There’s no denying it that being a nurse can be a busy profession. As a nurse, like me, I am sure that you are used to shift work, holiday schedules, weekend commitments, and overtime hours (both scheduled and unplanned). It can start to feel… with all this work… that you’re always working!

Having a nursing career can leave little room for the necessary work-life balance we all want and need in our lives. There’s good news, my friend… It doesn’t have to be this way.

You can be a busy nurse AND have a life! Don’t believe me? Let me show you how…

[Tweet “Here Are My Top Three Tips to Saving Time as a Busy Nurse”]

1. Shift Your Focus. For some reason, it’s common to allow this concept of time to run your life. We live by appointments; we carry calendars; many people wear a watch or are always looking at the clock. Time is actually a man-made concept- a tool to keep life on schedule. In addition, if you’ve been reading my blog or following my work, you’ve heard me say: ‘What we focus on, grows‘. If we keep saying: ‘I don’t have time for…‘ Guess what? You’ll never have the time. Try starting your day in quiet. Focus on the breath for simply five minutes. Set your intention for the day and know that you CAN get what you are meant to done.
2. Time Yourself. This is a tool you can use around the house when doing your chores. Uh-oh. The dreaded word: chores. So many of us avoid the necessary household duties like the plague. Here’s a great tip that can save you time and help you get multiple things done. Set a timer. For example, if you have to vacuum, set a timer for one hour. Vacuum for that one hour, focusing on nothing else. When you eliminate distractions and focus only on one task- you can get a lot more done! When the timer’s up, guess what? You’re done and you can move on to the next task.
3. Prioritize Your Life. There is a lot to do as a busy nurse. Work-life balance is imperative to our self-care. We’ve got so much going on and there’s a lot to get done. How can we tend to it all? What I like to do is create a three columned list. One column includes the items I really LOVE doing. The middle column is sort of neutral, while the last column are the things I cannot stand to do. Then I honestly go through my tasks (whether at home or at work) and place each item in one of the above-mentioned columns. I then focus on the tasks I LOVE to do and get help with the ones I’d like to avoid. It makes for a much more productive day as my energy is now focused on what I enjoy.

How about you? What time-savings tips can you add to this list? Leave a comment below so that we can have an uplifting discussion on time-savings strategies for busy nurses like us. Thanks for reading and enjoy the day.

About the Author: As a speaker, workshop facilitator, and Reiki Master, Elizabeth partners with hospitals, organizations, associations, and nursing groups to help transform the field of nursing from the inside out. As the host of the Your Next Shift Workshop, Elizabeth guides nurses and nursing students to a change in perspective, helping them make the inner shift needed to better maneuver the sometimes challenging realities of being a caregiver.