La La Anthony Shares How She Manages Burnout And Her Go-To Self-Care Tools

If you look up the definition of ‘boss’ in the dictionary, an image of La La Anthony is bound to appear.

The mother, actress, and new skincare founder has added the title of “leading lady” to her list of hyphenates with shows like BMFand Power under her belt. But with so many boss moves to manage, one can only wonder how she manages to get it all done — while making it look so effortless.

In an interview with BET.com, the businesswoman unpacked her perspective of self-care as someone fully immersed in her at-home and on-screen duties.

“My form of self-care [is] turning my phone off. That's something I just implemented not too long ago at night once I'm ready for bed. And that's something I never did,” she says, adding. “Self-care is a night of uninterrupted sleep because my phone will go off all night, and I work crazy hours. To be able to sleep and not have the phone constantly waking me up is a form of self-care.”

She notes that the lack of sleep and overworking has contributed to her experiencing burnout and emphasizes the importance of taking care of herself as someone always on-call and in high demand. But with healthy boundary setting and showing up for her needs, she’s been able to work towards striking a balance.

“Sometimes I'm like, ‘Okay, I'm there for everybody. I have to be there for myself as well.’ And I just stop and say, ‘What did I do these last couple of days that [made] me feel like that? What can I do differently?” she explains. “A lot of times for me, it really is a lack of sleep [and] staying up really late, waking up super early, or working really late. I have to remind myself why something as simple as sleep is so important.”

When you’re someone as high-profile as La La, having moments where you feel like you’re being spread too thin is inevitable. However, saying ‘no’ before you reach a point of burnout is an act of self-care that aids in the prevention of future fatigue.

She later acknowledges her past struggles with setting these boundaries out of the desire to always be there for everyone and avoid disappointing others. However, she soon realized the importance of taking care of herself first and that if she's not at her best, she can't fully show up for anyone else.

“I was a person that did not know how to say no. [I] never want to disappoint people. I think that's the cancer in me, like never wanting to disappoint people, always wanting to be there,” she says. “But if I'm not at my best, I can't be great for anyone. So utilizing and being okay with saying ‘no’ sometimes is something that I'm still learning but getting better at.”

If we can take a page out of La La’s book, learning to say ‘no’ and creating boundaries is a process that will always have room to grow, but understanding its significance is the key to a well-rounded and balanced state of well-being.

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Featured image by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Netflix