5 Productivity Tips for Academic and Administrative Physicians That You Didn't Learn in Medical School

When I was in residency, the Holy Grail of Medicine, no matter what your specialty, was the hallowed, aspirational, "Triple Threat" in Medicine - a physician who was equally accomplished in clinical medicine, teaching, and research. In 1999, Dr. C. Richard Conti, then the Editor-in-Chief of the Clinical Cardiology referenced Edward D. Miller, Jr., M.D., Dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who "...emphasized that the term 'triple threat' has been used for decades to describe the Johns Hopkins medical faculty. He made the point that physicians of other institutions often make their mark in one or perhaps two of the academic medical missions of teaching, research, and patient care. But Hopkins clinicians "have held the unusual distinction of being versed in all three callings.""

Fast forward to 2017. Patients are sicker and more complex. Clinical Productivity is increasingly gauged by RVUs generated and EHR documentation efficiency. Medical knowledge has exploded. Teaching and research, otherwise known as Academic Productivity, is measured by number of grants received, research projects completed, abstracts presented, manuscripts published, peer recognition earned, mentorship provided, students/residents trained, teaching awards earned, and ultimately, promotion and tenure achieved.

Now add another domain of expertise, that of Administrative Productivity, and we now have the potential expectation for a physician to be a "Quadruple Threat" (#quadruplethreatdoctor). We can debate whether that is possible or advisable... Administrative productivity can be benchmarked by any number of organizational successes - improving operational processes, enhancing patient safety and quality, leading one's clinical department or medical school to national preeminence, improving a health system's bottom line by reining in costs and improving revenues, or improving organizational culture among others.

Whether you are a physician just starting to branch out from a career in clinical medicine, a budding educator or researcher, a Medical Director, a C-suite physician, a Clinical Chairperson, or a Dean, here are 5 Productivity Tips to help you manage and be successful in your to balance your clinician life and your administrative/academic life:

Find your Flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the Father of "Flow" - a state of concentration where one feels so focused that one becomes absolutely absorbed in an activity. This state of mind has been widely described in sports as "being in The Zone." Pay attention to when you are most efficient and concentrated and build your "working blocks" around them. I know that in the mornings when my brain is most rested, or late in the evening (for reasons unclear to me), I can do my best writing. I can research & read articles, create powerpoints, draft curricula, and time often seems to stand still. When I look up from my computer, hours may have gone by. When the concentration begins to wane, I know it's time to stop and move onto something else, but I can feel good about what I accomplished during that period.

Know when you do your best work and use those times to get your most important work done.

Become a Collaborator. Successful healthcare organizational initiatives require "interprofessional" or "multidisciplinary" interactions at all levels. Developing effective collaboration skills leads to strong relationships and consensus building. By fostering collective intelligence, you will develop stronger cross-disciplinary teams. If you are running the meeting, you must have clarity about the meeting objectives. Rehearse the meeting in your mind, come prepared, involve everyone, and seek input.

Learning to follow can often be as important as leading. If you have a colleague who has the same goals as you, has the time and talent to accomplish the mission, then be a supportive mentor and help them get the job done. The world is very round place, my wife always says, and someday, that support you provided will likely come back to help you.

Collaboration is, first and foremost, a change in attitude and behavior of people throughout an organization. Successful collaboration is a human issue. 

Use the talents and energies of your colleagues to leverage your strengths and supplement your weaknesses. You will get more done and you will develop a strong network built on trust.

Multitask Less. Conventional wisdom asserts that the more you can do simultaneously, the more you can accomplish. However, the evidence may indicate otherwise. Studies have indicated that our brains do not actually multitask. We just become better at switching quickly between tasks. However this rapid task switching may lead to issues that outweigh any productivity gains. Here is a clinical example: It is a typical day and you are trying to manage administrative/academic tasks before, in between, or after seeing patients. Distracted by emails, texts, notifications, and meetings, your ability to be fully be present with your patients becomes compromised. You don't fully listen to the history, the physical exam may be rushed, you may miss the diagnosis, or you may make an error. The patient thinks you don't care because you appeared too busy and your mind was somewhere else. Rather than being effective, you put your patients at risk.

One multitasking lifehack that has helped me tremendously throughout my career has been to avoid scheduling administrative work on days that I have a clinical shift, especially a night shift. I decided years ago that I would not go to the hospital on the day of or the day after a night shift. This has helped me tremendously with my physical well being and longevity. And when I am working, I can be more alert and effective for my patients. It's safer.

Build in Unscheduled Time. Overscheduling is not just for kids these days. Many successful CEOs have attested to the power of building in unscheduled time into your day. By building 90 minutes to 2 hours of unscheduled time into your daily schedule, you can recharge, reorient your attention to what's important, or revamp your routine. You could also use it to learn a new skill, or to connect with your colleagues.

Reflect. Often. Benjamin Franklin's daily schedule contained several key practices that served as his aspirational guiding principles. The first question he would ask himself in the morning was, "What good shall I do this day?" He would then pursue it during his morning work block. In the evening, he second question he would ask was, "What good have I done to-day [sic]?" Then he would reflect, in a routine he called, "Examination of the day." Only by reflecting on what you did during the day, can you assess how worthwhile your activities were for you. By doing this regularly, you will be more effective at focusing your time on those activities/goals/projects that are meaningful to you and minimizing those distractors that hamper your productivity. Additionally, Franklin's goals of doing some "good" each day resonates with me. I try to do this to because it keeps me engaged and present at work, and I think I do a better job. Read about how other successful people manage their busy lives in other fields. Do it daily.

Bottom Line. The secret to your own productivity is taking an active role in understanding how you work best, when you work best, and what fulfills you and engages you to do your best work. You must reflect on it everyday and manage it. Try different techniques and practice the ones that seem to work for you so that you can turn those practices into habits.