Ten Ways To Manage Your Time Productively

Here are a few time-tested sayings that can help us make the most of our days in our practices.

Time waits for no one. [Literal translation: No one is so powerful that they can stop the march of time.] However, some of our patients try to stop time, don’t they? How about when they insist on arriving when they want to and not when they are scheduled? Patients who consistently arrive early or late for their appointments, and expect us to take them immediately have little regard for our time. Of course, arguing with them is not wise or productive. If your schedule allows, inform your patients that you are only too happy to take them this time but that in the future, this may not always be possible. Reinforce that their timeliness would be appreciated. Maintain control of your schedule by routinely educating your patients when they are non-adherent.

Time out! [Literal translation: A brief suspension of activity.] Imagine if our lunch/break times were all acknowledged by a deliberate “Time out!” shout and “T” hand gesture as they are during our beloved sports games? In our hectic day, sometimes we forget how important timeouts are and ignore the benefits. Short breaks from normal activity really do serve to reenergize our minds and bodies. It is not wasted time.

A stitch in time. [Literal translation: A timely effort will prevent more work later.] Adopting new technology will help you make the best use of your time. One of the biggest complaints in medical offices is dictation. I can’t tell you how many times I have had doctors tell me that they are up until 11 p.m. dictating charts. Maybe now is the time to think about training a scribe to help you with notes during (not after) patient care. The upfront learning curve could be significant but the time savings and increased efficiency would be well worth it.

Time will tell. [Literal translation: It is impossible to know or judge something until sometime in the future.] I equate this to doctors/managers who find it difficult to delegate tasks. You will never know if people can accomplish a task unless you first give it to them. Try giving them a piece at a time and see how well they do. Then delegate a little more until you are confident they can successfully handle multiple tasks on their own. Start with tasks you are not particularly fond of, those you might not do as well as someone else, those that deplete your energy or those tasks that take you away from more important activities. Do not wait until later. Your time is valuable and the future is now, which leads us to …

No time like the present. [Literal translation: It is far better to do something now than leaving it for later.] Checklists (or “to-do” lists) are great tools to help manage your time. If you have never used one, get in the habit. Make a list of things you would like to get done today. Then prioritize them. There is just something about crossing things off your list that provides a rewarding feeling of accomplishment and encourages you to forge forward and do more. The more you cross off, the better you feel.   

It is about time. To some of your patients, time is what makes the difference between making an appointment at your office or the podiatry office down the block. Why? It is because getting in a half hour earlier or a half hour later is important to their getting to work and/or school on time. Reassess your schedule and understand your patient’s needs. If one or two “early” or “late” days are warranted to accommodate various schedules, give this strong consideration. It may pay off in increasing the number of patients who come to your practice.

Be on time. One of the first rules to keeping an “on time” schedule is for everyone (especially the doctor) to arrive on time. As my good friend, Kristin Titko, DPM, says, starting “on time” really means you need to arrive five minutes early. Remember, setting a good example for your staff starts at the top, so if you cannot be on time, be early. 

Time’s a-wasting. [Literal translation: Time is running out.] Seems our “hurry, hurry, rush rush” attitude these days is equivalent to a feeling of being overwhelmed. It is no wonder. We used to just get postal mail delivery once a day, six days a week. Now we get postal delivery + fax + texting + email + IMs + Blackberry + Twitter + Facebook, etc., etc., 24/7. We are on technology overload and it has taken our lives by storm. It is up to you to put a limit on the time you spend in these areas. There will always be far more info that comes at you than you have time to keep up with or respond to. Look at your emails once a day and either respond to them or discard them. Then move on to what is next. Remember, your cell phone’s ring is a notification, not a command. You do not need to answer the phone every time it rings. That is why they invented voice mail. Respond to your calls when it is appropriate. Stopping to take a call during patient care upsets your flow and throws you off kilter. Those incidental interruptions can make it twice as long for you to get back on track.

Time heals all wounds. [Literal translation: People eventually get over insults, injuries and hatreds.] Just because that is so does not make it okay to be insulting, hurtful and mean. Think of your words as like toothpaste in a tube. Once they come out, you cannot put them back. Instead of insulting people, take a moment each day to praise them. Your staff would appreciate a genuine “thank you” for something they did that otherwise may have gone by unnoticed. A compliment is a mutual high that makes you both feel good.

Time to go. You knew it had to come to this. Before we close, remember that you can always make more money but you cannot make more time. Starting now, prioritize. Treat each precious moment as if it were your last. Live your life to the fullest!