Hello MedsHousing family! This week, we're doing something a little bit different for our tenant blog. Usually, we come to you with renter resources and practical tips to optimize your life in medicine, but this week, we want to provide some inspiration for how to grow your life outside of your practice.
1. Create a boundary between your work and your outside life
While the reality of being a healthcare worker is that we may be on call at all hours of the day, technology and racing thoughts make it hard to disconnect, even off the clock. While the rigors of the job make setting boundaries difficult, try to be proactive about disconnecting when you can. A “ritual” that Dr. Drummond teaches as the Happy MD is this: in the driveway, on your bike ride home, or as you reach your metro stop - take a deep breath and say to yourself, “With this breath, I am coming all the way home.” Try it for yourself, and test out some ways to make time off, time for you.
2. Join interest-based groups - either virtually or in person
One of the beauties of modern life is that it's easier than ever to find people with like-minded interests. Try writing down a list of your interests, from common to esoteric, cooking to 14th-century herbalism, and head online to look for your tribe. Try platforms like reddit, discord, and meetup to find those in your area who share those interests, and strike up a conversation! One of the most fulfilling, and grounding, actions we can take is to share our interests with others.
3. Make every week, a week worth looking forward to
Think back to when you were a kid. What did you think being a grown-up was going to be like? Ice cream for dinner? Roller Coasters every week? A new toy whenever you wanted one and no one to tell you no?
How many of those things do you do? If you're anything like us, life seems to have really gotten in the way of fun and adventure. The good news is, we can fight back against the mundane, by simply planning one thing to look forward to each week. It doesn't have to be huge, but something to anticipate - a coffee with a friend, a trampoline park date, or a quiet night with a favourite movie - prevents boredom and apathy from creeping into our days.
4. Learn something new
The concrete benefits of learning new skills are well known to many of us - increased neuroplasticity, strengthening reasoning and motor skills, and improving memory and cognition are all great reasons to take up new hobbies. Trying new things can be a social affair, a stress reliever, or a body booster.
Locally, you can find classes in all kinds of skills. If you need to wind down, try knitting, crochet, or watercolour painting. To get nervous energy out, consider signing up for a martial arts or boxing class. These activities are social, beneficial, and a great way to disconnect.
5. Phone a friend
Facebook, twitter, instagram, linkedin, texting, email and work chats. There are so many ways to reach each other these days, and yet many people wish they could be more connected to their loved ones. It may feel a touch clinical to schedule social time like a meeting, but disciplining our personal lives ensures that we don't “come to” on the couch Sunday afternoon, wondering where our weekends went. Reach out to 3-5 people you want to see more, and schedule meetups as far in advance as you need. You may forget you planned them at all, but when ‘future you' sees a walk with a friend in the calendar for next week, they'll thank you for it.
That's it for us this week, as we keep chugging along through this extra-cold Canadian winter. Next week we'll be back, but until then, stay safe, stay warm, and take care of yourselves.
With lots of love -
