Navigating wellness and joy: a conversation with Giovanna Fletcher

Giovanna Fletcher is a woman who wears many hats—best-selling author, podcast host, loving mother, and adventurer. From the laughter-filled chaos of family life to trekking through the Himalayas for charity, Giovanna brings a warm energy and authenticity to everything she does. Even with such a full plate, she’s refreshingly honest about the challenges of finding balance and prioritising self-care.

We sat down with Giovanna to explore her thoughts on juggling life’s demands, her tips for staying grounded, and how embracing imperfection has shaped her approach to life. 

1. Giovanna, you’re an inspiration to so many with your ability to juggle -  family life, work, treks to the Himalayas! Where does self care fit into this for you? What does wellness look like for you in your day-to-day life?

I have to be honest, I go through periods where my wellness is at the bottom of my list and I really feel it. Right now, I feel like I've had a marathon of a week which I’m reaching the end of and I’ve had nothing in there just for me. But things that I love doing, like being outside, are so important to me. 

The treks for example, are wonderful and also - it's a lot. There’s a lot of fun, amazing women, there are a lot of people, and that's a lot in terms of what you need to give emotionally. But, actually being out in nature and seeing those massive landscapes is the biggest gift I give to myself each year. Being outside is always a massive, massive game changer for me. Whether it’s ten minutes or an hour, I love it. In the summer especially, I'll get up and go swimming or running and I love the ability to get that done at the start of the day because I can feel it has a massive effect on how the rest of the day pans out.

2. We often talk about the importance of rituals in maintaining balance. Are there any little daily rituals you swear by?

I’ve started taking my makeup off at the end of the night which is a nice little ritual and actually doing my nightly routine, whether I've worn my makeup or not, always feels like a really nice way to say to the day, ‘ok, we're done’.

As a family we try as much as possible to have dinner together, and we do that by candlelight, which might sound weird, but we all lean in and have conversations, and actually I think in those moments it doesn’t matter how busy the day has been or what we've been doing individually, we’ve all come together, which feels really calming. And I think as a mum, that is part of my wellness, knowing that everyone is okay and that we’re connected. I think that for me, feeling connected is important.

3. How do you navigate feelings of guilt or lack of time while creating space for the precious moments of self-care?

We’re had loads of people on the Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast talking about guilt, and how it's such an unhelpful use of our time and energy. I think hearing people say that has been the biggest game changer for me and realising that everyone feels it and that it’s not just individual to you. We’ve even had Geri Halliwell on, who is the ultimate Spice Girl, girl power, we can do it all- type women saying we actually can’t do it all and the idea we can is a lie. It’s impossible and we can't do everything at once, and that’s ok and understanding that is so important.

So, when I go and do the treks and I'm away from the kids for a week, I realise I have to make the most of being there and put my all into it, because feeling guilty isn’t going to change anything that I’m doing in that particular moment, and actually when I get home, the kids love the fact that I've been away!. They’ll grab my backpack and take my water bladder out and go exploring around the garden. Remember, the fact that you are feeling guilty just shows that you care. 

4. You always bring so much joy and positivity to all you do and joy is such an important part of overall well-being. You often talk about the beauty of everyday moments. What simple things bring you most joy and how does that impact your overall well-being?

Simple things. A hug. A hug is the most important, and a laugh and a smile. Those simple things that, when they happen, are just pure magic. I’m such a massive hugger and I think you go through periods of being a mum where you feel like you’re so touched out, whereas now that my kids are slightly older, my six year old still loves a cuddle and just that feeling of being held. I’m getting to know more and more people that aren’t huggers and that's fine too. But just knowing where you can go to for those things, I think is really important. A simple hug is just the most gorgeous thing.

5. As a mother, it’s easy to put everyone else’s needs first. How do you balance the pressures of parenthood with the need for personal time and the things that bring you joy beyond being a mother?

Walking and hiking is something that I could easily allow myself to feel guilty about because it takes time out of the day, but I’ve realised that that's not helpful. Now that my kids are older and they are sleeping better and the days of us seeing 4AM on the alarm clock in the morning are gone, knowing that if I get up and have that time to myself before they’re even awake, just alleviates my mind. Finding that window of time that is solely mine is really important to me because it is hard being a mum, when your children are there and they need something from you, it’s important to take that time for you. Doing stuff for yourself is so important, because if you’re not giving to yourself, sometimes no one is and actually everyone benefits from it. 

6. You bring people together all the time in your podcasts, treks, panel talks - does human connection play a role in our wellness journey? 

Absolutely. It’s so important and I think feeling isolated and alone is the worst thing ever, so connection is everything. Talking to people and sharing our experiences is so important because often we find out that those things we’re carrying, we're not the only ones. And that is the biggest relief. Also, not even the deeper stuff, but just being with people and just laughing is such a gorgeous thing. 

Over summer I had all of my old drama school mates over, who I’ve known for decades, and it was just so fun being with people that know you in such a different way, and that you can just chill out and be with. And that’s something that I think we have to put more focus on. We seem to focus on it when we are young, but then when children come into our lives or as we get older, we’ve got different demands. Those demands often stop those things from happening, so I think reconnecting to what makes you, you, is really important. 

 

Jo: There's an amazing study, it’s actually the world’s longest-running study on happiness called the Harvard Study of Adult Development -  spanning across 80 years and three generations, and they looked at what makes a happy life. They looked at things like exercise and different biological factors, and actually it revealed that the quality of your relationships are the key predictor to your health and happiness in life. 

Giovanna: And nowadays I think because our phones are there with us all the time, and you have your WhatsApp going off constantly and you feel guilty for not getting back to people… but I wonder if so many of us have less meaningful connections with a lot of people rather than deeper connections with a few. I think it's about actually harnessing those deeper connections that you have with people. 

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