When Managing Busy Schedules, Stay Focused and Keep Priorities Top of Mind

We like to think that we control our schedule, not the reverse. But that takes perseverance and planning. Otherwise, all that careful planning can easily fly out the window if you don’t stay on top of things.

Kay Washington, MD, PhD, FASCP, who works in an academic setting at Vanderbilt University, emphasizes the importance of prioritizing when it comes to managing her time. “I do a lot of volunteer work with outside organizations, and I try not to set meetings during times when I need to work with residents or fellows. One thing that helps is how much you can control your environment. If you can control part of it, you can cope with it better.”

She added, “I heard a young person say she had a life mission statement and all that she did had to advance her mission, which is education. It does help to have an overall view of where you want your career to go and focus volunteer activities to advance what you want to do.”

Dr. Washington has noticed her younger colleagues seem to have an ever increasing service work load. “That is a big stressor for everyone. It means less time is available to work on scholarly activities,” she says. “I used to be on service half time when I was a junior faculty member. Now, my colleagues are on 75 percent of time, and are off one week out of four. So, their vacation comes out of their off service time, and they have teaching things they’re supposed to do.”  

Prioritization is also essential for Babatunde Oloyede, MLS(ASCP)^CM, a laboratory director at a U.S. Department of Justice Federal Medical Center in North Carolina. His day starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. each day. While he’d like to say he manages his schedule fairly well, he knows that the day’s events can turn on a dime and often do. Sometimes, he is on call 24/7.  He and his team are always available to step up at a moment’s notice.

“Now that we are dealing with the coronavirus, we have many people deployed on this front,” he said. “The few left will try to step up and do other things that those were doing when here.  Triage is how we manage intensely busy situations.”