Finding the right balance between work and home is hard for most doctors. Many of us take home the problems of the day and as a result both the doctor and their family may suffer. Coaching is a useful way to increase self-awareness and improve life-work balance for physicians. When we do not manage this balance it can lead to burnout which figures suggest affects 50% of physicians. Here are some ideas to improve your work-life balance from Jennifer Bush at the American Academy of Family Physicians. They include:

1. Physically close your office door for a period of time each day ... so that you can review your charts, return telephone calls and have some quiet, uninterrupted time ...

2. When you have a project, estimate the time required to complete it, and double it to accommodate interruptions...

3. Continually ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time?” Even better, ask yourself, “Does doing this require a medical degree?”

4….group your telephone calls. People are usually in their offices right after they arrive at work in the morning and right before they leave in the evening.

5. Reduce the amount of time you spend socializing at work by learning polite ways to end conversations...

6. Any time you're faced with a task that will take less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately.

7. Ask yourself, “Would anything terrible happen if I didn’t do this?” …

You can read more about these and find other tips at:

Bush, J. (2000, February 1). Balancing Act: 15 Tips for Managing Life at Work and Home. Retrieved May 15, 2015, from http://www.aafp.org/fpm/2000/0200/p60.html . The American Academy of Family Physicians also has a useful page of resources to improve your work life balance.