TLDR:
- Time management tips can help you avoid burnout and re-engage with the most meaningful parts of your work
- Digital tools can help streamline and automate mundane tasks, freeing up valuable time
- Experts suggest that building habits can help you move through your to-do list more quickly and effectively
- Prioritizing time for yourself is essential for both effective time management and personal wellness.
This is an edited version of a story previously published on Dr. Bill.
Good time management is a key aspect in avoiding burnout. According to research on burnout in physicians, work overload is the single largest contributing factor, and when it’s combined with a perceived loss of control – like when you have too much on your plate and no time to complete it – it can create a burnout ‘perfect storm’.
So what can you do to better manage your time?
1. Spend at least 20% of your time doing something you love
One of the biggest problems associated with burnout is job fit. For example, if you’re a busy surgeon who loves being in the operating room, a promotion to a clinical facilitator might come with a new administrative or managerial workload, requiring you to put down your scalpel for most of the week. This wouldn’t be such a bad thing if it weren’t your favourite part of the job.
While sometimes problems with job fit are unavoidable, making even a small amount of time for the parts of the job you love makes work worthwhile.
Experts suggest that giving employees at least one half day per week to do work that excites them allows them to connect with the part of the job where they feel the most satisfied – reminding them why they chose the job in the first place. For many doctors, this is the clinical portion of their day. Since many healthcare professionals consider medicine not just a career, but a calling, spending time with patients can be a much-needed recharge and keep burnout at bay.
2. Use technology (in moderation)
Technology can be a double-edged sword when it comes to managing time, as it can be both helpful and distracting. You might be surprised at how many routine tasks could be streamlined or eliminated with a little setup. For example, many mundane or repetitive administrative tasks can be put through your EMR software; even if you don’t know how to do something, spending some time figuring it out with your EMR provider’s help desk might be worthwhile if it leads to reducing time spent on admin in the future.
Similarly, spending too much time submitting claims can get frustrating and time-consuming. But, if you sign up for a service like Dr. Bill, which lets you submit invoices from your phone and easily track all your income, the benefits are meaningful. Not only are you making sure you’re getting paid properly, but you won’t need to spend hours at the end of the week adding up every procedure and routine you’ve done.
Setting up priority flags for your email, creating templates for frequently sent messages or establishing processes for your medical office staff are other great time-saving ideas. If you’re feeling really pressed for time, streamlining as much as you can in your personal life – such as by hiring a cleaner or automating your household bill payments – can save you time and stress, as well as help your work-life feel more balanced.
The downside of technology is its ability to be distracting. If you find yourself constantly getting sucked into your phone or email inbox, it might be a good idea to shut off certain apps during office hours, so when you do pick up your phone, you’ll stay focused and use the tools that can help automate your day.
3. Build good habits
One way to get more done in less time is to build great habits. Flagging actionable emails for your to-do list as soon as you get into the clinic, doing one hour of paperwork before you go home for the day, or going through your calendar while you have your morning coffee can all be ways to make time-saving tasks second nature.
Experts suggest linking habits with things you do predictably every day – like eating lunch, having a morning coffee, or getting into the office. This approach can also help you go from task to task without getting distracted, adding more to your to-do list, or getting sidetracked from patient to patient. Still, try not to pack too much into your day – making habits too routine (and putting them on autopilot) can make your work feel mundane.
4. Prioritize
The idea of prioritizing your most important and most urgent tasks might seem like a given, but researchers into physician time management reveal that doing so is crucial to both managing time and achieving career goals.
Experts suggest that physicians separate daily and monthly tasks into the following categories: important and urgent, important and less urgent, less important and more urgent, or low on both factors. Then, focus on making time for tasks that are important and less urgent. Although this might not be possible on a daily basis – when important and urgent tasks tend to take priority – doing so on a monthly basis will keep other important (but less urgent) tasks from slipping through the cracks.
Burnout can happen when doing things that are important to you, such as applying for research grants or heading up committees, are continuously put off in favour of things that are more urgent. Without weekly or monthly planning, each day’s most pressing tasks tend to take priority even if they are of lower importance. Keeping at least a loose handle on planning in advance – or carving out time for the things that matter – is a good way to make sure you’re satisfied at the end of the day.
5. Create Blocks for your Time
Even if you’re spending most of your day with patients, you likely still have a frenzy of other activities competing for your attention – such as phone calls, emails, prescriptions and insurance forms. These tasks can create roadblocks for your day, and spending your time juggling them in between seeing patients can leave you feeling frazzled and worn out, not to mention leaving the office without accomplishing everything you had hoped to.
If you’re finding your time in the office is hectic, try blocking it off: check email/EMR inbox once or twice per day, bill on your smartphone after every patient, set aside time exclusively for paperwork, and aim to work in 90-minute segments. Blocking off your time into your various job activities (core responsibilities, personal growth activities, free time, management/admin time, etc.) will help you get more done and spend less time spinning your wheels. If making time blocks seems like a daunting task, try tracking the time you spend each week in the various categories and going from there – you might be surprised at how much time you spend on some activities – such as administration – compared to others you might view as more important.
If you do block off amounts of time (say, for something like billing), let your staff and administrative team know. This way, you can keep the door to your office closed, turn off all distractions, and get to work. Setting time blocks can also help your staff know when you’ll be getting to certain tasks, such as a lengthy workers’ compensation form or going over your weekly billing, which can help everything in your office run smoother overall.
6. Take Time for Yourself
The most important aspect of time management is also one of the most important for your overall well-being: take some time for yourself! This doesn’t mean bubble baths or fancy lunches (although it could), but simply taking time for yourself each day, whether it’s to enjoy a coffee and catch up on your text messages, eat a meal away from your desk, or keep half an hour at the end of the day to get yourself sorted before you leave, is crucial to keeping you feeling refreshed. After all, if you’re feeling frazzled and overworked, chances are you could also be feeling emotionally or physically drained.
As much as every physician wants to be a superhero, the fact is that sometimes it’s simply not possible to get everything done! Taking even the most basic amounts of time for yourself shouldn’t be what gets left off the calendar every day. Even if it means blocking off fifteen minutes for yourself in your daily schedule, good time management tips for doctors start with prioritizing your own well-being. You are a valuable resource – so use your energy wisely!
This article is intended as general information only and is not to be relied upon as constituting legal, financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. Information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the authors as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates.
