We are so distracted by what we think we should be doing, what we think we should be accomplishing, what we think we should be creating. We’re just so off-center from what’s most important.  – Elena Lipson

On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m really excited to talk about taking care of yourself with Elena Lipson, a coach, speaker, and retreat leader who helps women stop putting themselves second to everyone and everything in their lives. 

We talk about the difference between work-life balance and work-family balance. The second so often takes you out of the picture completely. So many women say, “I just don’t have time to take care of myself.” It’s not that we don’t know what to do, it’s that we have a hard time prioritizing — and recognizing that balance isn’t stable, it moves back and forth like a pendulum. 

Another way to think about balance is not to think about everything being equal, but to think about how things feel. Are they fulfilling? Are you giving attention to the things you want to give attention to? Elena says, “You’re actually course correcting all the time. That is the best description of entrepreneurship and motherhood and womanhood and life. You’re constantly course-correcting based on what is feeling really fulfilling right. What do I need to put my attention to.” 

We talk about: 

• Putting your top priority on the calendar first
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• Delegating things that get in the way of your top priority
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• The idea of daily alignment, which may mean putting attention to different places or including different things in your life day by day, and also checking in with yourself daily to see if what you are doing feels right
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• Having a criteria to help you make decisions and say no—and modeling how you use family criteria in decision making 
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• Elena’s HOME acronym (Health crisis, Overwhelmed, Motherhood, Entrepreneurship) and how your choices lead to repercussions through all aspects of your life, including your body
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• What self-care really is
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• The importance of moving your body first thing in the day
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BIO

Elena Lipson is a Divine Self-Care Mentor, speaker, transformational coach and retreat leader. She’s also the creator of The Divine Self-Care Circle, a year-long journey for women who are ready to say YES to igniting their divine feminine and dropping the hustle in exchange for creating a life they love with ease and grace. Elena works with incredible women all over the world to help them become the #1 asset in their life, business and the bedroom. Elena helps women reconnect to their intuition and re-claim their voice.

LINKS

• www.elenalipson.com
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• The Divine Self-Care Circle
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• On Instagram elena_lipson
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• Elena’s podcast
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• Essentialism by Greg McKeown
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• Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes 
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Doable Changes from this episode:

• MOVE YOUR BODY FIRST. Elena encourages people to move their body first thing every morning. We know that movement has health benefits, but moving your body also gets you out of your head (and our of the habit of scrolling through your messages and social media). Take a walk. Do some yoga. Dance. See what happens when you start your day with movement.
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• CALENDAR YOUR TOP PRIORITY FIRST. Do you put all your work dates and times on your calendar first? What would happen if you started with your priorities—the things you really wanted to make time for? Whether it is being there for your kid’s events, family dinner, or a project that lights you up every day, put it on your calendar first. Then fit in other things around it. Do this for the next season or the next month and see how it it feels. 
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• SET DECISION CRITERIA. Do you say yes to things you really don’t want to do? Do you have trouble saying no? You aren’t alone. Set some decision making criteria to help you practice making decisions that fit your priority. If you make family dinner a priority, you may need to say no to certain activities or meetings. Get clear on your priorities for this season. Then when an event or offer comes up, assess it to see if it works with your priorities before you answer. If you find you have a hard time saying no, learn to say, let me get back to you. Think it through and then give the answer you truly want to give
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