In TZR’s franchise Scare-Free Sundays, industry leaders discuss the all-too-common weekend anxiety (aka Sunday Scaries) that can rob one of the relaxation and rest they so desperately need to properly take on the week ahead. Here, we sit down with Shizu Okusa, founder of Apothékary, for her tips on how to keep work stress at bay while leading a brand.
Shizu Okusa was living the dream — it just wasn’t her own. The Apothékary founder started her career in the early 2000s on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs, where late nights and early mornings led her to realize her true calling was to venture out on her own as a brand founder and entrepreneur. After successfully founding and selling cold-pressed juice brand Jrink, she found herself, once again, feeling the burnout. A childhood spent traveling to Osaka, Japan reminded her of the culture she came from — the healing properties of nature, the appreciation for life’s small moments, the beauty in imperfection. In Japan, a simple tea ceremony can be a conduit for meaningful connection; a reminder to appreciate every moment of living, no matter how small or insignificant. It was a complete juxtaposition to the frenetic, high-paced life she lived in New York City — and became a lightbulb moment that led to her next venture.
Revitalized by the mission to share her knowledge with the world, Okusa launched Apothékary — a line of herbal supplements rooted in her Japanese heritage that taps into ancient herbs to solve life’s modern problems. The brand’s best-seller, Wine Down, is an alcohol-alternative in tincture form that can be taken orally, or dropped into water for an instant calming effect, thanks to California poppy, blue vervain, and tart cherry — all ingredients widely studied for their abilities to promote sleep and relaxation.
On the heels of Apothékary’s new launch at Ulta, Okusa sat down with TZR to share her own self-care rituals and how she stays grounded while running and expanding a wellness business (hint: It involves waking up with the sun and scheduling emails before the weekend).
Can you walk TZR readers through a typical weeknight?
My day always starts the night before. I make a list of what I need to get done, schedule emails for what is first priority [the next morning] when my brain is fresh or from what I couldn’t get done the night before, and set myself up for success. I’m usually in bed by 10 p.m.
What about your morning routine?
I wake up at 5 to 5:30 a.m. every day, even if it’s a weekend (sigh) with no alarm clock as I find alarm clocks incredibly jarring to the nervous system. Usually the sun is starting to rise, so I’ll start to move my body and drink a lot of water as I get up slowly. Waking up when the sun rises is how I feel my best self, and how I believe humans (as animals) are meant to be. I answer emails from 8:30 to 9 a.m. and also have my calls with London or Asia by this time.
I’ll workout and lift heavy to get some ‘groundedness’ if I have a more chaotic week or day, or get in some cardio if I have a bit more of a creative launch week to get my energy high.
I really try to live in flow with my life, not against it, and this goes for how I eat (in the winter, I eat more grounding and high-fat foods to protect]against the cold; come summer, I’ll have more cooling and light foods [to combat the] the heat) dress (I usually wear an iteration of the same thing every day during the week to keep decisions light for unimportant choices like clothing), and move.
How does work stress manifest for you and what do those symptoms or signs look like?
Work stress can manifest in many ways, but the most common is lack of sleep, digestive distress, and lashing out in the most unexpected ways (I’m just being honest!). I always know something is off-balance when I am reactive versus responsive, and as a leader, my job is to be incredibly aware and regulate my emotional energy. I believe that as a leader, you have to be the one to remove stress, not add stress to the team — especially in the world of so much uncertainty, and especially in the land of startups.
I also think I tend to make more impulsive decisions when I am stressed, usually because I’m lacking some sort of grounding routine — this tends to happen a lot while I travel. Given how much Apothékary has grown over the years and we conduct a lot more international business, I’ve had to find a newfound respect and grace for myself as I figure out a new routine that is much more transient. In the last 11 weeks, I’ve taken 18 flights — from LA to New York back to LA to Japan to LA to Vancouver back to New York, DC and back to New York… it’s been a lot! Taking my herbs on the go has incredibly changed my routine as well, again opting for formulations that help me ground or reset my nervous system through regulating the cortisol hormone. Taking Apothékary Wine Down, an alcohol-alternative tincture, is vital because the last thing I need is alcohol to cause more chaos to my digestive system and sleep schedule.
I generally only drink socially — once or twice a month. In comparison to when I was working in Wall Street, I’d be drinking every day. That wreaked havoc on my entire life and eventually led to burnout of my body, mind and spirit.
Do you have a ‘secret power product’ or practice you turn to combat anxiety?
I use Take the Edge Off tincture for midday stress and cortisol regulation and Wine Down for sleep (at least two to three hours before bed) — three full droppers of each.
I take Blue Burn before I work out, and it’s taken the place of high sodium electrolytes that often felt like it led to more water retention and bloat. Again, everyone’s body is different and it’s really important for everyone to try and see what works for them personally.
What does your evening routine look like? Do you do anything in particular to mentally prepare yourself for the week ahead?
Put on your oxygen mask first. I make sure I’m set up for success by meal-prepping and ensuring my meals are all nutritious —it’s really important for peace of mind. I don’t really have the time to break during the day to cook and I also have never been a takeout/delivery kind of person. I just like to know exactly what I’m putting into my body, and not stressing about it. Ensuring your body is fueled by the right foods is super important and I think the foundation for being and operating at your best self and highest potential.
I make sure to plan my week and the people I want to see first, and then plan my work around it. I can always work, but I know creating space and time for other things is even more important. It’s what inspires and energizes me ultimately to show up fully for my work.
I always check in with my close friends and relationships to set the tone for the week. I feel it’s important for them to know this. And vice versa, I ask for a sense of what their week looks like — is it intense, what’s exciting, etc. so I can keep better tabs and check in throughout the week. I keep my relationships very tight, so we’re talking about two to four people at maximum.
Do you have any tips for staying on top of running your business and helping your employees burnout?
I’m always journaling out my ‘high impact’ P1 priorities, versus P2 and P3 priorities.
I usually have already scheduled 15 to 20 emails to my team for Monday (some early in the morning, some later in the afternoon if they’re lower priority or if I’m just sharing an article — again, it’s all about proactive management to make the team less stressed, not more stressed). I have absolutely loved this scheduling system so that they don’t get any emails from me over the weekend, and can fully remove themselves from Slack, email, texts, etc. I think balance is really important and letting work work for you, not the other way around.
We’ve seen people burn out just because of the nature of how many times people are communicating over the weekend and now in our fifth year, we don’t need to be doing that and retention is more important.
Do you have any strict rules you abide by to avoid working or thinking about work?
I schedule emails to myself for when my peak operating hours are, or when I will be in front of my computer. I’ve learned not to respond to things right away, and most emails I archive or ignore.
I use the Brick app + magnet to manage my screen time during the day. It’s this thing that locks your phone from social media and other apps that may consume non-meaningful amounts of time. I only use Instagram on my desktop during the day — the UX is much less interesting / distracting, so I spend a max of a few mins on it.
I’m always on Do Not Disturb on my phone — I never get notifications. I manage my phone, instead of my phone managing me. This has really helped with when I don’t want to be working. I just don’t check or get notified. When I’m with someone, my phone is always out of sight. I actually think this is a sign for the other person. I ask myself, ‘Am I a priority to them?’
Your favorite way to instantly unwind:
Apothékary Wine Down. Hot (like hot, hot) bath — what can I say, I’m Japanese.
Your favorite tip for beating the Sunday Scaries.
I remind myself to not borrow trouble from tomorrow by journaling. You can do hard things. What’s on the other side of fear is freedom. Schedule emails and set yourself up for success on Friday so that you’re not worried about Monday morning.