What if Superwoman were overweight, depressed, anxious, and crabby? What if she was forgetful, distracted, and downright unhappy? Would we still consider her a superhero? That's what millions of women worldwide experience when they try to do it all; simultaneously giving their best as professionals, mothers, wives, friends, sisters, daughters, and more. She works inside and outside the home and somehow finds time for everyone...except the one person who is most important: Herself.
When you ask Superwoman what she does in a day, she'll probably dictate a mind-boggling list of duties and obligations. She'll certainly include work, household chores, childcare duties, carpools, committees, emails, and commitments galore. If that list doesn't also include exercise and a little downtime, she's not setting her priorities right. If she's short-changing her diet with too much fast food or prepackaged processed meals, she may be doing real damage to her health. If she's flying too fast from activity to activity, multitasking as she goes, she may be missing the good stuff in life or worse, ruining her health.
What should Superwoman do? She should put herself on the top of her to-do list and take care of her emotional, physical, and mental health. That means the following:
  1. Make a list and cut it down to size. If Superwoman's schedule is too supercharged, she might be filling her time with unnecessary energy-burners. Evaluate which responsibilities can be delegated or eliminated to free up some "me time."
  2. Make exercise a priority. Schedule in three to five workouts every week that include at least 30-minutes of cardio exercise and two or three strength training sessions, each followed by stretching.
  3. De-stress. Schedule fifteen minutes (or more) every day for meditation or other stress relieving activities. Tai Chi, yoga, deep breathing, mindful walking, and even knitting are all great ways to integrate the mind-body connection.
  4. Eat right. Keep a food journal for a week and look closely at what Superwoman is using for jet fuel. If she's not eating mostly fruits and veggies, lean protein, whole grains, dairy (or another calcium source), and healthy fats, and drinking lots of water (not soda, juice, or alcohol), she runs the risk of being supersized and developing chronic health problems like diabetes, hypertension, and more.
  5. Get help. No one says Superwoman has to do it all by herself. Get family to help with chores. Get coworkers and office mates to do their share. Don't create more work by micromanaging, though. Give clear instructions, insist on a good job, then step back and let other people be superheroes too.