Most physicians are busier than ever these days, with administrative work, new patients, immunizations, pandemic protocols, staff shortages, and, did we say, administration work? When faced with an increased workload, many physicians, particularly those who are just starting out, simply add more hours to the mix. The issue is that it is unsustainable, leading to resentment, unhappiness, boredom, and burnout. Self-care is no longer practiced as it should be.

Dr. Hema Patel, who co-wrote The Time Management Guide: A Practical Handbook for Physicians by Physicians with Dr. Derek Puddester in collaboration with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, said, “Many doctors are naive to some basic time management strategies because they never had to rely on them before.”

Doctors are intelligent and hardworking by nature, therefore many of them have a delayed need for task-selection abilities. When faced with an increasing amount of responsibilities, most people just push through rather than slowing down. The key, according to experts, is to realise that it’s all about awareness and behaviour, not finding additional minutes in the day. Dr. Patel and the Royal College offered three timeless pieces of advice when it comes to managing time as a physician.

  1. Assess your goals and values to determine your priorities.
  2. Organise your everyday activities at work and at home in a proactive manner (to own your schedule, with your goals and values in mind).
  3. Avoid self-destructive habits (like perfectionism and procrastination).

With seemingly never-ending to-do lists, protocols, and administrative responsibilities, time management is critical to attaining personal and professional goals while also providing outstanding patient care. Here are five important actions to help you reclaim your time.

Tackling Admin Tasks 

Dr. John Crosby, a family physician in Cambridge, Ont., has written extensively on time management and even produced a video on how to love paperwork. “Many doctors despise paperwork because they don’t set aside time to do it and become sidetracked while doing it,” he explained. “Make an appointment with yourself and do it every weekday, no exceptions,” says the author. “Turn off all the devices that are causing you to be distracted.”

Managing administrative tasks, as well as time management in general, can be difficult for new physicians, according to Dr. Patel. Dr. Stephanie Zhou, an FP and addictions physician with two years of experience, agrees. “When you’re young and starting off, you try to be kind, and you’re used to being a resident when you can’t say no.” Women, in particular, strive to maintain positive relationships with their patients, and saying “no” can be difficult. So her advice is divided into four categories: get paid, time block, get help, set expectations, and don’t buy into other people’s sense of urgency.

Get Compensated

Dr. Zhou supports for paid administrative time to be baked into contracts, rather than unpaid personal time, so that admin work does not sneak into unpaid personal time. “I think a lot of newly graduated residents, including myself, don’t manage time well,” she said, “especially around admin work—checking labs, checking consultant reports, calling patients back, refilling prescriptions. So at least negotiate paid administrative time.”

Blocking Your Time

Time blocking is not a new concept, however it has recently gained popularity thanks to authors like Cal Newport. The first known time-blocker is supposed to be Benjamin Franklin. Every day, he devised a plan and set aside hours at a time to do “serious work.” It, coupled with James Clear’s book Atomic Routines, which covers changing minor daily habits to manage time and improve your life, has helped Dr. Zhou.

Seek Assistance

“A lot of new graduates believe they can do it all and that they have to do everything individually,” Dr. Zhou remarked. “In actuality, you’re collaborating as a group.” In the clinic, there are nurses and other providers who can assist.” Checking labs can take a long time, according to Dr. Zhou, because new doctors are worried about missing something important. “I have a nurse practitioner in my practice who may follow up on urgent labs.” People who don’t have someone to do it for them can always contact the lab and request that they be notified if there are any urgent results.”

Expectations Should Be Set

When it comes to time blocking, it’s very vital to set aside time for intensive work as well as have some weekend discipline. Dr. Zhou believes in the importance/urgency matrix. The goal is to divide what’s urgent and significant into four quadrants: urgent but not important, important but not urgent, and neither urgent nor important. The first is, of course, at the top of your to-do list, while the second can be postponed if it is important but not urgent. You just don’t do it because it’s not important or urgent.

Doctors who are having problems balancing their schedules should not be discouraged. It’s never too late! Even though yesterday was completely out of control and today seems to be spinning out of control, there are many things we can do today to make tomorrow more efficient, less stressful, and most importantly, more pleasant. Take the time to find the methods that are most effective for you.