Melinda French Gates has spoken about the role of self-care during major life changes, drawing on experiences from motherhood and her divorce from Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates. In her 2025 book The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward, French Gates called her separation one of her life’s most difficult transitions and shared advice for people navigating periods of change.“I want to tell everyone to take time in quiet,” she told Forbes last year, encouraging people to put down their phones and spend 10 minutes a day on self-care. She suggested activities such as meditation, jogging or other forms of wellness as ways to create time for themselves.
Melinda French Gates on self-care during major transitions
French Gates said she first understood the importance of taking time for herself during the early years of motherhood. Between carpools and caring for her three children, she found moments to step away, including when her children were napping and early in the morning.She initially found it difficult to prioritise her own wellbeing while her children were young and required much of her attention. Over time, however, she said she realised that making time for herself could also help her become a better mother.French Gates shares three children with Bill Gates. The couple divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage. Her youngest daughter, Phoebe Gates, founded the AI shopping app Phia last year.In The Next Day, French Gates wrote about how people can approach difficult transitions and the period that follows them. She said allowing time to process a major change can help people understand what happened and what comes next.“Don’t just leave and then jump to the next thing,” she said. “Take some time on the next day, the day after what you thought was the transition, to really think and feel and learn, because there’s so much growth that can come in a transition.”French Gates also said discomfort can be part of adapting to change, encouraging people not to avoid it automatically.
Mental health and work-life balance
Mental health and wellbeing are linked to quality of life and physical health. The National Institute of Mental Health recommends practices such as maintaining social connections, getting enough sleep, eating well, and making time for activities that support wellbeing.Work-life balance has also become a consideration for employees and business leaders. Companies have increasingly focused on workplace practices intended to support employees’ personal lives alongside their professional responsibilities.Marc Randolph, cofounder of Netflix, said maintaining work-life balance throughout his three-decade career had kept him “sane,” according to a 2023 LinkedIn post.Jason McGowan, cofounder of cookie company Crumbl, told Fortune’s Preston Fore this month that work-life balance can help create meaningful moments within a company. Crumbl stores are closed on Sundays, allowing employees to spend the day away from work and with their families.
