Task List – WHY?

DAILY TASK LIST 

One of the biggest time wasters is thinking that you are going to get to a task later.  Now, I am not saying do not prioritize because that is an important part of everyday.  In fact, you should be making a priorities list every morning so you can officially move through what you need to get done.  If you are not doing that, I would suggest take 10 minutes in the morning over a coffee and just write down all of the things that you THINK you should get done and then move them around based on sense of urgency.  You can either use a pad of paper, a notebook or an electronic task manager.  I have tried everyting and to be honest what works best for me is a small spiral notebook, then I sent reminders in my iPhone to make sure I get the really imporant stuff done.  I like the idea of the physical nature of scratching something off the list!  At the end of the day, there is something satisfying about seeing a sheet of paper in a notebook with scribbled lines all over it.  The items that I didn’t get to, simply get transferred to the next page the next morning. 

When making my task list, I usually put the ones that I do not want to deal with the most at the top and those are the first things that I get done for the day.  When it comes to daily items that drop in our laps lik emails or somebody needing something at the office,  oftentimes we say to staff, “You know, that’s important but I can’t do that right now.  You have to come back to me later.”  Now, I do not like to be bugged or bothered during clinical hours unless it is urgent, but when it is urgent sometimes it is better to make your decisions right there and be done with it.  That goes for emails, phone calls, etc.  Try to get those things that you can move through quickly done as soon as they touch your hand because that will keep essentially your mind desk clear of clutter (we all have that stack of reports/disability notices etc to respond to).  

There are a lot of things that are very easy to handle and looking to try to get them done often just take a second, but it alleviates the engery it takes to remember complete them.

When you meet with medical doctors and/or hospital executives that is really how they behave, and you will notice that in their behavior.  What they want is a concise answer to their questions, they want you to explain everything now.  They want to make a decision and then move forward.  So as your day goes out in front of you, just try to clear out some of the little things that you can along the way.  It is good for your mental health and you will realize just how much time is in a day!