Achieving a doctor work-life balance is no easy task. Finding time for yourself and your loved ones might be challenging due to the long hours, demanding circumstances, and erratic schedules. However, finding time to take care of yourself can help you provide the highest-quality care to your patients.
Fortunately, achieving a healthy work-life balance as a doctor is possible with a few changes. Follow along as we discuss the importance of establishing and maintaining a healthy doctor work-life balance and provide practical tips to help you achieve it.
The Importance of Work-Life Balance for Doctors
As a doctor, it’s essential to have a good work-life balance. However, a career in medicine can be demanding, stressful, and overwhelming at times. Make sure you take the required actions to achieve a healthy work-life balance in order to support your general health and wellbeing.
Having a healthy balance can not only provide a better outlook on life, but also may reduce the risk of physician burnout. Doctors with a healthy work-life balance are able to stay focused and productive, even when faced with challenging cases or difficult patients.
Doctors have been found to make mistakes if they are exhausted, overworked, or stressed. However, if doctors have a healthy work-life balance, they may be more likely to prevent medical errors.
After a long day, it may be difficult to prioritize self-care, but doing so will keep you physically and psychologically fit. By giving yourself some downtime, you may recharge so that you can return to work feeling rejuvenated and prepared to face the challenges of being a doctor.
Strategies for Balancing Work and Personal Life as a Doctor
In order to be successful in your career as a physician, you need to create a balanced lifestyle between work and your personal life. With the right strategies and techniques, you can take control of your schedule and lead a more balanced life.
Defining Priorities
When it comes to achieving work-life balance as a medical professional, take the time to identify and prioritize what matters to you the most. Think about things like family time, relaxation, physical activity, and other activities that bring you joy. Once you have identified what matters most, you can start to plan how to make these activities fit into your schedule.
It’s also important to define what “success” looks like for you. For example, success could be taking time for yourself each day or spending time with family on the weekends. You may find that setting smaller goals that can be achieved within a reasonable timeframe is helpful in maintaining motivation.
By identifying and prioritizing the important aspects of your life, you can create a plan for achieving a better work-life balance as a doctor.
Managing Your Time
Time management is an essential skill for achieving work-life balance as a doctor. Planning out your time correctly can help to reduce stress and prevent burnout from being overwhelmed. To help manage your time, consider the following tips:
- Make a list –– Try managing your time by making a list of all of the tasks that need to be done and prioritizing them. You can then create a schedule that considers both your work commitments and personal obligations. Then, set specific deadlines for each task and set aside dedicated blocks of time for completing them.
- Delegate –– Plan ahead to help anticipate any problems or delays. When possible, delegate tasks to others or ask for help. Working in teams or delegating tasks can make it easier to manage your workload and free up more time for yourself to prevent yourself from feeling overwhelmed too.
- Break up your day –– Separate larger projects down into smaller chunks, focusing on one piece at a time. This can help to make the task seem more manageable. Scheduling regular breaks into your day will also help to keep you motivated and energized.
- Take time to rest –– Finally, don’t forget to factor in some downtime. Take regular breaks away from work, even if it’s just for a few minutes each day. Make sure you take time off when you need it, whether that’s taking a vacation or just having a day off to relax and recharge.
Setting Boundaries
Another important part of achieving a work-life balance as a medical professional is setting boundaries. It's important to be clear about your expectations and communicate them to everyone around you, including colleagues, family, and friends. Boundaries help you create a healthy balance between work and life while still managing your responsibilities.
You must think about what matters to you the most while establishing boundaries. This can include:
- Setting limits on how many work hours you are available
- Deciding how much time you want to dedicate to leisure activities
- Prioritizing your tasks and delegating when necessary
- Identifying when it's time to take a break
- Saying no to extra projects
- Scheduling regular times for breaks and social activities
By setting boundaries, you can ensure your work-life balance is maintained. It will also help you prioritize tasks more effectively and stay motivated.
Prioritizing self-care
Self-care for healthcare workers can help on your journey towards a work-life balance. Achieving work-life balance isn’t only about making time for your family and friends, but also about making time for your own self-care. When you’re constantly facing stressful situations and long hours, it can be hard to find the time or energy to practice self-care and focus on your mental health. However, it is essential to make time for yourself to stay healthy, maintain a positive outlook, and prevent burnout.
- Activities: The first step to prioritizing self-care is to identify activities that bring you joy and make you feel rejuvenated. This could be anything from reading a book to participating in yoga, running, or just spending time with loved ones. Once you have identified activities that you enjoy, set aside time each week for them. Make sure to plan ahead and schedule the time in your calendar so that you don’t get caught up in work and forget to take care of yourself.
- Diet and Exercise: You should also consider how you are eating and exercising. Eating a balanced diet and making sure you get enough sleep are essential for maintaining your overall health. Additionally, regular exercise can help reduce stress and boost your energy. Even taking a 20-minute walk can make a huge difference in how you feel.
- Relaxation: Finally, make sure to carve out time for relaxation. Take a few moments each day to breathe deeply and clear your mind. Listen to calming music or read a book to help you unwind from a stressful day.
Prioritizing self-care is an important step toward achieving work-life balance in the medical space. Don’t be afraid to take some time for yourself—it will ultimately make you a happier and healthier person.
Snibbs Helps Make Self-Care a Priority
In order to keep up with such a demanding profession, it's important to make self-care a priority. Whether it’s practicing meditation, eating a healthy diet, or taking a short break during a long shift, making time for yourself is an essential part of caring for yourself.
Another part of caring for yourself as a medical professional is caring for your feet, which starts with work shoes that are slip resistant. With long shifts of running around and tending to every patient’s needs, your feet require a great amount of care as well. At Snibbs, we’ve crafted the best doctor’s shoes created with orthopedic insoles and slip-resistant outsoles to keep you supported. Our shoes will keep you on your feet and healthy day after day.
Feel your best with Snibbs and tackle whatever your workday entails.
Sources:
- Career Karma. How to Cultivate Work-Life Balance as a Doctor. https://careerkarma.com/blog/doctor-work-life-balance/
- Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology. Comparing Burnout and Work-Life Balance among Specialists in Internal Medicine: The Role of Inpatient vs. Outpatient Workplace. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12995-021-00294-3
- AAPA. The Balancing Act. https://www.aapa.org/news-central/2019/03/the-balancing-act/
