Call is going fine from a clinical standpoint. We were busy yesterday, but a manageable level of busy and the day went fast. I think I connected well with patients and I have a very sweet and interested first-year resident working with me, which really adds to the fun.
My stress management still sucks during these weeks. I tend to be very peaceful and chill during the day (which from a doing-my-job standpoint is good!) but then I go home and can’t sleep / relax / do anything that is remotely productive. I have trouble putting myself to bed on time and then get annoyed at myself for not getting enough sleep.
Ahh well. I do much better in the mornings. And it’s morning now! I chose to sleep until 5:40 which means no workout today, but will be able to stay on track with my training plan by doing it tomorrow.
Goals for today/tonight:
If I am stressed I will choose an activity other than Instagram scrolling. Such as: reading, listening to a podcast, journaling/writing things down, or just going to bed
I will put myself to bed by 9:30
I will catch up on charts today to the extent possible (having open charts stresses me out)
It’s actually kind of ironic that I struggle with call so much because I was just thinking yesterday that I really like the clinical work I do with inpatients. It is interesting and (usually) feels meaningful. I just dislike the unpredictability of it all and the lack of autonomy/control. Ahh well. No job is perfect!
I think that this weekend while I am at the office I will spend an hour or two filling in my 2020 Hobonichi. That will be a fun thing to look forward to 🙂 And not a terrible coping mechanism.
Finally: thank you for all of your thoughts on the Apple Watch. I remain undecided. Right now I wear nothing on my wrist and do not bring my phone with me into patient rooms EXCEPT when on call (b/c I can be called from the hospital and need to answer). I was more thinking of the benefits at home, particularly in the evenings between 5p-9p because I find myself continually grabbing my phone when it goes off and then “forgetting” to put it down . . .
I may just give it a try (can always resell if I don’t like it!) but not for a month or so.
8 Comments
Yay for a new planner! I think you would love an Apple watch. I got one as a gift and I think cost is the only reason someone wouldn’t want one.
Re: ‘in the evenings between 5p-9p because I find myself continually grabbing my phone when it goes of”. That’s exactly why I automatically have my Phone set on sleep mode in that time frame. Next to that, I do have a watch but have silenced all alerts/beeps/pings on it, except phonecalls. I like the combination of being able to suppres incoming calls and the step counter enough to wear an apple watch, I don´t use the rest of the functions.
O, and I use the watch to find my Phone 🙂 that’s really handy!
I love my apple watch and it definitely helps minimize phone pick ups for me. I can just glance at my watch and see who messages are from and if they need to be addressed directly/urgently or not.
I love my watch, and I think it might be a great way to stay connected without having your phone all the time. I’ve tried this more recently – we went to dinner the other day as a family and I left my phone inside by accident, and it dawned on me that it would be fine, I wouldn’t miss an emergency call or text because I had my watch on. I have the model with cellular for this reason – I no longer need to take my phone on a long run for “safety reasons” or so I don’t miss a call. I keep a pair of Bluetooth earbuds in my purse anyway, and this is useful if I really do need to take a call on the watch without my phone. I’m trying to find a good place to keep my phone at home where I’ll put it back if I pickup to search for something or look at a map or send a long text reply – I think it will be key to keep putting the phone away.
Love my Apple Watch for call! Makes it easy and lets me not have my phone right there all the time
I SO appreciate that you aren’t an “influencer” in the typical sense of the word but at the same time I wish you could get credit when someone makes an (expensive!) purchase due to your blog. Because I totally bought an Apple Watch today and it was your post and your readers’ comments that gave me the idea. 🙂 Like you and many of your readers, I’m just so tired of constantly picking up my phone! And I listen to podcasts to fall asleep at night, which means I can’t detach myself from my phone even in bed (so I end up seeing emails, news, etc. when I should be sleeping). This morning I had the idea of seeing whether I could listen to podcasts via Apple Watch and it turns out I can, as long as I have blue tooth headphones. So now in theory I’ll be able to leave my phone charging in another room and still easily listen to podcasts with headphones. I rarely get texts at night so I don’t care about seeing any that come through but I’m going to leave email and most of my other apps OFF the Apple Watch. And if the watch doesn’t solve my technology woes… I’ll make use of the two-week return period.
I can’t believe how much of an enabler I am 🙂 JK. I’m excited to hear how you like it!
I am contemplating the apple air pods too but I am concerned they will not be comfortable (the regular apple earbuds are not comfortable for me and seem to fall out of my ears).