Viola Davis on Finding Time for Self-Care

Saying no works wonders

Photo illustration; Image sources: Stefanie Keenan/Pwat Khantikittikul/Getty Images

“My big thing for me — and I have to fight for it — is that I don’t like working all the time.” — Viola Davis

Everybody talks about self-care, but really, what is it? For Viola Davis, it means loving on her family and hopping in the jacuzzi with the hubs. For Janelle Monae, it means therapy. For Holly Robinson Peete, it means saying no more consistently. For Rachel True, it means tarot.

However you define it, they say, it is imperative that you make time to do it. If you need some ideas, we’ve got you covered.

Here’s what Viola Davis, the star of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, had to say about staying centered and finding time for self-care:

That’s the million-dollar question! My big thing — and I have to fight for it — is that I don’t like working all the time. Me and Chadwick [Boseman] would talk about this all the time. I don’t mind the work, and the work is great. In this business, people tell you to feed your public persona all the time. You’re constantly doing interviews, constant requests for magazine shoots and photos, and sometimes people stay in that because they say “it’s a part of my work.”

Well, I don’t feel it’s a part of my work. I know it’s an occupational hazard, but I try to keep that down as much as possible. There’s a lot of great things I turned down, but when I look at it with my mental health and peace and joy and being a mom and a wife? It doesn’t compare.

I get in the jacuzzi with my husband. I get in our infrared sauna. I play with our new puppy and our daughter. And that’s it. That’s what I do.