4 company founders get real about how to prioritize wellness while still killing it at work

A daily meditation practice, regular yoga classes, and catching up with friends over matcha lattes all sound great, but when you’re focused on work—whether that means climbing the ladder at your current job, growing a side-hustle, or overseeing your own business—those things are often more like rare treats than common occurrences. Sure, wellness may be important to you, but so is getting shit done, and there are only so many hours in a day. So what do you do? How do you make wellness a priority when you’re busy working your hustle?

It was a question on everyone’s mind at Well Summit‘s “The Art of Healthy Hustle” panel. The summit is a three-day event in Brooklyn, New York, where hundreds of people building businesses and careers in the wellness industry congregate and share their stories and advice. The room at this particular meeting was packed with ambitious women interested in hearing how four entrepreneurial powerhouse panelists—Y7 founder Sarah Larson Levey, Well+Good Council member and Parsley Health founder Robin Berzin, MD, model and Day Won founder Candice Huffine, and Peloton instructor and Love Squad founder Ally Love—have managed to oversee influential wellness companies without burning themselves out in the process.

Check out tips from the company founders for prioritizing wellness while killing it at work.

1. Know what you won’t ever sacrifice—and then don’t

Dr. Berzin says she has certain things she’ll never sacrifice. For her, the biggie is eating food that she actually feels good about. Sometimes, it takes extra effort for her to hunt down that body- and soul-nourishing plate, bypassing the vending machine right near her office, but to her, the practice is a major priority. “Food is medicine, and what we put into our bodies really does affect how we feel,” she says.

2. Stop trying to live up to wellness ideals that aren’t you

Levey reveals that she used to try to be someone who had a really blissful morning routine by meditating before work, but often, it didn’t happen, and she’d end up feeling terrible about herself. “I had to give myself a break,” she says. “I realized that I can’t have a schedule, and that’s okay!”

So instead of having a “wellness routine,” she works what she can into her life whenever it fits. And on those days when she can’t get in a workout or a meditation, she doesn’t feel badly about it.

3. If your life feels like a mess, clean up your surroundings

Unlike Levey, Love says she thrives on structure; she loves the satisfaction of checking things off her to-do list. So on the days she feels completely scattered, with a lot going on, she really appreciates coming home to a clean apartment. “If my apartment is clean, I feel so successful,” she says.

Hey, even just making your bed in the morning or tidying up your workspace can make you feel like your life is in order—even when that might not necessarily be the case.

4. Resist the urge to work all the time

“Running yourself into the ground is not a sign of success,” Huffine tells the crowd, urging them to resist the temptation of being part of a culture that rewards a go-go-go mentality: “Being busy is not a status symbol.” She stresses the importance of not working 24/7, especially since it’s not only detrimental to your health, but also to the health of the people you’re keeping up late with you, answering your emails and requests. “Your business will be okay if you shut down for the night,” says Huffine.

It’s nice to be reminded of that, right?

Here’s more career advice from wellness CEOs, including must-know leadership tips.