It totally sucks getting up and doing rounds at six in the morning. Doing them at five is even worse. That means up and out of the house in the dark for sure, and it’s so cold out there and so comfy in my bed. Why does it have to be so early? 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 seeing your patients in the hospital is essential. You need to see how they are doing and communicate your thoughts and plans. Making rounds are important work.
So how do you make sure that the most important thing you have to do gets done? It’s really simple. You do it first. You do it before anything else gets in the way.
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 5:30 AM 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 or 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 on the weekends I did rounds just as early as during the week. This way, I would be in and out before the families came in with more and more questions. He wasn’t being rude. He was trying to save an hour of my time on Saturday.
Later in the day, putting out fires takes precedence, and the important work gets left for later and then later and then later. Getting the important stuff done first is the best way to make sure that gets done.
The question comes up a lot. “How do you get so much done?” The secret is the “golden hour.” The hour first thing 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. Choose what’s important to you. Do it first do it early.
Not sure what to do with that first hour? Before you go to bed, set out your copy of The Final Step on your kitchen table. That way, when you wake up all groggy and mad, you’ll know exactly what to work on.
Brian Wallace