Balance vs counterbalance

Neil Baum, MD

Today, we are facing many epidemics, including viral pandemics, obesity, social media, loneliness, and now burnout. Nearly 50% of practicing physicians experience one or more symptoms of burnout. Burnout also contributes to physicians retiring younger than just a few decades ago. There is an abundance of articles that discuss burnout and offer suggestions for beating back the burnout blahs. Another option is to consider a counterbalance instead of just a balance between our work and our time away from our profession.

When physicians are out of balance, some or all our priorities are underserved or unmet. The reality is that when you focus on what is important, then something will be out of focus or neglected. Trying hard to stay in balance will always have things left undone. If you try to do everything, you will be sorely disappointed, and no matter how hard you try, you will always come up short in several of life’s priorities. Even if priorities that matter the most get done, there will be tasks that also matter and will not get done, and you will experience imbalance. If you leave several priorities undone, it is considered a tradeoff for outstanding results. Now, you can’t leave everything undone or incomplete; however, you can achieve more by counterbalancing. When you counterbalance, you never go so far that you can’t find your way back or stay away so long that nothing awaits you when you return.

Doctors have 60-70+ hour work weeks. These long hours have a deleterious effect on our health. Studies have confirmed that individuals who worked more than 11 hours a day were 67% more likely to suffer from heart disease. It is time to consider balancing work and personal life and achieving balance within each area. To be successful at counterbalancing, it is necessary to be focused on time. It is necessary to choose what matters the most and give that area all the time it demands. This requires getting out of balance about all other work issues. In our personal world, awareness is required. You must be aware of your family, friends, and personal needs, including ample exercise and a proper diet. These areas can’t be entirely sacrificed for work or at the exclusion of the others. In essence, your personal life requires counterbalancing.

Now, you will go out of balance on occasion. This requires understanding if you go out of balance short or long. The experts recommend going short on your personal life where you are out of balance for a short period and making every effort to avoid long periods where you are out of balance. However, in your professional life, the experts suggest that you consider going long and know that accomplishment and success may require going out of balance for long periods. Going long allows you to focus on what matters most, even at the expense of other lesser priorities.

Let’s consider using a juggling metaphor. Life requires juggling five balls: work, family, health, friends, and integrity. To be successful requires keeping all five in the air and not dropping any of the balls. It is nearly impossible to balance all those areas in your life, just as is the difficulty of juggling five balls. It might be better to allow one of the balls to temporarily fall. When the balls are made of rubber, and you drop one ball, it will bounce back. However, if balls are made of glass and you drop one of them, such as a family, the ball becomes scratched. Perhaps if you drop the glass ball high enough, it shatters into pieces that can’t be put back together.

It is necessary to counterbalance one priority at a time. When you move from balancing all five balls to focusing on one ball, you prioritize your life, and you see choices more clearly. You must understand that when you act on a priority, you will inevitably go out of balance and devote more time to another area. Now, the challenge is how long you stay on your priority. Thus, when considering priorities outside of work, it is important to be crystal clear about your most important work priority so you can complete what you started or what needs your focused attention. Then, leave work and go home. Be clear about your priorities at home so you can focus on those areas and then return to work.

Getting started

Make two balancing buckets: 1) work and 2) personal life. Put what applies to that area of your life in each bucket.

Add counterbalance to your work bucket. When you focus on one goal in this bucket, you may throw the rest of the day, week, or month out of balance. You can divide your work bucket into two distinct areas: your top priority items and then everything else. When you focus on your top priority, you must become comfortable with what happens to the rest.

Counterbalance your personal life bucket. Never go too long or too far without counterbalancing other important areas of your life. Your personal life requires that attention.

Bottom line

When you are at work, focus on your work, and when you are involved in your personal life, give all your attention to your personal life, i.e., family, friends, health, and yourself. Success and enjoyment come when you lead a counterbalanced life. Focus on your priorities and then pay attention to the rest whenever possible.

Suggested reading: The One Thing-The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. By Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

Neil Baum, MD, a Professor of Clinical Urology at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Baum is the author of several books, including the best-selling book, Marketing Your Medical Practice-Ethically, Effectively, and Economically, which has sold over 225,000 copies and has been translated into Spanish.