The Real Reason Many Physicians Still Finish Charts at Night

It was 7 pm. Another night that I was leaving the office without finishing all my charts. I felt helpless and hopeless. I was not able to finish my work and leave at a decent hour. Day after day. Quietly, I had accepted that as my reality. Sure, other physicians could finish their work on time but not me. How – how could I possibly change my reality without changing my job? Someone please give me some strategies right now, I thought.

When we try to achieve something, especially for something that is not working out the way we wanted, we naturally focus on other possible strategies to make it happen. After all, different actions will create different results. However, as one of my mentors, Dr. Una, shares that it is something different that gets people to their goals. When she asks people how they got to their 7- or 8-figure businesses, most of them told her that it was the mindset.

While it is important to take action to get results, it is important to have the right mindset to take the action you need to get the results you want. Going back to where I was, taking work home to finish at night or on the weekends. I believed that was the way. It was the only way for me while working in that practice.

The first step toward finishing my work more efficiently and eventually going home on time (without bringing work home) was the shift of my belief. The belief that it was possible, not just for other physicians out there, but for me, to leave work on time. The initial shift sounded simple in theory, but your brain will quickly come up with evidence to prove to you the old way of thinking was the “correct” one. Your brain will give you evidence of how you were not leaving work on time.

Be curious and be open to possibilities. Always question the what if’s. What if it is possible for you to leave work on time? Visualize the end goal. Imagine that you are already reclaiming those extra hours at night and leaving work on time. Imagine that you are going home without having to log into the EMR. Imagine what you can do with those extra hours you have. Practice visualizing it as if you have achieved it. The more details you see and notice the better. Practice visualization multiple times a day. The more you see it, the more you believe it.

For every evidence your brain is offering to support why you cannot leave work on time, look for evidence which supports the opposite. Who else did something similar? The more people you find, the more evidence you have. You may still be resisting to believe that it is possible for you to achieve it – leave work on time. That is normal. As long as you are open to possibilities, you will find a way to believe in yourself more and more.

What you have not achieved may seem difficult or even impossible. I was the exact same way. After I allowed myself to look at other physicians who were leaving work on time, I went through a phase of “it was for them and not for me”. Leaving work on time was hard. Then I looked back at my life when I was able to do hard things and achieve them. The theory was that, if I could achieve all those other difficult goals, I could do this too.

Instead of thinking that you have to accomplish your goal right away, break it down into smaller steps. For me, the first mini goal was to leave work by 7 pm without bringing work home. After I was able to do it consistently, something else shifted. At that time, I had another piece of evidence to support that I could do it. My belief grew stronger. The more evidence you gather to support achieving your goal, the more you believe you can do it. Gradually, I was going home by 6:30 pm, 6 pm, 5:30 pm and now, by 5 pm.

For any goal you want to achieve, even though it is the action you take that gets you to the goal, the most important thing is your mindset. Believe first. In theory, that seems to be a simple concept, but in reality, your brain is resistant to change. It replays the scenarios and gives you evidence to support how you cannot achieve your goal. It is essential to always be open to possibilities. Practice visualization of when you have achieved your goal. Visualize it multiple times a day. Actively seek evidence to support why you can ultimately achieve your goal by looking at others who have achieved it. Look within – remember the times you accomplished hard things. If you could do those, you can do what you want now too. Find people who support you and who believe in you. Take little steps and set smaller goals at a time. The more you move forward, the more you believe, the close you are to achieving your goal.