With each passing birthday, the compounding roles and responsibilities for adults continue to increase, leading to an untenable pace of productivity. Overwhelm multiplies, consuming all free time, with no obligations that can be decluttered. Perfection- never attainable to begin with- is discarded, leaving women feeling defeated. They feel they have failed to achieve the ‘perfect adult life’ they were striving for.

But what if you could keep your roles and responsibilities without the expectation of perfection and the anxiety that comes with it? Replacing perfection with ‘Being a Woman of Excellence’ can reduce your anxiety. Women of Excellence put in excellent effort in everything they do, but they do not expect the results to be perfect.

The process of becoming a Woman of Excellence begins with self-care. Academia has defined child care and elder care, but not self-care. Self-care encompasses all the adult years of your life before you need another adult to provide for your needs as an elder.

The lack of a proper self-care definition leaves women feeling like any time spent on themselves is selfish, when in fact it is essential. The first step in establishing supportive self-care is to care for your adult needs first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Bookending your days with simple, curated routines for yourself signifies the importance of including yourself in the many people you care for. You must begin to take care of yourself so that you can continue to take care of others.

Through practical strategies and relatable stories, Lisa shows that intentional organization and self-care are not luxuries, but learnable skills that form the foundation of a purposeful, peaceful life. By prioritizing your self-care, you can break free from reactive living, which has kept you trapped in a cycle of freeing yourself from quicksand.