September 01 2026 at 09:42AM
Self-Care Guide for the Busy Project Manager: Introduction
It is refreshing to discover that a mental wellbeing practice does not need to be complicated to fit a demanding working day. That was the central insight from a recent PMI Netherlands webinar led by change management professional Renuka Ayri, with a background in Ayurveda — a traditional system of health that understands the mind and body as interconnected.
Project leaders spend much of their working hours in their heads: forecasting risks, adjusting timelines, and managing stakeholders. This focus is essential to delivery, but it can also make it easy to lose touch with what is happening in the body. Renuka’s session invited a fundamental question that challenges this default state: what if taking care of yourself could be simpler than we make it?
The webinar introduced three practices: meditation (cultivating inner stillness), mindfulness (building self-awareness), and restorative yoga (integrating body and mind). Each offers a distinct way to return to the body and the present moment, creating a deliberate pause between what the day demands and how you respond.
Building on last month’s article, The KPI Behind Every Project, this introductory piece opens a dedicated three-part mini-series. Over the coming months, we will break down these three techniques into pocket-sized, practical guides you can use during and after your workday. Together, they form one simple, accessible guide for project professionals who do not have time for complexity, but deserve care amid everything they carry.
To prepare yourself for this mini-series, perhaps the first practice is simply noticing where you are. You can sit with the question Renuka posed during a follow-up interview with her: "Are you in your mind, or in your body?" Notice what you are experiencing in your body right now. You might also try a few lines of unedited free-writing, allowing whatever comes to mind to arrive on the page without judging or resolving anything. Set aside what you wrote, and return to it later with curiosity.
- A note to the reader: This mini-series is presented here as part of the ongoing exploration of wellbeing practices in project leadership, and is not medical, psychological, therapeutic, or professional advice. Content is developed in collaboration with Renuka Ayri, who spoke at the PMI Netherlands Chapter webinar on July 29, 2026.
Have questions or reflections? Connect with Renuka Ayri on LinkedIn or write to us: editor@pmi-nl.nl
