So, what did you get up to this weekend? Did you use it for what it is intended for? Did you relax, recharge and get around to doing everything you don’t get a chance to do during the week? Chances are you only managed to get one of these things done and it was probably far from fitting into the relax and recharge variety of weekend activities. Don’t beat yourself up about it – we all face the same challenges come the weekend. We feverishly work towards Friday, desperate for a break, a mental disconnect, only to get there and find our brain is incapable of switching off – just as our home and/or family responsibilities don’t just magically disappear.

Juggling a career, home and/or family life and self-care can be a difficult feat – there’s so much to do and so little time, and the more successful we become, the more difficult it becomes to allocate our personal downtime wisely and effectively. A lot of this is a “simple” matter of rewiring our brains, to learn how to stay focused, alert and energized during working hours and wind down at the end of the workday. And that is a lot easier said than done!

One of the best ways to help you shake off the day’s adrenaline, regulate your breathing and take your brain out of the yesterdays and tomorrows and into the present, is by reading. It also serves as a great transition between work and leisure, as you can still gain new business-related knowledge through reading, while helping your mind and body settle into relaxation. If you’d like to put this theory to the test, here are the five best books and blogs for She-Bosses.

She Owns It

If you’re having trouble settling into a calm Saturday-morning routine because you’re too worried about the emails that might be flooding your inbox right now or the groceries that still need to be done, here’s a great suggestion: don’t do any of the above until you’ve at least had a coffee and a browse through the latest blog entries on She Owns It. You’ll feel more productive than you would reading the latest celebrity/gossip rag, you’ll pick up on an idea or two in regards to running your business but, most importantly, you’ll do so in a relaxed manner.

She Owns It covers everything from “5 lead Generation Strategies for Solopreneurs” to “3 Limiting Beliefs You Need to Crush Right Now to Start a Successful Business” and is designed to guide you towards finding “the “spark” that helps turn your dream into a reality”. The blog invites business-women and entrepreneurs to share their own stories, inspirations and knowledge, thus creating a supportive community and a hub of ideas.

Leading Ladies Mompreneurs – Stories About South African Moms in Business

Opening to a quote by American actress, writer and producer, Tina Fey, Mompreneurs will immediately find themselves relating to the constant battle of being a working mother. “I think every working mom probably feels the same thing. You go through big chunks of time where you’re thinking, “this is impossible – oh, this is impossible.” And then you just keep going and keep going and sort of do the impossible.”

Compiled by Laura Ruthven, founder of Female Entrepreneur SA, the e-book Leading Ladies Mompreneurs – Stories About South African Moms in Business, offers insight into the lives, struggles and triumphs of working mothers juggling career and motherhood. It features interviews with mompreneurs across all business environments and their helpful advice on how to make it all work, for example: “When you get tired – learn to rest and not to quit!”

More Than Enough: Claiming Space For Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)

This book by Elaine Welteroth, American journalist and New York Times best-selling author, fits in perfectly with the theme of this article: claiming space for yourself to do what serves you as an individual, as well as a professional. In More Than Enough: Claiming Space For Who You Are (No Matter What They Say), Elaine shares her journey towards success, complete with the joys, pitfalls, self-doubt and adventures she encountered along the way.

This book serves as a reminder that by, “uncovering and discovering the many facets of ourselves, we are more than enough.”

Urban Woman Magazine

Celebrating the “21^st Century African Woman”, Urban Woman Magazine covers everything modern She-Bosses as well as women of leisure might be interested in: fashion, beauty, lifestyle, feminism, events and much more. Kicking back with the latest blog posts on Urban Woman Magazine, you’ll find out which role South African-British actress, Gugu Mbatha-Raw is taking on next, which were the best picks from recent fashion weeks and events or how to mix your own natural skin cream.

The magazine’s interview section features some of the key, female players in the world of creative businesses. In the past they have featured the likes of Uzuegbunam Adeline Chiamaka, one of few female cobblers in Nigeria, Gusi Tobby, founder of Girl Hub Africa, co-founder of EcoPrune, Sandra Onwuekwe, and Doris Nwanneka, CEO of Hair by Wanneka. With so many inspiring interviews and blog articles, this magazine has established itself as an exciting platform for the 21^st century, African woman.

The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women

Written by high-level black executives Marsha Haygood, Rhonda Joy McLean, Angela Burt-Murray and Elaine Meryl Brown, The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women is a practical gem which focuses on “the building blocks of true leadership – self-confidence, effective communication, collaboration and courage – while dealing specifically with stereotypes (avoid the Mammy Trap, and don’t become the Angry Black Woman) and the perils of self-victimization (don’t assume that every challenge occurs because you are black or female).”

Full of encouraging and empowering “MAMAisms” (familiar terms, both practical and spiritual, that we grew up with and can draw upon as we travel the road to leadership success) and great advice on how to navigate business and professional environments as a woman of colour, this little black book will give you the tools and the confidence needed to succeed in a leadership position.