Prioritising Wellness in Practice.

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15 times a day you ask your patients, ‘How are you feeling?’, but how many times do you ask yourself? We spend the best part of 8 hours in four walls, devoid of sunlight. Rooms, that become humid, dusty and lonely. In the winter, it’s dark when we leave home and dark again when we leave work.

But we still do it year in, year out. Why? Because we still love our profession. It’s fulfilling to change a person’s life through a simple pair of glasses, or to diagnose an eye disease that could have otherwise permanently affected their vision. These days we can do things like treat dry eye and manage myopia so much better, and therefore giving us even more satisfaction at work.

However, to keep this love for the profession going, we need to look after ourselves physically and mentally whilst being an Optometrist. This can be done in various ways.

One of the best ways is through exercise. Whether that’s a short run before work in the morning, or a brisk walk at lunch. I feel getting outdoors in the middle of the working day can play a massive part in your wellbeing. You finally get some fresh air, away from the never-ending tasks in practice and without getting asked to check PD’s or sign of a kids collection! You come back refreshed, re-energised and ready to be 110% in the afternoon.

The other way is improving your working environment within the testroom. Our rooms tend to be small and closed off. A perfect environment for humidity and dust. On a personal level, by the end of the working day my skin becomes dry and irritable. We won’t suddenly start testing in the local park, however we can improve the air quality in our rooms by getting a small dehumidifier. It can make the world of difference and help us sustain our wellbeing throughout the day.

What many Independent practices do well on is placing emphasis on the scent of their practice and testrooms. Smell can automatically change your mood. Different scents can trigger various emotions and states of mind. Think of that fresh duvet scent, how it makes you feel at ‘home’. Now let’s transfer the concept to our testrooms. We can infuse scents that makes us feel calm and tranquil. Other’s can increase alertness and positivity. Basically, whatever works for you. Find something that you like, and spray your room with it. You’ll end up looking forward to going in your testroom as it will be associated with a positive smell.

Sometimes it’s not our work environment negatively impacting us, but possibly our commute. We’re fine at work, but never look forward to the journey in or out. This could be being stuck in morning traffic when driving or being squeezed between four people on the underground. We can’t change our commute can we? Surely we need to get to work. Correct, you can’t change it, but you can change your experience of it. Do something on the journey that distracts you from factors not in your control. Listen to a podcast, read a book or educate yourself on a side business you wish to pursue. Use the time wisely by doing something you enjoy, and you may end up looking forward to the commute so you can do that very thing. This ensures that by the time you reach work, you’re not already 50% mentally drained.

There must be more positive changes we can make to feel better physically and mentally at work.  I’m interested to know what you do! Drop me a message, I’d love to hear it.

 Regards,