Prioritizing Yourself
Moms First is putting out a weekly challenge on Instagram to moms. What does it mean to put myself first? I hesitate to say mom self-care. It can mean different things on different days and in different seasons. Some days, it means that I travel for work to advance a project that is meaningful to me. Most days it means that I want to say no to new projects and responsibilities so I can do the mundane but marvelous tasks that moms do because these things fill my cup. As a working mom, I realized that in quite a significant way, being present as a mother IS putting myself first. When my pull in life is to go against the cultural narrative of career advancement and lean more deeply into family life, then every time I shed another work responsibility, I am putting myself first.
Home
In my home life, the balance I have with my husband, regular help from a babysitter and the support of my parents and in-laws, I am fortunate that it has not been too not difficult to prioritize my personal needs. I am able to go have a quiet night time routine, including reading and journaling. My husband is remarkable and proactively builds in blocks on weekends where he takes the kids out so I can nap if he senses I need it or I ask for it. We share night time post-dinner chores pretty equally.
Health
What I can do better on is prioritizing my (and my husband’s) health. I, like he, need to “heal thyself.” Like many physicians, we simply neglect our nutrition, sleep and exercise, citing lack of time due to work and even family obligations.
Nutrition
What we have been doing since the beginning of the year is increasing our plant-based intake, particularly during our at-home meals during the week. I’ve written about how I enjoy meal-planning in a busy dual physician household. We have found it relatively easy to build delicious and filling salad bowls or grain bowls for lunches. For breakfast, we are more intentional about having rolled oats and fruit. For dinners, we are adding either volume of greens served or variety to fill half of our intake (gone is the old food pyramid). We are phasing out packaged snacks and sweets, which was never part of my diet growing up or even in my 20s, so this is not a massive adjustment for me. We are stocking up on dry roasted, unsalted nuts, fresh and dried fruits, and vegetable sticks as healthier options.
Physical Activity
In addition to revamping our meals, I joined a gym. I have not regularly exercised in years. Yes, years. I walk regularly to and from work, and at work, but true aerobic exercise needs to become a part of my daily routine. I have personal and family health risks, which I know all too well as a physician and can no longer ignore. I’m working on defining what my goals are at 3, 6 and 12 months.
Medical Care
I have made my routine health-maintenance appointments as well as appointments for dental procedures and imaging studies my doctors ordered nearly 6 months ago.
Personal Development
Lastly, this month, I joined a community of like-minded physicians who are in the midst of redefining their careers and pivoting. I don’t know where this journey will take me, but I needed a change of environment, be in more proximity to inspiration and a growth mindset.
Conclusion
While ordinary these are nonetheless necessary priorities which I know will make a dramatic impact my physical and mental health. The list is long but this has been a work-in-progress for months. I have some momentum and a sense of freedom
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