to blender along with Romano cheese, 3/4 cup pasta cooking water and 1/4 teaspoon salt; puree until very smooth.
- Toss pasta with corn puree, adding some reserved pasta water, 1 tbsp at a time, if pasta seems dry. Fold in reserved corn, scallions, and basil. Serve sprinkled with additional cheese and basil and with hot sauce if desired.
Source: goodhousekeeping.com
