Last week we discussed procrastination and knowing if you are ready to change the pattern. 

This week and next, we will take a look at common themes driving procrastination. 

For many physicians, a pervasive one is unhealthy perfectionism.  When we strive for a perceived external bar beyond realistic human competence, it triggers a cascade. When we think things like, "This has to be perfect," it can lead to an emotion of pressure which will lead to wanting to...

Why do many physicians procrastinate? In this 3-week series, we will work through procrastination’s most common causes and tips for leaving procrastination behind.

Let’s start by defining procrastination. It's described as an act of delaying or postponing something.  Note the word action. It’s an action, a behavior, not a personality trait. The reason I make that point is too many physicians define themselves by an action. Defining yourself by a negative behavior...

Join me in this month's vlog where my ever-patient instructor, Dr. Julie Hood Wilson, helps me learn to skate ski as an adult. We are joined by Holly Brooks, 2-time Olympian, and high-performance coach, as we discuss better ways to look at feedback as physicians. 

Over the last two weeks, we covered Step 1 – Taking back control of your time, and Step 2 – Taking back control of your attention to calming the chaos and cultivating harmony in life.

Now for the 3^rd step.  We need to protect and build our mental energy.

How do we do this? I have 5 tips, but good news - 2 of them are duplicates from Steps 1 and 2.  

Honor your priority for your rejuvenation time/self-care. Whatever it is that revitalizes you, make it...

Calm the Chaos & Cultivate Harmony: Step 2 – Take back control of your attention.

Last week we covered Step 1 – Taking back control of your time.

As residents and academic physicians with full lives outside of work, the demands for your attention are numerous! Those demands add to the chaos and seeming lack of harmony. This week, we are moving to step 2 of calming the chaos – control your own attention with 4 key tips.

Be present. You may recognize...

There are 168 hours in a week for all of us. If you haven’t read 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam, check it out. 

Basically, that means if you are a busy physician, even as a resident within work hour rules and sleeping 8 hours every night, you have 32 hours each week.  How you use those hours (both at work and outside work) and how you think about them can help you calm the chaos. Taking back control of time, and...

Larry Bauer, CEO of the Family Medicine Education Consortium which focuses on the critical role that Family Medicine plays in the health of the nation, hosted me to discuss physician coaching in residency programs. Their focus is on achieving the full potential of family medicine. Click here to learn more

This month's vlog focuses on important relationships. Learning to be intentional in cultivating creative time now is key to maintaining and growing relationships.  Try to limit putting relationships on auto-pilot.  The arrival fallacy hurts relationships - thinking "after residency," "after fellowship," "after I get my practice up and running", I'll have time to spend with those important to me. Please don't fall for it. 

Have a joy-filled day!  Tonya

The next...

So far, we’ve covered the first step of taming overwhelm - Being fully present with the person or task at hand and last week, and we covered Step 2 - List, prioritize, eliminate, delegate, and let go.  Now let’s move on to Step 3 - Taking small steps and letting go of perfection. 

If any of those priorities from step 2 seem large, break them down into small steps.  The first time I saw this principle in action, it resulted in several wins....

Last week, we covered the first lesson in Taming Overwhelm: be fully present with the person or task at hand. 

This week we are going to take it to the next step. When you feel like there is too much to do – start with a list. You have to get the things swirling in your head out of your mind and down on paper. Otherwise, your brain will jump around and offer that you have too much to do. So simply by listing them out on paper automatically lessons the burden. Strip them down to...