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!” 

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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. 

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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! 


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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. 


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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.


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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!


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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.