Nurses emerged as our country’s frontline combatants against coronavirus during the pandemic. Nurses fought to maintain the nation’s health while endangering their well-being. However, several RNs believe their healthcare endeavors have harmed their health and made them exhausted not only mentally but physically as well. A survey from last year shows that almost 50% of our nurses are considering leaving this profession within two years! It’s probably because of increasing burnout incidents that have disillusioned the American nursing workforce. But learning some simple time management tactics helps RNs achieve a perfect work-life balance and find more time to spend with their family members.
Tricks for nurses to manage their time effectively
What are the benefits of managing your time effectively? Nurses handle wide-ranging responsibilities for an establishment. From administering medication to communicating with physicians – they play a crucial role in medical facilities. So, managing time can allow RNs to organize and prioritize patient care while dealing with administrative responsibilities and personal obligations. Nurses with families have more time to spend with their loved ones when they effectively juggle their responsibilities. So, when nurses have more time to spend on their families, it helps them maintain their mental well-being. Now, let’s discuss some simplistic methods for managing your time and creating a better work-life balance:
- Enhance your learning
Enhancing your education can help you become more productive at work while improving your time management skills. But how can nurses juggle work and study at the same time? Well, now you can complete your MSN in nursing degree online to save both time and money. This degree can help you earn a fatter paycheck and a flexible schedule. Spending your time receiving education allows you to work more flexibly. That’s how well-educated nurses can find more time to spend with their families.
- Prioritize what’s important
Remember to prioritize your responsibilities and begin with extremely important ones. This practice helps you finish your duties punctually since you’ve already concluded the vital ones. So, we suggest nurses create an inventory of their daily tasks and set their priorities accordingly. You can allocate a value to each task. It can help you finish a task with the highest priority. Create a routine for yourself and follow it dutifully. That’s how you can manage your time effectively to go home to your people.
- Always arrive early
It often helps to arrive at work 10-15 minutes early sometimes. You get a head-start on daily tasks when you’re there before time. It lets you ensure you have all the supplies for the rest of the day, and you can also control the workspace effectively. Moreover, arriving before your shift begins allows nurses to manage the schedule along with expressing their dedication to this occupation. As it increases your productivity, you can finish your work sooner than your coworkers and spend more time with family.
- Schedule your responsibilities
Focus on staying organized. Maintain daily/weekly planners to manage your activities. Some people also prefer taking notes to keep themselves organized. So, journaling also constitutes an effective time management strategy. Now, you should schedule your errands smartly and include everything, not even sparing minute details. A well-organized nurse can save more time to spend with their family members after the shift’s over.
- Take breaks often
Don’t sacrifice your breaks for further responsibilities. Overworking undermines productivity as you suffer from burnout and have less time for personal obligations. Experts recommend three fifteen-minute breaks (at least) and one regular mealtime for nurses working twelve-hour shifts. So, RNs should take breaks more often to enhance their efficiency. That’s how they can leave punctually to spend some quality time with their families.
- Delegate some responsibilities
Nurses can manage their time more effectively by delegating some responsibilities to colleagues. So, you can transfer some duties to a coworker with whom you enjoy an amicable relationship. But this delegation also relies upon other factors such as the nature/intensity of supervision needed by your comrade. Moreover, don’t delegate when nursing decisions require a licensed individual. That’s how you can ascertain you’re not overworked with responsibilities that force you to stay late.
- Multitasking isn’t helpful
Nurses multitask. But experts believe multitasking doesn’t always save time. Instead, it serves merely as a distraction. It slows down your functioning as your brain’s forced to switch between more tasks in a short period. Studies suggest multitasking makes RNs less effective while/after multitasking. Because of this, they should focus on prioritizing their responsibilities – as explained above. So, remove distractions, pass on extra responsibilities, and find more time to spend with your family members.
- Start saying “no”
Don’t commit to tasks that are overwhelming you. Learn to say “no” whenever you feel like being overworked. You must put your foot down and refuse to accept more duties than you can handle. It will prevent burnout, increase your productivity, and allow you to finish your tasks on time. Then you can spend more time with your family members and achieve a perfect work-life balance. It helps to say “no” even to yourself sometimes. Self-care comes from self-control, you should remember.
Conclusion
The pandemic contributed to the worsening of the nation’s mental health, and RNs aren’t an exception! Statistics have indicated that nurses felt overworked, exhausted, and – worse – separated from their families during a global health crisis. So, one survey shows that 95% of RNs were suffering from burnout. We suggest nurses should organize/schedule their responsibilities for better time management. Prioritize crucial matters and don’t procrastinate. You must establish a routine while performing your duties. Also, learn to say “no” when you’re feeling overwhelmed. We recommend RNs set aside some time for personal obligations. Thus, you can have more moments to spend with family.
