A Radical Concept—You have a body.

I’ve fallen behind on posts, not that anyone besides myself is counting. But there is a good reason.

One of Jenn Armbrust’s 12 Principles for Prototyping a Feminist Business is “You have a body.” Seems simple. Seems deceptively obvious. Until you think about it. How often do you ignore warning signs from your body and soldier on? Especially at work? Your shoulders ache, a migraine edges in, you lose your voice. Yet, you turn up for work and put in your 8 hours. But Jenn is right that not only do we have bodies, but we need to take care of them. Not in spite of work, but because of it. Supported by it.

I ignored my body for an entire week. I ate what (and when) everyone else did. I slept when everyone else slept. I flew a red eye (horrible idea!). I spent all my metaphorical “spoons” on visiting and traveling, but didn’t have enough time to work myself back into a spoon surplus. I knew I was doing it and that it would catch up with me.

So today, I skipped the gym and slept an hour longer. I saw my doctor. I saw my pharmacist. I called my (new) insurance company. I looked up where to get blood drawn for tomorrow morning. In between, I emailed, read, wrote and thought. But I put my body first.

It feels good to listen to your body.