Finding Balance in the Downtime
My work-life balance has always been a bit of a challenge. On the days I work as a dental hygienist my days lean heavily on the work side. My workday starts at 7:45 am, I see eight patients a day, and usually don’t get home until 5:30 pm. The minute I walk in the door I am greeted by my loving husband and our three-year-old toddler. My toddler has an endless supply of energy. I love him dearly, but after a long day of work, it hard for me to give much more of myself. It’s usually: make dinner, bathe, brush teeth, read a story, pray and then lights out. Sometimes we have my two stepchildren here too, which just adds to the energy and busy nighttime activities. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, but its hard to do everything all the time.
Usually, at the beginning of the New Year, I have a list of “to-do’s” that never really gets done, and ends up getting transferred over to the next New Year. However, with the current situation and “shelter in place” I find myself being able to accomplish more and actually get through my to-do list.
For all you out there that have children taking naps and “rest time” during your day, I have decided to give you a few ideas of things you can accomplish during those periods of the day to feel productive and have a chance to work on the things you might like to do.
Try a new recipe
A few days ago I posted a picture of a soup I was making for dinner. It’s our favorite: Mulligatawny! If you don’t know, it’s the soup in Seinfeld. Remember the scene? “No soup for you!”
When you are working you don’t have a lot of time to seek out recipes and look through cookbooks. It is usually easier just to go with familiar things. I decided to give you the recipe we use for Mulligatawny to save you the time of searching. Trying a new recipe during these days at home, to add to your usual go-to's might be a great idea.
Mulligatawny (Feeds 6-8)
1 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons curry powder
8 cups chicken broth
1 apple cored and chopped
1/2 cup rice
1 lb of skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into strips
salt to taste
ground pepper to taste
2 pinches of dried thyme
1 cup half and half
Step 1:
Saute onions, celery, carrot, and butter in a large soup pot (I used the 7.25 qt. Le Creuset dutch oven). Add flour and curry, and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken broth, mix well, and bring to a boil. Simmer about 1/2 hour.
Step 2:
Add apple, rice, chicken, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer 20 minutes. Rice should be done.
Step 3:
Once the soup is finished, add the half and half to the hot soup and stir.
Clean up your email
I am embarrassed to say that I had over 80,000+ emails that I have either never read, deleted, or possibly ever even seen. Going through the list felt very daunting until my mother gave me the perfect plan. She had me organize/sort all my emails in alphabetical order and then I was able to grab mass amounts of emails and delete them based on who they were from. This way I was able to distinguish if the mail was from companies or personal emails that might contain pictures or other things I wanted to keep. I have used a few different nap times to accomplish the email clean up, but it is done and it feels good!
Read magazines, journals on your profession, or books
I subscribe to magazines, have received monthly journals for Dental Hygiene, and of course purchased many books that just go sit on my shelves. I made a point to go through my magazines and only look through current issues and throw out the rest. There is a stack of journals on my desk. I will read a few dental studies from each of them. Since I am not working right now, I want to use this time away from my profession to gain more knowledge and stay current on all aspects of dental hygiene. Naturally, there is always a book or two I would like to read, and during our family’s quiet time I can dive into reading a few chapters of the books that have been sitting on my shelf.
WorkOut
I typically go to the gym to run on the treadmill or use some weights, or I go run outside with a friend. But when we have kids at home who are napping, we can’t just take off. So I have decided to start using the internet to find workouts online. There are always plenty of online videos, you-tube workouts or things you can do from the comfort of your own home. A few of the local gyms here in Chico are even offering workouts online. Use the quiet time in your home to get in a quick 20-30 minute workout. It’s amazing how great you feel after just a short time getting your heart rate up and accomplishing a little effort for your fitness.
Make yourself a snack & sit outside to get some Vitamin D
Do you ever feel like you are so busy making snacks for your kids that you forget to make something delicious and healthy for yourself? While my toddler is napping today, I decided to actually make myself a nice healthy treat, take the monitor outside and sit alone. No phone, no distractions, just mentally unplug. My counselor told me that 15 minutes a day just sitting alone and letting your mind wander can be very beneficial. It can actually re-wire your neural pathways to help reduce anxiety. Something we could all use right about now!
All of these ideas are just that—ideas. If you already have your plan for nap/rest time, let me know! I love to hear new and creative ways to use my time effectively. I find it helpful to use this time of the day to do things I’ve always wanted to accomplish. Maybe this “shelter-in-place” is allowing me to balance my unbalanced schedule.