Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections
Lessons, lightbulb moments, and honest reflections from life inside and outside medicine - served with a side of perspective.
Tags: execution
Showing 4 results:
Broadening the Differential: A Lesson in Agile Thinking
I've been spending time with colleagues lately exploring the concept of agility in the research literature. And as a result, I keep finding the need for it everywhere.
This week alone, our house build presented a wiring issue that no longer aligned with the original lighting and door-swing plans ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 12, 2026
adaptability
adaptation
advocacy
agility
anchoring
assumptions
awareness
bias
caregiving
change
chaos
clinical thinking
collaboration
communication
complexity
contingency
curiosity
decision making
diagnosis
efficiency
execution
family
flexibility
growth
home building
humility
insight
judgment
leadership
learning
logistics
medicine
openness
perspective
perspective shift
planning
prioritization
problem solving
realignment
reassessment
recalibration
reconsideration
reflection
reframing
resilience
responsiveness
rethinking
structure
systems
truth seeking
uncertainty
Tools and Strategies
Mindset
I always spend a lot of time on mindset. It is foundational and under-discussed. However, if we only change mindset without also learning strategies and new tools, many things will stay the same.
For instance, you may have a whole new outlook on your inbox. But if you want to improve comm...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Feb 27, 2026
accountability
alignment
assertiveness
awareness
boundaries
burnout
clarity
cognitive load
communication
compassion
conflict
decision making
development
efficiency
emotional intelligence
empowerment
energy management
execution
feedback
focus
growth
intentionality
kindness
leadership
mindset
ownership
perspective
prevention
prioritization
proactivity
processes
productivity
professionalism
psychological safety
reactivity
reflection
relationships
repair
resilience
respect
response
sbar
self-efficacy
self-leadership
self-regulation
strategy
structure
systems
triage
Mise en Place for the Mind
One of my coachees recently identified the missing link in his project workflow. (Thanks for the metaphor, Michael Caçoilo! - shared with permission.)
He had developed the right structure for him: breaking big tasks into smaller chunks and blocking time to get them done. But something still felt ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 21, 2025
awareness
clarity
coaching
connection
efficiency
engagement
execution
focus
habits
insight
intentionality
leadership
metaphor
mindset
mise-en-place
planning
pre-work
preparation
presence
productivity
professionalism
readiness
reflection
structure
time blocking
trust
workflow
Reflection: Game Tape
One small aspect of the culture I grew up in centered around College Football. (Stick with me, non-sports fans) As we soon head into the College Football Playoffs, watching Sports Center Game Day with retired coach Nick Saban and former players Des Howard and Kirk Herbstreet is entertaining and i...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 11, 2025
adaptation
adult learning
analysis
clinical reasoning
coaching
cognition
decision making
execution
feedback
flexibility
growth
improvement
insight
intentionality
learning
metacognition
minfulness
non-judgment
observation
pattern recognition
performance
practice
productivity
recognition
reflect-in
reflect-on
reflection
rumination
self-awareness
situatinal awareness
Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections