3 Tips for Managing Work-Life Balance as a Deathcare Professional

According to a study conducted by Grand Canyon University, more than 56 percent of professionals clock work weeks that come in above 40 hours. As a deathcare professional, even if you’re not working extra hours every week, you’re often dealing with potentially serious and emotional issues and may be working odd on-call hours.

That’s a recipe for burnout, so maintaining work-life balance is critical. Check out these three tips for managing your workload and personal expectations without sacrificing the service you provide to clientele.

1. Set realistic goals and priorities daily.

Try time management methods or programs and find one that works for you. Start out with something simple such as Hustle Sanely from Jess Massey. The concept of this method is that you complete the Hustle Sanely 5 every day instead of trying to tackle an ever-growing and unreasonable to-do-list.

The HS5 includes:

• A Focus 3. The most important three tasks you must complete today to “move forward” or “grow.” You can have a Focus 3 for work and a Focus 3 for personal life if you need.
• Move for 30 minutes. Massey’s method accounts for the fact that a healthy, well-cared for body can do better work.
• Tidy for 15 minutes. You might clean your workstation, clear out your email, or go through physical mail for your business.
• Say or do something kind for yourself.
• Say or do something kind for someone else.

Is that all you have to do daily? Obviously not; you still have a regular task list to complete. But focusing on the most important things as well as items that make you feel better physically and mentally help you approach a better balance.

2. Avoid procrastination.

The longer you put off any task, the harder or more negative it can seem. That causes increased stress and can make it more difficult to attend to other work, creating a potential snowball effect that can leave you working extra hours or rushing to get things done.

Whether you need to call a family and let them know something disappointing about their plans for a memorial service or you have a tedious administrative task waiting, make time as soon as possible to get things done.

3. Carve out time to unplug.

Moving from the funeral home to your home each day may be a difficult transition. It’s hard to leave work behind when it can be emotional, and that’s even truer for those who are on call to assist at-need families.

Create a ritual such as listening to a certain type of music, taking a short walk, or driving through a picturesque neighborhood and enjoying the views between work and home. Rituals can be a cue to your brain that it’s time to shift gears to personal life.