Keep It Simple

As I prepared to write this message, I did a little research about what days are recognized and celebrated in July.

In addition to the obvious—America's birthday on July 4th; I came across National Simplicity Day.

National Simplicity Day is celebrated on July 12th and honors the birthday of famed transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, who you may remember from your high school language arts classes.

He believed that people have knowledge about themselves that 'transcends' all the external forces in their lives and advocated for living a simpler life to better get in touch with those feelings. To actualize this, Thoreau went to live in the woods for several years.

Since living in the woods is not a viable option for many of us, there are other ways to evaluate and simplify your life.

Nationaltoday.com states National Simplicity Day was created to remind and allow people to disconnect from their busy, complicated lives and to decrease the literal and figurative clutter that makes life complicated and stressful.

Nationaltoday.com states National Simplicity Day was created to remind and allow people to disconnect from their busy, complicated lives and to decrease the literal and figurative clutter that makes life complicated and stressful.

As I discovered more about National Simplicity Day, I learned that many people unplug from their devices, declutter their homes, donate unused items to charities, and take time to remove emotional clutter by spending time in nature.

Doing these things can improve our mental health and overall well-being. I know when I put my phone away for an hour or two and spend time in nature, I feel recharged. I despise cleaning my house, but I feel so much calmer when everything is put away, and the house smells freshly cleaned.

It is so easy to get caught up in our routines and our busy and sometimes overwhelming lives that we forget to stop and recognize what is truly important.

I think about simplifying our work lives as well. As medical-surgical nurses, our shifts are filled with phone calls, passing medications, wound care, patient assessments, and constant requests for assistance from our patients and our coworkers.

Often, there is nothing simple about being a nurse; our actions ensure our patient's safety as we navigate our practice environments which are also complex and variable—hospitals, clinics, community health care centers, and in patient's homes.

Medical-surgical nurses care for patients and work to improve their health so they can leave the hospital, avoid readmission, or stay in their homes while they heal.

However, when I think about what I like most about being a medical-surgical nurse, I find myself pondering the simple things. Those times, I share a laugh with my patient, helping a patient understand how to take their medication, or connecting my patient to a community resource when they call for help after discharge.

​In those moments, I am not trying to remember what I must do next or acknowledging the hours of documentation I have left to complete; I am a nurse connecting with and helping another person, which is why I became a nurse. 

Life can get complex quickly, so I believe we owe it to ourselves to regularly slow down and take time to live in the moment, declutter our to-do lists, and put ourselves first. We should do this every day, but maybe this year, we can start with July 12th.