How To Focus Despite Constant Demands
I often get asked about the most challenging adjustments I’ve had to make since going back for fellowship as an early-career (ok, mid-career) physician, and it’s an interesting question to reflect on. I’ve considered the unpleasantness of frequently getting things wrong as I’m learning a new area of medicine, but then I remembered there was no shortage of being wrong prior to fellowship (if you’re feeling a scarcity of this in your own life, usually a significant other or family member is happy to help). I’ve also struggled with the lack of control over what my day looks like - rounds that extend late into the afternoon and take you back to that one internal medicine attending in medical school who made you want to feign an injury just so you could sneak off and finally get some work done.
But ultimately what I’ve landed on as my biggest struggle is the way that training, and perhaps medicine or academia in general, often comes with a growing list of meetings, projects, journal articles, and presentations (not to mention board preparation and the ever-looming job search) that can make it difficult for a focus-freak like myself to, well, focus. Task-switching is not my strength, and in my perfect world I would have ideally no more than three projects I’m working on at any given moment. So how do I maintain that feeling of depth, flow, and accomplishment that comes from immersing myself in working towards my goals, only some of which are related to the work I do on a day-to-day basis? After months of Edisonian experiments, I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned.
Prioritize Effectively
The following advice might sound obvious, but it took me far too long to realize I was prioritizing in an unproductive way. Because I live for these periods of intense focus where I’m lost in a project, I was spending most of my time trying to get little, insignificant tasks done so I could “clear my schedule” and create this elusive block of uninterrupted time for what mattered most. Instead, I realized I was becoming adept at completing menial tasks and busy work, while my most important goals were repeatedly getting pushed aside. I now tackle my priorities first and let the medhub evaluations and emails wait until I have a spare moment, rather than the other way around.
Because some of my projects involve what I like to think of as creative work, like the words you’re reading right now, I’ve also had to learn to prioritize my energy. I may be a lifelong night owl, but long days of emotionally demanding work have taught me that I can’t rely on evenings to be my most productive time anymore. This has meant going to bed early on nights when I’m too tired to think, and then getting up early the following morning to take advantage of my freshly-caffeinated brain and sort out that blog post in half the time. An added benefit of doing work in the morning is that I have a finite amount of time before my workday starts, which also motivates me to work faster, as opposed to nighttime when my bedtime gets pushed later as my fatigue and resolve battle it out. Which leads into my next point.
Set Deadlines
I used to think I was the only one who needed a deadline in order to get anything done, but then I learned about Parkinson’s law: work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. This is why nebulous life goals like “write a book” tend to get pushed out for years… or decades. *Clears throat.* Depending on what motivates you most - internal or external accountability - you may be able to set a mental deadline for yourself and stick to it, or you might have more success by setting time-bound milestones that will leverage some gentle external pressure. Perhaps you could go ahead and schedule that certification exam for several months from now in order to motivate yourself to start studying. Or maybe you could start a podcast and publish weekly interviews in order to complete the research you need for that elusive book.
In years past, I would ask myself why I couldn’t have chosen a career that was more “chill.” Then I volunteered to work as a precinct official for the general election in 2020, and I learned something very important. I went to my required training, where all I had to do was sit quietly and listen for a few hours. And it felt like the hardest thing I’d ever done. My knee was bouncing, I was sighing when there were delays, and I found myself frustrated to a slightly unreasonable degree that the whole process wasn’t more organized and efficient. I wish I’d had a hidden camera on my face when my Taylor Swift moment suddenly hit me, “Ahhh… It’s me.” Many of us were drawn to medicine because at least to some degree we like working under pressure. I’m not trying to glorify that (in all seriousness, maybe do some meditation or something), but don’t be afraid to use a sense of urgency in positive ways to work on goals that contribute to your well-being.
Consider The Tradeoffs
No discussion with a palliative care doctor would be complete without a discussion of tradeoffs, so here it is. There are only 24 hours in a day, and choosing to focus on one thing inherently means you’re choosing not to focus on something else. Before getting lost in your next project, consider the personal care and relationships that you don’t want to sacrifice in the process. For me, a quick 10-minute workout in the morning is always worth the time and pays for itself many times over by boosting my focus and fortifying my patience. If I’m feeling particularly pressed for time, I tell myself I just need to “break a sweat,” and that’s it. Behind exercise on the list of priorities, I also place a high value on quality sleep. This is another area where the investment of time pays dividends in well-being and productivity.
You’ve heard about some things I won’t sacrifice; now let’s talk about what I have to give up. The most uncomfortable tradeoff for me is that I can’t simultaneously meet my internal expectations and goals while also maintaining my precious identity as a people-pleaser. Choosing to have priorities that are different from the priorities someone else might choose for me means that I have to come to terms with the fact that I will disappoint people. It’s not fun to admit, but I’m only human, and I really can’t do everything. I’ve talked about this before and I’m sure I’ll talk about it many more times, but working with people who are dying has made two things abundantly clear: that I have to live with, and die with, the choices I make and that time is often much shorter than we think it is. So I want to make sure I’m living the life I want rather than the life someone else thinks I should live.
Are you struggling with overwhelm and a never-ending list of to-do’s? What projects or relationships are you yearning to bring into focus? Are you saying “yes” to the things that matter and “no” to the things that don’t? If you’d like support and accountability as you take control of your time and attention, please click below to schedule a free coaching consultation with me.