While some physicians may have surrendered to the myth that work-life balance isn’t in a doctor’s job description, the reality is different. With the right tools, physicians can better manage their time at work and at home.

1. Limit daily priorities to a maximum of three critical tasks 

Laura Berenstain, a cardiac anesthesiologist and a physician coach, highlighted the importance of limiting daily priorities to three in a recent article. When a to-do list seems endless, the temptation arises to simply crumple it up. Berenstain emphasised that once the top three priorities of the day are completed, anything beyond those tasks is simply a bonus achievement. 

Laura Berenstain wrote:

“Seeing the important items ticked off my list by the end of the day and the week gives me immense satisfaction, I know I’ve made forward progress on the things that mattered most to me.”

2. Prioritise self-care 

Self-care likely does not make the cut of top priorities for most physicians who are struggling to balance caring for their patients, families, community obligations, and more. Susan R. Johnson, MD, MS, is a time-management expert. She suggests that self-care should be a priority.

As per Susan R. Johnson, MD, MS,

“While this is heresy to those of us trained to be selfless and put our patients first, the truth is we can’t take care of others if we don’t take care of ourselves.”

Johnson emphasised taking breaks during the day to detach, decompress, and return to work refreshed. She also highlighted the importance of weekends off, at least on a work-free weeknight, and taking vacations. Self-care might include exercising, walking, eating healthy, or reading-basically, the things you advise your patients to do. 

3. Limit distractions

A 2021 Cureus study examining physician usage of social media platforms found that of 158 participants, 26.6% of healthcare providers spent less than an hour on social media, 31% spent one to 2 hours, 28.5% said 2 to 3 hours, and 13.9% said they spent more than 4 hours throughout the day. 

To limit their social media time doctors can consider the following tips:

1. Set boundaries with social media and reclaim your time - For physicians who use social media professionally, this may make sense, but mindlessly scrolling on social media for hours can drain your energy, clutter your brain, and distract you from your goals.  
2. Reduce time spent on social media - Apps such as Daywise or Forest can set time limits for social media apps. Iphones also offer a Do Not Disturb setting and trackers to quantify time spent on social media apps. Dedicating one hour daily as screen-free time may also help.

4. Take advantage of technology

A 2016 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicated that only 27% of physicians’ time is spent face-to-face with patients while the remaining 49% is spent on EHRs and administrative tasks. This translates to almost 2 hours on administrative tasks for every hour spent with a patient. Some may say this is not what physicians signed up for when they chose medicine. 

Take advantage of technology by adopting the following tips: 

1. Use apps that enable the dictation of patient notes through convenient phone technology.
2. Using apps that automate patient scheduling and send appointment reminders. 
3. Eliminate the dreaded fax machine and transition to e-fax capability. 

5.  Learn to say no

1. Be realistic about your time and workload and only take on activities that fit not just your workload but your mission and vision. 

2. Berenstain advised physicians to reflect on their values in an effort to identify the tasks that hold the most meaning. For all other asks, she added:

“Be courageous-gracefully say ‘no’ to something! I promise it won’t be the end of your career, and you’re going to feel deeply satisfied with not adding something else to your list of duties. Maybe your ‘no’ will create an opportunity for a colleague.”

3. Feeling engaged and committed to a project is better than participating simply out of obligation. This is especially true if participating leads to feelings of stress and burnout. 

This story is contributed by Samar Mahmoud, MS and is a part of our Global Content Initiative, where we feature selected stories from our Global network which we believe would be most useful and informative to our doctor members.