Sloth Day for women IT'S A KIND OF MAGIC!

Need a break? Julia recommends you tune out and faff about

- Fleur Guthrie

Long before self-care became a popular concept in women’s lives, speaker and singer-songwriter Julia Grace had implemented a thing she liked to call “Sloth Day Monday”.

It involved wearing trackpants, no make-up and taking her preschooler over to her sister Brenda’s house. They had one goal that day − to get their kids down for a nap at 1pm so the two of them could watch Dr Phil on television.

“We were mums of toddlers, worked part-time and had other commitments in the weekends, so we would get to Monday and tell everyone, ‘Don’t bother calling me today.’

“That was what we implemented as self-care,” recalls the 51-year-old, smiling. “We’d turn up to each other’s houses looking horrendous and really intentionally going, ‘I’m going to do nothing today.’ I was with my whānau − it was a beautiful time to just chill out, eat lollies and rest my body.

“Back then, giving yourself permission to rest was a little bit frowned upon. One friend even commented that a ‘Sloth Day is nothing to be proud of’. But now, we’re looking at the next generation being told rest is mandatory.”

Julia is sharing this example as she chats to the Weekly about her book Be Kind to Your Mind, which candidly speaks of her own personal journey with clinical depression and anxiety, yet doesn’t hold back on honesty and humour.