week 10 Flashcards
whats occupational balance
the individual’s perception of having the right amount of occupations and the right variation between occupations
why do we need balance
- To manage competing demands for our time and attention.
- To facilitate adaptation and self-development.
- To promote health and well-being e.g. to manage stress
- Acute stress can be useful
- Prolonged (chronic) stress can be damaging
what are we balancing
- How we use our time
- Types of occupations we participate in i.e. occupational categories – self-care, productivity, leisure
- Occupations with different characteristics i.e. different experiences – satisfaction, challenges, relaxation
how do we achieve balance
Reorganisation requires:
• Self-reflection, identifying perceived imbalances, how they develop & impact • Creative solutions with sufficient appeal to motivate people into action
how to measure occupational balance
time use diary
experience sampling method
personal project analysis
life balance inventory
personal project analysis
Measures degree of conflict or harmony between projects
• Persons wellbeing thought to be influenced by personal projects that are: meaningful, well structured, supported by others, efficacious, & not too stressful
life balance inventory
Overall life balance: match between actual & desired activity patterns
• Need satisfaction: everyday activity patterns needs to support you to meet the
characteristics of FLOW
• Complete involvement in what we are doing – focused, concentrated
• A sense of ecstasy – of being outside everyday reality
• Greater inner clarity – knowing what needs to be done, and how well we are doing
• Knowing that the activity is doable – that our skills are adequate to the task
• A sense of serenity - not worried about oneself, and a feeling of growing
beyond the boundaries of the ego
• Timelessness – thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by in minutes
• Intrinsic motivation – whatever produces flow becomes its own reward
life balance definition
“a satisfying pattern of daily activities that is healthful, meaningful and sustainable to an individual within the context of his/her life circumstances”
life balance model
- Occupational patterns examines:
- Congruence - desired vs actual time engaged in meaningful occupations
- Equivalence – supporting people to meet four needs dimensions:
- Meet needs for biological health & physical safety
- Contribute to rewarding & satisfying relationships,
- Feeling engaged and challenged
- Creating a positive self-identity
- Environment: support or hinder engagement in personally satisfactory occupational pattern i.e. physical, social, cultural, political, economic
five facotrs of personal projects analysis
- Meaningful
- Well structured
- Supported by others
- Efficacious
- Not too stressful
occupational imbalance
imbalance involves a state that occurs because people’s
engagement in occupation fails to meet their unique physical, social, mental, or rest needs and allows insufficient time for their own occupational interests and growth as well as for the occupations each feels obliged to undertake to meet family, social & community commitments”
when does life imbalance occur
patterns of daily activities are perceived to be unsatisfactory to the individual and that:
• Increase risk of physical and mental health problems
• Limit or compromise participation in valued relationships
• Incongruent with establishing or maintaining a satisfactory identity
• Felt to be mundane, uninteresting or unchallenging, or
• Not sufficiently organised, managed or comprehensible to enable life meaning, self-renewal or goal achievement”
indicatory of occupational imbalance
- Stress
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Burnout
- Boredom
- Fatigue, lack of energy, apathy
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Poor sleep
- Poor physical health i.e. cardiovascular health,
- Social isolation
strategies to achieve balance
Reorganisation requires:
• self-reflection,
• identification of perceived imbalances,
• how they develop,
• how they impact and
• creative solutions with sufficient appeal to motivate people into action
