- Email: [email protected]
Priorities and self-care
the accommodations is still reasonable. In addition, if the employee has taken a leave of absence, once the crisis has been resolved, the dentist should meet with him or her before normal work hours are resumed to discuss changes that have occurred during the absence and welcome him or her back.
Clinical Significance.—Good leaders respond to employees who are going through difficult circumstances with compassion and under-
standing. Being a compassionate practice leader will require flexibility sometimes but the effort can help to retain quality employees who are having short-term difficulties.
Levin RP: Leading with compassion. J Am Dent Assoc 147:224-225, 2016 Reprints available from RP Levin, Levin Group, 10 New Plant Ct, Owings Mills, MD 21117; e-mail: [email protected]
Lifestyle Priorities and self-care Background.—Everyone has 168 hours each week, but when you fill those hours with nothing but work, your life can become unbalanced. Balancing work and life requires some specific steps. You need to start out by doing a survey of what you do, then set priorities, and, finally, take some time for self-care. Taking Stock.—Spend some time writing down everything that you do. Take a pen and paper, or use your smartphone, and jot down a list of everything you do each day. List everything—showering, eating breakfast, dropping the kids off at school while you are on your way to work—everything! Then you know what you have on your plate. Setting Priorities.—Once you have a complete list, it’s time to prioritize. A simple system uses the three Bs—Bag it, barter it, or better it. The things you choose to bag don’t need to be done at all or they can be done by someone who would be grateful for the opportunity. For example, your car doesn’t need to be washed every week, so that can be bagged. If you work full time, it may be time to have a housekeeper come in every week or two and do what you can’t find time to do.
tasking, such as calling your mother while you fold towels. Or you could listen to music while you walk the dog. The genius of this system is that it shows you where you are wasting time, where you are falling short and need help, and where you need to focus your time and energy. It requires that you figure out what works for you and your schedule, which can help you balance work and life. Self-Care.—In addition to handling the tasks of living, you need to take time to take care of yourself. Often health care practitioners think this makes them appear selfish because they believe they should always help others. As a result, they put themselves last on the list. The danger with this is that it leads to burnout, which ultimately leaves the individual unable to take care of anyone else and in need of help themselves. The decision to practice good self-care creates a firm foundation on which you can base your life. If you can manage your physical and emotional health, everything else falls into a better pattern and you can achieve balance. Steps to achieve good self-care include the following: 1.
Bartering involves asking your partner to take on some tasks in exchange for you taking on others. Instead of cooking and doing the dishes, you can volunteer to take on the dishes if he or she will cook. 2. The things that are left must be done, but there may be better ways to do it. Sometimes this will involve multi-
236
Dental Abstracts
Eat a good breakfast. Avoid sugar and start the day with a substantial meal such as plain, steel-cut oats topped with unsweetened yogurt and fruit or a smoothie full of antioxidants. Choosing foods in a range of colors helps the body receive the nutrients it needs to functional well. Drink water throughout the day because poor hydration affects brain function, even if you don’t feel thirsty. To make it easy, keep a reusable water bottle handy and
3.
4.
5.
6.
grab a drink often—especially before doing any procedures. Take motion breaks throughout the day. This can be as simple as walking up the stairs to the top of your building, walking around the office or hospital at lunch, or going outside for a quick tour of the grounds. During the walk, refocus your eyes, watch the world around you, and engage with your surroundings. Maybe you can take a yoga class on the way home for relaxation. Moving gives your body a break and rests your mind. Rather than checking on Facebook, take 20 minutes to meditate. Meditation is known to help resolve physical problems related to type-A personality. For example, it lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system, and improves concentration. It is much better to do this than to see how wonderful others’ lives are on Facebook! Schedule medical examinations, tests, and checkups so that you maintain your own health. Dentists are as prone to sitting too much, not eating right, and smoking as other people. The difference is they are more likely to self-medicate rather than go for regular checkups and take care of themselves. Get support from your family. Rather than making yourself crazy picking up your family’s clothes, assign these chores to others. Have your children help take care of the garden. Let your spouse do the vacuuming or
dusting, or just assign someone else to pick up the take-out food for dinner. While they are doing these things, take time to do the self-care tasks or meditation you need. Encourage all the other family members to do the same. Set boundaries and don’t be afraid to say ‘‘no.’’ If everyone helps, you can spend more quality time together—perhaps at a movie. And you can talk in person instead of on a phone.
Clinical Significance.—If we don’t take care of ourselves, it’s likely that others won’t take care of us either. We need to set limits on what we take on and prioritize what we do. Practitioners think they have to take care of everyone else, but if that’s all they do, they won’t have the work-life balance that leads to a longer, healthier, and more satisfying life.
Fitch S: Make work-life balance work for you. Dentaltown, Feb 2016, pp 42, 44-45 Reprints not available
Volume 61
Issue 5
2016
237
Clinical Significance.—Good leaders respond to employees who are going through difficult circumstances with compassion and under-
standing. Being a compassionate practice leader will require flexibility sometimes but the effort can help to retain quality employees who are having short-term difficulties.
Levin RP: Leading with compassion. J Am Dent Assoc 147:224-225, 2016 Reprints available from RP Levin, Levin Group, 10 New Plant Ct, Owings Mills, MD 21117; e-mail: [email protected]
Lifestyle Priorities and self-care Background.—Everyone has 168 hours each week, but when you fill those hours with nothing but work, your life can become unbalanced. Balancing work and life requires some specific steps. You need to start out by doing a survey of what you do, then set priorities, and, finally, take some time for self-care. Taking Stock.—Spend some time writing down everything that you do. Take a pen and paper, or use your smartphone, and jot down a list of everything you do each day. List everything—showering, eating breakfast, dropping the kids off at school while you are on your way to work—everything! Then you know what you have on your plate. Setting Priorities.—Once you have a complete list, it’s time to prioritize. A simple system uses the three Bs—Bag it, barter it, or better it. The things you choose to bag don’t need to be done at all or they can be done by someone who would be grateful for the opportunity. For example, your car doesn’t need to be washed every week, so that can be bagged. If you work full time, it may be time to have a housekeeper come in every week or two and do what you can’t find time to do.
tasking, such as calling your mother while you fold towels. Or you could listen to music while you walk the dog. The genius of this system is that it shows you where you are wasting time, where you are falling short and need help, and where you need to focus your time and energy. It requires that you figure out what works for you and your schedule, which can help you balance work and life. Self-Care.—In addition to handling the tasks of living, you need to take time to take care of yourself. Often health care practitioners think this makes them appear selfish because they believe they should always help others. As a result, they put themselves last on the list. The danger with this is that it leads to burnout, which ultimately leaves the individual unable to take care of anyone else and in need of help themselves. The decision to practice good self-care creates a firm foundation on which you can base your life. If you can manage your physical and emotional health, everything else falls into a better pattern and you can achieve balance. Steps to achieve good self-care include the following: 1.
Bartering involves asking your partner to take on some tasks in exchange for you taking on others. Instead of cooking and doing the dishes, you can volunteer to take on the dishes if he or she will cook. 2. The things that are left must be done, but there may be better ways to do it. Sometimes this will involve multi-
236
Dental Abstracts
Eat a good breakfast. Avoid sugar and start the day with a substantial meal such as plain, steel-cut oats topped with unsweetened yogurt and fruit or a smoothie full of antioxidants. Choosing foods in a range of colors helps the body receive the nutrients it needs to functional well. Drink water throughout the day because poor hydration affects brain function, even if you don’t feel thirsty. To make it easy, keep a reusable water bottle handy and
3.
4.
5.
6.
grab a drink often—especially before doing any procedures. Take motion breaks throughout the day. This can be as simple as walking up the stairs to the top of your building, walking around the office or hospital at lunch, or going outside for a quick tour of the grounds. During the walk, refocus your eyes, watch the world around you, and engage with your surroundings. Maybe you can take a yoga class on the way home for relaxation. Moving gives your body a break and rests your mind. Rather than checking on Facebook, take 20 minutes to meditate. Meditation is known to help resolve physical problems related to type-A personality. For example, it lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system, and improves concentration. It is much better to do this than to see how wonderful others’ lives are on Facebook! Schedule medical examinations, tests, and checkups so that you maintain your own health. Dentists are as prone to sitting too much, not eating right, and smoking as other people. The difference is they are more likely to self-medicate rather than go for regular checkups and take care of themselves. Get support from your family. Rather than making yourself crazy picking up your family’s clothes, assign these chores to others. Have your children help take care of the garden. Let your spouse do the vacuuming or
dusting, or just assign someone else to pick up the take-out food for dinner. While they are doing these things, take time to do the self-care tasks or meditation you need. Encourage all the other family members to do the same. Set boundaries and don’t be afraid to say ‘‘no.’’ If everyone helps, you can spend more quality time together—perhaps at a movie. And you can talk in person instead of on a phone.
Clinical Significance.—If we don’t take care of ourselves, it’s likely that others won’t take care of us either. We need to set limits on what we take on and prioritize what we do. Practitioners think they have to take care of everyone else, but if that’s all they do, they won’t have the work-life balance that leads to a longer, healthier, and more satisfying life.
Fitch S: Make work-life balance work for you. Dentaltown, Feb 2016, pp 42, 44-45 Reprints not available
Volume 61
Issue 5
2016
237