Keep Track of Your Busy Schedule
As occupational therapists we quickly become fantastic at creating our work schedule in order to have the most productivity possible. We are geniuses at getting the most done throughout our workday; this can include seeing as many patients as we can in our day, or being sure to keep in mind the time needed to finish documentation and keeping track of supplies and other deadlines.
Working in home care I often had to make my own schedule while keeping in mind I had to work around the needs of the patient and the other team members who could include nursing, PT, speech and home health aides. Somehow, with a little teamwork we orchestrated a schedule that was a win-win for everyone.
Often times throughout the span of time when we are OT students and then actually practicing OTs, we are so busy that we tend to depend heavily on our calendar or electronic device that we chose to keeps our day running smoothly!
What type of device or format do you use to keep track of your appointments and your life, including your list of things you don't want to forget? I have been through all types of paper and electronic methods of keeping my work life and my personal life in running order.
Decades ago I listened to a self-study course on time management. I was a young mother who was returning to school, and I had to keep my schedule running smoothly as well as the schedule of my two little daughters. This self-study program used the Day-timer® as an example of a great system to use. It really was fantastic, and met my needs at that time!
What I first used was a little tiny book that they made which was about 3 x 5 inches. That was a size that I could fit neatly in my purse and put all the appointments that I had for myself and for my two daughters. I used the "one page per day" style, and this was good enough for me to use for volunteering, mothering, and my part time job.
As far as a "to do" list goes, I need to put it on paper and strategize the order of the items so that I could feel mentally organized for the work at hand. I even do that when I cook a large dinner for friends and family.
As the years went on and I was back to college I got a bigger sized Day-timer® that was about 4x6 inches. During those years I had to fill it with schedules and assignments and phone numbers of fellow classmates, as well as the unending schedule of activities for two little girls who took dance and music lessons and played in sports. I even upgraded to the "two page per day" style, and filled it easily.
I rarely missed a beat, or an appointment, and felt really organized. Once out of college and into working I tried different sizes of the date book to keep me on track.
There were several years of my career that I had a full time job and at the end of the day I worked with several homecare clients. I went on to use a date book that was notebook size, and huge, so I could keep track of all my homecare appointments, phone numbers, my mileage and all else that was essential to the organized, well-balanced Occupational Therapist. As time went on and I had periods of working part-time and took some time off to help with a family crisis, my needs changed and the big book was no longer necessary.
My time management system got downsized to the manageable purse size book!
I was working part-time and taking classes for Coach training, and found it was messy to find lots of room to make notations of my appointments. I had to keep looking at the date book to know what I was supposed to do at specific times. I had lots of teleclasses to attend, calls to make and work schedules to adhere to!
My mentor at that time was using a palm® and therefore I felt the necessity to use one also. Little alarms could be set to go off so I would never miss an appointment or a call! There was a place to make a strategizing task list, and best of all, it can be downloaded into the computer, and synchronized between the handheld and computer. This way I could use my schedule at the computer or anywhere.
This synchronization was very handy when I did have a computer crash! The schedule was there and waiting to be placed back onto my computer via the palm® through the beauty of the synchronization process. The palm® has been running for five years now, and is backed up daily. When I need to see my schedule on paper, I just print it out from the computer! The handiest part of this system is the little alarm that warns me of an appointment, and also the portability of the little device.
This is the system that has worked for me up until recently.
Of course as you may have guessed, my next step would be to combine my phone, computer and palm® device all into one. Choices for a smart phone include an iPhone, BlackBerry®, or Treo®. The option was a big decision for me because the perfectionist in me had to pick the very best phone for my situation. It had to be easy to use because even though I love techie stuff, it is not "intuitive" for me and many others in my generation! It had to be compatible with my main computer, and I wanted to stay with my phone provider so I can talk to my daughters for free!
I made my choice! I am still trying my new smart phone out, so I will save the rave reviews until another time.
What are your needs around documentation of your schedule, and what is your favorite item to maintain your schedule of work, home life and social life?
I would love to hear from you,
Lorraine