Time Management in Optometry
Time Management in Optometry
Let’s face it we are as successful as our ability to manage time effectively. I started my MBA program by studying time management; it was the first lesson. The first word was “Procrastination”. Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1746 wrote “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander Time; for that’s the Stuff Life is made of” and “Lost Time is never found again”. It has been proved that top achievers are not more intelligent but they manage time more intelligently and effectively. The advancement of technology transforms life and everything around into a high-speed changing environment. There is a lot we wish we can do but there is not enough time. Optometry is a profession that is highly exposed to technology changes and the tasks that an Optometrist performs are becoming uncountable.
Some people think that multitasking and time management are must-haves in entrepreneurial behavior. However, in the Optometry profession, both Optometrists entrepreneurs and Optometrists employees are required to master time management. Optometry entrepreneurship is no doubt a highly rewarding road. However, specialized employed Optometrists are highly paid and have significant financial independence in many practices where they get a percentage on the job they perform. To be able to specialize they are required “Strategic time management”.
According to Brian Tracy, if you want to get the best results from everything you do, you need to adopt a different approach to time management to each activity and responsibility you take. You need one approach to time managing planning, decision-making, and setting goals and another time management approach to deal with your personal life at home, and another type to dealing with your community, etc,… Types of time management are like water and oil they never mix well together.
“Strategic time management” starts with asking four basic sets of questions that aim to identify your current state or position, how you got into your current state, where do you want to get in the future, and how are you going to do it? The essence is to be able to set goals and work to achieve them. There is a goal-achieving formula that consists of seven steps:
Step1: consists of deciding exactly what you want to accomplish, where you want to go, and what you want to become.
Step 2: consists of writing down all that has come out of step 1. Plans and goals aren’t plans and goals until they are put on a piece of paper, in a document, or recorded on a device.
Step 3: consists of setting a list of deadlines for the different tasks and goals you are looking to accomplish.
Step 4: consists of thinking of everything you can do, and writing down all lists of processes and requirements to get to where you want and achieve your goals and tasks.
Step 5: consists of organizing those lists by sequence, creating checklists, ordering them to indicate what should be done first, second, third, … and so on to accomplish your goals.
Step 6: consists of taking action to your plan and getting into the first step. The first step is the most difficult one and requires the most effort, but once done you will get feedback that will help you decide on the second step and you will gain confidence.
Step 7: consists of doing small steps every day that move you to your most important goal. Do something big or no matter how small, every day, 365 days a year, that helps you get closer to your goal.
