Increasing chronic diseases and an aging population are some factors that have increased the demand for nursing professionals. It’s estimated that, by 2027, over 1.2 million nurses will be working in America to cover the shortage of professionals. Although it’s good news for those looking for nursing jobs, it creates challenges for nurses balancing work, life, and career growth. A healthy work-life balance is important.

Overworked and underpaid, nurses seeking career growth in 2020 faced huge burnout issues; 70% of nurses under 25 suffer from burnout. Therefore, nurses should find new ways to balance their work with personal lives and career goals.

There are several strategies nurses can use to successfully manage a challenging job and sustain personal development with professional growth. Here are some ideas:

1. Advance Your Education

Advancing your education boosts your productivity levels, making you less prone to errors. A productive nurse makes fewer mistakes, manages her time perfectly, and can create a healthy work-life balance. Also, advanced education leads to better-paying and more flexible career options.

You can advance your learning by seeking mentorship opportunities and pursuing higher education. A nurse should consider distance learning programs that offer MSN degrees for less than $16,000! You can look up masters in nursing education online programs to get an advanced-level understanding of nursing. This degree employs evidence-based teaching practices to help you hone your nursing skills to make quick work of your tasks and find employment that helps create a better work-life balance.

2. Unplug At Home

A healthy work-life balance requires nurses to unplug from work when they reach home. Don’t look at work-related notifications at home, and avoid thinking about work-related events. Unplugging will prevent burnout and stop you from sacrificing domestic bliss for your work.

3. Try Transitioning Gently

RNs work tiresome schedules in stressful situations where they’re constantly surrounded by death, despair, and diseases. It can be difficult to put patients out of your mind when leaving for home, and many nurses are overwhelmed by work-related events even when their shift has ended. That’s why you should create your unique transition routine to stay in the present. For instance, you can:

  • Close your eyes
  • Turn your phone off
  • Take a few deep breaths 
  • Turn on your favorite music
  • Go to your happy place for a while

4. Solve Conflicts Immediately

Facing workplace conflicts head-on will prevent you from thinking about it even when you’re home. Resolve conflicts by honing your conflict-management skills. These skills help you pacify anomalies and find peaceful resolutions to disagreements. A survey shows that 42.5% of nurses are involved in moderate conflicts. The same study recommends interpersonal collaboration to resolve conflicts in the workplace. Don’t let conflicts drain your time, energy, and emotions. Resolve them by:

  • Taking the initiative by apologizing first
  • Simply walking away from the scene of conflict
  • Clearing any misunderstandings with the other person

5. Delegate Your Tasks

Overworking harms your work-life balance and lowers your productivity levels too. As a nurse, you should learn to delegate tasks to colleagues and assistants. Redistribute tasks after you’ve learned about people’s strengths and weaknesses. Delegation is important for career growth and making the most of available resources.

6. Manage Your Time

Work on your time management skills to create a healthy work-life balance. When RNs manage their time miserably, they tend to bring their work home and evade domestic bliss. Mismanaging the time prevents you from engaging in out-of-work pleasures. If you wish to focus on your career while spending enough time with your loved ones, here’s how you can do that by managing your time:

  • Create a routine
  • Avoid multitasking
  • Limit distractions while working
  • Perform difficult tasks in the beginning
  • Arrive early for work so you can leave on time

7. Take More Breaks

It’s reported that one-third of nurses rarely or never take a break during their shifts. Taking more than one 15-minute break during a 10-hour shift is important to restore your energy and prepare for the rest of the day. Keep some time during the day to just sit somewhere in solitude. You need some me-time to improve your mental health. Use a break to stretch, exercise a little, and drink water. These breaks are helpful for your well-being.

Healthy nurses are more productive; attending to your physical health leads to improvement in your work. Neglecting these breaks is bad for both your health and your occupation.

8. Stay Emotionally Healthy

With many nurses suffering from stress, anxiety, and depression, it can be difficult for nurses to boost their emotional well-being. However, as a nurse, you shouldn’t forget that your emotional health is necessary for your holistic health. A healthy work-life balance requires overcoming the factors affecting your emotional well-being. Here’s how you can process workplace situations:

  • Write a private journal
  • Practice stress-reducing exercises
  • Talk to a doctor about your stress/anxiety
  • Avoid replaying stressful situations in your mind
  • Make some non-work-related friends to hang out with

9. Reconnect With People

You can restore a balance between your life and work by reconnecting with your non-work-related contacts. Rekindle old friendships, reach out to distant friends, and hang out with people who don’t remind you constantly of the hospital’s traumatic situations. Learn to disassociate yourself mentally from your work when you’re home and vice versa. Similarly, don’t talk to your colleagues about work-related stuff when you’re taking a break. Instead, engage them in general conversations.

A healthy work-life balance deteriorates when you can’t detach yourself from work, even when you are not supposed to be working. Hanging out with friends helps gain this important detachment.

10. Focus On Self-Care

A recent survey shows that 85% of RNs constantly feel tired because of the nature of their work. So, it’s important to focus on your self-care. Neglecting personal well-being affects a nurse’s efficiency. Productive nurses create a healthy work-life balance by prioritizing self-care. Self-care involves:

  • Exercising 
  • Staying hydrated
  • Getting enough sleep
  • Eating nutritious meals
  • Not having a sedentary lifestyle

Conclusion

RNs must find a healthy balance between work, life, and career growth to thrive both professionally and personally. Restore this balance by prioritizing self-care, taking more breaks, solving conflicts instantly, and unplugging when leaving for home. With these tricks, RNs can achieve a fulfilling and healthy work-life balance while advancing their careers. Focus on advancing your education via online programs; then, you can become more productive at work, make fewer mistakes, and come home without any stress.