Self-care
The intentional practice of maintaining physical, mental, and emotional health through restorative or supportive activities.
Think Like a Software Engineering Manager
Self-care is the intentional practice of maintaining one’s physical, mental, and emotional health through restorative or supportive activities.
- How it is used
- Positions self-care as part of engineering managers’ self-management, supporting their ability to lead and care for team members.
- How deep it goes
- Offers practical activities, boundaries, and reflection prompts rather than a formal self-care program.
- Examples
- Uses time off, hobbies, mindfulness, delayed emails, and team breaks as concrete practices.
- What you can do after
- Practice/perform self-care while setting healthier expectations and recognizing when workload or systemic changes are also needed.
Read how Think Like a Software Engineering Manager explains self-care →
Lead Developer Career Guide
Self-care is the intentional practice of maintaining one's physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
- How it is used
- Applies self-care to managing developer stress, sustaining leadership during emergencies, and modeling well-being for mentees.
- How deep it goes
- Explains practical tactics through workplace anecdotes, without developing a formal framework.
- Examples
- Uses thought reframing, exercise, meditation, hobbies, boundary-setting, and a 15-minute break during a deployment emergency.
- What you can do after
- Practice/perform it by protecting personal time, seeking support, setting boundaries, and taking breaks when overwhelmed.
Related concepts
- self-managementused by · Self-management is the practice of organizing and regulating one’s own behavior, time, emotions, and work to achieve goals.
- well-beingaddresses · Well-being is a person's overall state of physical, psychological, emotional, and social health, functioning, comfort, and welfare.
- work-life balanceused by · Work-life balance is the degree to which work responsibilities are compatible with personal life and other nonwork activities.
- burnoutaddresses · Burnout is a state of physical or emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged work-related stress or excessive demands, often accompanied by reduced effectiveness and motivation.
- psychological stressaddresses · Psychological stress is a state of mental or emotional strain arising from perceived demands, threats, challenges, or adverse circumstances.
- leadershipuses · Leadership is the practice or capability of guiding, influencing, coordinating, and making decisions for people or organizations pursuing shared objectives.
These guides are generated from the text of Manning books by Manning's knowledge graph and link to the sections they draw on. The full books are available on liveBook and at manning.com.