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10Apr

Are You Feeling Bitter About Your SLP Job?

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Journal Techniques for SLPs Self Care
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Are You Feeling Bitter Pinterest

What is the first thing that floats through your mind when you hear “It’s time to go to work?”. Are you filled with purpose, albeit a little exhaustion, or are you filled with dread, stress and, even, bitterness?

If you used to be really excited about your career and the changes you would make in people’s lives, or the difference you could make in the world, but now you just think about how there are only 5 more days until Friday, you are starting to experience bitterness. This bitter attitude towards your work and job can start out small, but, if not recognized and managed, can be the thing that makes you dream about quitting your job and leaves you feeling unfulfilled in your life.

A few years ago, bitter was all I felt about my work. It was like I was trapped each day and living a life I wasn’t happy in and my job was the thing to blame for it. Going into the same place each day with no flexibility to my schedule, no fresh air, and no freedom left me feeling drained. I grew so bitter each day that I really didn’t find any enjoyment out of the work, even when I had colleagues who were in the same field or other professions who were stressed and overwhelmed too. I felt like maybe I was in the wrong career. No matter what, I just felt bitter and eventually quit.

After I quit, I started doing mindfulness practices and learned about self-care, coaching, meditation and more. I taught yoga and mind-body fitness classes, and blogged about eating healthy and feeling good in your body. It wasn’t until after I cam back that I realized all fo that work was simply me trying to heal my bitterness. And it was only then that I realized my bitterness was caused by burn out. (more…)

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3Apr

How to Come Back After Break without Feeling Anxious, Stressed or Burnt Out

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Reduce Stress Self Care
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SLP Spring Break Pinterest

This week might be one of the most important weeks when it comes to mindfulness and taking care of yourself. As an SLP, you are constantly on the go, either driving or running from patient to patient, or shifting from groups to classes to paperwork or meetings, or even just seeing client after client after client with little break in between. There are times when you might not even have a change to stop and grab a snack or a drink, let alone run to the restroom, or even sit in silence for a moment to collect your thoughts. It is one of the reasons that time off becomes so important for mental well-being.

It is also the reason it is so hard to come back after a break.

It is no joke, coming back from a break is really tough when you are feeling even one tiny bit of burn out. It can seem like all hope is lost and that everything is bad, harder and not as it should be. It might even feel like your job is sucking the soul out of your life. That sounds dramatic, but I know many can relate. (more…)

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20Mar

What is the Cost of Staying Where You Are?

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice
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Cost of Staying Where You Are PinterestI recently attended a 1-day seminar, where we learned all about how our thoughts create and shape what we see as out reality, and how, because of this, we are able to change how we feel about things, by changing the way we think about them. It might sound a little “woo-woo” or “out there”, but this was all evidence-based and related to the fields of psychology and coaching.

There were many parts that absolutely blew my mind, but one of the biggest pieces was a question that was asked, of us (for those moments we felt stuck or defeated) and of our clients: “How is that working for you?” (more…)

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20Feb

3 Simple Ways to Reduce SLP Job Burn Out

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice
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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…)

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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
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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…)

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17Jan

How To Create A Vision Board

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Goal Setting Reduce Stress Self Care
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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,

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9Jan

8 Pieces of Advice for the New SLP

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Career Advice New SLP Reduce Stress
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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…)

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2Jan

How to Set Goals that Evolve and Reduce Stress

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice Goal Setting
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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…)

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