An important aspect of productivity is the concept “Do It Now.” When one concludes that a particular thing should be done, the most cost-effective way to get it done is to do it now. But we often do not follow this ideal. Instead we procrastinate until not doing it becomes more painful than doing it. … Read more
Recently I have been itching to dip my hand back into life at the hospital. It all started when I attended the annual meeting of the hospital foundation, of which I am a past member. I saw all the fantastic things that have happened in the seven years since I last set foot in the … Read more
A few weeks ago I published an article titled Many Physicians Waste Their Vacation Time. It is the preface to today’s article, so if you haven’t read it, click on the link to do so before continuing with this article. One physician wrote me, in response to the above article, expressing the issues they faced … Read more
Last summer, at a time when I was having trouble sleeping, a friend told me how he used his sleep monitoring smart watch to discover the things he did that both helped and hurt his sleep activity. My conversation with him combined with watching my son use his new smart watch to control his phone … Read more
(My wife and I will soon be enjoying our timeshare on a three week snow birding vacation in the Texas cities of San Antonio, Austin, and Galveston. If you live in or near any of these cities (Houston?) and would like to join us for a meet up, contact me, we’d love to meet you. … Read more
This is the time of year when most residents in their final year of training begin searching for their first attending job. Getting this move right the first time is a huge happiness/stress/financial blessing. Many physicians just starting out don’t do a good job of choosing their first attending job. They tend to grab the … Read more
Unfortunately, in recent years physicians have been migrating towards being employees rather than owning their practices. A few decades ago this would have sounded silly. Today’s residents are being advised by their teaching staff that being an employed physician is preferred. What is driving this movement? Are physicians getting lazy? To many teaching staff who … Read more
Many people are unhappy with their job. For many of them it shows up as burnout. Others just don’t like what they do and want to do something else. This unhappiness has sparked the recent popularity of side gigs: Something you do other than your main job to make extra money to eventually leave your … Read more
(Don’t miss my ESI Millionaire Interview 299) The fun things we do in life, such as hobbies and spending time with family and friends, are the things that help keep us mentally fit and happy. Yet when we get busy, these are the first things we eliminate from our schedule. It’s no wonder we burn out … Read more
I recently gave a lecture in which I asked the question, “Do You Choose Money Over Family?” Of course, everyone would answer with a resounding no. No one would ever admit to choosing money over family. Yet isn’t that exactly what we do when we choose to moonlight? Or work extra shifts? That statement will … Read more
