Pushing to the Point of Burnout
As a veterinary professional, you dedicate your life to caring for animals, often putting your own well-being on the back burner. You may find yourself struggling to make ends meet, feeling exhausted from long hours, or discouraged by what feels like a lack of progress in your career. With the pressure of countless responsibilities, finding a healthy work-life balance may feel impossible. This article is part one of a five-part series designed to help you uncomplicate your busy life.
Whether you own a practice or are starting out as an assistant, the desire to excel in the veterinary field can lead you to push yourself too hard. You might cram more tasks into an already tight schedule without prioritizing effectively, leading to inefficiency, mistakes, and increased stress. As this pressure builds, your goals may seem increasingly out of reach.
It’s crucial to reevaluate your work-life balance and incorporate time management tools that enable you to (1) work smarter, not harder and (2) grow and succeed for yourself, not just for others. We’re going to start at a point that most people overlook – what do you need?
What do you want?
Understanding “Needs” vs. “Wants”
To optimize your daily schedule, start by distinguishing between Needs and Wants. When we Need something, it is indispensable—like a fact that has no recourse. For instance, a ten-year-old chihuahua needs pyometra surgery, so you scrub in or refer to ER. A patient needs boosters, so you vaccinate. You need to earn money for rent, gas, or that special vacation, so you work. With the Need identified, you simply complete the tasks to fulfill that need.
Conversely, Wants are influenced by the importance we assign to them. Wants are driven by emotion. For example, you might want to ensure your patients receive excellent care, want to eat a nourishing meal, and want to attend your kindergartner’s recital. A Want is the carrot activating the Needs to reach it. Spoiler Alert: Needs are merely the actions necessary to achieve your Wants. It’s all about strategy.
Embracing this Want-Need concept allows you to prioritize effectively and achieve more than you ever believed possible.
Define Your Career & Life Goals
As we start setting goals, let’s apply this Want/Need model to your work by asking yourself these questions:
- What do you want to achieve in your veterinary career?
- What skills or knowledge do you want to gain?
- What role do you want to play in your practice and/or community?
- What do you want to accomplish this month?
- How do you want to feel in your career this year?
- Where do you want to be working in five years
Next, extend this wish list to your personal aspirations outside of your job. Yes, you can and you deserve to dream big!
- What do you want to have?
- What do you want to do?
- What or who do you want to be?
- What do you want to achieve this month?
- How do you want to feel this year?
- Where do you want to see yourself in the next five years?
Assess how strongly you Want these aspirations to materialize. Then, list the Needs—aka, the actions necessary to achieve each of these goals. Break these needs into manageable steps, making them less overwhelming. If a step feels too big or daunting, reframe it as your next-level want and adjust the smaller/easier Needs accordingly.
Understanding the distinction between Wants and Needs is just the beginning of achieving a healthy work-life balance in the veterinary field. Our next article in this series will help you learn how to prioritize your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks effectively, leading to a more guilt-free and satisfying life.
This article condenses insights from Dr. Ingrid Pyka’s books, I Can, I Will, I Am: Finding the Gift of Time and Stop! Step Back and Grow. These resources offer practical time-mapping techniques that can allow you to integrate a quality of life that you deserve as a veterinary professional and as you.
