Space to Breathe
Aug 15, 2025
Do you find yourself putting “you time” last? Does “I will relax when the kitchen is clean” or “I will sit by the pool after I do this laundry and catch up on email” sound familiar? I know. I get it. I have been coaching hundreds of women through burnout, yet I still have to DAILY remind myself that rest is NOT a luxury, it is a necessity. If I could teach busy working women ONE thing, it is this: The key to ALL your health is DAILY TIME ALONE. You have permission to prioritize yourself (not that you needed it).
Let’s talk about a few small adjustments you can make in your life that pay off in BIG ways for your wellbeing.
Where do You Spend Your Time?
What do you feel when you look at your calendar? If the answer is anything resembling overwhelming stress, it’s time to purge your schedule.
I get it, life is busy, and it’s easy to believe that constantly running on empty is what you signed up for. But let me encourage you... that is not how you have to live. YOU have the power to say NO, to evaluate where your time is spent, and to declutter your tasks and to do list.
Protecting your peace is something only you can do, and it starts with evaluating where and how you spend your time.
When looking through your schedule this week, ask yourself a couple of hard questions:
- Does this align with my “why” and my goals?
- Is this adding value to my life or taking energy away from more important things?
- What can I say “no” to in order to free up some “blank space” on my schedule?
- What can I outsource to free up time for ME?
Delegation is a beautiful gift to give yourself (and, as a result, all who depend on you to be at your best). When you delegate tasks that don’t need your hands on them, you open up blank spaces in your schedule.
Don’t rush to fill the blank spaces
The goal is to have more of them. I know it can be tempting to see a gap and rush to fill it, but that is not going to serve you. Keep it intentionally blank.
Having blank space in your calendar is vital to your well-being. This is time that you gift yourself to ensure you are preserving YOU. Use it to refill your tank, minus the guilt.
Inbox Giving You Anxiety?
Email is a sneaky source of stress for so many of us. It’s so easy to let it go unchecked until it feels like an unmanageable beast. Here are a few ways to tame it!
Delete any unread emails that are out of date or unimportant. Get that unread number down to zero so you can start fresh.
Unsubscribe from every email list that is not adding value to your life. Do this as soon as you see the email. It’s tempting to simply leave it unread or delete it and move on, but if you do that, they will just keep coming and adding stress to your inbox. Take the extra 30 or so seconds to unsubscribe from the list, and I’m sure you’ll start to feel the relief of having less and less in your inbox.
Set a couple of time boundaries around your email. Set aside time in your schedule specifically for email, three days a week for 20 or 30 minutes each time. Sticking to this schedule will allow you to not only keep up with your email, but to also keep it intentionally decluttered. If you find yourself spending too much time on it, feel free to set a timer.
Remember, email is a tool that is meant to SERVE YOU. Not the other way around. You might be surprised how much getting a handle on it reduces your stress levels.
A Space to Call Your Own
Part of our stress as women who juggle so many hats is that we lack a space to call our own. I encourage you to take the time to simplify your space, clean and declutter, and remove the old to make room for the new. And if you don’t have your “own” space, find one this week (whether it’s a corner, room, or nook).
When you get home, your mind should begin switching into “off mode.” Home should wrap you in peace. That won’t look the same for everyone, so it's up to you to figure out what it looks like for you.
Remove what DOESN’T belong
The first step in decluttering your home is to remove whatever has made its way in that shouldn't be there. Start with one corner at a time. One of my favorite ways to declutter is using the 1 sack at a time method. Get a sack and go through your home one space at a time. Fill it up with stuff to pitch/give away (purge, baby!). I do this in small chunks a few times a week to make sure things don’t build up to a place where they overwhelm me.
Work with what you have to mix things up and keep it fresh
Mixing things up in your space doesn’t mean you have to take a trip to Crate & Barrel. Work with what you already have. Maybe this means taking the guest room’s super plush comforter and using that in your own room or taking the loveseat out of storage to create a place for you to decompress. Move furniture around to create more space and change the mood with only minor adjustments.
If this feels like an overwhelming task, don’t panic! When we’ve built up so much clutter and have different things in the wrong spaces, it will take time and consistency to reach simplicity. With work, kids, spouse, and all of the other “things” we manage, it will be easy to place organizing your spaces on the back burner, but I encourage you to make this task a priority - even if this means getting some extra help.
Remember, your well-being is WORTH THE INVESTMENT. Spend that little bit of extra time to build margin in your life, and give yourself the space to breathe.
Your Wellbeing Reset
But picture this with me... No emails, no laundry, no mom-taxi duties. Just you lounging by the pool with a drink and a fully recharged nervous system.
I understand why taking a weekend away to attend the Brave Enough 2025 Women’s CME Conference could feel selfish. We live in a society that has taught us that our value comes from being everything to everyone all the time. But can I tell you a secret?? It’s a LIE. Your value has nothing to do with what you DO or what you ACCOMPLISH... It is simply part of WHO YOU ARE.
When you understand this truth, you realize that taking care of yourself is as far from selfish as you can get. I've said it before, and I'll say it again (and probably a few more times for good measure), you cannot pour from an empty cup. You must refill and recharge in order to have anything to give the people you love and the work you are passionate about.
Join us, September 25-28th at the Omni Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, AZ!
Feeling stretched thin? I can show you 10 ways to get back TWO HOURS in your week!
DOWNLOAD MY FREE TOOLKIT AND GET BACK HOURS OF TIME IN YOUR WEEK.
YES, YOU CAN.
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
