A Fine Balance

“Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.”
Hillary Clinton

I think I am kind of a workaholic-some by virtue of my self-absorbed nature, and some by virtue of my chosen career in medicine which involves taking care of patients beyond set hours.

A few years ago, I would have shrugged off the concept of work-life balance completely saying that it was not for someone in my profession. However, with my son growing older and needing more time investment in his learning, and my own stealthily creeping health issues as I age, I have come to recognize that blurring the lines between personal and professional life comes at a cost, a price that I am reluctant to pay.

So I have been trying to devise ways to achieve a work-life balance. Here are some things I have found helpful:

1. Making a conscious decision to leave work on time.

For me, this has meant using my available time more wisely and working smarter to finish pending work. When I was in training, I automatically assumed that I was not expected to leave the hospital on time, so I made no effort to do so. Result? I was slow and inefficient. Now my aim is to get out on time, so I run a tighter ship.

(Image: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-you-should-leave-work-time-the-virtue-business-solutions)

2. No work dinners unless necessary.

I stopped going out (Ok, I was never a social butterfly) with colleagues for dinners at fancy restaurants, even though I am invited to one every fortnight or so. Dinner with colleagues might be fun, but there is always some talk about work- you never get away from the workplace!

Anyway, dinner is where the family gathers around the table to share their anecdotes from the day. Period.

(Image: http://www.tastingtable.com)

3. Resisting the urge to log into my workplace (hospital) computer system remotely from home.

I used to be logged into my hospital system constantly- I would check the status of my patients (or whatever can be revealed by going through the electronic charts) obsessively, and get annoyed if things were being done differently by whoever was working physically in the hospital, sometimes completely unreasonably as I would have no idea regarding the actual condition of the patient.

Plus side: Next day I had a reasonable idea of my patients, and my workflow appeared more streamlined.

Negative side: I never detached myself from my work, even though ostensibly I was trying to do other things.

Now I rarely log in if I am not on home call. It takes me a few extra minutes at work the next day, but at home, I am free.

(Image: http://www.careerbuilder.ca/blog/2015/07/22/tips-for-unplugging-from-work/)

4. Taking myself at work less seriously.

Don’t get me wrong here- this does not mean I take things lightly at work, but I have tried to get away from the mentality that I am indispensable. Because. I am not. It holds true for most of us who work for an organization. This lets me schedule breaks or take time off to fulfil responsibilities beside work without feeling overwhelmingly guilty.

5. Spending time in self-care

I thought medicine was supposed to be all-consuming, so I used to pride myself on not finding time to care for myself. Now I am wiser after learning the hard way..

The more time I spend in improving myself, the more productive I become.

 

That’s it for now, I hope I keep finding more ways in which to balance work and life!