Being kinder to ourselves, with Dana Ingers

Women At Work

When life is tough, self-care, being kind to yourself and giving yourself a break may just be what gets you through.

Dana Ingster left a 10-year career in Marketing and Branding to open her own corporate wellness business, The Massage Spot . She has two young children, and has made a practice out of being kind to herself, acknowledging that we can’t do everything all the time and making life as easy as possible through the transitions.

In today’s conversation we talk about

• Focusing on getting the job done well, rather than hours in the office
• Tips for getting consulting clients through your networks
• The difficulty of working for a working mother, while different families have different needs (working mothers offering flexibility to your employees – take note!)
• The benefit of allowing employees to design their own working arrangement
• When you have a nuclear family, there are two parents responsible for the household. Dada recommends discussing with your partner before you even start to have a family that you’re both on board with that approach and ensuring you have shared values
• The importance of giving yourself a break, which may sometimes look like getting paid help
• The adjustment periods she faced when having children
  • Year 1 – if you’re totally drowning, just be kind to yourself
  • Year 2 – thinking about what she wanted career-wise and stepped out of corporate
  • Year 3 – focussing on her health, feeling better about herself, growing her business gaining confidence
  • Focus just on what you need in any given time, things do change and eventually get easier
• Doing one thing every day that is kind to yourself
  • Go for a walk
  • Get a massage
  • Dropping baby at parent/friend and go for a walk, give yourself a bit of space
  • Get a mag and sit in the sun
  • Getting nails done
  • Meeting a friend for coffee
  • Exercise – even when it’s the last thing you feel like you have time for, and finding time for exercise feels like it gives you more time
  • Baby-swapping with a friend
  • Dana takes tennis lessons with friends
  • Nap
• Get organised for the week to make it easier (Dana focuses on grocery shopping, food prep, paperwork and taking a breath)
• Increasing quality time with your partner in small steps

No one will die if it doesn’t happen by the deadline.