Procrastination And Productivity

Procrastination is often associated with a negative meaning. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, to procrastinate is “to put off intentionally and habitually”. Procrastination is not necessarily a good or bad practice. It depends on what you choose and why you choose to delay doing certain things.  

As clinical physicians, many are working non-stop during the work hours. Many physicians are also working after hours to satisfy the demands of patient documentation, other parts of patient care and administrative duties. As we can handle only one thing at a time, this means that we are procrastinating in doing something else.  

Some of you may question about multi-tasking, as that is an attempt to do multiple things simultaneously. That seems like a good idea but it is not. Our brain is designed only to focus on one thing at a time. In order to do something well and efficiently, you need laser focus. When you attempt to focus on more than one thing, your brain is constantly switching from one task to the next. It is difficult to concentrate with this practice. It takes time for the brain to reset itself to resume the previous task. You end up spending more time to complete those few tasks “at the same time” than if you do each task separately.  

Procrastination is a neutral action (or inaction, however you prefer to view it). It depends on the “what” and the “why” you are procrastinating.  

For example, you have a full schedule of patients in your office. You just finished seeing a patient, and the next patient is waiting in the other exam room. If you go into the next exam room to see the next patient, you are procrastinating to finish the chart of your previous patient. If you choose to finish the chart of the patient you just saw, you are procrastinating to see the next patient.  

Procrastination is neither good nor bad; it is shaped into different meanings and different results by each person. In the work environment as a physician, the ultimate most important thing is to understand why you are delaying certain things to be done. Let us revisit the example above. After seeing the patient, it is best to finish everything about the patient, including the charting, so that you can have the full concentration for the next patient. If you choose to see the next patient before finishing up with the previous patient, ask yourself if you are avoiding the discomfort of how your next patient will judge you. Or are you avoiding to complete the patient documentation because you do not want to do it? Or are you convincing yourself that by putting the charting off until later you will write a “perfect” note?  

How about we utilize procrastination to our advantage? What if you are procrastinating in a way that is more productive and is moving you closer to your goal faster? 

The first step is to identify your goal. For most clinical physicians, the goal is to take care of the patients efficiently. It is important to remind yourself this throughout the day. 

The second step is to prioritize according to your goal. This is the key step in conscious and intentional procrastination, the procrastination that increases your efficiency and productivity.  

You will be tempted to do other things. At any time, you will be tempted to delay doing the very thing that will increase your productivity. Acknowledge it. What is stopping you from doing the thing that is moving you closer to the goal? Identify the discomfort you are avoiding, be it fear, dislike or any other reason. Always be kind to yourself. Your brain is trying to protect you from discomfort. That is when you need your reasonable mind to remember the “why” and to do the uncomfortable things.  

You may come up with different reasons to procrastinate to do the very thing that will move you closer to your goal. To you, your goal may be too far away. If your goal is to go home by 5 pm with all your work done, and you are currently going home at 7 pm with more work to do, you may be procrastinating because you do not believe that you can achieve your goal. Set a short-term and more achievable goal. For this example, the ultimate goal is to go home by 5 pm. For the first small goal, how about going home by 7 pm with all your work done? 

I cannot emphasize how important it is to take scheduled breaks in the day. This is the time for your brain to rest. Decision fatigue is real and the more decisions you make without resting, the longer it takes for you to make the next decision. Working non-stop also lowers your mind’s guard to wander. This is the set up for delaying the important tasks without the helpful intentions toward your goal.  

Finally, celebrating and rewarding yourself help you procrastinate in a productive way. If you are seeing the patients and finishing the notes two times in a row, acknowledge and celebrate it. It takes a few seconds to do this and it is a boost of positive energy to keep you focused on what not to procrastinate.  

Procrastination is an act of delaying to do something. The undisciplined mind tends to procrastinate the very things which will move us toward our goals, because those things tend to be, in our head, unpleasant, difficult or tend to cause discomfort. Always remember your “why” and choose what to procrastinate that will help you with your goals. Prioritize accordingly. Be mindful of what your brain is attempting to do, when your mind is wandering off. Schedule breaks throughout the day to rest and recharge. Always celebrate your wins and reward yourself. The little boosts of dopamine are pleasant and may just be the nudge you need to avoid procrastinating to do the things to achieve your goals.