What If Nothing Is Wrong With You?

Many of you are probably tired of this routine – you finish seeing your last patient at 5:00 pm, and three hours later, you are still working, trying hard to finish the patient notes, review test results, answer messages and return phone calls. Naturally, the thoughts many physicians have are something like: “I’m too slow.” “Everyone else is managing better than me.” “They can do it but not me.” What are these stories costing you?

What if none of those thoughts are true?

The problem is not your intelligence of commitment. Physicians are highly capable people. You have gone through years of training. You did not become a physician by being lazy or unintelligent. Most physicians who are working late care deeply about their patients. The issue is not motivation. The problem is often the system, workflow, and habits, not the person.

Stop making your workday mean something about you as a person. We often attach meaning to working late. We conclude that “I’m inefficient”, “I’m failing”, or “I’m not cut out for this”. Let us look at your situation again. You are still working three hours after seeing your patient. What else could this mean? Perhaps your workflow needs improvement, your systems are not serving you, no one taught you how to manage all of this efficiently, or you are still learning.

You get to decide the story to hold on to. Circumstances do not determine beliefs. The perspective you choose does. You can choose to believe “this is just how medicine is”, or “I’m stuck forever”. Or, you can choose a more empowering perspective, such as “this is where I am today”, “this is not where I have to stay”, “I can learn new skills”, or “it is possible to leave work on time”. The meaning you assign to your situation shapes your feelings and actions.

I would like to invite you to replace self-criticism with curiosity. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” Ask: What is creating the extra work? Which habits are helping me? Which habits are costing me time? What small change could make tomorrow easier? Curiosity creates solutions. Self-judgment creates discouragement and other unpleasant emotions.

Have compassion for yourself. It is often easy to have compassion for others, while we forget to do that for ourselves. Remind yourself that you are learning. You are growing. You are gathering information from every clinic day. You are experimenting. Improvement takes practice and trying new things. Just because something feels difficult today does not mean it always will be. Kindness toward yourself creates a safe space for growth.

Small changes create big results. For example, by using templates for the most common diagnoses you may save minutes or even hours of charting. Intentional batching tasks will minimize task switching and save idle time. Going for good enough rather than a perfect note. Turning off notifications of your email so you do not shift attention whenever a message arrives. These are small steps, and these changes are learnable.

You are not broken. Nothing is wrong with you. You do not need to become a different person to leave work on time. You simply need better systems, better habits, and a mindset that supports growth instead of self-criticism. Many physicians who once believed they would always be working nights and weekends now finish their work much earlier because they learned new ways of thinking and working. You can, too.

Instead of asking, “Why can’t I keep up?” Ask yourself, “What if nothing is wrong with me?” That single question can open the door to curiosity, growth and meaningful change. Your current situation is not your permanent destination.

If you are staying hours after your last patient, it does not mean you are failing. It may simply mean no one has shown you a better way.

In my 1:1 Physician Coaching Program, I help physicians identify the workflow habits, mindset patterns and practical systems that keep them working late. Together, we create a personalized plan so you can finish your work closer to the end of your clinic day, reclaim your evenings and weekends, and enjoy practicing medicine again. You do not have to figure it out alone. Sometimes the smallest shifts lead to the biggest transformation.