Stay Well, Friends!

 In my ideal world, I would live and work a life that I don’t *need* to take vacation from. This is a goal I’m striving to meet.

In the meantime, I’m dealing with “burnout” the best way I know how. (On a side note, “burnout” is a systems and processes failure, but that’s a conversation for another time.)

1. Understand how much workload you’re willing to take on without it affecting your mental health. If 50% FTE is what you need, work 50%. It’s ok if you work less so that you can work a longer duration (ie. decades).

2. If additional projects will cause untoward stress, it’s ok to say no when asked to do. “No” is a complete sentence.

3. Get efficient with charting. I close each chart with the end of each patient encounter. Document the important things and document enough. Nobody ever won a Pulitzer for the perfect medical note.

4. Home is home. Don’t bring additional work home. Leave it at the office. Go home and be a family member with your loved ones. Give them the gift of presence.

5. Minimize screen time and social media. Or at least be intentional about accounts that you regularly follow. I love things pertaining to travel and home design, so I intentionally follow those.

6. Take up a hobby. I have been so happy to rekindle and rediscover my love of reading. I try to read 20-30 min daily. It’s my downtime and it’s a treat.

7. Spend time with people who care for you and want the best for you.

8. Unplug and get out into nature. It’s a great reminder of how minuscule some of the things we worry about are.

Stay well, friends!