The First Step To Leaving Work On Time Is Not What You Think

Most of us know that if we do not believe in something, we do not pay much attention to it, and we do not put much effort in doing it. The challenge is to instill belief in yourself when you stop believing. Many physicians choose medicine to take care of their patients, without realizing the actual physical and mental burden. They did not sign up for the extra hours to work at nights and on the weekends. They did not realize patient documentation would occupy such a big portion of clinical work. Day in and day out, that has become the norm for many exhausted physicians.

The norm does not mean it is sustainable. Many physicians are gradually running on empty fuel, pouring out what they do not have, working tirelessly because of a strong sense of responsibility. A full day of scheduled patients. After seeing the last patient, working an extra three or more hours to finish the patient charts, returning phone calls and reviewing test results.

That was me, several years ago. The extra hours of work were beyond draining. I tried different things. Nothing seemed to work for me. At times I thought there was a break when less patients were scheduled that day – no, I ended up spending the same amount of time to finish my work. Even though I knew something different had to be done, I did not think I could do it. Sure, some other physicians can see the same number of patients and leave work at decent hours, but that is not me – that was my thought. That thought became “that will not happen to me”.

When you are in an adverse situation for a while and believe that you have tried “everything” and nothing works, you start to lose hope. You start to not believe in yourself. When you do not believe that you can leave work on time, it will not happen.

What changed for me? The turning point was believing in myself. That belief started with a small seed of hope planted in me. When there is hope in you, you are more likely to be open to possibilities. You can go from “it is possible to leave work on time” (without cutting down on your patient schedule) to “let me see how I can make it happen”.  The more you think about the same thought, the deeper the seed of hope is planted, and the faster it grows. The more you think about something, the more you start to believe.

Imagine and visualize your desired future – you, the busy physician, have a full day scheduled with patients. You saw your last patient of the day and you completed all your day’s work within an hour. You leave work and have hours to spare to do your favorite things. Imagine the things you get to do, either by yourself or with your family. Is it not wonderful to consistently achieve this vision in real life all the time?

No doubt your brain is trying to show you that it is hard to achieve. It may tell you that if you can do it, you would have done it already. Or your brain may offer that it is possible for other physicians but not you. It is normal to have doubt. I invite you to think with an opposite perspective every time you come up with a negative or unpleasant thought. For example, if you are thinking “I cannot do it”, allow yourself to think “I can do it, I can somehow make it happen”. Or, if you are thinking “I do not deserve to have my own time”, allow yourself to think “of course I deserve to have time for myself”. Our thoughts are powerful and we can learn how to choose them to be helpful for us.

Think of your past successes. Remember the time you achieved something that was hard. If you could do that, you can do this too. You can do hard things. Take little steps. Be willing to try different things. Even with charting and clinic flow, what works for someone may not be the exact method that is best for you. When one way does not work, when there is a setback, take a pause. Be kind to yourself. Appreciate that you are willing to try new things. Reflect on what went well in your experience, and explore what you learn and what you can do better.

As physicians, we are always doing our best and frequently, we are pushing ourselves beyond our limits. When you do not get your desired results repeatedly, it is easy to lose hope and not believe in yourself. The first step to achieving your goal - for many physicians, the goal is to finish their work on time – the first step is to plant the seed of belief. Believe that it is possible. Imagine when you have achieved your desired outcome. Be curious to explore ways to achieve it. For every negative thought, come up with a positive one. Take some steps toward your goal. Setbacks are learning opportunities to do things differently to achieve what you want. Besides cheering for yourself along the way, it is important to have others, such as your family, friends, a mentor or a coach, to cheer you on.