Menu

13Mar

Are Your Weekends Contributing to SLP Your Stress?

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Self Care
Comments Off on Are Your Weekends Contributing to SLP Your Stress?

SLP Weekend Stress Pinterest

As a Speech Therapist, not matter how many years you have into the field, you are probably really, really busy. You are either trying to juggle a full caseload, piles of paperwork, productivity standards or trying to keep up with your CEUs and education. This can all lead to a huge, exhausting amount of stress. When you are constantly stressed at work, the weekends can seem like the light at the end of the tunnel.

The weekends are there for you to take a break from work, relax and unwind, and perhaps even dabble in some hobbies or non-work related interests. They are time for you to recharge your brain and take care of your needs. The weekends are a time to decompress and fill up before the week begins again. (more…)

Tags:
27Feb

5 Ways to Stop Feeling Drained from SLP Work

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice New SLP Reduce Stress
Comments Off on 5 Ways to Stop Feeling Drained from SLP Work

5 Ways to Stop Feeling Drained from SLP Work PinterestA few weeks ago I was having one of those days where I realized I was feeling completely drained. It was near the end of a long week (but not quite the end yet) and I was just feeling wiped out. It wasn’t that anything huge had happened, but I was just feeling completely exhausted and wiped out. What I realized was that I was working all week, non-stop. Even though I enjoyed a great deal of the work, it was still the constant state of being “on” and productive that had me feeling this exhaustion. (more…)

Tags:
20Feb

3 Simple Ways to Reduce SLP Job Burn Out

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice
Comments Off on 3 Simple Ways to Reduce SLP Job Burn Out

Reduce SLP Job Burn Out Pinterest

In any field or lifestyle where you are primarily putting the needs of others before yours, there is a possibility of Compassion Fatigue and Burn Out. This is due to the fact that is can be exhausting and stressful to have someone’s needs, and sometimes life, depend on your skills and abilities. You constantly have to be focused, thinking and keeping them engaged in what you are doing. As SLP’s, this can be even harder because you are caring for people of ALL ages in so many different settings, where you are sometimes responsible for their ability to think and communicate effectively or perhaps even to nourish their bodies safely. It can be beautiful but draining work, that comes with the additional stress of productivity levels, paperwork and a lack of understanding from those around you. It can be extremely stressful and, when that stress becomes chronic or daily, it can become serious and turn into Burn Out.

Burn Out is recognized by the World Health Organization and is real. It is also manageable and treatable. If you are feeling overwhelmed by stress and anxiety, and think you might be heading toward burn out, there are things you can do to help reduce it. I’ve partnered with the ASHA Leader Blog today to share 3 simple, but hugely effective, things you can do to help reduce and prevent Burn Out as an SLP. (more…)

Tags:
6Feb

1 Simple Way for SLPs to Create More Time in Your Day

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Goal Setting New SLP Reduce Stress
Comments Off on 1 Simple Way for SLPs to Create More Time in Your Day

SLPs More Time Pinterest
I recently gave a lecture at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I spoke to their Speech Therapy graduate students about how to recognize, prevent and manage burn out and stress during grad school and into their professional careers. I spoke to them about mindfulness, self-care and gratitude practices. I also spoke to them about the things that might become stressful once they start working – paperwork, caseloads and productivity. These are the top 3 things that stress out most people I have worked with and talk to. For most SLPs, these are the biggest sources of stress and the main reasons they are either wanting to quit or questioning if they are in the right field at all. Despite being pretty different and concrete things to be stressed about, when you boil it down, they all come from the same source of stress – there is not enough time in the day to finish everything you need to do. (more…)

Tags:
23Jan

3 Ways to Face Your SLP Stress

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Reduce Stress
Comments Off on 3 Ways to Face Your SLP Stress

Face SLP Stress Pinterest

I recently had a talk with some people about stress. The conversation was about feeling stressed by others stress and walking away from it. It was about how to avoid feeling stressed by work and life. It was about how hearing stories form others about how much they are struggling is too much, and makes you want to turn away. It was a conversation about daily stress. Mostly, about running away from it.

It is a conversation that I have had come up more than once over the last few months.

In the Stressed Out SLPs Facebook group, we often share the things at work that leave us feeling the most stressed. Then other people can comment, give you a boost or help you figure out a solution. I often share some of the tips and tricks that I write about here, as well as do LIVE videos and leave additional information or share articles. It is place that is meant to lift you up, not by constantly making you laugh (which is a good thing at times), but by helping you to really take charge and make changes to your schedule, job, caseload, etc, or at least to let you know that you are not alone in the struggle. (more…)

Tags:
17Jan

How To Create A Vision Board

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Goal Setting Reduce Stress Self Care
Comments Off on How To Create A Vision Board

Vision Board Pinterest (1)

Each year, I like to set an intention for the year – whether it is something small, like going to the beach more often, or something big, like paying off debt or starting a new training/school. Sometimes it is a simple mantra, like “expand” or “create joy”. This helps me to focus on where I want to go in the year, rather than what let me down or what I need to change from the year before. The intention is to bring in something more positive, so there are more positive shifts happening in my life throughout the year.

Similar to setting a goal, it helps me to make better decisions and gives me something to lean back on. With my intention in mind during decision making, I can make sure I ask myself “Is this moving me towards my intention for the year, or taking me further from it?”.  This strategy can work for new continuing education, certification or degrees; a new job or setting; or perhaps even a change in your lifestyle outside of work.

As January moves ahead, it is a good time to reflect on the goals and intentions you may have set for the year. You can start to see if you have been able to make shifts towards that intention you’ve set, or if that goal isn’t quite what you intended it to be. You can also see if your goals are already pushed back into the far corners of your mind as you make space for all of the “must-do’s” that are part of everyday life.

This happens really easily, and is one of the reasons why most of us either forget our intentions or just give up on them after a month or so. If you are feeling like your goals are already slipping away from you, or you are looking for a way to be more aware of them each day, you can try making them visual.

One way that I like to do this is to create a vision board. A vision board is a visual means of having your goals on display, around you, to see every day. These goals come as pictures, images, quotes, trinkets or anything that is meaningful to you. Having these items on display helps you to remember your intention, connect to it more often and feel as if you are really working towards it each day. It also helps give you more input to use when you ask yourself “Is this bringing me closer to my intention?”.

In the past, my vision boards have represented where I wanted my yoga practice and teaching to lead me, what I wanted to learn, how I wanted to develop my coaching practice and even what I wanted to do with our house once we moved. My boards usually focus on my career and personal goals or hobbies, as these are the areas I need the most clarity in, but they can really represent anything that you wish to work on.

Here are some examples of my boards in the past:

2012 Visions2013 Vision Board

A vision board is very simple to make and can be made for very little expense. It can be a fun project to do as part of your self-care on evening, or could even be a family night activity or part of a date night. If you run a business, this could be part of your business strategy sessions and planning for the year ahead.

How to create a vision board:

  • Grab some magazine or newspapers or flyers
  • Print out images or quotes that are meaningful to you
  • Find photos, pictures or even cards around your home
  • Paste or thumbtack them into your board
  • Place your board somewhere you see every day. If it is focused on your career, place it in your office. If it is focused on personal development, place it somewhere you work or attend to often. If it is relationship focused, or perhaps you made a board with your partner or family, hang it in your room or family space.
  • Each year, look back at your board and swap out things that aren’t meaningful or you have moved beyond with things for the new year.

That really is all there is to it. Once you create your board you are ready for it to work its “magic” and help you reach your intentions throughout the year.

Have you ever created a vision board before? If so, leave your tips in the comments below or in the FB group. If you want even more useful tools to help combat stress and burn out, make sure to sign up below for the SLP Toolbox.


You can also check out more on goal setting here. If you’d like to dive deeper in setting your goals and decreasing your overall stress, I’d love to work with you this year. You can email me any questions you might have to jessi@jessiandricks.com or schedule a phone/skype chat here. 

Much Love,

1741931346171517140715

Tags:
9Jan

8 Pieces of Advice for the New SLP

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Career Advice New SLP Reduce Stress
Comments Off on 8 Pieces of Advice for the New SLP

8 Pieces of Advice PinterestRecently, I have been seeing tons of questions and posts in FB groups from brand new SLP’s, in their CFY, who are completely overwhelmed. Many of these professionals are lacking the confidence of a seasoned SLP or are just looking for a bit of reassurance on their choice of evaluation tool or therapy materials. But it’s not just because they feel new and aren’t as confident in their skills as a clinician yet. For many more, it is because they feel a lack of support, have way too much work and their caseloads are out of control.

My personal CF story is a little confusing. I had three different jobs between the time I graduated and the time I earned my CCC’s. I left one position a month before my CF was to be completed, because my supervisor had forgotten to renew her license and I was docked 3 months of my CF, plus I had to go to the board to determine my case. I had otherwise felt very supported and that my workload was good, although I often felt I wasn’t really helping anyone or doing enough for my patients. It didn’t give me enough of a challenge or push to do grow as a new SLP. (more…)

Tags:
2Jan

How to Set Goals that Evolve and Reduce Stress

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice Goal Setting
Comments Off on How to Set Goals that Evolve and Reduce Stress

Goal Setting Pinterest

Goal setting is one of those things that everyone seems to be doing each January (and August if you work in a school). It is a way to harness the new timeframe, get solidified in what you want to accomplish and make a plan for it to come to fruition. Unfortunately, most of these goals are often left in the dust after a few weeks, or even days, and our year doesn’t quite have the impact we had hoped for. Or worse, we reach our goals but then are left to fumble through the rest of the year or not know what to do when the next year arrives.

The reason for this is simple.  Most of us are taught to set hard deadlines with our goals, and to set firm, measurable goals that allow us to see when we achieve the, much like the goals we set for our patients and students. While this can be helpful, it also has a major flaw. What do you do once the goal has been reached? (more…)

Tags: