Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

SECTION I: T MINUS THREE YEARS Reflection + Activity Take this opportunity to list three times in your day when you can fit ten minutes of wellness into your life. It doesn’t have to be glamorous, but it should be a priority. Then add those ten minutes into your calendar; we tend to keep appointments, so make that ten-minute appointment with yourself and keep it as a priority in your life! Literally, the list of possibilities for these are endless. My rule is that it should be legal, safe, and again, no multitasking! I knowthese all seemto live in the “not- important, not-urgent” square of the Eisenhower grid, but remember, this is where we go to recharge our batteries. And truthfully, sometimes the most important and most urgent task in our day should be our self-care. Just as physicians are experts at multitasking, we are highly competitive by nature. A by product of this is the tendency to be self-critical. Whether your journey into wellness is one of a novice or if you mastered the art of self-care years ago, the path you choose to be well is unique to you alone. In the age of social media, it’s very easy to compare ourselves to others and find yourself lacking. Be selective about where you spend your time digitally and be mindful that what you’re seeing may be very different from what reality is. Remember, your job is to do the best you can with the day you’ve been given; tomorrow will take care of itself. There will be days that you are an average partner at home, you are truly grateful that nothing catastrophic happened to your patients, and you are most definitely *not* parent of the year. Trust me, I’ve had them. And it’s OK. As noted in our job transitioning chapter, you can’t be 100% of all things to all people all the time; that leaves you with no gas in your tank. Even if you’re weary, find that ten minutes of self-care time and be stronger than your strongest excuse for why you don’t have the time. 1. 2. 3. CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 62