She’s the face of the Create & Cultivate talks, which has featured Kim Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen and more. Now Jaclyn Johnson’s revealing how she fits self-care into her busy life.
Ask Create & Cultivate founder, Jaclyn Johnson, 34, if she knows what it feels like to be burnt out, the brains behind the conference series that has featured talks by the likes of Kim Kardashian, has a simple answer. Yes. “Every day, girl,” the entrepreneur told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY at her first ever Self Care Summit in Los Angeles on July 20, which featured speakers like comedy writer Erin Foster and reality TV star Vanessa Simmons. “I joke that I should be attending this summit, beyond throwing it. I feel that way all the time.”
But the busy millennial – who once appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list – said that self-care doesn’t have to be something elaborate or expensive like going on a yoga retreat or spending the weekend at a beauty spa. Feeding your soul and taking time out for you can involve something as simple as switching your phone off at the end of the day. “I think everyone has different definitions of what self-care is,” Jaclyn said. “I think, for me, self-care is very personal, in the sense of what you need to be your best self. Whether that’s exercise, whether that’s eating healthy, whether that’s napping for 15 minutes, [or] it’s binge-watching Netflix on a Saturday, all day… It’s what you need to be your best self; mentally, physically, and emotionally.”
For Jaclyn, self-care involves sneaking it into her busy schedule. “I don’t have a lot of time. So for me, my form of self-care, often times is sleeping eight hours. That’s a luxury for me.” She also suggests “putting your phone away at the end of the day, not having it in your bag.” Even something as simple as “treating yourself to ice cream” is on Jaclyn’s list. Self-care, in her opinion is a question of, “What makes you feel good?”
Asked why she thinks that self-care is all the rage now, Jaclyn said, “I think the reason why it’s so relevant right now is the fact that women are working harder than ever. We are working 9-9, all the time; building businesses, at jobs, we’re mothers, we’re girlfriends, we’re wives, whatever it is. We always put ourselves last.”
She added, “[Burnout] culture is super real. And that’s because your phone, you’re connected to your email all day. You’re on Instagram all day. And you have to be, to keep up, right? It’s kind of become this culture of…when do I get a break? It’s really hard to do. I think that’s why self-care is having such a big moment right now, because we’re really yearning to feel better about themselves and not feel burnt out, or overworked, or overwhelmed, whatever it might be.”
Does Jaclyn think self-care is here to stay? In a word, yes. The days of non-stop hustling have given birth to a desire to “pull back,” she said, adding, “There is that resurgence of we need more work/life balance happening versus a couple years ago when it was a cool thing to work 200 hours a week. Now we’re in that phase where, for most people, that’s out.”