#015 - "What Do You Do With All Your Time Off?!"
The physical activity guidelines you didn't even know you weren't meeting
That’s the #1 question I get from past or present co-workers. They invariably want to know how I spend my additional time off and better schedule since leaving full-time, big-hospital employment.
I used to ask, “What do you mean ‘what do I do?’? What do you do when you’re off?!”
The conversation usually derails right there…
Because when you’re talking to someone like me of 2 years ago - I worked ~14 weekends that year, spent the night in the hospital ~42 times, and averaged 58 hours a week (+90 minutes commuting each round trip) - that question is almost nonsensical!
(And those hours aren’t even that remarkable for many of you reading this. Sigh.)
When all some of us get is a breather in between work-days, it’s hard to even know where to start if you get an extra day here-or-there.
But imagine working 4 days a week with every weekend and holiday off. That’s enough time that you need to find a good use for it.
So if you’ve made the jump to reclaim your time and autonomy via independent contract work (aka - locum tenens, travel, etc), then you might need an answer to that dreaded question - now that you have more time off, how do you spend it?
Focus on your health
None of us are getting any younger.
All of us physicians have traded at least our 20’s and many times a good chunk of our 30’s just to start a career in medicine.
Health is the very foundation of the rest of your life.
Literally: 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 else is built on it.
But most doctors fail to reflect that priority of health in themselves.
But you will be different, because you care about your well-being for your sake and for your family’s sake.
Where Should My Priorities Be to Improve My Health? - is the title of a fantastic and comprehensive article written by Austin Baraki, MD of Barbell Medicine.
If there is 1 link I repeatedly send to family and friends it’s that link right there.
Here’s an overview excerpt, but I implore you to follow the link above:
Specifically focus on exercise
If there is 1 long lever to pull in life that will yield the most dramatic benefits in health, it might very well be exercise.
Lean body mass loss directly correlates to morbidity and mortality with age.
So does reduced cardiovascular reserve.
But the average physician I know spends less than 60 minutes each week dedicated to actual exercise…
Does that sound like someone you might know? - Does it sound like you?
That’s not even close to the government minimum recommendations!
Wait. Be honest.
As a healthcare provider did you even know that there were government minimum recommendations for exercise?
Published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services since 2008 (1st edition), here’s the updated 2nd edition: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 2nd Edition (PDF).
I strongly recommend giving it a read. It is the rare occasion where the government’s one-size-fits-all recommendations for health meets the demands of the most ardent exercise nuts out there.
Here’s the TLDR (too long, didn’t read) excerpt below:
Summary
Whether you’ve made the leap to contract work, or you’re just locum curious - it’s meaningless if making the change doesn’t improve your life in some way.
You owe it to your spouse and children who depend on you in inumerable ways. But you also owe it to yourself.
Why do you work?
Why have you sacrificed what you have to date, if not to improve your lot or your family’s lot?
There is no better way to invest your reclaimed time than in yourself.
Start now.