Twelve Tips for Creating Realistic To-Do Lists for Busy Physicians

An earlier version of this article was published on this website in July, 2023.

Creating a realistic and actionable To-Do list can feel like a daunting task for a busy physician. But the truth is that your To-Do list can free up hours of your valuable time, create structure out of chaos, and help you to reach goals that will bring you closer to your ideal life.

In this article, I’m going to share twelve actionable and realistic tips that will help you to develop your own sustainable To-Do List practice.

Tip Number One: Write it Out

I encourage you to write out your daily to-do list and carry it with you, rather than using your computer or phone.  Research shows that handwriting notes, including important schedule reminders, activates the brain’s memory functions more strongly than entering the information into an electronic device. My favorite tool is my Bullet Journal. But a simple piece of paper that you can slip into your pocket will do.

Tip Number Two: Don’t Include Everything

Your To-Do list should not include patient appointments, consults, rounds, or other foundational tasks of your practice. Instead, use it to create and keep track of tasks such as

✅meetings

✅strategic tasks

✅planning

✅study time

✅personal appointments

✅exercise

✅meditation

✅creative endeavors

✅any other personal projects that are meaningful to you

Tip Number Three: Make a Weekly Appointment with Your List

Choose a recurrent time to devote ten to fifteen minutes creating a list of your weekly tasks, keeping the above list in mind. For me, Sunday evenings work best.

Be sure to include tasks that may not be due the following week, but that might require planning over the next several weeks to months. For those tasks, make note of the deadline so that you can prompt yourself to plan accordingly. These might include

⭕lectures

⭕papers

⭕vacation planning

⭕studying for boards

⭕tax preparation

⭕business planning

⭕writing an article

⭕learning a new skill

Tip Number Four: Take Ten Minutes Every Evening

Each evening, take ten minutes to review your tasks from the day, revisit your weekly task list, and create a list for the following day. It’s easy to add more things to the list than you can reasonably accomplish. To avoid this trap, include a general range of time required to complete each task. That way, you’ll keep your plans realistic and set yourself up for success.

Don’t forget to take into account steps that you need to take to reach your upcoming deadlines. Keep these events in mind as you plan your list and break down the necessary steps into actionable tasks.

Tip Number Five: Prioritize, Delegate, and Delete

Prioritize your tasks so that the most important things take priority.

Before committing to your To-Do list, take a look to see if there are tasks that you can delegate or automate. If so, decide how you are going to do that, and put those steps on your list. Although this can take some time to work out at the beginning, it will save you multiples of time once you’ve put the process in place.

Tip Number Six: Batch Your Tasks

Now that you have your To-Do list, think about how you might organize or cluster several related tasks together. This is known as “batching”. Mentally, this keeps you from constantly switching context, a hazard of multitasking. It can also help you to avoid procrastination.

By batching your tasks, you’ll optimize your time and keep your focus. And that will give you more breathing room, or margin, for the things that matter the most to you.

Tip Number Seven: Take Advantage of Unexpected Open Time

Refer to your list when you find yourself with unexpected open time, especially when the tasks only require limited blocks of concentrated effort. Even 10 minutes of focused work can reduce your in-box burden.

Tip Number Eight: Use a Timer

When possible, use a timer to encourage yourself to maintain focus. Twenty- to thirty-minute segments are usually a good idea. But when you’re struggling to get started, even a five-to-ten-minute commitment can get the task launched.

The important thing is to overcome the inertia that might be holding you back. If possible, turn off notifications on your phone or computer to limit interruptions during high-focus times.

Tip Number Nine: Budget Your Energy

Think about optimizing the way you use your time. Use your low-energy times, like the end of a busy day, for things that demand the least amount of focus. And use the times where you have the most mental energy for those commitments that require creativity and mental flow.

Tip Number Ten: Beware of the Energy Drain from Your Devices

Although device use is a necessity of life, it can also be an attention drain. Consider setting a timer for checking email or surfing the web. And whenever possible, batch your email time so that you’re not constantly checking your inbox. Delete, unsubscribe, or delegate whenever possible.

Tip Number Eleven: Allow Time for a Pause

Whenever feasible, give yourself time for a mental pause. Most people need at least 5-10 minutes per hour in order to maintain optimal focus. Although that may not always be possible during the busiest times of your workday, try to build brief pauses into the structure of your after-hours time.

Consider adding a daily meditation to your To-Do list. You can use this as one of your mental pauses. A brief meditation using one of many available apps (including HeadSpace and Waking Up) may help you to re-focus the mind and let go of the stress of the day. By practicing mindfulness meditation regularly for even a few minutes, you’ll train yourself to become more present and less irritable.

Tip Number Twelve: Don’t Give Up

No matter how you structure your To-Do list, remember that it can take several weeks for a habit to stick. Choose a method that will be easy to access and easy to remember. If you skip a few days, simply start over. And make sure to take a little time at the end of each day to review the day’s tasks and set up your list for tomorrow.

If you’ve enjoyed this article and would like to stay in the loop for more insights on creating a sustainable, fulfilling, and happy life as a physician, sign up for my newsletter or reach out on my website. I’d love to hear from you.

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Five Simple Ways Busy Physicians Can Save Time

Time is a precious commodity, but there’s only so much of it to go around. Your patients, your administrators, your family, your community—everyone wants some of it. With just 24 hours in a day, it may seem that there simply isn’t time to give everyone what they need, let alone take care of your own needs.

The reality is that, especially if you work in primary care, you might actually need 27 full working hours each day to get everything done that’s expected of you. And that’s before taking care of yourself, your personal relationships, and those who depend on you.

Ironically, despite your many years of school, training, and continuing education, you were probably never taught time management. Somehow it was just expected of you. Yet as the demands of medical practice have continued to rise, administrative burdens have increased and managing time is now critical to simply getting through the day.

Unfortunately, there is no way to magically manifest more time. You might be tempted, or even encouraged, to multitask. But it’s important to realize that you can truly only do one thing well at a time. In fact, an Australian study found a nearly two-fold risk of errors with multi-tasking.

As a Physician Coach with additional certification in Time Management Coaching, it’s been my experience that when you improve your time management skills, you’ll experience greater control and clarity over the direction of your life. You’ll strengthen your own well-being. And you’ll create the margin that you need to pursue your passions and reach the goals that matter to you.

Time management doesn’t have to be complicated or convoluted. Simply starting small can lead to big improvements.

In this article, I’ll tell you about five simple ways to reclaim wasted time. These are battle-tested strategies that served me well over many years as a busy cardiologist, and have helped many of my clients as well.

1.       Organize your physical and virtual workspaces.

Make it easy to find all the tools you need for your daily routine. Don’t forget to put them back in place at the end of the day to avoid having to hunt for what you need the next morning. As simple as it sounds, an organized workspace helps to set the stage for a well-ordered day.

Keep your computer files tidy as well, and organize your “smart phrases” in your EHR. Take advantage of any available technical support at work to make things run more efficiently. Developing a system that makes sense to you means less friction in your daily routine.

2.       Commit to only touching each piece of paper or emailonce.

Block time to tackle your virtual and real-life inbox, and complete whatever task is required before moving on to the next. Even a 5- 10 minute block can make a difference. Delete (or recycle) whatever is unnecessary, and organize your virtual and real-life inboxes.

Chances are you get dozens if not hundreds of emails daily along with piles of paper. Most of it is likely unnecessary and distracting, but other documents are time-sensitive and important. Organize your inbox so that your attention is focused on those more critical communications, and let the others drop into a secondary file or forward them on to someone who can take care of them.

3.     Get your charting done before moving on to the next patient.

When you do your charts as you go, you’ll remember the details that you need to make the note accurate, and you’ll be less likely to forget to include things like orders, refills, and instructions. Patients will appreciate it, and you may have fewer requests for clarification after the appointment. I learned this early on, and it made all the difference.

Consider using AI to help with your notes if a good system is available. A scribe (or virtual scribe) can also be a valuable asset. It can be a little tricky to get up to speed with your charting, but I promise it will save you time and aggravation if you can manage to do it efficiently. The next tip will help with this.

4.       Automate and delegate your common phrases and tasks.

Use smart phrases in your EMR for common scenarios. And do your best to stay out of the weeds by delegating administrative tasks to your office staff whenever possible. Make it easy for them to know what you need. Smart phrases can be helpful here as well. And when you empower your staff this way, they may feel more connected and engaged.

5.      Streamline Team Communications

Efficient communication with nurses, assistants, and other team members can significantly reduce time spent on back-and-forth clarifications and miscommunications. Establish clear, direct, and respectful communication. Take the time to create protocols to handle common situations that don’t need your direct input. This proactive approach can foster teamwork, reduce errors, and keep your patients happy.

If you’re like most physicians, you are probably pulled in many different directions at once. It should go without saying that healthcare systems need to step up and reduce the burden on physicians. In fact, there is growing recognition that the current demands on physicians are unsustainable. But meanwhile, if you can create a little more margin in your day, you may find that you reduce your stress and have a little more time to devote to your patients.

An earlier version of this article appeared on this site in October 2022.

If you’ve enjoyed this article and would like to stay in the loop for more insights on creating a sustainable, fulfilling, and happy life as a physician, sign up for my newsletter or reach out on my website. I’d love to hear from you.

And if you’d like to schedule a complimentary introductory meeting with me, click the link below.

References

Hodkinson A, Zhou A, Johnson J et al. (2022) Associations of physician burnout with career engagement and quality of patient care: systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ

Porter, J., Boyd, C., Skandari, M.R. et al. (2022). Revisiting the Time Needed to Provide Adult Primary Care. J Gen Intern Med (2022)

Westbrook JI, Raban MZ, Walter SR, et al. (2018) Task errors by emergency physicians are associated with interruptions, multitasking, fatigue and working memory capacity: a prospective, direct observation study. BMJ Quality & Safety