WORK LIFE BALANCE?

After college, we look forward to getting a job and start earning. At times, it works and you get a job other times you stay out for longer than thought. Before you get a job, you have lots of time on your hands. When you get a job, the time to spend with your family and friends reduces significantly. The traditional time frame for work is eight to five and as clinical nurses do night shifts too. You find some pressure to balance work and life. There are many people who do it whereas others find it difficult. In this post you will explore some practical ways to have a balance between work and life that you can apply.

The nurse is known to have a hectic schedule. The long shifts and cumbersome work are the norm of the day. Night shifts is another difficult part of the job and you can attest to this. Family and other life occasions do not stop and need your full attention. You have heard of the people being referred to as being married to their work. You have missed important occasions like birthdays, weddings and family gatherings because of your job.  In a hospital there is nothing like a weekend or a difference between day and night. Whereas most companies work weekdays and close over the weekends nursing is different. In nursing every day is every day, you work over Christmas and New Year’s something other professions may never understand.  So where do you strike the balance?

Firstly, you have to intentionally have a desire to create a balance between your work and life. I say this because some people use work to ‘run’ away from family. It is an understandable excuse, everyone will understand. Once you have made the decision then you start working on it. During your off days which may fall on weekends or weekdays spend time with your family. Family comes first, and they are the motivation to work hard. The few off days should not only be spent with friends but family too. No matter how short the time is, spend it with your family and friends. This is one of the best ways to balance work and life.

Occasions like weddings, birthdays and family gatherings are predetermined or planned in advance. With this being planned in advance it somehow allows the nurse to plan to attend. This may sound easy but you know it is not that easy. Whenever possible, you can plan to get off days. As mentioned above, you must be intentional. It is easy not to plan and by the time you want to get the days off it is late to get them. So you have to be intentional about it. Some of you use work if you intentionally do not plan to attend it. It is important to attend whenever possible, as you understand that there times when it is not possible. To maintain your work life balance, plan with your shifts and attend them.

The next important thing is leave. Most of you do not take their full leave because some hospitals give the option for working over your leave and get paid. I have experience with it, when I worked in hospital for couple of years I worked through my leave for extra coins. I know you can relate with this. Take your leave and rest, it is as simple as that. It allows your body to rejuvenate, and time to spend with other things other than the hospital corridors or wherever you work. Your life is not only about your job. Most people give the job 100% attention and forget about life and family. You do not have to get it at 50-50, but you need to get it a balance so that there is none of the two that suffers.

Enjoy you hobbies too. Whatever it is whether travelling, cooking, games name it, do it. During your off days or leave, enjoy what you do best. This increases your energy levels and takes your mind off the normal hospital/company hustles. Be intentional on the balance, if you do not, you mostly will end up with more bearing on work.

Whatever place you are in this balance of work and life, you can start working to get a balance. Most of the time you never realize that you do not have the balance until something big happens. So start from where you are and strive to get the balance. All the best 😉