Restorative Niches

Restorative niches are ways to enliven your day(s). They are opportunities for you to reconnect with your values and offer yourself self-care.

Is your life feeling like it is routine and you’re in a rut? When you think about your patients are you sometimes thinking of them in categories like diagnosis or personalities rather than individuals? What about your contribution to patient care and the committees you sit on; does it sometimes feel like “anyone could be doing this” or  “it doesn’t matter what I do?”

Lack of enthusiasm, depersonalization and low self-value are 3 symptoms of burnout among healthcare professionals.  Thinking about these is a drag and experiencing them is even worse.

Providing restorative niches during the day, or at least several times a week, can help you wake up to your value, feel alive again and increase your well-being.

To create your own restorative niche try this. You can use these sentence completions to help you figure out what activities might provide you with a restorative niche. Fill in the blank for each sentence 6 times and repeat either the same sentence or different one for several days.  Look to see what pattern emerges.

• I am most alive when I _____________
• I feel most valued when  I ______________
• I am refreshed after I __________________

Once you have a list of ideas, think about ways that you can reconnect to the experience.  Often people will bring up vacation for one of these. Of course you can’t just take a vacation when you need to reconnect, however you can look at photos, think about the specific things about vacation that are restorative.  Is it going for walks? Do more of this. Is it visiting historic sites? plan to take a day or afternoon to visit a site nearby. Is it dining out in a relaxed atmosphere? plan an evening out at a special restaurant. If you’re interested in learning a one-minute mini-vacation technique contact me. Other examples from people I work with are time with loved ones, reading, creating art, learning and being in nature.

Be open to what comes up for you. To increase your well-being see how your values emerge in the exercise and act on these. If it is appreciation of beauty, look for where it exists near you and for you, visit an art exhibit or even make a hair appointment to embrace your own beauty. Many physicians have a love of learning – be curious, it’s not just in a class that you can learn. Perhaps there are articles to read about what your kids are involved with, or a special topic that you’d like to explore.

Start small and schedule these niches into your week. A small change/new activity is easier to integrate into your busy life.  Make it take only a small effort on your part to do this restorative activity – 2 – 5 minutes a day, a 5% effort however you define it.

For more ways to connect with your well-being, contact me, an experienced healthcare coach.

Revitalize Your Life,

Dina, 203.744.YOU3 (9683)

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