“I’m so busy, but I don’t seem to get anything done! I want to be more productive!”
Busy: The 4-letter word that has cost me the opportunity to substantially serve more leaders in healthcare and most importantly, to be 100% present with my family.
The daily grind of running from meeting to meeting, scrolling through emails throughout the day, and checking off unimportant items from a never-ending to-do list is exhausting.
The constant state of being busy with no significant feeling of impact is disheartening.
What if we could step off the busy-train by simply changing the question we ask ourselves?
Instead of asking “How can I be more productive,” we should be asking ourselves, “How can I make an impact today?”
When we change the question, it forces us to think about what is most important on our list of priorities and shifts us from focusing on tasks to focusing on people.
The simple question “How can I make an impact today?” also opens up a window to see what is actually preventing us from making the impact we want.
There are 3 common (self-induced) productivity impact killers that tend to sit squarely in the middle of the path to accomplishment and vision.
1. Multitasking
Let’s be honest, many of us are proud of our ability to juggle a million spinning plates….in healthcare, it is the norm to have a ton of priorities and it is even rewarded
“Wow, they are so busy; they are amazing. I don’t know how they do it.”
(Hint: they don’t do it; they survive it).
Our brains are not wired to multitask. Earl Miller, professor of Neuroscience at MIT, explains that while our urge to multitask makes sense based on how our brains evolved (think, always being on alert for a tiger in the bushes about to leap), there is a cognitive cost to multitasking.
We limit our ability to be innovative, creative, and productive because it takes our brains some time to refocus on the task at hand. This refocus time can eat up at least 20% of the time allocated to work on a project.
Take note where you are constantly multitasking. Commit a specific time limit that you will focus on the one thing that will move you closer to your desired outcomes.
I love using the Pomodoro technique, which is simply setting a timer for a cycle of 25 min focus/5 min break/repeat.
2. People-Pleasing
Will all of the people-pleasers, please stand up? (Okay, you can sit down now.)
Here is the thing with people-pleasing. It feels good to make other people feel good. We want to make people feel valued and heard. It feels good to say yes instead of no.
But people-pleasing is a short-term gain with a long-term expense.
When we struggle to say no, we end up with other people’s priorities on our calendar. Soon, the impact we were set on this earth to make is put on the back burner. We get busier and busier, more overwhelmed, and ultimately resentful…And that is serving NO ONE!
So how do we stop people-pleasing?
The common cure to people-pleasing is clarity and practice.
Be clear in your vision and what specific results you need to achieve to reach your vision. This makes it easier to deny a request that is completely outside of what’s most important to you and your role.
Practice saying no when the consequences are low. Find small opportunities throughout the day either at home or work to deny a request for your time or brain power.
3. Perfectionism
The need to have all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed does not always serve the greater good.
That said, do I want my physician to be a perfectionist when caring for me or my family? Of course! So I understand there is a double standard for our overwhelmed physicians in healthcare.
But when it comes to leadership, influence, and producing meaningful results, perfectionism is the enemy of creating an impact.
I firmly believe that Done is better than Perfect. And here is why:
If you hold everything back until it is perfect, it is a lost opportunity for your voice to be heard and for the lessons and guidance you have to be shared.
Ultimately, holding back until something is perfect prevents you from growing, learning, and becoming a more confident leader.
Where can you take a risk and say, “done is better than perfect”?
Carrie Koh is an Interpersonal Efficiency Leadership coach, consultant, and former healthcare administrator with a passion for enhancing the way we connect to one another in healthcare to ensure efficient and innovative results and greater fulfillment along the way. She would love to connect at www.carriekoh.com
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