The Meeting You Keep Canceling

Wellness Tip of the Week

The Meeting You Keep Canceling

Making self-care a priority, and keeping the promise

By Dr. Carmela Levy

Every leader I know can recite her calendar from memory: the 7:00 a.m. huddle, the 4:30 board briefing, the parent call that “will only take five minutes.” What most of us cannot recall is the last time we kept a promise to ourselves.

For a long time, I treated my own health as something I would get to later, after the next deadline, the next launch, the next school year. My body kept a different calendar. Rebooting my health was not about appearance. It was the difference between surviving my life and being fully present for it.

As women school executives, we are trained to be the steady one in the room. We absorb the crisis, carry the community, and still show up polished for the evening event. That strength is real. But strength without recovery is borrowed time, and the interest shows up as exhaustion, poor sleep, a shorter fuse, and the slow loss of the joy that brought us into education.

Self-care is not a reward for finishing the work. It is part of the work. A rested leader listens better, decides more clearly, and shows the aspiring leaders around her what a sustainable career looks like.

Making it a priority starts smaller than you think. Choose one habit: a twenty-minute walk, lunch away from your desk, or a hard stop two evenings a week. Put it on your calendar with a real name, not “hold.” Then protect it the way you protect instructional time: politely, firmly, and without apology. When something tries to move it, ask yourself, “Would I cancel a meeting with my board president for this?” If the answer is no, keep your appointment with yourself.

Consider bringing one of these questions to your next leadership team meeting. It may be the most productive agenda item of the week.