There’s no doubt that a physician’s job is demanding. Not only do most physicians work more than forty hours a week, but their job is one of higher stress levels than most.
How can a physician keep up with such a high impact on their mental and physical energy levels? The answer is to have a healthy work-life balance.
Of course, that’s easier said than done. When work is already so demanding, it can be hard to find a way to fit life in there.
Here are some ways that physicians can successfully balance the time they spend on their careers and the time they spend on their personal lives.
Outsource
There may be times when you feel like there isn’t one free minute in the day. How can you possibly fit in family time or relaxation?
It’s understandable to feel like your days are too full to consider stuffing anything else in them. But what if you could outsource some of your daily tasks to open up some free time?
Could you perhaps delegate some of your paperwork or other administrative jobs to someone else at work? Perhaps it’s time to look into hiring a physician’s assistant?
You can even outsource some of the tasks at home. You can hire someone to do the housecleaning and order take-out a couple of nights a week.
Set Boundaries
It’s important that you set boundaries around your work schedule. This means that at hire, you need to set clear terms for when you can and cannot work. If you are already in a contract, see if you can renegotiate.
You also need to set boundaries with yourself for the sake of your physical health. When you start to feel like you’re getting in the weeds, take immediate action to find a way to cut back on work.
It can be especially hard to find boundaries with on-call physicians but it is possible. You should also make sure that you are being paid fairly for such a demanding position.
Schedule Breaks Ahead of Time
When you are in the thick of a busy schedule, taking time to reboot is not an easy thing to find time for.
If you schedule these necessary breaks ahead of time, your schedule will work around them instead of trying to find time to fit them into an already full schedule.
Scheduling monthly and yearly vacation time makes them more likely to happen.
Understand Your Individual Needs
Everyone’s work-life balance will be a different equation.
There might be some who need more time at home to care for children or aging parents. Some need to spend time acquiring more training to advance in their career.
Don’t decide how much you need to work based on someone else’s timeline. Work-life balance is different for everyone and you need to make sure that you base your schedule around your unique needs.
Remember Your Purpose
You got into medicine to help people, but if you don’t take care of yourself, your patient care will suffer. You might even find that you make mistakes and end up with a lawsuit.
Don’t get caught up in an unrealistic view of your ability to heal everyone. This can be a dangerous course if you don’t take the time needed to ensure you’re practicing at your best.
This means putting aside family time, me time, and time to brush up on best practices within your workweek.
Conclusion
If you can successfully achieve this sweet spot in work-life balance, you will notice that you not only have the time to spend doing the things that you enjoy, but you’ll also enjoy your time at work more too.
No one can maintain an unbalanced life forever. If you feel like you are on the brink of burnout, put these tips into motion and rebalance your life for a more purposeful and peaceful existence.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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