Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Effective delegation: the key to unlocking more time and less stress in your busy life

Jennifer Shaer, MD
Physician
May 5, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

How many times have you wished that you had more time? Do you feel like you’re too busy? Feel frazzled, rushed, and stressed?

No matter how much fame and fortune we may have, time is one thing that money can’t buy. One constant for every single one of us. Whether you are Jeff Bezos or a frenzied physician, we all only have 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year (except leap year). And none of us knows how much time we actually have left. Time is our most precious resource.

I’m not about to suggest that I can create more actual hours in your day, but I want to talk about a practical strategy that we can all employ that will, in fact, give us more time. Delegation.

Effective delegation is a tool to get more done in less time. It helps build teams of effective people around us. It helps us lessen our load and decrease our stress levels. Effective delegation lets us work smarter, not harder.

We all say that we should be working to the level of our license, but how often do we find ourselves doing paperwork or making calls that could be delegated to someone else? Why do we do this? It takes time to explain a new process and then to trust that it will be done. You might even be thinking that you’ve tried it before, and it doesn’t work. That it’s just easier to do it yourself.

Well, yes and no.

Learning new things takes time and energy upfront, which is definitely a challenge. But if you feel you’ve tried delegation and it doesn’t work, that’s probably because you haven’t properly learned the skill. When we try to delegate without understanding how to do it properly, we end up dumping instead.

Effective delegation isn’t about dumping a task on an employee and simply hoping or expecting that they get it done. That is a sure setup for failure and will provide you with further evidence that nobody can do it except you. Adding to your sense of burden. Effective delegation involves more than magical thinking. It is an active process by the delegator. It includes clearly defining the task and the reason for it, finding the right person with the right skill set, providing support and check-ins along the way, setting clear expectations and deadlines, creating trust so the delegatee can come to you with problems, and one of the hardest parts for us:  letting go of micromanaging the process.

You can keep doing everything yourself. But it might be time to learn this skill if you feel burdened or stressed.

As physicians, we are masters at practicing delayed gratification when the reward at the end is worth it. My purpose here is not to teach you how to effectively delegate but to convince you why it’s worth learning. It’s to create a compelling case so that you want to invest your time in the short term.

Once we have the right motivation, we can accomplish anything.

Before I close, I want to point out that there are strategies for shifting from a “time-poor” mindset to a “time-rich mindset.” Strategies that will help you prioritize your commitments and not take on more than you can handle. These strategies will help you create a sense of ease without changing processes and people in your environment. I highly recommend doing that personal work with a coach, but the practical tool of delegation has the potential to make your work environment much more enjoyable.

Invest in yourself and develop this skill. The short-term pain will pay significant dividends in the end.

Jennifer Shaer is a pediatrician and chief wellness officer, Allied Physicians Group, and a certified executive and life coach. She is founder, Shaer Coaching, and can be reached on Facebook. She is available for one-on-one coaching and speaking engagements: Feel free to schedule a conversation with Dr. Shaer or reach out by email.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prev

Breaking down the link between social rejection and Black women's health outcomes

May 5, 2023 Kevin 1
…
Next

Unwavering faith: a woman's journey through cancer and beyond

May 5, 2023 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Practice Management

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Breaking down the link between social rejection and Black women's health outcomes
Next Post >
Unwavering faith: a woman's journey through cancer and beyond

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Jennifer Shaer, MD

  • Surviving an EHR upgrade

    Jennifer Shaer, MD
  • Reevaluating beliefs: the role of real doctors

    Jennifer Shaer, MD
  • Navigating patient requests: Balancing care and communication

    Jennifer Shaer, MD

Related Posts

  • Ethical humanism: life after #medbikini and an approach to reimagining professionalism

    Jay Wong
  • The life cycle of medication consumption

    Fery Pashang, PharmD
  • Finding happiness in the time of COVID

    Anonymous
  • How cartoons can alleviate medical stress

    Dan Rosandich
  • A medical student’s reflection on time, the scarcest resource

    Natasha Abadilla
  • My first end-of-life conversation

    Shereen Jeyakumar

More in Physician

  • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • The hidden incentives driving frivolous malpractice lawsuits

    Howard Smith, MD
  • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Marketing as a clinician isn’t about selling. It’s about trust.

    Kara Pepper, MD
  • How doctors took back control from hospital executives

    Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD
  • How art and science fueled one woman’s path to medicine

    Amy Avakian, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How to survive a broken health care system without losing yourself [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • What the research really says about infrared saunas

      Khushali Jhaveri, MD | Conditions
    • How the cycle of rage is affecting physicians—and how to break free

      Alexandra M.P. Brito, MD and Jennifer L. Hartwell, MD | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How to survive a broken health care system without losing yourself [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • What the research really says about infrared saunas

      Khushali Jhaveri, MD | Conditions
    • How the cycle of rage is affecting physicians—and how to break free

      Alexandra M.P. Brito, MD and Jennifer L. Hartwell, MD | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...