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Work-Life Balance
Feeling Stretched Too Thin?
How to Bounce Back
Have the demands and responsibilities
of your day-to-day
life left you feeling like you're
going to snap? If so, you're not alone.
The frantic pace of many careers,
coupled with increasing family, financial
and social obligations, leaves many
people unable to strike a work-life
balance. Trying to do too much with
too little time on a regular basis is
detrimental to physical and emotional
health. If you're stretched too thin
these days, today is the day to change
things for the better.
"Everyone has stress," says Gilberto
Sustache Jr., M.D., family medicine
physician on staff at Methodist Sugar
Land Hospital. "And stress triggers
changes in our bodies that make us
more susceptible to illness and conditions
such as trouble sleeping and
irritability. We cannot eliminate stress,
but the key is learning how to manage
it and not let it control your life."
Look at the Big Picture
It may be cliché, but no one's tombstone
ever reads, "I wish I had spent
more time at the office." Clear your mind for a moment and think about
your life. Are you working to live or
living to work?
Computers, mobile phones and PDAs
have made the boundaries between
work and home less clear than in days
past. You may work late into the night
on your computer, take client calls
during family functions or wind up
having "working vacations," where you
respond to e-mails and calls at your
hotel when you should be outside on
the beach.
You may love your job and enjoy
working long hours, but are you
sacrificing the happiness of your
spouse and family? Even a great job, if
it becomes your sole focus, can lead
you to miss out on life's treasures that
can help you grow as
a person.
Flexibility Meets Harmony
Dr. Sustache suggests the following
steps to help you separate work or
other obligations from your personal
life and give you a "working to
live" approach:
Be spiritually fit. Acknowledging a
power greater than us helps maintain
proper perspective in life. It also helps
balance our emotions and spiritual
health. For some it's prayer, while
others find refuge in exercise or
meditation.
Learn to say no. Saying no helps
prioritize the tasks and events that are
most important to you. It can free you
to do a quality job as well as give you
time to spend with those you care
about and pursue new opportunities
that bring personal satisfaction.
Take a lunch break. Desk dining is
unhealthy. Not only are countless
bacteria likely living on your workstation,
but sitting for hours on end can be
bad for your back, contribute to weight
gain and lead to malfunctioning of your
cardiovascular system. Give your body
a break and move around.
Talk it out. Don't suffer in silence. If
you're feeling overwhelmed, talk to a
close friend, your supervisor, spouse
and/or doctor. Perhaps you can cut
back on your hours if money isn't a
top priority.
If you're overworked, your health may
be at stake. Learn how to mold your
career and other obligations into ways
that benefit you and your loved ones,
and prepare to bounce back to the life
you deserve to live.
If you feel stress is controlling your life,
consult with your primary care doctor for
an evaluation. Challenge him/her to explore
the four essential parts of living well: rest
and relaxation (sleep), proper nutrition and
supplementation, environment (clean air
and water) and fitness (exercise).
Methodist Sugar Land Hospital's Wellness
Services offers a range of health information
to help you make positive, permanent
lifestyle changes. Professionals at the
center include registered dieticians,
behaviorists, registered nurses, exercise
physiologists and physicians. For more
information, call Methodist Wellness
Services at 888-827-4810. |
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