The Power of Keeping It Simple

Dr. D was sharing with me that she has several hundred incomplete tasks in her inbox. When she sees what those tasks are, the ones she does not finish right away are those she thinks are complicated. “I’ll get back to them later” – that is her usual thought. “Later” sometimes means weeks later. As we were discussing the situation, she realized that she was avoiding the things which she thought were more involved or complicated.

Our brain likes simple things. When you think that something is complicated, it is a natural tendency for your mind to make it more complicated than it is. Complicated things are hard. Your brain, in an effort to “protect” you from hard things, responds by gearing you away from that very thing. This translates to resisting and avoiding certain tasks at work. For example, you saw a patient who has advanced cancer and you planned to start a new treatment. You discussed in detail the risks, benefits and alternatives. You answered all the questions. In the end, you did not want to complete that patient’s chart because you thought it was a complicated task to record what you discussed. Or you receive a message in the inbox that will involve calling the patient, another physician, putting in new orders. You think that there are too many steps, too complicated. You dread doing it so you give yourself an excuse to do it later. When “later” comes, you easily make up other excuses to avoid doing that very task.

Since our brain likes simple things, let us keep things simple. We often make things more complicated than they are. When you perceive something as simple, you are more likely to do it right away rather than procrastinating. It seems to take less effort and energy to do it. It also feels less stressful to do it. As a physician, it is important to keep things simple for yourself, your staff and the patients. Yes, medicine is not a walk in the park, and you have gone through a lot of training. You are more capable than you realize.

Keep things simple, start with working on yourself. When you think something is complicated or difficult, pause. Take a step back and look at the big picture. Question yourself, in a loving and non-judgmental way, is it really complicated? Have I done this before? Lay things out. Walk yourself through what exactly you need to do, instead of just having a vague vision in your head. When you write it out, or talk it through with someone, often you will realize that it is not as complicated as you anticipate. When we can simplify the view of a situation, it follows that the steps to tackle the problem are not so difficult.

Set a goal for the day. By doing this, you are streamlining your mind to go toward one direction. Your actions will be geared toward getting you to the goal. It is then easy to eliminate things which are getting you away from your goal.

Plan ahead of time. Even for something such as what to wear to work. Decide the night before so you are not making a decision under the time pressure. Plan ahead to prioritize. If you are doing inpatient service, for example, decide the order of which patients to see. Plan according to how critical the situation is and the geographic location in the hospital. If you are seeing patients in the clinic, plan when you are doing patient documentation and checking your inbox. Instead of thinking that you will take a break when you have the time, plan ahead and decide you will take a break at a certain hour. The less decisions you have to make, the simpler it becomes.

When you feel stuck, when you are unsure of certain things, ask for help. Ask someone who is an expert. That saves you time and mental energy to work on something else.

Keep it simple for the staff. Have a clear job description of each person’s responsibility and expectations. Define and revisit the main goal of the day, such as to take good care of the patients efficiently. For example, the main goal for the medical assistant is to keep a smooth clinic flow, so that the physician is not interrupted by waiting for a patient to be roomed. The nurse’s duty may be to triage the patient and let the physician know if there are any new issues – before the physician goes into the exam room. When in doubt, communicate. It is better to say it twice than to miss something. When you keep things simple for the staff, it is easier to follow. It nurtures better team spirit.

For the patients, it is important to keep things simple. Use simple language so that they understand why they are seeing you and why you recommend certain treatment plans. When you communicate with the patients in a simple language, they appreciate it, because they feel understood. It is also easier to trust you, the physician, because it shows that you are caring and that you are doing everything for them. This enhances compliance and trust. This also allows patients to be more open to tell you how they are actually doing.

Keeping it simple at work takes some intentional steps, and it is not as complicated as you think. Set a clear goal for the day. Plan ahead to prioritize, set standard protocols, take the time to pause so that you can rest and think. Ask for help when you feel stuck. Communication is the best tool to use with your staff and with the patients. Teamwork makes life easier. Keeping things simple for the patients enhances trust and compliance. Are you ready to keep it simple today?