What self-care actually looks like when you have no time, with Leslie Forde | Ep. 83 | Working Moms Movement

Self-care for working moms doesn’t have to mean spa days or elaborate rituals. In this episode, we break down what self-care actually looks like when you’re a high-performing working mom with very little margin.Most working moms are running on empty because they’ve built their entire infrastructure around everyone else’s needs. The problem isn’t time. It’s that self-care has been pushed so far to the bottom of the hierarchy that it barely exists.If you’ve ever felt like you were doing everything right and still falling apart, this episode is for you.What does self-care actually look like for busy working moms?How do you prioritize yourself when your job and your family need everything you have?Why do high-performing women crash even when they seem to be thriving?How can working moms build a self-care practice that fits into real daily life?What is decision fatigue and how does it affect working moms before the workday even starts?🎙️ Inside this episode, I sit down with Leslie Forde - founder and CEO of Mom's Hierarchy on Needs and author of Repair with Self-Care - a practical framework for reclaiming time and reducing burnout, to discuss:Why self-care was never meant to mean smoothies and spa days and what the original radical definition actually asks of usThe season Leslie almost completely crashed after returning to work with her second child and what it took to recoverWhy high-performing women are especially vulnerable to burnout and how the “atta girl” addiction keeps them stuckWhat the mom’s hierarchy of needs reveals about where working moms are actually placing themselves in the priority orderThe biological limit on daily decisions that’s quietly draining your clarity before 9amHow to find a self-care practice that works for your actual life, not the Swiss Alps version of itThe conditions you need for self-care to actually stick: time, energy, and coverage💡 Key reframes from this conversation:Not: Self-care is a reward you earn when everything else is handled. But: Self-care is a structural priority that makes everything else sustainableNot: You’re failing because you can’t keep up. But: Your infrastructure hasn’t been updated to match your current season of lifeBurnout doesn’t announce itself it accumulates in the gap between what your job demands and what your capacity can supportSelf-care isn’t a luxury you’ve earned after a long week. It’s the foundation that makes the long week survivable. Putting yourself at the top of your own hierarchy isn’t selfish...it’s the only way the rest of it holds. If this resonated, the 3-minute Boundary Self-Check Quiz is a great next step. It shows you exactly where your time and energy are leaking.🔗 Resources mentioned:• 🎙️ Episode 81: Flexibility Isn't Enough: The Real Strategy for Retaining Working Caregivers • 🧭 3-Minute Boundary Self-Check Quiz• 📱 Connect with Courtney on Instagram• 🌐 Learn more about The Life Management System • 📖 Repair with Self-Care by Leslie Forde • 🌐 Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs • 📱 Connect with Leslie Forde on LinkedIn📈 Keywords:self-care for working moms, burnout recovery working mothers, mom’s hierarchy of needs, sustainable performance working moms, decision fatigue moms, working mom burnout, self-care practice busy moms, mental load working mothers, value-based time management, invisible labor, burnout prevention, high-performing working moms, repair with self-care****About the host:I’m Courtney Cecil, founder of Working Moms Movement and host of The Life Management System podcast, based in Charlotte, North Carolina and serving working moms and organizations across the U.S. Each week I share practical strategies, stories, and systems to reduce bu