Tips for Achieving Work-Life Balance
Last week I talked about the 5 Steps for Adding Creativity to your Practice. Hit each one of those five points going back to the vision and make sure they’re in place to get a fresh plan for your practice.
But what about if you’ve hit burnout?
In order to prevent burnout, it really is important to have a work-life balance. And certainly, adding creativity to that goes a long way to following your passions alongside your work and your dental practice.
What is the best way to achieve that balance?
My dad is a good example. He lived to almost 99. He retired when he was 71 or 72. He enjoyed his practice, but what he did was develop other interests before he retired. So, he became a really good calligrapher. Beautiful calligraphy – it’s sort of uncharacteristic of an MD to have clear, beautiful handwriting. He and my mom were also in the Masters Swimming Program and they would swim three or four days a week. So, you just have to foster and find your area of interest and develop it and realize that life does need more than two dimensions.
I have found this to be crucial: There are so many doctors that I've worked with who I would ask, “What are your hobbies? What do you enjoy doing when you’re not actually working?” Often, they say, “I have no hobbies. I have no interests. I love dentistry. I love my practice. And that’s enough for me.”
Strawberry Fields Memorial to John Lennon NYC, by Marc Silber
But clearly, you do need to foster additional passions in order to keep fresh.
It makes us a well-rounded human being because otherwise, if we’re too focused on one thing, there’s no joy if we’re not doing it. This is a cautionary tale. My father and his practice partner both retired at the same time, and the same age. His partner passed away within six months, he had no other real interest other than his work, yet my father lived until he was 99, still vibrant, active, and interested in life.
He continued to create, as he had done his entire life, outside of work and well as within it.
Creativity has no boundaries, no limits, and no end as long as one keeps at it.
You need to have something to wake up to every morning to be passionate about. I understand when you’re building a practice that it should be the main thing. But I saw with my dad over many years, it was very smart how he transitioned from an old-style doctor who was basically on-call seven days a week to developing these other activities. It was obviously very healthy for him. You really need to find what it is that you are going to be equally passionate about within your area of creativity.
To learn about the Five Stages of Creativity download the first chapter of my book Create: Tools from Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life.
Next week we’ll take a look at tips for setting your practice goals in the new year.