Tune It Out
Workload, telephone calls, STAT orders, interruptions from colleagues, instrument breakdowns, the boss yelling, patient complaints, the frequency of abnormalities and random error conspire in infinitely complex ways to drive us crazy.
How do we keep distractions from harming patients?
As I wrote here, Psychology Today advises using techniques that help regain focus. Let's focus on two: putting up a "Do Not Disturb" sign and wearing noise-canceling headphones.
In other words, if a distraction drives you crazy, tune it out.
It may sound rude, but we already do this. We refuse to answer the telephone, ignore requests, don't return messages, leave unfinished work for others and "forget" all kinds of things. But what we're really doing is prioritizing quality. If we try to do everything and be everywhere, we can make errors.
The problem is we prioritize poorly. We need a "tune out plan."
Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, suggests a "low-information" diet of no emails, no instant messaging and no multitasking. Fewer distractions means more work is done in less time. Ferriss practices what he calls "selective ignorance" to reduce the e-clutter in his life, even getting news of world affairs from waiters.
We might not want to go that far. But we can selectively tune out distractions and work smarter. Here are a few ideas:
- Be firm, be polite, and be honest in telling coworkers when they are distracting you.
- Talk to your coworkers to prioritize distractions.
- Complain about stress after, not during, the stress.
- Take turns answering the telephone. (Make it a game if you have to – loser buys lunch.)
- Use the hold button or return calls.
- Read and answer email once a day – less if you can.
- Don't carry a pager if you are near a telephone where you can be reached.
Most importantly, take a break. A quick stroll works miracles. The bench will be there when you get back, and who knows? The stress might get smaller in the meantime.