How To Reset During A Challenging Week!

There is nothing worse than not being able to leave work at work right? You know that feeling where you are having trouble switching off because you are thinking of your to-do list or that client that you struggled with, or those things you should have said but didn’t? I had a situation like this very recently, I was aware the weekend was fast approaching and the last thing I wanted was to get to the weekend with work still on my mind on the two days off that I get to spend with my family, relaxing and refreshing for the next week. So here is what I did to turn my week around, and it worked!

The last couple of weeks at work and at home have been a little crazy busy! At work we are going through major recruiting and staff orientations (who isn’t in health care right?) which just adds so much more into your to-do’s than usual, and at home it is parent-teacher interview time, medical appointments and kids exams and homework. It seems like there is always something to do that is making life busy, or at least that is how it feels in the moment. When life gets like this, it is so easy to go into auto pilot and become a little resentful about where you are having to spend your time, which for me also means sometimes my selfcare slips by the wayside too.?

This year at work we have been really heavily focussing on helping our therapists develop their self care plans and discover their “why”. As Senior Therapists, Team Leaders and Clinical Services Managers it is our job to help our therapists to not only discover their why and develop their self care plan, it is also our job to help them recognise when they are straying from it and how to get back on track.?

So last week, when I was right in the thick of work and home busyness, I recognised that I was straying from my why, and of course, when it gets busy, my self care plan. This was leading me to not perform at my best in both worlds. As soon as I recognised that this was happening I thought of what we had been teaching our therapists this year, and I revisited my “Why” goals and my self care plan.?

My “why” reminded me that I needed to reframe what I was doing day to day and find a link between those tasks that were taking up most of my time and how they related to my why. Which, when looking at recruiting and orientation activities didn’t take too long as my passion is helping grow the skills and abilities of allied health therapists to serve my favourite sector of the community, those with disabilities. Every time I help grow the skills of allied health therapists, that therapist will go on to help about 20 families per week, let alone how many they will see over their career. So when we recruit, I get to help more families.?

In order not to feel I was a slave to my computer that week, I also recognised that for me, I need a little bit of “magic” at work and in my day to help me lift my energy and refocus, so I created a Spotify playlist of all of our therapists favorite songs so that they could listen to it whilst driving inbetween clients and feel more connected to our team. It only took 15 minutes but to me it was just that little task that helped me feel more connected to our staff and was a little bit of fun. I really felt so energised after doing that one!

Lastly, and I will say this is a major contributor to my shift in mindset is that I attended an online women leadership conference and something that one of the speakers said really resonated with me. It was these very simple words that I needed to be reminded of, “We get to do this”. Rather than focussing on the detail of the activity, instead focus on the fact that “I get to do this”. I have always used this type of mindset mantra through my whole life, and it is funny that when I needed it most, someone else had to remind me of it.?

How we speak to ourselves and the story we tell ourselves is very important. Instead of saying “I have to do this” try saying “I get to do this”. When I think about it, I am so fortunate, a woman with three awesome kids, living in Australia where I have access to education and healthcare, a great job in a company who appreciates what I do in an occupation where I get to help people everyday - “I get to do this”. As it happens my challenging family and work week was also the same week in America where some kids went to primary school and didn’t come home to their parents that afternoon. It is so easy to lose sight of what we have or what “we get to do”.?

So next time you are feeling the pressure of work, or home, or all of those NDIS End of Plan Reports, AT applications and complex family needs just remember these three steps and see if they can help you too!

1. Reconnect with your “why” and your self care plan. (To revist my article on this one read "Therapist have you forgotten your why?")
2. Add a little magic (music, podcasts, your favourite coffee) or change up the day when you need it.
3. Reframe “I have to do this” to “I get to do this” and really think about all the reasons why you get to do what you do.

Sometimes when we are right in the thick of it we need a circuit breaker to get back on track. I hope these tips help you next time things start to pile up for you too.