Getting up and doing rounds at seven in the morning totally sucks. Doing them at six is even worse. That means up and out of the house while it’s still dark for sure; it’s so cold out there and so comfy in my bed. Why does it have to be so early? For that matter, why not do rounds at eleven? Wouldn’t that be nice?
It might be nice, but it will never happen. A long time ago, doctors figured out a powerful key to getting important work done. Do it FIRST and do it EARLY.
We can all agree on the fact that seeing your patients in the hospital is important. You need to see how they are doing and communicate your thoughts and plans. Rounds are important work.
So how do you make sure that the most important thing you have to do actually gets done? It’s really simple. You do it first and I mean first thing in the morning.
For years, I thought I did my best work at night, under pressure. That mornings were for suckers. “I’d rather sleep in, and get my work done later.” I was wrong for all that time. It’s 5:30a.m. as I write this.
First thing in the morning, before anyone else is up, there are no distractions. My kids are asleep, so they can’t pull me in to play with them, get them a drink, or whatever. There are no fires to put out yet. The nurses haven’t started asking questions. No one needs anything, because I haven’t spoken to anyone. No email, no Facebook, nothing. I once had a doc tell me to make sure I did rounds just as early on the weekends as I do during the week. This way, I would be in and out before the families got there. He wasn’t being rude to the patients. He was trying to save an hour of my time every Saturday.
Later in the day, putting out fires takes precedence; the important work gets left for later, and then later and then later. Getting the important stuff done first is the best way to ensure that it actually gets done.
The question, “how do you get so much done?” comes up a lot. The secret is the “golden hour.” The first hour in the morning, before everyone else is awake. Using that time, I can be sure that every day, I push forward a little bit on the work that is most important.
Doctors figured this out a long time ago. Rounds are important. Do them first and do them early. Knowing what’s important and what you’re getting up for makes a tremendous difference.
Maybe set out your copy of The Final Step on the kitchen table before you go to bed. That way you can get up have a cup of coffee and review for 5-10 minutes before you have to start putting out fires.
What? You don’t have a copy? Get it here.
www.physicianassistantexamreview.com/thefinalstep
Brian Wallace
P.S. I’m learning a lot about chronotypes lately and it seems that some of you truly don’t do well in the morning. About 10-20% of the population. It doesn’t have to be 5:30 AM, but man, it sure is quiet then.
P.P.S. A fantastic and fun way to get your hands on a copy of TFS is to set up a group order. You’ll get a major discount for your classmates, AND you’ll you get your copy included in the shipment at NO CHARGE, just for setting it up. It doesn’t take much work. Once we decide to run with it, I’ll set up a special checkout page for your classmates. Then I ship you the books and you hand them out. Hit reply if you think that sounds like something you’d like to check out.
