You're drowning in overwhelming caseloads. How can you prioritize self-care?

1. Assess the impact and intensity of each case to prioritize those requiring urgent resolution- eg: cases where someone's life or safety is at risk. Among these, focus on situations where vulnerability is exacerbated due to factors like age, gender, (dis)ability, ethnicity, etc. 2. Communicate with impacted individuals about timelines, possibilities and limitations pertaining to their case. Sometimes we carry the guilt and anxiety of these limitations even though the problems are often systemic and beyond our immediate control. 3. Step away as many times as needed. Vicarious trauma is real! Practice grounding exercises or mindfulness techniques to bring your mind and body back to the safety of your own reality. You got this! <3

To effectively prioritize self-care amidst overwhelming caseloads, adopt the "power hour" technique. Dedicate one hour each day solely to activities that rejuvenate you mentally and physically, e.g. mindfulness meditation, exercise, engaging in a creative hobby, or doing whatever makes you feel relaxed and happy. Treat this hour as a non-negotiable appointment, blocking it off in your calendar and communicating its importance to colleagues. This consistent daily practice ensures you recharge, preventing burnout and maintaining high productivity levels.

When drowning in overwhelming caseloads, how to prioritize self-care? At times it's not the list of clients, it's the list itself- plus the wait-list. All this bears mental and emotional weight. I want to acknowledge the kinds of drains that come on seeing compressed time asking to be compressed more and you've reached your limit, or are soon arriving. -Be efficient with time for work. Unless the crisis has no one else that can help, no compromise on the time for self, others, and events in your life. Boundaries and limits are displays of love. -Delegate all else. -Diversify self-care (Mental/Emotional, Physical, Spiritual, Social, Environmental). Honor time set. This isn't a waste but part of productivity and overall health and wellness.

Como profissional de Servi?o Social tenho sempre inúmeras situa??es problemas para analisar em conjunto com as pessoas sendo eu a mediadora com a comunidade e os recursos que nela existem. Tenho que preservar a minha pessoa e defender-me de um excesso de trabalho priorizando as tarefas mais importantes.

It is very common that a person might be handling so many assignments or tasks at the workplace. Multitasking is the need of the situation. However, at the same time, it can't also be denied that a person wouldn't be able to complete each and every tasks by their own. Therefore, priority a task becomes very much important. Priority the tasks and delegating it to the subordinates is not a sign of weakness and infact it is clearly a sign of effective management and leadership quality but the responsibility of reviewing it lies with the delegator. I do always list down the tasks that i need to complete each day and then priority the tasks to ensure the most urgent tasks to be completed at first, then the second one and this continues. #tasks

In this fast paced work environment and the urge to continue being in the hustle of work, I believe setting boundaries is extremely crucial. I've learned this the hardest way, when I started my career in the development sector little did I know that it would be so draining that I would often question my choice of the profession I am in. We are aware that the development sector isn't money driven and often we see burnouts due to the nature of jobs( A Person doing 5 people's jobs). After 6 years in the sector and 3 years of self-work, I finally started practicing 'boundaries' in the work setting, state my goals and expectations clearly, the skills I can offer and most importantly consciously saying 'NO' where I see I don't have bandwidth.

One thing I’ve found helpful for work-life balance is setting boundaries. I begin by creating a to-do list, to identify how much work needs to be done. I then balance the list by inputting periodic breaks. This way, I’m able to prioritize self care while still getting the work done. If taking breaks would hinder completion of the task at hand, I time myself and thoroughly tackle the task. Upon completion of the task, I ensure to take a short break before taking on new tasks. Either ways, setting boundaries is important to avoid burn outs

Según mi experiencia el buen profesional no sólo es aquel que más se entrega a su labor, sino también el que sabe cuidar su parte personal, para que a la larga, el equilibrio se mantenga. De lo contrario, la sobrecarga que pueda asumir podría desencadenar no sólo en una praxis deficiente, sino también en un mal clima laboral e incluso en una baja laboral, que acabará perjudicándole a él y a su entorno. En este sentido, establecer límites para desconectar y cumplirlos es absolutamente necesario. Una pieza clave son claramente las nuevas tecnologías y la hiperconectividad que puedan suponer, por lo que ser estricto a la hora de autocuidarnos es un esfuerzo a tener en cuenta.

Para cuidar nuestra salud, entendida de forma holística, el autocuidado es fundamental aunque no único, no toda la responsabilidad es nuestra y la empresa también debería garantizar este tipo de servicios, en especial en determinados empleos en los que la exposición al impacto psicológico es clara. No obstante, dentro de lo que sí podemos hacer, se encuentran claramente el establecimiento de rutinas sanas que relacionen por ejemplos las áreas de comida, ejercicio y sue?o. Una buena alimentación y práctica de deportes, garantiza una mejor regulación de nuestro cuerpo. A esto, también podríamos a?adirle el desarrollo de acciones como la meditación o iniciar un proceso de terapia psicológica para garantizar nuestro bienestar,

Three things I focus on when planning self care is: 1. Securing enough time and prioritizing my daily activities so I can ease back into my day without recreating the stress I have just worked to resolve. 2. Will the activity I plan be affordable (time wise, monetarily, etc…) without providing secondary stress? 3. Will the activity I plan to engage in assist my sympathetic nervous system in recovering from fight or flight mode? If I can say yes to these three things, the activity can truly be considered Self Care.

Personally I usually love exercise, dance , adventure and spending time with family and friends. I ensure that each week I have activities taking place in each of these areas and this keeps me grounded despite overwhelming work load.

La vida hoy en día es cada vez más complicada, el tiempo corre más rápido, o al menos así se siente, nos enredamos tanto con el día a día, tareas, en lograr alcanzar metas, que nos olvidamos que somos seres humanos, y que si bien podemos ser exitosos, no lo podemos lograr todo. Cuando siento que, mi trabajo esta consumiendo mi energía y me estoy olvidando de "mi misma", de amar lo que hago, me gusta distraerme con lo siguiente: 1. Hornear, me gusta sentir el olor del pan o el pastel que este haciendo, me relaja y me conecta con el presente sentir ese olor. 2. Salir a caminar, sentir lo caliente del sol, escuchar a los pajaritos cantar, observar a los demás, me hacen recordar dónde estoy y quien soy.

Considering some of the strategies we advise to clients for their care may also be helpful to do ourselves, such as taking time to ground back into our body. With feet flat on the floor or better yet barefoot on soil or grass, a hand on heart and belly (or wherever stress makes itself felt in your physical body) taking several deep and conscious breaths with a slow exhale. Another exercise is to slough off too many or overwhelming thoughts by making sweeping motions off of the chest and arms, legs, head, anywhere that you feel they are loaded onto. In these moments we can really feel the connection of mind and body when we imagine and physically engage in this beautiful release.

Además del apoyo entre pares, no sólo para compartir las dificultades del día a día en busca de comprensión, sino también para aprender nuevas estrategias de utilidad, es un básico. A esto, también le a?adiría la importancia de estar abiertos siempre a nuestra actualización y ampliación de conocimientos. En mi opinión, los procesos de reciclaje formativo son muy útiles para descubrir nuevos intereses y seguir fomentando la atracción por nuestro trabajo, algo que a la larga hará que nos sintamos menos cansados de él.

Según mi propia experiencia, el autocuidado es necesario, aunque puede resultar insuficiente. De una parte, creo que existen determinados trabajos dentro del sector social en el que las empresas también deberían implicarse en los cuidados psicológicos de su plantilla, teniendo en cuenta el alto impacto que produce la sobrexposición a determinadas casuísticas a las que están sometidas los profesionales, como por ejemplo en la intervención con víctimas de violencia de género. De otra, también creo en la responsabilidad propia para iniciar un proceso terapéutico, con atención psicológica, si entiende que ha superado determinados límites y encuentra su bienestar comprometido. Confrontar la situación y saber pedir ayuda es un valor positivo.