Self-Care Rituals That Keep High-Performing Women Grounded

In today’s culture, we often celebrate the highlight reels of women leaders: the big wins, the milestones, the relentless drive. What we rarely talk about are the self-care rituals and daily practices that sustain them behind the scenes.

You may look at executives, CEOs, and leaders and wonder — how do they do it all? It starts with making intentional choices about how to ground themselves, recharge and maintain their energy for the long haul. Self-care in this context isn’t a luxury or a reward; it’s what makes resilience repeatable.

Let the words from these six leaders remind you that success comes from the strength of the foundation you build beneath it.

“We spend the time writing letters to ourselves from unconditional love. Through the years, I’ve learned that when I pause, get quiet, and listen, I become a vessel for something deeper, truer, and wiser than anything I could download from my intellect alone.”

— Abby Falik, Co-Founder and CEO of The Flight School

“If I have low energy during the day, I do one of two things: I take a 20-minute nap or I hop on my bike and ride along the river trail in Philly. Most days, I do both of these things. And as a busy mom, I also make sure to have plenty of alone time. I love my kids, and I also need time by myself to reclaim who I am. Both these things can be very true at the same time.”

— Jo Piazza, Author, Podcast Host of Under the Influence with Jo Piazza, Journalist

“As someone who works remotely from home, I make a point of getting out each day for a walk, but my walks have some serendipity to them. I will pick a friend that I haven’t talked to in a while and just call them. No warning text or back-and-forth emails to pick a time — I just call. It feels so old school, and I love it. Most times, I just get a voicemail box and leave a quick message. Even just that act makes me feel connected to the people I care about. It is a fun throwback moment during an otherwise text and email-based workday!”

—Tracy Leeds Kaplan, SVP of Sales and Distribution at COURIER Newsroom

“Once I’ve dropped my daughter off at school, I sit at my desk and take five minutes to journal. It’s such a relief to get my thoughts out of my brain and onto the page. Lately, I’ve been using prompts from Sujeika Jauad’s Book of Alchemy. Then I dive into a writing project: an article in progress, a few pages of my book proposal, or client work.

After 30 to 60 minutes of writing, I reward myself with some form of movement. If time is tight, I head down to my garage gym for a 20-minute Pilates or weightlifting session. If my schedule’s more flexible that morning, I’ll head out to a fitness class. On an ideal day, both writing and movement are done before 10 a.m. On busier mornings with early meetings, I’ll sneak in an afternoon walk or a quick writing sprint after lunch.

Connection usually happens at the end of the day. Sometimes that looks like dinner with my family, a park picnic with friends, or a long-overdue phone catch-up. It’s not always easy to fit in all three pillars, but when I do, I feel less stressed, more focused, and a nice sense of satisfaction.”

— Amy Shoenthal, Founder of Visionaries Collective, LLC, Author of The Setback Cycle, Marketing Consultant

“When I became a mum, the scope of my responsibilities extended far beyond what I could have ever anticipated, which makes me sound naive — because I was! I didn’t have any formal maternity leave; I took a call while in labour with a key client and was back on my laptop when my daughter slept in her crib, from my hospital bed. I don’t say that proudly, but rather with a full knowing of who I am; and that remaining connected to my work and succeeding professionally, while prioritizing my daughter and family life always, is what makes my life rich, though I quickly learned this wasn’t sustainable, without strategies in place. Before motherhood, I would have told you maintaining balance was about moving my body every day at the gym, making sure to have tarot and vino nights with my girlfriends regularly, or taking a solo holiday annually.

“Now it’s the simplest mindset practice, based on the concept of ‘Time For,’ which my therapist introduced me to. It’s simply being disciplined with your time and what the time is allocated to, at any given moment. ‘Time For’ my daughter is from the moment we wake up (usually around 5 a.m.), until I drop her off at preschool, and again from 5 p.m. when I pick her up until she is tucked up in bed. There’s no checking my phone, emails, or responding to my team or clients. That ‘Time For’ work and my career happens between 9 to 5 and late into the evenings, if required. Weekends are ‘Time For’ my daughter and husband, our families, and our friends. Life happens of course — a big work project, or the most recent and too regular day care sickness can create chaos, but ‘Time For’ is how I largely stay in the flow of all the responsibilities that the pillars of my life demand of me, and ensure I am (mostly) able to show up in the way in which I feel proud in both my personal and professional life.”

— Chloe Brinklow, Founder and Director of TOMBOY Creative

“Drinking enough water and getting physical activity, and I always try to eat well. None of us are perfect, right? I try very hard to incorporate all of those things into my day-to-day regimen, and there are days where I can get a lot of physical activity, and there are days that if I walk to a bunch of meetings, that’s the extent of my physical activity.

Sleep is something that’s very important as well, it’s what we call one of life’s essential eight. I try my best to get enough sleep, but again, that’s variable depending on flights and travel schedule and those kinds of things, but they’re the things that I focus on and very consciously try to think about.”

— Nancy Brown, CEO of American Heart Association