Four Resilient Ways To Squash End-of-Year-Burnout

by Courtney Clark

The final few weeks before the winter holidays can be full of stress. Try a few resilience exercises to calm the storm and get through the end of the year in peace.

 

Tidings of comfort and joy may be what the popular song calls for, but they can be pretty hard to find during the hectic holiday season. If you fear burnout is creeping in for you or your team, practicing a few resilience techniques can mean the difference between losing your cool and feeling peace on Earth.

1. Breathe and Break

The end of the year brings with it stressors that no other time of year seems to: at work there is often budgeting, fitting in last-minute meetings, and strategic planning for the next year. At home there is frantic shopping, too much baking, and a whirlwind of parties you are expected to make room for in the busy calendar.

Teachers have known for years that the weeks leading up to the holidays are the exact wrong time to try to cram in last-minute work. Take a cue from their playbook and schedule your day with fewer tasks and more breaks, getting done the very most important things and letting the others slide. Find time to stop and take deep breaths in the middle of the chaos. The pile in your inbox will still be there the first week in January. 

2. Set Realistic Expectations

We all have a rosy picture of how the holiday season is supposed to go. When it doesn’t meet our expectations, we’re filled with frustration. But that frustration is of our own making, so being realistic on the front end can curb that freak-out feeling on the back end.

No, your toddler twins might not sit still for a greeting card picture, so don’t expect them to. Your grandmother’s holiday roast recipe might not turn out as juicy. And your extended family might squabble from the stress of sharing one bathroom. 

The holidays exempt us from the real-life frustrations of the other 11 months of the year. Setting realistic expectations ahead of time means we won’t be so disappointed when life turns out to be, well… life. 

3. Make Time For the Truly Important Things, And Ditch the Should-Be-Important Things

Along with setting realistic expectations, the holidays can also cause us to think we have to celebrate in a certain way. Maybe because family tradition dictates it. Maybe because we saw a beautiful layout in a magazine. 

There are only so many hours in the holiday season. Trying to incorporate every single possible activity or tradition into a few short weeks isn’t enjoyable, it’s stressful. So if you have been trying to make Family Ice Hockey Day, or Neighborhood Cookie Decorating happen, and it just isn’t catching hold, that is okay. 

Sit down and make a list of the things that are the most important to you and your loved ones, and prioritize those things. By making space for them, instead of cramming the holidays full, you will actually be able to enjoy them more.

 
4. Seek Moderation

For years doctors have been telling us that we can’t “catch up” on sleep. The best thing to do is go to sleep and wake up at about the same times every day. The same philosophy holds true for holiday indulgences. 

Whether your holiday indulgence is food, wine, shopping, sports, sleeping, or anything else, don’t think of the holidays as an excuse for a free-for-all. Having a “feast or famine” type attitude to indulgences means you’ll only rebound harder when the celebratory season is over.

Instead, get enough enjoyment out of your indulgence all year ‘round, so that the holidays are only slightly more indulgent than normal. If you gorge on whatever you enjoy now, you’ll only feel the loss more acutely when January comes, and the bleak winter months need all the enjoyment they can get.  So don’t “pig out” in December thinking you can stop cold turkey in January. That kind of punishment doesn’t do your psyche any favors. A little here and a little there will bring you a whole year of happiness.

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By the end of the year, most of us are running on an empty gas tank. But these four techniques for powering through December will have you avoiding burnout and feeling like celebrating by the time you ring in the New Year.

 

 

 

About the Author 

 

Courtney Clark provides content-based motivation that helps individuals adapt faster, achieve more, and develop Accelerated Resilience™. She is the author of three books, including her most recent book "ReVisionary Thinking", a four-time cancer survivor, brain aneurysm survivor, keynote speaker, and founder of a nonprofit. www.CourtneyClark.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPT Codes for the iTind™ and TULSA Procedures to Treat Prostate Disease

by Dee Mandley, RHIT, CCS, CCS-P, CDIP

 
These codes were created to report the iTind™ procedure. The iTind™ device consists of a series of tines that slowly expand within the prostatic urethra compressing prostatic tissue restricting blood flow. The restriction of blood flow causes pressure necrosis within the prostate and ultimately remodels/reduces the size of the prostate. This temporary device is guided through the urethra to the prostate via cystourethroscopy and then removed 5 to 7 days later via a urethral catheter. Review the graphic below to see the steps and results of the iTind™.

Assign 53865 for the insertion and 53866 for the removal via catheter. If a cystourethroscopy is used to remove the device report 52310 Cystourethroscopy, with removal of foreign body, calculus, or ureteral stent from urethra or bladder; simple.

These codes were created to report Transurethral Ultrasound Ablation (TULSA) procedure performed with the TULSA-PRO® system.

The TULSA procedure takes place with the patient in an MRI machine. An ultrasound applicator with 10 transducer elements is inserted into the urethra. Utilizing MRI imaging during the procedure allows the surgeon to view the prostate in axial, sagittal, and coronal planes. Exact boundary lines can then be drawn around the prostate section corresponding to each of the 10 elements. The surgeon can control and activate each transducer element to specific targeted areas within the prostate. The ultrasound applicator also cools the urethra during ablation protecting the urethra from the thermal ultrasound energy. This procedure also includes the insertion of a passive cooling device into the rectum to protect the tissue there. The ultrasound applicator conducts a sweeping pattern of directional ablation while rotating within the urethra ablating only the prescribed boundary lines. This is known as an inside-out approach because ablation occurs from inside the urethra heating outwards to the edge of the prostate. The inside-out approach preserves neurovascular bundles and minimizes surrounding tissue damage.

In conclusion, both the iTind™ and TULSA procedures offer innovative approaches to treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer with distinct mechanisms and technologies. Both of these ground-breaking procedures are typically done in an outpatient encounter and represent significant advancements offering patients options that are tailored to their specific needs and conditions.

 

 

About the Author

Dee Mandley, RHIT, CCS, CCS-P, CDIP has been in the health information management field for 30+ years. She has held various positions within hospitals, review organizations, and HIM consulting firms and has successfully managed D. Mandley & Associates, LLC since 2004. She also holds the credentials of RHIT, CDIP, CCS, and CCS-P. She is active in OHIMA and has held several positions on the executive board.