Below, advice from a physician online.

First off, everything has a time and place.

There will be seasons of your life where you will need to dedicate more time to one thing, and seasons where you will need to be more time to another. However, being in medicine does not need to mean that you need to have no life! I have met people who say they haven’t seen the sun in years because of pre-med or medical school or residency… I think this is unreasonable and probably unhealthy. You must first take care of yourself in order to take good care of others.  I will go through a few ways that I have managed to maintain a “life balance” through the years (I say life balance because work/ studies are part of life and are things that you hopefully think of as enjoyable for the most part).

1. Living in the moment.

Whether you are working, spending time with friends, going to the gym, or eating, try to take it all in. Living in the moment helps me to not fret as much about the past or the future. Worrying about the past or future doesn’t get you anywhere. Take in what’s in front of you and try to enjoy that moment. You’ll never get it back.

2. Mindfulness.

The first point brings me to my second point– mindfulness, meditation, prayer. These practices really help me to pause and be grateful, and forget about the stressors in my life, even if just for a moment.

3. Attitude.

Attitude is huge! It can make or break your day. I always try to maintain a positive attitude and find meaningful moments throughout my day. Even something as small as opening the door for someone, or telling a patient that it has been a pleasure caring for them, can change the course of how my day is going. Even if you are having an off day, try to “fake it til you make it”– smile! I am often surprised by how many people smile and ask how my day is going when I just plaster on a smile and look approachable. Then, it becomes a self-sustaining cycle from there. More people smiling at you and asking how you are doing makes you feel happier, which makes you smile more, which draws more smiling people to you!

4. Prioritizing.

Prioritizing those people and things in your life that give you joy and fulfillment when you are not working or studying. This is key! I am often asked how I have time to still go to church, do wedding photography, hang out with my husband and friends, do art, do acro, and more. Well, I prioritize what is important to me, and carve out time for those activities when I am do not have work or school obligations!

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5. Learning.

Learning to relax without feeling guilty. This is really hard, especially for people in medicine. It will always feel like people around you are always studying/working and that you need to be constantly studying/working, but the key to actually feeling like you have a balanced life is to enjoy your hobbies, rather than feel guilty the whole time you’re doing them. You won’t feel recharged if you’ve spent a whole day worrying about having fun, when you could have spent that time actually having fun!

6. Community.

Find your community. For me, I have my church community, my residency community, my husband, and some of my friends from medical school, college, and childhood that I keep in touch with. These people keep me sane and lift me up when the going gets tough. They help me realize when I am obsessing or stressing over unreasonable things, and help me to see the bigger picture. They help keep me sane and balanced.