The Best Self-Care Routines for Optimum Performance in Project Management

Published On:

February 26, 2026

The Best Self-Care Routines for Optimum Performance in Project Management

Being a project manager can be a very demanding role that requires you to adopt mental, physical and emotional strategies to keep energy levels high while managing stress to ensure optimum performance.

To keep up with these habits, you need to have good motivation as if you become undisciplined, it can lead to you poorly managing your workload and this can lead to your performance dwindling after years of work.

There’s self care routines that can help you reach your peak performance as a project manager. It’s about adopting the right mindset that reduces the chances of burnout, as you take care of yourself both mentally and physically everyday.

This guide will explore the best self-care routines that you should do to improve your project management performance, so you can become the best in your field and build resilience.

Mental and Emotional Well-Being

Establish Boundaries

Clearly define your working hours and stick to them, so you don’t over work yourself and suffer from burnout. Project management is demanding, but constant availability can make you do too much so you end up losing passion for the projects you’re working on.

Use out-of-office messages and turn off work notifications outside of established hours to protect your personal time. Having time to yourself is perfect for recharging, especially if you want to be at peak performance when you go back to work.

Practice Mindfulness

Incorporate short mindfulness or deep breathing exercises into your day, especially before high-stress meetings or after a challenging interaction. This helps you stay calm, focused and objective, so you don’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you’ve done or are going to be doing in the future.

Systematically bring awareness to different parts of your body, noticing sensations like tingling or tension without judgment. Sometimes your body will react to things and give you signs that it needs a break, so you need to keep on top of this.

Trust Your Team

Avoid the urge to control every detail, as there will be a lot of things that are out of your control so there’s no point dwindling on them. Effective delegation reduces your workload and empowers your team members, which is key to a high-performing team and sustainable work pace.

You need to have trust in your team that they’re going to carry out their tasks to a high standard, so you won’t need to get involved and stress yourself out with taking on more work than you should be. Making sure that you assign the right people to the right roles is the first step in achieving this.

Physical Health

Prioritise Sleep

Adequate rest is crucial for cognitive function, decision-making and emotional regulation, which are considered to be the skills needed for a successful project manager. A 2023 study found that insufficient sleep increases employee burnout and that psychological capital mediates this relationship, which can lead to poor job satisfaction.

Keeping a good sleeping schedule can ensure that you get high quality rest, so you can work at peak performance in project management. When you’re managing a project, you need your energy levels to be high so you can deal with any problem without feeling run down.

Keep Moving

Even during busy days, take short breaks to stand up, stretch or walk around, as sitting at your desk all day can be very unhealthy for both your physical and mental health. You can be a good project manager if you’re sitting at your desk all day anyway, as you need to be very active in what’s going on around you.

Regular physical activity, such as a daily walk or a gym session can significantly reduce stress levels and boost energy, so you can fully focus on work tasks when it’s time to focus.

Maintain a Balanced Diet

Better work performance involves consistent practices such as mindful eating, hydration and planning ahead. Building your meals around fruits, vegetables and lean proteins provide you with sustained energy and essential nutrients. Whereas, processed foods can lead to energy crashes.

Hydration should be a big part of your daily diet, as dehydration can reduce concentration and cognitive performance which restricts you from performing at your best.

Workflow and Productivity

Time Blocking

Schedule dedicated time for specific tasks, including emails, meetings and deep work. This prevents task-switching, which is inefficient and ensures you make progress on critical items. If you are unorganised and don’t have specific time slots for tasks, you run the risk of important documents going missing and running out of time to complete projects.

Realistic Goals

Work with your team to set achievable deadlines, so you have goals that are realistic. Unrealistic expectations are a major source of stress and dissatisfaction for both the project manager and the team, which can lead to poorer results overall. When you set a realistic goal, there’s a higher chance that you can overachieve and this will be a confidence boost to your project management.

My Final Thoughts on Achieving Optimum Performance

Successful project managers will know how to care for themselves so that they can perform optimally. I know that Project Management Life provides knowledge and experience on how you can improve your performance. Your mental and physical health need to be prioritised to give you the level head needed to perform better and manage a project successfully.

Balancing your personal goals and priorities with your work priorities is a key part of this, so that you can come up with the perfect plan that keeps you and your team working effectively without suffering from burnout. Poor project management can lead to professional negligence, as you let your team down and potentially significantly hurt the finances of the business.

It’s crucial that you perform optimally as a project manager. You need to ensure that your personal goals match up with that of your team, so that you can all be on the same page and create a plan that not only works but also allows you to take care of yourself. It’s your chance to make a real difference in your working life!

PML would like to extend a huge thank you to Darcy Fowler for sharing her knowledge and wisdom with the PML community! Learn more about her below and reach out to connect!

About the Author

After completing a University degree in Journalism, Darcy Fowler has been committed to providing fresh, insightful content that helps teams navigate the challenges of modern project management. Her ambition is to become a definitive resource for those looking to balance creative vision with achieving ambitious organisational goals.

Connect directly with Darcy via email at: darcyfowlerrr@gmail.com.

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Who is Project Management Life (PML)?

Project Management Life (PML) is a team of passionate project managers who believe in the power of this incredible profession and provide our knowledge, guidance, and support to our colleagues.

We know that project managers are often the unsung heroes that drive innovation and progress, and bring calm to what might otherwise be chaos. We are the leaders behind the scenes that work tirelessly, and deserve to be celebrated for our incredible efforts in making the world a better place.

We founded PML on the idea that we can inspire each other with stories of success and valuable lessons learned, empower each other with career advice and resources to thrive both personally and professionally, and support each other to achieve a fulfilling work-life balance by focusing on our health and well-being.

By living our best life, we bring our best selves to our projects, our teams, and the world.

We truly believe that project managers change the world.

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