Most Wellness Advice Doesn't Work for Busy Women
Here's What Actually Does
There’s a specific kind of frustration that happens when competing priorities interfere with taking care of yourself.
You care about your wellness.
You know what to do.
You’ve done it before.
And yet — the workouts disappear.
The groceries go unused.
Dinner becomes reactive.
Sleep gets pushed.
Not because you stopped valuing your well-being.
But because your life is full. Your time, energy, and focus are divided. The idea that “we all have the same 24 hours in a day” is a myth. Some chapters are busier, more intense. And the reality is, a lot of traditional wellness advice doesn’t fit neatly into those chapters.
So over the years, I’ve quietly collected a catalog of things that don’t work when life is busy.
And more importantly — what actually does.
What Doesn’t Work: The “When Things Calm Down” Plan
“I’ll get back into it when things slow down.”
Except… things don’t slow down.
There’s always:
A school thing
A work deadline
A sick kid
A travel week
A launch week
A life week
Waiting for calm is a moving target.
What Actually Works:
Building wellness that survives busy. Habits that can flex day to day and week to week.
Not a routine that requires perfect mornings.
Not a system that collapses if Tuesday runs long.
But rhythms that hold — even at 70%.
What Doesn’t Work: All-or-Nothing Weeks
Monday:
Clean kitchen
6am workout
Prepped lunches
100 ounces of water
New planner
Thursday:
Takeout
Exhaustion
“I blew it”
The issue wasn’t effort.
It was intensity.
What Actually Works:
Back to basics. The version you can do on your most chaotic week:
A few simple dinners on repeat
10-minute walks
Protein at breakfast
Sleeping over scrolling
Consistency beats intensity. Every time.
What Doesn’t Work: Reinventing the Wheel Weekly
Scrolling for new recipes.
Buying niche ingredients.
Trying to “eat clean” in a way that requires a personality transplant.
Decision fatigue is real.
And when your brain is already full, food becomes the tipping point.
What Actually Works:
Core meals you don’t have to think about, and you actually enjoy.
Meals you can cook half-asleep, a meal delivery service you like, or an easy recipe subscription you can rely on (we’ll talk more about this soon).
What Doesn’t Work: Treating Wellness Like a Project
New month. New plan. New rules.
Wellness becomes something you’re either “on” or “off.”
But life isn’t a 30-day challenge. It’s a Tuesday in February. It’s soccer practice. It’s a work trip. It’s a tired Wednesday.
What Actually Works:
Integration.
Movement woven into the day.
Groceries that support you automatically.
Bedtime routines that don’t require a Pinterest aesthetic.
Wellness that feels like part of your life — not a separate hobby.
What Doesn’t Work: Measuring the Wrong Things
The scale.
The perfect streak.
The aesthetic meal prep photo.
The ideal morning routine.
When life is full, those metrics will fluctuate.
And when they do, it feels like failure.
What Actually Works:
Different metrics.
Energy at 3pm
Fewer “what’s for dinner?” spirals
Cooking more than ordering
Going to bed before you’re wired
Feeling steady instead of frazzled
These are quieter wins.
But they make all the difference.
What Doesn’t Work: Expecting Motivation to Carry You
Motivation is helpful on Sunday.
It disappears on Wednesday at 5:42pm.
If your system depends on motivation, it’s fragile.
What Actually Works:
Establishing habits. Reducing decisions.
Less choice.
Fewer steps.
More defaults.
Because when life is full, your wellness has to be easier than the alternative.
A Question For You
I’d love to know!
And if you’re not already subscribed to Really Well, consider this your invitation — this is where we focus on our wellness, even when life is full.
Are we connected on Instagram yet?
OK so I feel seen here 🙌🏻
Thank you for acknowledging the difficult of life that actually I only came across after having kids. Consistency really is key rather than intensity. Low spoon days are normal for many of us and that’s OK. 👌🏻
Unless you’re a kid, I feel like we’re all busy and all this “soft life” content just isn’t realistic. Japan taught me to be well in a more passive way so I’m sticking to what I’ve learned here. 😅