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With appointments and meetings filling every minute, it can feel impossible to prioritise the stuff that isn’t immediately urgent. But constantly focusing on urgent tasks can stop us addressing the deeper strategic and leadership work. This then leads to stress and a feeling of being out of control, as our todo lists never seem to end.
But there is a solution that can help us manage our workload more effectively. It’s a technique used by productivity gurus like Graham Allcott (the author of How to be a Productivity Ninja), and it’s a technique many in healthcare already use for surgeries and theatre, but don’t apply to the less-urgent – but no less important – work of running their practices.
If you’re finding yourself missing opportunities or saying no to things you really want to do – or feeling guilty about saying no when your diary’s already full – it might be time to rethink how you organise your week. If you continue firefighting – because everything seems urgent – you may find yourself burned out and wondering why your career isn’t progressing.
But by implementing the steps in this quick dip, you can start to regain control over your workload and make space for whats really going to move the dial.
Show links
More episodes of You Are Not a Frog:
- How to Be REALLY Productive… Without Losing the Plot – Episode 190, with Graham Allcott
- The Three-Step Plan for Getting Your Sh*t Together – Episode 202
- How to Say No and Deal with Pushback – Episode 125, with Annie Hanekom
Download the episode’s podsheet. You can use it for reflection and to submit for your appraisal as part of your CPD.
Escape the Urgency Trap – Get your most important work done and still find time to enjoy your life
Reasons to listen
- To understand how to enhance productivity with a demanding schedule
- To learn about the importance of prioritising strategic thinking and leadership tasks alongside regular patient care duties
- For practical strategies to carve out thinking time and manage your workload, so you can reduce stress and improve your work-life balance
Episode highlights
Not a single minute spare
What is time-blocking?
In the absence of time-blocking
Saying “no” with confidence
Thinking time
Managing attention for people in high-stress jobs
Introducing the second brain
Structuring your day
Making space for what matters
Weekly review
Your todo list is a river, not a bucket
Episode transcript
[00:00:00] Rachel: Where can you find happiness in a system that seems stretched to breaking point? Is it in the work that you do or in the things that you do to escape work? Dr. Mark Shrime believes happiness lies in part in your purpose, or as the Japanese call it, your ikigai. [00:00:15] Rachel: Mark literally wrote the become purpose as we’ll cover in this episode. And I brought him on this week to talk about finding a path towards work that meets the needs of others, as well as yourself. [00:00:25] Rachel: As medical professionals, we can feel…
