Ramit Sethi, a New York Times-bestselling author and productivity/finance/entrepreneur expert, talks about the 5 productivity mistakes that people make in his latest blog post. Here are my thoughts on how this applies to physicians, along with notes from the video itself since it doesn’t come with a transcript.

Productivity mistake #1: Trying to do it all ourselves

Which to-do items will change your life (e.g. learn how to invest), and which just needs to get done (e.g. empty the dishwasher)? If you rank them all at the same level, you set them up for failure because you can’t do them all. Top performers in the same 24 hours are very clear about where their time deserves to be spent. As you earn more and more, you can trade money for time. e.g. hire someone else to do laundry.

What is one thing you can you outsource today? Each week, pick one thing you can do to save one hour a week.

For me, I can get all my groceries delivered at Safeway.com. Or as a physician, delegating tasks properly to other members of the team. I remember one family physician at UC Irvine saying she was overwhelmed with trying to raise her family, be a wife, take care of her patients, and also clean the house — she’s always been the one to clean her house — when she finally yielded & hired a housekeeper.

This is a continuation of my thoughts on “Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time,” by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy, as published in the Harvard Business Review. The first series in the post dealt with physical energy, the second, on emotional energy.

Mental Energy

• Reduce interruptions by performing high-concentration tasks away from phones and emails.
• Respond to voice mails and emails at designated times during the day.
• Every night, identify the most important challenge for the next day. Then make it your first priority when you arrive at work in the morning.

This is nearly impossible on the wards since so many people want to page you. I did, at one point, try using a Bluetooth headset on my cell phone so that I could answer phone calls more efficiently. I noticed that the more efficient residents would enter in orders, write notes, and present cases (i.e. multitask) during rounds. The point that the authors try to make is to emphasize how important it is to reduce clutter, and it relates to a condition one psychiatrist, Dr. Edward Hallowell, has labeled attention deficit trait.

This is a continuation of my thoughts on “Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time,” by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy, as published in the Harvard Business Review. The first series in the post dealt with physical energy.

• Defuse negative emotions — irritability, impatience, anxiety, insecurity — through deep abdominal breathing.
• Fuel positive emotions in yourself and others by regularly expressing appreciation to others in detailed, specific terms through notes, emails, calls, or conversations.
• Look at upsetting situations through new lenses. Adopt a “reverse lens” to ask, “What would the other person in this conflict say, and how might he be right?” Use a “long lens” to ask, “How will I likely view this situation in six months? ” Employ a “wide lens” to ask, “How can I grow and learn from this situation?”

Renewing emotional energy is harder to accomplish when on a high-stress high-stakes service like internal medicine or surgery. read more→

The Harvard Business Review magazine often features articles detailing techniques for personal improvement based on more rigorous scientific research and analyses of successful organizations and leaders. One of the articles featured in its recently-published compilation On Managing Yourself, “Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time,” focuses on improving yourself by managing energy instead of prioritizing and stressing about time management. The four dimensions of personal energy include physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, which I’ll tie in this post and subsequent posts. I’ll cover the article’s highlights, and tie it in to make it more relevant to healthcare professionals:

Physical Energy

Authors Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy summarize their techniques along these points:

• Enhance your sleep by setting an earlier bedtime and reducing alcohol use.
• Reduce stress by engaging in cardiovascular activity at least three times a week and strength training at least once.
• Eat small meals and light snacks every three hours.
• Learn to notice signs of imminent energy flagging, including restlessness, yawning, hunger, and difficulty concentrating.
• Take brief but regular breaks away from your desk, at 90- to 120- minute intervals throughout the day.

Finally, an update! (and a drawing for the first time in years.)

I didn't quite know what to do with this website for the longest time — and, in fact, I still don't. The most effective websites, I've found, offer a wealth of content for a specific niche, but for me, what exactly would my niche be? For awhile I toyed with starting my own freelancing business, but then I got employed by a wonderful 300-person Silicon Valley start-up and we got acquired by Microsoft. Then I thought of starting a "study hacks" weblog, even going so far as to register the domain name. And then, school happened. Compound this with the fact that Carolen says I'm likely in a "quarter life crisis": is there one single thing I'm interested in, that I can create a website around? A topic that can define me? I love so many different things that it's hard.

So, I'd like to start by picking a subtopic in my blog and seeing where this leads me. Transit in Orange County. I can't find another website dedicated to such an important topic in a county where cars are revered. With bus and train ridership shooting through the roof thanks to increased gas prices, plus all the cool transportation projects in the works, it's a topic ripe for discussion. I'll discuss news items, projects in the works, and tips for making transit work for you (if you happen to be in Orange County).

In the meantime, welcome to my website. I hope you enjoy the redesign. read more→

Last month, I walked across two stages and turned my tassel twice. My family — all of whom have supported me throughout the past five years — were there. My friends — who have studied, sweated, toiled, programmed computers, and dissected animals with me — all were present.

We're done! read more→

I finally get to walk at not one, but two (two! 2!!!) ceremonies. As you can see, I am quite excited.

I have lots of tickets leftover, so post a comment here if you'd like me to get you one. :)

• Molecular Cell Biology: Friday, May 19, 2006, 7:00pm at Greek Theatre
• Computer Science:
  Sunday, May 21, 2006, 2:00pm at Zellerbach Auditorium

I've been playing games a little bit more lately, not just because they're fun, but because I suck at it. I should've realized this a long time ago when my own sister beat me at Bomberman, but it hasn't quite sunken in until I saw my co-worker cleanly slice through Geometry Wars, a space arcade game, on the new Xbox 360 at work.

Oh, and half a year ago, my sweetie thrashed me soundly on Puzzle Fighter.

Maybe I'm missing something. Is it because everyone else has better visual reaction times? I don't drive a car, so maybe that's part of the problem. Driving a car is essentially a game in itself, except, if you mess up, you lose your life. Literally. read more→

So, I'm thinking of starting a side business in graphic and web design, to earn more money for the *ahem*treofund*ahem* and in case I'll need it for the future. It'll be especially for folks in the sciences and health fields, but it would be for non-profits too. ;)

What do people think about these logos? And this, as a business card design? It would sure look nice on glossy cards, wouldn't you agree?

Side note: I'll be taking my very first official graphic design course at nearby Foothill College! :D Yay! read more→

I'm trying to decide whether I need a Palm Treo. These gadgets are amazing devices that let you take photos, listen to music, talk to friends and family, send e-mails, surf the net, play old-school Game Boy and even some DOS games, ... yes, the list does go on. But with a subscription rate of $600+ a year, it's a rather large cost to factor in to my budget. There are plenty of areas in my life where I could use such a device. read more→