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Most doctors are very busy people. In fact, many of
us take pride in the long hours we work and the large
number of patients we see everyday – and the ultimate
“status symbol” for a doctor is a packed
waiting room, with many patients ( and their families
) anxiously waiting for a chance to talk to the doctor.
However, the fact that patients need to wait for hours
to see you is actually a symptom of a disease common
to many doctors – poor time management skills.
It is true that doctors do need to wear many hats -
not only do you have patients to look after, you have
many other responsibilities as well– for example,
managing your clinic, looking after your investments,
buying shares, attending meetings and taking care of
your family. As time goes by, you get busier and busier,
and you may find that your life is getting out of control
– instead of running your life, you may find that
your activities are running you. Time is the only resource
in a physician's practice that can't be exchanged for
money. You can't buy more time and you can't save it
up for future use. Once it's gone, it's gone.
As a highly skilled professional, time is your most
important resource and you need to use the science of
time management to regain control of your life. While
it may not necessarily enable you to see five more patients
a day ( which may not even be in your best interests
in the first place – more is not always better
!), it will help you to juggle your professional and
personal activities with greater ease. And you'll also
be able to find time to catch up on your reading and
keeping up to date with the medical literature as well.
Step number one is the most important – and
often the most difficult as well. You need to start
by identifying your top priorities in your life.
This prioritization helps you avoid dissipating
your precious hours and energy on a legion of low-level
activities. Once you know what deserves a Yes, it's
easier to say No to whatever else comes along. Don't
limit your prioritizing to the professional realm.
Defining your life’s goals is not easy –
but it’s helpful to list the five most important
things in your life in the space of one minute.
To define a goal, use the SMART rule –
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S Specific - Get it clear
M Measurable – so you can define it
A Achievable – so you can stretch yourself
R Realistic - anchored in reality and attainable
T Timed - a deadline is set and provides a degree of
urgency
Once you've identified your ideals, you then need to
compare them to reality. The diagnostic tool for this
is a diary of what you do every waking hour. You may
get a rude shock when you find , for example, that there
is a big gap between your desire to be with your family
and the amount of time you actually spent with them.
However, don’t get disheartened by this. In fact,
this simply means that you need to manage your time
much more effectively than you are doing at present
– and there are many techniques for doing so.
One reason most doctors are such poor managers of
their own time is that we get so used to being told
what to do and when to do it , as medical students
and residents. We are so accustomed to following
orders, we forget that as practicing doctors, we
are masters of our own time – and we need
to organize our life and clinic around our priorities
and goals. Also, most of us have never been exposed
to the science of time management, with the result
that we often use our time very wastefully. However,
we need to remember that our time is our most valuable
resource – and we need to utilize it efficiently.
Any doctor who makes his patients wait for more
than 60 minutes on a routine basis is a poor time
manager. Not only is this very disrespectful to
your patients, it can also cause you considerable
aggravation, because you get pressurized by the
large number of patients waiting to see you –
and you no longer enjoy seeing patients anymore.
While a busy clinic full of patients seems to be
the hallmark of a “good doctor” in India
– and many doctors find such a full clinic
boosts their ego ( “see how busy I am “)
– it’s actually likely to lead to poor
clinical care, as complex problems can get missed
or overlooked.
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A useful time management tool is a 2 X 2 matrix developed
by Stephen Covey that classifies activities as important
or unimportant, urgent or not urgent. Dealing with junk
mail, for example-something neither important nor urgent-epitomizes
Quadrant IV. Greeting certain drop-in visitors may qualify
for Quadrant III-urgent, but not important. Quadrant
I is familiar ground to doctors: When a heart-attack
patient comes to the ER, say, the situation is both
urgent and important. Planning and relationship-building
fall into the often neglected but critical Quadrant
II-not urgent, but important. For purposeful productivity,
you need to spend more time in Quadrant II.
Basic planners marketed by many companies for busy executives
can help you to
map out your day in detail. ( I am surprised that
no pharmaceutical company has recognized the need
for planners designed especially for doctors as
yet – I am sure these would make very useful
and popular promotional giveaways !) Planners usually
include: a task list, appointment schedule, daily
expense log, and space for diary entries, as well
as monthly calendars for upcoming events and an
address book/telephone directory, so that everything's
in one place.
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For doctors who are computer-friendly, or are addicted
to their laptops, computerized planners such as Lotus
Organizer or Microsoft Outlook offer similar facilities
– and have the ability to remind you automatically
of tasks to be accomplished as well.
The following time-saving techniques can help you find
more time to do the important things in your life.
Control your paperwork . Most doctors dislike paperwork
, so that this often piles up. An office littered with
piles of papers can sap your energy. Three simple rules
govern how you handle a piece of paper .
1. Turn it into an action item on your to-do list;
2. File it-assuming that it's valuable
3. Throw it away.
Follow this system, and you'll end up throwing away
lots of paper – and don’t forget to
buy a really large wastepaper basket !
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Delegate. Refusing to delegate jobs squanders your time.
An efficient nurse can double your productivity –
and this is why most senior doctors have at least one
staff member who has been working for them for many years,
who keeps the clinic ticking like clockwork.
Learn to say No. As a doctor, you are a respected member
of society, and will receive many requests to serve on
committees and clubs, and you may find that you are spending
endless hours doing so . However, you have to learn to
become Dr. No in order to protect your time for what is
valuable to you. The easiest way to say no without hurting
the other person’s feelings is to say – “
I can't help you, but I know someone who can. “
You can even build goodwill this way.
Learn to focus. When you are seeing a patient, concentrate
only on the patient – refuse to take telephone calls
during this time. Not only will this help you take better
care of your patients, your patients will appreciate this
as well !
Learn to analyse what you do. If you have a task to perform,
instead of just doing it in the mechanical fashion you
routinely do, use the Rule of 3 Ds: Do you really need
to do it in the first place ? If not, then Dump it ! Can
someone else can do it ? If so, then Delegate it ! Is
there a quicker and easier way to do it ? If so, then
Discover it !
We all have only 24 hours in a day – but how
well we make use of this time is what separates
the successful doctors from the unsuccessful ones
! If you find that you are always rushing from place
to place, trying to catch up with your work which
is constantly piling up, and have no time either
for yourself or your family, you need to learn basic
time management skills, so that you regain control
over your most precious asset – your time
!
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