64. Nurse Overload? Try This 4-Step Self-Check Framework

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking “something’s gotta give,” this episode is for you.

In today’s episode of The Nurses Break Room, Jenny Lytle RN shares a simple yet powerful reflection tool: The Four Helpful Lists. Whether you’re recovering from a big project, navigating the chaos of the holidays, or just trying to get through a hectic week on the floor, this 4-question framework will help you take stock of what’s working—and what’s not.

Originally introduced by Christy Wright and now a regular go-to in Jenny’s life, this exercise helps nurses and caregivers clarify, refocus, and reset.

You’ll learn:

• What “The Four Helpful Lists” are and how to use them
• Why brain-dumping on paper can reduce stress and mental clutter
• How to spot energy leaks in your schedule and fix them
• A fresh way to reflect on any event, shift, or life season
• Why this tool is especially helpful around the holidays

Take Action:

• Grab a piece of paper and draw a cross to create 4 quadrants
• Answer these four questions:
  1. What went right? → Amplify it
  2. What went wrong? → Fix it
  3. What’s confusing? → Clarify it
  4. What’s missing? → Add it
• Revisit this tool after any major event or during times of stress

🎧 Listen now and give yourself the clarity and calm you deserve.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or like there’s never enough time, I’ve got something just for you! Head to https://selfcareisntselfish.com to grab your FREE copy of my book, Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: The Compassionate Nurse’s Step-by-Step Guide to Personalized Stress Relief. It’s packed with simple, effective strategies to help you prioritize your needs—without guilt—so you can feel energized, focused, and ready to take on the day. Go to https://selfcareisntselfish.com 

Feeling stressed? Grab my quick and easy Busy Nurses' Guide to Less Stress for practical stress relief that truly fits into your life! https://www.jennylytle.com/guide

Looking for connection with people who get the stress and self-care struggles of nurses and caregivers? Check out https://thenursesbreakroom.com

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylytlern/

More ways to connect here: https://linktr.ee/jennylytle

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Today’s Focus
• 1:03 Why Write The Four Lists
• 2:22 The Four Questions Explained
• 3:16 How To Set Up The Boxes
• 4:00 Do It Fresh After Events
• 4:20 Using It For Holiday Planning
• 4:30 Energy Check And Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:29

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Nurses Break Room with Jenny Lytle RN. Today we are going to focus on a simple tool that is really effective when you're feeling like, you know, maybe something's got to give, and I'm not really sure what it is. Sometimes it can be nice to get that out on paper to really just take a look at what it is that's going on in your head. And so this is called the Four Helpful Lists. It's something that I heard of first from Christy Wright years ago. And I use it pretty regularly now because it is simple and it is so helpful. So this is something that's great to use after you've done a project or maybe had an event or something like that. But it's also good just to take stock of your life from time to time. And especially if you feel like, you know, there's a lot going on and maybe I'm not fitting in all the things that I want to fit in. Um it's a good way to look at what is taking up all of that time and energy. And so I'm doing this now because I'm feeling a little bit of that myself. And so as I was pulling this out and getting ready to do it, I thought, you know what, it's a great time to share with you as well. So it's four questions. And the first one is what went right? And that's something you're going to amplify. Now, if you're thinking of a particular event, so let's just say you, you know, you threw a party last week. And so looking back at that, you want to reflect on each of these questions, or maybe it's a project that you're working on for work or at home. But it also can be used just for taking stock of life in general. So, you know, just kind of apply these to your situation. So it's what went right, and then you want to amplify that. The next question is what went wrong and how can you fix that? What's confusing, and that's something you want to clarify. And then last, what's missing? And those are the things you want to add. So this is just a super simple way to do this. And you can just take a piece of paper and you know, make four boxes on the paper, just draw a line down the middle, um, vertically and horizontally, and then have a box for each of those things. And you can just kind of braindump and put all the things that are confusing or the things that went well, the things that didn't go well, and then of course, you know, coming up with what's missing too, so that you can do better next time, so that you can learn from things. And this is so great to do, especially right after you first get done with an event, because then everything's kind of fresh and you see, you know, those things that, oh, I wish maybe I would have done this a little bit differently and that would have worked out better. But it's just something that's so helpful to come back to. And we're gonna be getting into the holidays here soon, and it's something that's very helpful for things like that too. You know, when you're getting together and you're hosting different things or you're going different places, having a way to kind of track the things that work well and maybe didn't work so well, um, the things that you really enjoyed and everybody else enjoyed, and the things that maybe not so much. But this is just something that um that I wanted to share because it is so simple but so helpful. And it's a great way to see where maybe we're giving energy to things that really aren't benefiting us very much. So I'd love to know what you think about it. Until next time, remember self care isn't selfish, it's essential if we want to continue to care for others and live our best lives. Have a wonderful week.