The Day I Realized Working Harder Was Not the Answer to More Efficiency

Not too long ago, I was consistently bringing work home. Seven o’clock would come, and it was my cue to pack my bags and leave for home, even if I did not finish all the patient charts, inbox tasks or phone calls. “I want to see my kids before their bedtime” – that was the main reason I left the office at 7 pm, otherwise, I would probably stay longer in the office. After their bedtime, I would turn on the computer and continue to work. It was exhausting and draining. I grew to dislike work – not because of the patients, but because of all the other work related to patient care that took up several extra hours of my day that I did not sign up for. I worked until bedtime, power level probably a negative twenty (if there was such a level), only to repeat the process all over again the next day.

Many physicians know all too well about this version of myself – seeing patients all day without stopping, skipping breaks, working through lunch, racing through documentation, and still sitting in the office or at home working hours after seeing the last patient. At some point, it dawned on you that, “I couldn’t possibly work any harder, yet I wasn’t finishing any earlier.” That was the day I realized my problem was not effort – it was my approach.

The myth: if I just work harder, I will finish earlier. For years, that was my belief that faster equals more efficiency. More effort equals better results. Working longer is simply part of being a dedicated physician. These beliefs keep physicians trapped. Working harder, when you are already working very hard, often leads to mental fatigue, decision fatigue, more mistakes, less focus and more exhaustion without finishing earlier. There comes a point where effort is no longer the limiting factor.

The real bottleneck is not your work ethic. Just like in chemical equations, there is a rate-limiting step in practicing medicine. One limiting factor determines the speed of the entire process. For many physicians, that bottleneck is not intelligence, clinical knowledge, motivation or work ethic. Instead, it may be the mindset. For example, believing leaving on time is not possible, or thinking exhaustion is simply part of medicine, or believing staying late proves dedication.

Another possible bottleneck is workflow. Many physicians are rechecking work multiple times, or revisiting the same inbox messages before acting on time. There may be delay in decision making, constant task switching or not batching similar tasks.

Bottlenecks may occur in their beliefs. Physicians may believe they need to be perfect, or there is a fear of delegation, or feeling responsible for everything, or believing “good enough” is not acceptable.

For me, it was not just one thing – it was all of them.

I stopped trying to go faster. Instead of asking, “How can I work harder?” I started asking: What is slowing me down? What work am I repeating? What decisions am I making twice? What can be simplified? What can I delegate? What belief is keeping me stuck?

Efficiency is not about moving faster. It is about removing unnecessary work. For example, eliminating redundant chart review, making decisions once instead of repeatedly before moving on, building consistent workflows, trusting systems instead of relying on memory, and accepting excellence instead of perfection.

Many physicians worry that improving efficiency means completely reinventing how they practice, and it does not have to be that way. Small changes create momentum. I invite you to start with one thing: change one workflow, delegate one recurring task, set one boundary, challenge one limiting belief or improve one habit each week. Small improvements compound into significant time savings.  That was how I gradually saved three hours of my day.

The most important change may be your mindset. Sustainable efficiency begins internally. If you do not believe it is possible to leave work on time, you will unconsciously reinforce the habits that keep you late. When your thinking changes, you become more open to explore different ways of doing things. You become more intentional. You make decisions more confidently. You stop chasing perfection. You become willing to experiment with better systems. You begin looking for solutions instead of accepting exhaustion. Mindset is not “positive thinking”. It is creating beliefs that allow better decisions.

The goal is not to squeeze more work into your day. The goal is to stop wasting energy on work that does not move you forward. With the right mindset and efficient workflows, you may discover something surprising: you are finishing your work on time, while feeling less rushed, less exhausted, and enjoying medicine again.

If you are staying hours after clinic and wondering why you are working so hard without getting ahead, you do not have to figure it out alone.

My 1:1 Physician Coaching Program helps physicians identify the hidden bottlenecks – both in mindset and workflow – that keep them working nights and weekends. Together, we will build practical systems that help you leave work on time, reduce stress, and enjoy practicing medicine again. You do not need to work harder. You need a better way to work.