Time Management for

BMC Administrators

Craig Gordon, MD MSSteven C. Borkan, MD

Department of MedicineBoston Medical Center

May 19, 2015

Why Us?

“Fortunately for authors of articles, as with doctors in general, we are not rigidly forced to practice what we preach!”

Why Us?

“I therefore make no claim to have emulated all of these pointers although many are being learned the hard way or

from others…”

CAJ McLauchlan, Time Management, 1997

Why Manage Time?

You Need Time Management (TM) if > 1 of the Following are True

• “Busy” is the answer to “So, how are you doing?”

• In addition to career, your current life includes:– Family– Friends– Hobbies

• Administrative responsibilities

• Meetings are your most common daily activity

• Inbox too full to send (or receive) emails

Poor TM Skills: Negative Impact

• Productivity• Career success• Promotion• Recognition in/out of BMC• Job satisfaction• Stress• Personal life

Workstress

Home stress

Poor TMskills

Promotes Burnout !

That Remarkable Someone…

• Visualize someone whose career success you admire…– CEO?

– Senior Administrator?

– Your Boss?

• How are they so successful?– Devote more time to work?

– Greater talent?

– More infrastructure?

– Magic?

Tomorrow’s Ultimate TM Device

Although Several Explanations are Convenient…

Effective individuals uniformly optimize TM skills…

…independent of work load

My Single Greatest Misconception…

TM Requires No Timeand…

Even Less Planning

My Second Misconception…

Effective TM is a Mendelian Trait

that cannot be learned…

TM Skill Building is Lifelong

Relapses expected!

Time Management Seminar Goals

1. Set short and long-term goals

2. Establish priorities among competing responsibilities

3. Plan and organize activities

4. Identify & minimize “time wasters”

2. Set Your Priorities Among Competing Responsibilities

2. Establish Priorities Among Competing Responsibilities

• Acknowledge Endless Requests and Expectations

– Identify these?

• Goal awareness promotes realistic decision-making

• Everyone firmly believes their request essential

• Plan personal time

Covey’s Time Management Matrix Technique (TMMT)*

Important Less Important

Urgent I III

Less urgent II IV*Adapted to reflect difficulty labeling any tasks as non-urgent or non-important

Covey S, The 7 Habits of Effective People, 1990

Exercise #2– Place Your Activities Into TMMT

Important Less Important

Urgent I III

Less urgent II IV

Covey S, The 7 Habits of Effective People, 1990

Organizing Exercise #2

Event Order

1. Organize my goals in TMMT (3 min)

2. Review with small group (n=3 x 3 min)

3. Report group findings (5 min)

- Create “Master” TMMT

Exercise 2 – follow up

• Which quadrant(s) contain activities promoting my short- or long-term goals?– Am I devoting enough time to key activities?

• Are other quadrant activities impeding my goal-directed activities?

• Does my Supervisor validate important goals?

3. Plan and Organize Activities

3. Plan and Organize Activities

• Finding time for activities that promote short- and long-term goals?

• How much time is required?

• Identify un-avoidable commitments!– Meetings, etc.

• When am I most effective?– Time of day, day of the week

• Where am I most effective?

Exercise 3 – What Size Time Block is Required?• Take activities entered into TMMT quadrants

and insert into column 3 of the table

– from all 4 quadrants

• Consider optimal length of time for activity

• Examples provided…

Exercise 4 – Find Missing Time to Advance Career

• Fill in your fixed responsibilities into blank weekly, monthly calendar

• Quadrant II activities cannot be done here

• Identify weekly (or monthly) time periods to schedule quadrant II projects

• Ideally during most efficient time periods

• Commit “block out time” for these projects

4. Minimize “Time Wasters”

“Favorite” Top 10 Time Wasters

Infamous “Time Wasters”

• Email

• Mail

• Phone calls, texts and pages

• Physical interruption – “I was just stopping by…”

• Disorganization

• Procrastination

• Repetitive activities

• Waiting for meetings/conferences to begin

• Commuting

Email• Limit check and/or reply

– How many times have you checked email this morning?

• Disable auto-alert beeps, flashes, vibrations

• Handle messages only once*– Immediately discard unimportant email

(Automatically for some messages/senders)

– File important but non-urgent messages for later review

– Immediately respond to time-sensitive messages only

• Reinforces rationale for infrequently checking email

*Use same approach for “snail” mail

Physical Interruption – AKA Dreaded Knock on My Door…

• Force folks to knock– Close door when concentration required– Barriers make a difference

• Open door when collaboration beneficial

• Doors Talk: Consider message being sent

• Respect colleagues’ closed door – and they may respect yours

Acknowledge Disorganization

Avoid Procrastination

• Identify and address reasons for procrastination

– Beyond today’s scope

– Is professional assistance required?

• Complete small aliquots of work– celebrate, no matter how small

“Don’t let perfect get in the way of good!”

Standardize Repetitive Activities

• Copy/paste frequently used phrases– Use quick-text functions– Can do this for email and microsoft word

• Identify repetitive tasks & automate

• Up front time cost affords long-lasting benefits

Meeting & Conference Wait Time

• Carry work appropriate for short wait times

– Email via smart phone– Paperwork– Update calendar

• OK to interact with others!– Conscious choice

Capture Commute Time

Public Transport

• Write • Paperwork• Read professional

books/articles• Reflect• Breathe/Relax

Driving

• Plan the day• Professional books on

tape• Learn foreign language• Reflect on goals• Relax, enjoy yourself

and wait until you’re here

TM Summary1. Set short and long-term goals in TMMT

2. Establish priorities for competing responsibilities

3. Plan and Organize activities

4. Minimize “Time Wasters”

5. Identify (1 or 2) areas of TM inefficiency and strive to improve

6. After initial success, tackle new challenges

7. Celebrate victories!

Thanks To You All!

Special appreciation to Robina Bhasim, Ed.M.

Time Management for

BMC Administrators

Craig Gordon, MD MSSteven C. Borkan, MD

Department of MedicineBoston Medical Center

Revised 5/16/2015

1. Set Short and Long-Term Goals

How to Set Short and Long-Term Goals

• Successful professionals frequently re-set goals

• Short term often yield long-range goals– Short-term goals = intermediary steps to larger ones

• Honest reality testing = are goals achievable?

• Key Annual Review Queries– Do I actually want to do this?– Are my goals still realistic?– Am I on track?– Are goals consistent across time?

Imagine a Long Term Goal…

I want to run a Marathon…

Imagine Preparing…

Short-Term Goals Build Longer Ones

• My Long-term goal: “I will run 26.2 miles”

• “Already ran a 5K race a few years ago…”

• But how will I run a full marathon?

Academic medicine career goals = Marathon

Marathon vs. Academic Promotion

Marathon• Try running 5K

• If successful, increase distance

• Decline invitation for distracting triathlon training

Promotion• Finish manuscript

• If published, then work on grant… or develop lecture based on same work

• Decline invitation for more committee time

Exercise #1 – Setting Goals• Identify >2 long-term career goals

– Research?– Education?– Clinical?– Administrative?

• Identify > 4 short-term goals– Research?– Education?– Clinical?– Administrative?

Organizing Exercise #1

Event Order

1. Select my goals (3 min)

2. Review goals with small group (n=3 x 3 min)

3. Report group findings (5 min)

Key Queries for Setting Goals

- What do I really want to do?

- Is passion involved?

- Are goals realistic?

- Am I on schedule?

- Does short-term goal success promote long-term success?

Absence of Medical Literature on Time Management (TM) is Shocking

• Search terms “time management” + “physician”, + “academic physician” + “burnout” + “career development”

• Yields ~ 5600 titles/abstracts

• Only 15 studies suggested TM techniques (disciplines below):

– Family Medicine

– Radiology

– Emergency Medicine

– Psychiatry