Time management or mind management?
One of the things that comes up A LOT in my work with clinicians (including myself) is the endless struggle to "manage our time".
But in reality, what seems like a simple logistical issue of fitting things into a given time is really a struggle with our brain. When we dive deeper, here are some of the things we might discover...
I say 'yes' anytime a patient asks me for an appointment - or when anyone asks me for anything - and end up feeling like my schedule is filled with things I didn't choose
I do more for my patient even though I'm running late because I don't want them to be dissatisfied with care, and so I end up running late the whole day and feel like I never have a moment to myself
I feel like I'm always busy and overwhelmed, but even when I do have time to rest I fill that time with tasks because I feel guilty doing nothing
I'm always doing a million things, but I couldn't possibly take things off my list because people will be disappointed or I'll feel like I'm failing. Besides, everyone else seems to get it all done!
I know I need to do my notes and reports, but I just keep putting it off and end up feeling resentful when I spend my lunch break or weekends doing them
I have to do it all because other people don't contribute. And even when they do, they don't do it right so I may as well just do it myself!
Just looking at my to-do list makes me feel anxious and overwhelmed so I go and watch Netflix instead and promise myself I'll do it tomorrow, but then things just keep building up
As you may have noticed, none of these things are solved by simply buying a new planner or creating a new organisational system #askemehowiknow. And that's not to say that those things can't be part of the solution, it's just that it's not the whole solution, and certainly not the most important.
But there's a reason we go for the planner, a new notebook or a Trello account. It feels so much safer and more comfortable than changing our brains and behaviour. Imagine for a moment doing things like...
Saying no when someone asks you to do something you don't want to do
Turning a patient away when they want to book outside your hours
Doing a few things really well and accepting that other things are going to be sucky or average
Deciding not to be the person who does it all, but the person who does the things that matter - even when others are upset or disappointed by your decisions
Interrupting and redirecting a patient when they're talking
Doing the thing you have on your calendar or sitting and doing your notes when you said you would, no matter how much you don't feel like doing it
OR doing the work of shifting how you're thinking and feeling when you sit down to do that task so that it doesn't feel so dreadful
Making sure you get SO much rest and recovery, even at times when you could be being productive or helping someone
Feel uncomfortable yet?? 😉
This is the real work of change. And while it might be uncomfortable and hard, my guess is that how you feel now is not particularly fun either. So why not choose the discomfort of growth rather than the discomfort of staying where you are? What else might change and become possible if you stopped pleasing, proving and pretending?
THIS is the work (and play 😁) we do in coaching. Comment below if you're ready to get started, and we'll make sure you go into the new year spending your time and energy on the things that matter to YOU.
