This article is created by Girlboss and Dreamers & Doers.
The first quarter of the year has a way of revealing the truth: which habits were hype, and which ones actually hold.
When it comes to self-care, women building the businesses of tomorrow aren’t talking about pricey spa days or aesthetic 12-step morning routines. They’re thinking operationally. The way they care for themselves is as intentional as the way they build their companies. Because at the end of the day, our businesses and our lives run on our energy.
This means energy management. Boundary setting. Protecting our clarity and sanity required to lead and scale.
Here, women creating wealth through entrepreneurship share how they’re redefining care as a strategic necessity and a leadership discipline—not a luxury—along with the habits they’re committing to in order to make it sustainable. Borrow what resonates.
Showing Up for Yourself
“I’m choosing to believe in myself the way others already do. I’m ready to honor my own brilliance and move like I deserve to be here. To do this, I’m recording voice notes to my future self after every major decision.” — Demilade Oloyede, Chief Everything Officer of Limpiar
“I’m choosing consistency. I’m done setting goals that look impressive but aren’t sustainable. Instead, I’m creating routines that I can realistically show up for—the same way, every day, without burnout or guilt.” — Laura Donovan, Founder of Solstice Ear Seeds
“I'm excited to approach this year as the marathon that it is. I believe that as entrepreneurs, creatives, and humans, we must give ourselves time to rest, sleep, dream, and breathe in order to foster sanity, creativity, focus, and tenacity.” — Michelle Stevens, Founder and CEO of The Refill Shoppe
Showing Up Intentionally and IRL
“I want to make it easier to build connections and relationships, so on the last Friday of every month in 2026, I’m hosting an open-house cocktail hour for neighbors and friends. There will be no RSVP required; everyone just knows to show up on the last Friday of the month. I’ll never know who's coming, but that low-key, open vibe is what makes it magical!” — Kate Haranis, Founder and Principal of Haranis & Company
“Borrowing aligned audiences has been the most effective way for people to discover my work, and I’m excited to lean more into that next year. One unconventional way I’ll stay accountable is by keeping Instagram off my phone for long stretches so I am not tempted to default to tactics that do not align with how I actually want to grow. It keeps me focused on depth and the conversations, prospects, and partnerships that come from showing up in the right rooms.” — Ciara Siegel, Brand and Marketing Strategist and Founder of CJC
“This past year I focused on saying ‘yes’ to my community, my family and friends, and the experiences life should be about. Going forward, I’m keeping a short list of top priorities for the year so that when two things conflict, I can say ‘yes’ to whatever aligns with the life I’m trying to build.” — Brooke MacLean, CEO of Marketwake
Seeking Slowness
“I’m resolving to protect the white space in my calendar with the same intensity I protect client results. I’m treating quiet thinking time as a leadership discipline, not a luxury, with quarterly off-grid days. These aren’t retreats; they’re recalibration drills to remind me what clarity feels like when there’s no noise to manage.” — Ulrika Gustafson, Executive Coach and Strategic Advisor of Ulrika Gustafson Advisory
“I’m excited to get intentional about managing the scarcity of time by designing a schedule that supports my energy and the life I want to build, not just my to-dos. I’m determined to stop operating in hustle mode.” — Luzy King, Founder of Say Hola Wealth
“I’ve spent years building a business, raising kids, and pushing through like exhaustion was just part of the deal—but now that I’m in perimenopause, I’m rethinking what energy even means. I’m choosing to stop running on fumes and start restoring what’s actually mine: movement, sleep, boundaries, and space to breathe.” — Stacy Bernstein, Co-Founder of All Better Co.
“I’m choosing to honor capacity over perfection by saying no faster, resting without guilt, and treating support as strategy. Knowing that data is harder to fight than feelings, I’m planning to track how rest impacts my mood and nervous system.” — Jen Burke, Co-Owner and Clinical Therapist of Bloom and Rise and Rise Wellness Collaborative
Finding Creativity and Joy
“I’m choosing to find and share the sparkle. Whether it’s adding shimmer to my outfit, sending a note of celebration to a teammate, or saying yes to something that scares me, I’ll use sparkle as both a mindset and a reminder: that joy is a practice, not a reward.” — Kylee McGrane, Founder and Executive Director of A Moment of Magic
“I’m scheduling unstructured hours into my calendar each week. Those hours are non-negotiably reserved for intellectual wandering.” — Melinda Wang, Entrepreneur of MW Projects LLC
“I'm building more play and rest into my day. Practically speaking, this looks like scheduling coffee or walking dates with local friends and taking rainy days off to sleep and watch feel-good movies.” — Jess Milanes, Founder of Smart Podcast Solutions
“I’m prioritizing joy like it’s a KPI. To pull it off, I’ll block off fun appointments in my calendar as if they’re client calls. Joy’s got a time slot, and I’m not rescheduling.” — Sara McCarthy, Founder of One Eleven Creative
“This year, I’m treating my brainstorming time like a workout by carving out weekly, non-negotiable time on my calendar just for free thinking. I’m excited to see what kind of creative breakthroughs happen when I finally give myself time to think without an agenda.” — Carrie Sporer, Co-Founder of SWAIR
All individuals featured in this article are members of Dreamers & Doers, a highly curated community and PR Hype Machine™ amplifying extraordinary women entrepreneurs and leaders through authentic connections, credibility-boosting visibility, and opportunities that accelerate big dreams.
