How to keep your job in Pilates or healthcare feeling fun, dynamic and rewarding
We’ve all been there, stuck in an endless cycle doing the same tasks, using the same processes, day in and day out. We’ve experienced moments where work felt like a chore, rather than a way to express creativity or find fulfilment. We’ve felt resentful towards excessive workloads, anguish over inadequate pay, and frustration at managers who didn’t listen to our struggles.
But your work shouldn’t feel this way. Of course not every day you spend at work will feel exciting, rewarding and fun, but on the whole, your experience of your job should be positive and enjoyable.
Here are some strategies to help make this your reality.
Introduce more variety into your job.
Is there anything worse than feeling like your job is the same-same, repetitive tasks every day? Or like you’ve learned and mastered everything there is to know in your current role?
Variety is the spice of life - in your professional life too! Consider how you can introduce novel, different tasks into your job, or learn something new so you’re always challenged and growing.
If you’re a Pilates instructor, can you try adding a new sequence into your programing, or diversify the types of Pilates classes you’re teaching? Or, if you’re a health professional, can you start specialising into a chosen niche area and providing more comprehensive and varied services within that space?
Learn from others
Ask team members if you can observe or support them in any of their tasks you’re interested in. Shadow other Pilates instructors working at the same studio as you, and notice the things you like about their teaching style, or how their clients respond to their cues and approach. Or sit in on a session with another health professional in your workplace to understand how they interact with patients, and add some of their techniques and skills to your own toolkit.
Professional development
Speak to your employer or manager about enrolling in a professional development course, workshop or qualification. Find something that appeals to or engages you, ideally which aligns with your role, and come to the table prepared with the details, cost and logistics of the specific course you’re keen to complete. Be prepared to explain how it will benefit your employer to enrol you in the course - it will go a long way in getting you a ‘yes’!
For example, if you work in allied healthcare, you might challenge yourself to develop your skills in supporting a new group of people you haven’t worked with too often in the past - in which case, our APPI Pilates for Menopause could be perfect for you! Not only are you challenging yourself and continuing to learn, you’re also providing better care to your patients - benefitting them and your employer (if you have one!) in the process.
Find a mentor
It might be someone who has achieved something inspirational, left a positive impression on others, or started their own business. It might be someone whose job you aspire to step into one day. Having a mentor is a source of inspiration and motivation - and comes in handy when you need support from someone who’s been there.
If you’re a Pilates instructor, seek out a respected Pilates instructor or studio owner, or someone who has made their mark on the industry by offering something “special” or different to everyone else - and ask them about how they got to where they are today. Drink in the knowledge they share with you!
Continued learning
Realise you’ll never know everything. Explore new techniques and modalities emerging in your profession - if you’re a physiotherapist, you might master new treatment techniques or learn about different specialties. For Pilates instructors, you could explore new styles of Pilates (like hot Pilates!) or experiment with equipment you haven’t used before. Research, test, and evaluate - there’s nothing to lose from trying something new!
Learn from peers
Get out there and learn from others in your field. Whether you’re attending other instructors’ Pilates classes, or networking and seeking the services of fellow health professionals, people in similar roles to yours are a great source of inspiration. You’ll pick up new skills, knowledge, ways to relate to your clients or patients and more.
Invest in your professional relationships.
Forming strong, rewarding relationships with clients or patients, and others in your field is essential to keep your job feeling fresh and fulfilling. Connection makes your work feel more impactful and enjoyable.
Relationships with clients or patients
Building deeper, personal connections with your clients and taking time to truly understand each person’s goals and challenges benefits you and your patients. Showing a genuine interest in patients or clients helps you provide greater care, as you better understand how you can help each individual.
Instead of a “one size fits all” approach, you can tailor your services to each person, helping them achieve greater outcomes and feel more satisfied with your care. As a result, they’re more likely to return to you in the future (and refer others!), meaning you can build longer, lasting relationships.
Your job feels more meaningful when you can watch clients progress and achieve their goals, and experience their gratitude and appreciation for your expertise.
Relationships with colleagues
Forming bonds with people in your workplace can make any mundane task or difficult day feel so much more bearable. The people you work with probably have something in common with you if they’ve ended up in the same place as you have… So why not go out on a limb, reach out, and invest in the people around you?
Relationships with others in your industry
Networking with others in your field is another way to feel connected to people who get you. They can teach you new things, inspire you, give advice, even open up new opportunities for you. Put yourself out there, attend networking events, and talk to people around you. Like your colleagues, it’s a safe bet they share some of your interests or values…
Join our Facebook group to start connecting with others in your industry now!
Create a healthy work-life balance.
If you’re spending all your time or mental capacity on your work, you’ll feel resentful, undervalued or burnt out before too long. Establishing boundaries around your working conditions, and prioritising your personal life as much as your job is crucial.
Discover how to prevent burnout here.
Give yourself time to “miss” your job
If you’re always “working” - or thinking about work - you never have a chance to miss it. It's mundane, inescapable. But if you add social engagements, relationships, hobbies, etc into the mix, work feels less “same same”. You’re living a balanced life, one part of which is your job.
Set work boundaries
Stop answering emails out of work hours, or block out regular breaks throughout your day to decompress between patients or clients. Your employer only knows when you’re at (or beyond) your limits when you speak up. Voice how you’re feeling, suggest some strategies to prevent it happening again, and set boundaries… And stick to them! Teach them how to treat you.
Self-care
Making time for self-care is crucial, particularly for health professionals expending so much energy emotionally and physically in treating patients, and Pilates instructors with intense physical demands from teaching multiple classes daily. Set aside time to pay attention to your own mental and physical health - whether this involves doing regular exercise, a mindfulness practice, investing time in a hobby, or spending time solo or with loved ones.
Find meaning in your work.
Feeling uninspired? Unmotivated? Remember why you do what you do.
Allied health professionals actively improve the health and wellbeing of their patients, helping them achieve their goals and feel their best. They help patients rehabilitate injury, improve mobility, even enjoy a better quality of life.
Pilates instructors also offer huge value to clients. They provide a safe space to workout, help clients improve their fitness and health, and help people enjoy their lives with greater strength and confidence.
If you’re not taking the time to acknowledge the power and importance of your work, or you’ve lost touch with your why, return to your purpose. Which of your values does your work align with? How does it make you feel valued and fulfilled? How can you acknowledge the impact and support you offer so many people?
Look at the people right in front of you: see the impact you’re having. Isn’t that exciting, rewarding, even fun? Your ‘why’ is an abundant source of motivation and inspiration when things feel stale.
Job satisfaction and personal wellbeing are important. If you’re not there yet, give these strategies a go and see if they help! And if not, maybe it’s time to consider a change…
If a change of career is in your sights, why not pursue a future in Pilates? With flexibility, freedom and fulfilment in abundance, it’s an industry where you’ll never experience a dull moment! Enrol in our APPI Pilates Instructor Certification today to set yourself up for success in a career in Pilates!
If you’re looking to upskill in your work as an allied health professional or Pilates instructor, to help you secure opportunities offering the variety and enjoyment you’re searching for, enrol in our APPI Clinical Pilates Certification.
Already completed our Clinical Certification? Committing to ongoing learning and growth is key to a thriving and rewarding career… Level up in your skill set or specialised knowledge - check out our huge range of short online courses to make it happen.