Nicole Hollar argues self-care isn't a luxury but essential for high performance. A 2016 study of 1,000 workers found regular self-care practitioners were 30% more productive and experienced 25% lower stress. She warns that the "do more" mindset leads to burnout, and that strategic rest improves productivity throughout the day.
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Welcome to the Own It Podcast with me, Nicole Hollar, where we're going to talk about stuff to help you get out of your way, take charge of your life, and, well, other stuff too. Hey guys, welcome to another episode of the Own It Podcast with me, Nicole Hollar. Let me ask you, have you ever been in school, high school, college, doesn't matter, it could be work, and you had something you needed to read and you were so tired and you just kept reading that same paragraph over and over and over again Not retaining it. You were definitely not going to be able to write about it, take a test on it, or speak to it because you were so exhausted. But you were hell-bent on continuing on because pushing forward was more important than napping, you thought. You thought, you know, if I'm going to nap, that's going to take time away from me and I really need to do this. So napping in this case was self-care. Well, what happens though is if you had taken that 30-minute nap and allowed yourself to revive, You would have actually been able to read and retain that information and continue on. But instead, we keep pushing, pushing, pushing, thinking that stepping back or doing for us is actually going to keep us from being productive. And in fact, that's not the case at all. There's a study done in 2016 by the Journal of Occupational Health and Psychology. That basically took 1,000 people across various industries, and they found that the people who practiced regular self-care, they had 30% higher productivity levels. They had 25% lower stress levels compared to the people who did not prioritize their self-care. Let me repeat that. The people who prioritized their self-care were more productive. Which means they took time away from this perceived productivity to take care of themselves. And instead, they became more productive, 30% more productive, and had 25% less stress. I work with some really high-performing people in my coaching, in my wellness business, and some of the hardest things is to get people to let go of that grip. On trying to do more, more, more, more, more. Because if you're anything like them, there is an attrition rate. You can start at 8 a.m. and be going at 8 p.m., but if you really looked at your efficiency and productivity over that period of time, you're probably going to find that there's some type of a bell curve in there, a time of day where you're more or less productive. If we can get rid of those outliers, Take some time for ourself, you might find that you are even more productive because you're going to have more consolidated time where you have more focus and higher levels of productivity, even though you practiced self-care. So what happened was this study really emphasized that self-care is not a luxury. It is an absolute necessity. If you want to maintain high performance and your own job satisfaction, in fact, organizations who promote cultures of self-care, and I mean, they really promote it. They don't just say it and then are working at 10 PM. They generally see reduced turnover rates and they also see improved employee morale because the company is looking out for you as a whole person. And what they really need to focus on is an engaged, And productive workforce, because having a workforce that's existing and they aren't productive isn't great for them. So quality organizations recognize that self-care of their employees is really important. And it's up to you guys to recognize that you need to take time out for yourself, whatever the self-care activities mean. That can mean adequate sleep. It could be leisure activities. It could be reading. It could be exercise, meditation. It doesn't matter, but it's got to be quality time intended to help you revive and recharge. I remember many years ago, I watched an episode of Leave It to Beaver, and this always struck me because the character was talking about teachers and she said, teachers are like candles. They extinguish themselves illuminating the way for others. And I thought it was such a great metaphor. But if you consider that in the context of self-care, if you aren't continuing to rebuild yourself, you will eventually extinguish yourself, meaning you just aren't productive anymore. You become super sick. You have some type of breakdown of some sort, and that could be physical, mental, emotional. It doesn't matter. Self-care is vital. And I want to encourage you to evaluate your self-care routine. Are you doing things in order to really focus on your wellbeing on a daily basis, at least multiple times a week? Now, when it comes to physical activity, that does actually reduce free radicals and help to relieve stress in the body. But we can also have quiet activities like reading, meditation. These are the types of activities that are self-care and they're intended to help us recenter ourselves so that we can move forward without stress and anxiety and all of those fun things that people in today's society seem to have more and more of. I know it can be scary, but I promise if you carve just a little bit of time out of your day to take care of yourself, because remember, self-care is not a luxury, it is a necessity. I assure you, you will find that you are more productive, Because you are more quiet inside, you are more rested, and you are more clearheaded and capable. So what I would encourage you to do is to have a self-care routine. If you have a friend, a coworker who doesn't have one, maybe you share it with them. Maybe if you try to make some positive changes and you notice some positive changes, you might share with them. How great it's been for you. Likewise, if you already have an established care routine, that's amazing. Maybe it's extending an olive branch and saying, hey, come with me. Do you want to take a 10-minute walk at what could be lunchtime just to kind of clear your head? So it's absolutely a necessity for all of us to practice self-care. Remember, you are not a luxury. You are the most important thing. And if you burn out, so does everything around you. I'm going to leave you with that for today. Remember, this is your time. Go ahead and check out my website, nicoleholler.com. You can go ahead and request any topics for the podcast, check out any upcoming books, as well as events that I'm hosting. Have a great day.
