WELLNESS FOR LIFE & CAREER
Occupational Balance & Quality of Life
Explore ways to maintain your occupational balance to improve your quality of life.
Balancing you
A balanced life means making the time to do the things you want to do and balancing it with the things you must do for your health and emotional well-being. Creating a harmonious and balanced life can consist of many individual factors, such as spending time with family and friends, volunteering, and engaging in a favorite hobby or pastime to maintain the other key responsibilities in your life.
Signs of an unbalanced life:
- You have a list of "to dos" that is never-ending.
- You are extremely busy and can't seem to fully accomplish your tasks.
- You are experiencing increased stress levels because of burnout, stress, and lack of sleep.
- You have physical symptoms such as a headache, chest pain, and even dizziness.
- You have difficulty concentrating and may lose focus and direction.
Apply your OT skills to your personal life
- Practitioner well-being decision guide to addressing anxiety and acute stress – pdf
- Self-interventions: Applying your occupational therapy skills to your personal health
Tips on improving your quality of life
- Creating a healthier life: A step-by-step guide to wellness
- How to improve your quality life
- New stressors call for new stress management techniques
- Work–life balance: Tips to reclaim control
Managing your time
- How to develop self-discipline and find motivation
- How to disconnect from "always on" work culture
- How to improve your time management skills and succeed in the Workplace
Balance your life as a student
Resources for fieldwork educators and students
- Fieldwork Educator: Tips to Optimize Your Well-being While Supporting a Student—pdf
- Wellness Workbook: Reflection for Fieldwork Educators—pdf
Reprinted with permission from Jessica Zuba, OTD student and Bridget Hahn, OTD, OTR/L, Rush University