How To Get It All Done - Overcoming the Polar Bear in a Snowstorm

In almost 25 years as an academic physician, I have been amazed and frustrated by the crazy juggling act that clinicians (and especially women clinicians) are required to navigate. While we all try to meet the quadruple aims of world class clinical practice, innovative research, novel and effective teaching, and efficient administrative responsibilities, the clock keeps on ticking. 

However, NO ONE can really excel at all these aims and nurture their personal life simultaneously. I know that I have been a great partner and parent on the same day that I have been a great clinician, but getting all your academic aims and your personal life to line up successfully on the same day is akin to finding a polar bear in a snow storm!

Here are some of the time prioritization strategies and tools that I find useful. I hope that you find a few pearls that can help you too!

Practical Time Management Strategies and Tools

     Thought Downloads (Get It All Out )

• Regardless of which prioritization system you choose, almost all of them work best if you start with writing down everything that you need to accomplish. I find it very useful to do a thought download every morning (and even do it at night if I remember something and don’t want it to keep me up). 
• I often write this down on a pad of paper (I have an office supplies problem … 😂) but you can use whatever method you like. This could be as simple as:
• A word processing program/google docs
• Apps that allow you to give yourself reminders like the Reminders or notes apps
• Project management software like Asana. (Whatever works for you!) 
• Personally I do my brain dump on paper first thing in the morning, and use Siri to dictate into Reminders in the middle of the night so I don’t have to look at my phone. I am also experimenting with and really am enjoying breaking down all my tasks and subtasks in Asana right now. And I like how it allows you to tag and enlist others if appropriate. [Asana gives you a free 30-day trial, but there is a charge thereafter]  
• Once you do your thought download (and hopefully clear your 🧠), you need to have a system to determine where to focus your time. 

Prioritizing Tasks (OR how to get the most important things accomplished) 

 There are a number of ways to prioritize tasks, but the critical concept is that you should spend your most productive time doing the things that are most important to you.  

• Every day - I like to focus on one or two big goals that I am working towards and in an ideal world there are work and personal goals included. For example, this month I have been focused on getting my website launched and setting up a family vacation for this summer and I consider tasks related to each FIRST. Then I add in some of the other must dos (tax extension filing, renovations of a rental unit that is now vacant…) and add a few (but reasonable number of things) that I plan to accomplish today. 
• Just as important, I try to jump on the MOST IMPORTANT items first thing in the morning - when my brain works the best - so that they get accomplished before the avalanche of “urgent” items in my email or clinic or personal email box. This method allows you to make sure the tasks focused on your long-term goals are completed,
• The key concept here is …. Don’t allow short-term emergent tasks (email, phone calls…) to sacrifice progress towards your long-term goals!

• Another option is to use an Eisenhower Matrix to distinguish between urgent and important tasks. [This is based on a strategy attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower.] This strategy is a broader preparation step that allows you to determine and prioritize tasks that are really urgent and important and need to be done first, while also identifying others that can be scheduled later, delegated/automated or eliminated. 
•           The process for this entails:
  • Take all the tasks that you wrote in the last step and label them as:
    • Urgent or Not Urgent
    • Important or Not Important
  • This can be done on paper or electronically
  • Take Action
    • Urgent/Important - Prioritize these tasks and if they will take 2 minutes or less - DO THEM  NOW! Otherwise set time aside to do them.
    • Not Urgent/Important - Schedule time to do these. Stick to  your deadlines.
    • Urgent/Not Important - If you can, take these off your list. Otherwise try to Delegate or Automate these tasks.
    • Not Urgent/Not Important - Eliminate these tasks

Daily Planning

One of the best ways to get things done is to schedule your day ahead of time and stick to it! It may take a few days to get timing figured out, but it eliminates a lot of wasted time and allows you to really relax when you set aside time for personal or family time. 

This works great if you dedicate time at the beginning of each day (5-10 minutes is usually enough) to plan out your schedule, identify key priorities and allocate time blocks accordingly. I actually do this in half hour blocks (or longer) and schedule every second of the day - include the necessities like working out, driving to work, taking a shower, preparing dinner... as well as the strategic priorities that you identified above. 

For others you may want to consider planning your daily schedule the evening before to ensure a productive day that starts as soon as you get out of bed. Either way, take the 5-10 minutes and make your day INTENTIONAL!

 Batching Similar Tasks

Another strategy that allows you to be more efficient is to group similar tasks together and tackle them in dedicated time blocks. For example, set aside specific times to respond to emails, review research literature, or run through all the items on the personal calendar for the week.

This works well with time blocking into 25-30 minute segments in the step above so that you can tackle then together. I find that even though I schedule email time, it is hard not to revert to mindless email checking or scrolling when i have a few minutes of downtime. I am working towards looking back at my schedule to remember what tasks can be carried out toward my primary goal instead of looking at social media or scrolling through reels.

Continuous Improvement

Lastly, set aside time to regularly evaluate your time management strategies and adjust them based on how well they are working, how you feel about your progress, and evolving priorities. 

At the beginning, I recommend looking at this after the first day and then after the first week. Your goal is to just keep scheduling your time for the week. As Jerry Seinfeld said “After a few days you’ll have a chain… You’ll like seeing that chain… Your only job is to not break the chain.” 

Once you have a week or two completed, you will also have a much better idea of how long tasks take and what time of day or schedules work best for YOU.  It may also help to seek mentorship or coaching to refine your skills in balancing the demands of academic medicine with life.

While improving the art of time management is an important skill to succeed with less stress, it is also important to remember to enjoy the journey. I hope these tips are useful to you as you clear the decks (and download your thoughts) in order to accomplish those things in your work and life that help you feel successful and HAPPY!