Yes, it’s summer, when many of us want to burn the to-do list in favor of rest, play, and joy. However, as Financial Planner Marie Delgado said in this LinkedIn post, “…summer has a way of surfacing what matters most. That is not a problem to manage. It is an opportunity to finally get aligned.” So as we push through childcare shuffles and pressure to savor this season, we still tend to plan for adjustments.
It’s a dynamic time, some industries are quiet, whereas others are busier than ever. Even if your professional rhythm remains the same, childcare often changes. School aged kids move through camps or go free-range. Day-light-savings shifts sleep for babies or toddlers, vacations happen, and there’s just less structure.
Okay, you may be tempted to abandon self-care with frequent shifts in your routine. However, it’s critical to resist that urge and this is where inspirational books can really help. When I worked in children’s educational publishing, teachers spent late summer investing in “PD.” Aka, professional development to prepare for the year ahead. We can do the same and personalize our curriculum. I’m starting the summer learning recommendations with books focused on health. The mental, emotional and physical sides of self-care. Stay tuned for next month’s installment on “wealth” books.
Make Self-Care Time, Despite Demanding Work and Life
Repair with Self-Care: Your Guide to the Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs
“… to consistently decrease your time spent on never-done tasks, and increase your mental and physical energy, you need to ease your workload. There’s no way around that. Some of that can be done with trimming and cutting things that matter to you less right now… But I want to be clear, it also involves getting more support. It’s really a both/and situation.” Leslie Forde
The reality is, most moms lack the discretionary time, not the discipline to optimize our mental, physical and emotional health. In the book, I focus on challenges we often face combining professional growth, not only with hands-on care for our children but the long list of commitments, visible and invisible. It’s a deep dive on how to use the “Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs” framework, to ritualize self-care and growth, right inside the beautiful chaos of your real life.
Get More Sleep…Seriously
The Women’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia
“If you have family demands at night, like taking care of kids and getting dinner on the table, it’s hard to find that luxurious hour to wind down everyone talks about. But you have to dim your brain in order to go to sleep at night. You can’t just keep, going. A lot of times you might fall asleep okay. Then in the middle of the night if your kid comes in and because you’ve slept for a few hours, you wake up with all the same stuff on your brain.” Dr. Shelby Harris, PsyD
There are so many barriers to decent sleep. Yet it’s critical for our short and long-term health. Shelby, tackles how sleep challenges look different for women and what to do about it. Enjoy more from our conversation The Reasons Rest is Helpful to Sleep and How to Devote the Time for It.
Unwind Guilt About Boundary Setting
“Real self-care, as you’ll see, is not a one-stop shop like a fancy spa retreat or a journaling app; it’s an internal process that involves making difficult decisions that will pay off tenfold in the long run. As a life built around the relationships and activities that matter most to you.” Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, MD
Pooja teaches us to tackle the emotional frameworks underneath our list of “shoulds.” To surface and reconnect with values aligned actions. Learn more from the book review and conversation with Pooja!
Understand and Tame that Invisible Workload
Drained: Reduce Your Mental Load to Do Less and Be More
“…. popular coverage of the (mental load) concept often reduces it to its smallest parts. Treating it as a shorthand for making lists or a synonym for household management. It’s true, that mothers’ mental load includes a lot of that work, like keeping track of permission slips an ensuring that fridges are stocked with milk and children are coiffed for Crazy Hair Day. But when we look more closely, we discover that mothers’ mental loads are bigger and more complex, a heavy alloy of emotional and mental elements that drafts down every aspects of their lives….” Dr. Leah Ruppanner, PhD
I spoke with Leah recently about her new book Drained. In it, she helps us name, audit and reduce the eight types of mental load including those categories we often neglect to identify. Like, “emotional support”, “relationship hygiene” and one of my favorites, “magic making,” which isn’t just during the holidays or birthdays.
Eat Foods That Serve Your Health Needs
“Women are not small men.” Dr. Stacy Simms
I haven’t read this book yet, but it’s on my “summer reading” shelf. Originally my primary care doctor recommended it and now, I’ve listened to a few podcast interviews with her. She examines many of the recommendations around our physical health and wellbeing through the lens of female physiology and research. This book is all about food guidelines, designed for women’s needs. Especially through hormonal changes like menopause.
Go on, reset your calendar to roll through this summer’s commitments differently. Protect a time slot for something you’ve wanted to do. See that friend you miss, grab a long weekend, plot your career upgrade or add weights to your workout. Remember, your interests, fun and learning are right up at the top of the Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs. Enjoy!
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📚 Buy the new book, Repair with Self-Care: Your Guide to the Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Enjoy the gift of more time for wellbeing and growth. Plus delightful self-care packages for Moms, delivered to your door.
Ready to put yourself back onto your to-do list? Take a TimeCheck.
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