Work life balance & harmony
Should we need to "balance" our work and life or should the two not be harmonious together?
This is one of the core values that was the guide to launching the business. Having a young family of three you never get the years watching them grow up back. Working in the NHS was challenging when the last minute school announcements popped up for trips, plays, stay & play sessions or even the day-to-day school drop off and pick up. Nicola was desperate to be a present mummy and have the physiotherapy career. She wasn't just looking for work life balance as this suggested balancing lots of plates, we want to think of it as work life harmony! Whereby the two can be combined to allow us to thrive in all areas! Work-life balance/harmony refers to the balance between the time and energy spent on work and the time and energy spent on personal life. It is essential for maintaining good physical and mental health, as well as for achieving long-term success and happiness!
We wanted to share a reflection on a couple of our working days in the past month that demonstrates our work life harmony!
It's lambing time with our flock of Pure Suffolk sheep, an exciting time for the whole family! Nicola had a day last week where she dropped off her two youngest children at nursery/school, her oldest child had to go to doctors (with a throat virus), she networked with the GP who saw her uniform and was excited about our business, attended patients homes for treatment sessions, checked the lambing shed, completed a telephone consultation, picked up the children from nursery/school, went back to the lambing shed, lambed a sheep, fed the sheep, went home cooked dinner and bedtime routine. In one day she could be mummy, caregiver, entrepreneur, physiotherapist and shepherdess!! Now some may read this and think - that's a crazy day! - but it allowed her to harmonise work and life, achieving in all areas! She would never have had this flexibility anywhere else!
Shona had a full diary booked and had a late cancellation. She messaged Nicola to ask if it was ok to use that time to attend the gym and the answer was - absolutely!! Shona is smashing it in an Olympic Lifting course at the moment, something which is inspiring, a fantastic achievement and she is passionate about. We are here to fully support her through her journey and if she feels inspired to attend the gym during a working day while managing her caseload we celebrate this!! As well as a lunchtime walk with her beautiful dogs - Tarak & Olive (who likes to help mum with her phone!).
It is therefore one of our core values at HomePhysio By Nicola Ltd to ensure the best possible work life harmony for all staff. Offering a new flexible approach to physiotherapy working. You can still be; a parent doing drop off/pick up at school, an Olympic weightlifter, a shepherdess, an entrepreneur, a caregiver, a pet lover and much more! Whatever you are passionate about in your life can be harmonised with your work too.
Take Away Messages
You can have it all!
Strategies to achieve work-life balance/harmony include setting boundaries, prioritizing self-care, and practicing effective time management.
To balance harmony in tasks, try to prioritize your tasks based on their importance and urgency, and allocate your time accordingly.
Take breaks and practice self-care to avoid burnout.
Communication and collaboration with others can also help create a harmonious work environment.
Do we always get it right?
As the business grows it continues to be a learning process and we don't always get the balance/harmony right, however, with our core values being at the heart of all we do we know we can develop one of the best working environments available!
Learning to say no! In order to have me time.