How to Achieve Work-Life Balance After Your Stroke You have suffered a stroke – we, and of course, you, want you to succeed, so now what? It’s certainly normal to find yourself making changes to your typical routine. For instance, you may start cutting out certain foods or sleeping in earlier. However, one aspect of your life that may be more resistant to healthy change is work. More so, if you’re self-employed, or a freelancer who feels extra pressure to meet deadlines or provide for family. Unfortunately, this can easily lead to an unhealthy or lackluster work-life balance. Hubstaff, an HR software company, states that up to 60% of all survey responding professionals from the US don’t think they have a good boundary between their professional and private lives. In line with this, another survey finds that more than 50% of all respondents are willing to take up to a 20% salary cut if that means a better quality of life. This is very telling, considering that the rising cost of living would make it seem like earning more money should be a top priority. As a stroke survivor, work-life balance is really important because you will want to take precautions to avoid another stroke. And you might want to consider opportunities in the wellness space to blend your healthcare issues with business or professional opportunities. That said, if you don’t know how to carve out a healthier working approach without compromising your professionalism, here are a few tips from Stroke Recovery Foundation: Set a definite workspace and schedule The primary reason why many workers have a hard time balancing their work and leisure lives is because physical lines are often too blurred. Nowadays, it’s all too common for you to take work calls during weekends, or to complete your tasks in your own home, all for the sake of the “hustle.” However, this only serves to muddle sacred spaces that ensure you’re not overextending yourself because you don’t know when one responsibility ends, and another begins. This is especially true if you’re a remote worker. A good way to prevent this is to take a cue from healthy work-from-home habits and start work hours and workspaces. For example, turn off notifications for all work-related apps once you clock off. Additionally, whether you’re working in the office or at home, keep your work on your own desk and don’t let it spill out into other spaces. By doing so, you’re able to better physically and mentally detach from the demands of work. As a stroke survivor, this also leaves you more time to focus on your healing journey without having to be constantly reminded of work. Be more discerning with your clients Even if you’ve already set good habits for yourself, it’s not worth much if your clients are putting unnecessary stress on you. As mentioned in our previous article about pursuing self-employment after a stroke, working directly with clients can be stressful and perhaps, frustrating. In many cases, the rejection, attention, and demands can even affect your self-motivation. While it’s impossible to have perfect clients, and you’re bound to experience a few tricky situations here and there, you can do yourself a favor and screen who you work with. If you’re part of a team and don’t have much say over who you work for, then at the very least, you can set strict client parameters from the get-go. This will establish your boundaries, so any client who oversteps can be duly noted and addressed. Alternatively, if you’re a freelancer, you can practice restraint when checking client inquiries. While it can be tempting to say yes to every potential patron, taking the extra time to look into them and their working attitude before formally signing on is a safer approach. Consider part-time work after your Stroke A great way to re-enter the workforce or get your own business back up and running is to start out part-time. This is a healthy approach because the stroke may leave you with less energy than you had before you had your stroke. This approach is part of our One-Step at a Time technique that we teach and advocate for. Since we want you to succeed, this approach is lightly to result in success since you are managing your time better. If you are working in an organization, you might want to approach management, or your boss with a plan to re-enter part-time and gradually increase your hours until you have achieved a full-time schedule. Make an effort to socialize Finally, don’t forget to make time to socialize personally. When your schedule is packed, it’s usually easier for people to choose their work life over their personal one. That said, although this may seem more practical in the short term, it’s much less beneficial when you look at the big picture. When you isolate yourself, you’re at a much higher risk of developing mental and emotional issues. To elaborate, researchers have linked loneliness to more incidents of chronic disease, such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure, to name a few. Naturally, as a stroke survivor, developing any of these can be more dangerous. On top of this, loneliness has been found to affect cognition, creativity, and focus, so you’re going to feel less productive, too. In addition, over time, this can lead to poor work performance. With this in mind, it’s better to get ahead of this potential problem, and just make time for loved ones as early as possible. It need not be through anything grand either if that’s too hard; even just a little coffee here and there can be a huge wellness refresher. We want our community of stroke survivors to succeed. We hope that you consider some, or all of these suggestions to create and maintain a healthy work-life balance. You will be a healthier YOU! Any suggestions or questions – please contact us at Bobm@StrokeRF.org. Article written by Roane Jenston (fb)

Dear Supporters, Survivors, and Caregivers: If you are like me, you were besieged by Giving Tuesday emails yesterday. We decided to wait until the dust settled, and hope you have not totally emptied your giving checkbook. A GREAT QUESTION FOR YOU TO ASK IS – what do you do at SRF to warrant my support? At Stroke Recovery Foundation we try to help, as survivors who 'have walked the walk' ourselves! Yes, our mission is to facilitate STROKE SUCCESS! Success maximizing recovery, Success preventing strokes, and Success increasing awareness of this underserved disease which medical professionals say is 80% preventable. We answer emails with ideas based on lived experience, we coach, we speak publicly, and we consult with medical companies who are focused on stroke. For example, this past weekend we got the following email from a mother about her 40 year old daughter. And yes,10% of strokes occur in people under the age of 50. “My 40-year-old daughter had a stroke. > It was determined that she initially had a brain bleed, and they would go in and try and break it up. When they did that, she ended up having a seizure and was intubated. > She was in ICU for a week while this was going on. > She had difficulty moving her left arm and right leg. > This was for a week and moved her to what they called a step down from ICU. > She was moved to a different hospital for physical therapy. > She’s went from a wheelchair to a walker within days and was walking on her own with a just a bit of difficulty because she wasn’t feeling anything in her toes. > After a few weeks she was released. > She’s at home with her boyfriend who has been constantly by her side. > She’s not working and isn’t able to drive yet. > My concern is communicating with her. > We used to talk every day. Now she doesn’t answer her phone. She says she just doesn’t want to talk. > And her text messages mostly don’t give any indication of how she really is doing. > When I’m there I don’t ask too many questions because she’ll say I don’t really want to talk about it. > Just wondering what’s the best way I can help her. > Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks” OUR ANSWER “Thanks for reaching out. She needs a coach to help her deal with her situation, and how to create her new life. Part of that coaching would be to speak with you, and her boyfriend privately, and then to her, also privately. Our website gives some additional info about the coaching. If you think we can assist, please let us know. All of our coaches are stroke survivors, which makes a world of difference. So what you can do is to guide her towards the help she needs. All the Best.” HER ANSWER “Thank you, Bob. Appreciate you replying and giving me some insight on how to help.” **** This back and forth will likely go on between we and the mother as the daughter is showing signs of depression which is a common malady of stroke. Our guidance will be based on lived experience! This is but one of many! We get so many requests for guidance, and help, which we need your support to address! Thank you for your attention and considering Stroke Recovery Foundation for your support. Should you wish to donate just go to www.StrokeRecoveryFoundation.org where you will find DONATE buttons We would be interested in any questions, comments or suggestions you might have. Please email us: Bobm@StrokeRF.org. Personal Regards, Bob Mandell In an emergency call 911 immediately. Do not drive to the Hospital This post is not medical advice. The members of Stroke Recovery Foundation are not medical professionals in any way, and do not represent as such. Our opinions are based on life experiences. As a 501c3 we greatly appreciate your donations which allow us to continue our work of facilitating stroke success. Maximizing stroke recovery, increasing stroke awareness, and educating the public at large about approaches to prevent strokes are our short-term efforts. Rest Assured, Your Support Is So Very Important! Bob Mandell Bobm@StrokeRF.org (fb)