How to Lead as a Woman Physician Series
Productivity, Time & Energy Management- Part I Managing our Energy and the 80/20 Rule
The next series of How to Lead as a
We have 24 hours a day, and 168 hours
Woman Physician articles will be
in a week. Time is finite.
focused on productivity, time and energy management.
Our energy, however, is not.
Don’t we all feel like we just never have
Have you noticed how sometimes
enough time?
time flies? You’re having so much fun, or are so engrossed in what you are
Time is our most precious commodity.
doing, that you don’t even notice time
Benjamin Franklin said it best in his
pass by. You are in flow, that
essay ‘Advice to a Young Tradesman’
remarkable energized experience of
even back in 1748, “Remember time is
focus, full involvement and complete
money.”
absorption, first described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1975. Tammie Chang, MD, LLC
How to Lead as a Woman Physician Series
What you are doing is so fun, that it
Suggested Activity:
gives you even more energy. 1. For the next 7 days, keep a diary of Then there are the times when time
what gives you energy, takes away
couldn’t move any slower. Time drags
your energy, what’s “so so” (a
on and on. You feel the energy being
“meh” as I call it!).
sucked out of you with each second that passes on by.
2. At the end of 7 days, review common themes and patterns you notice about your own energy.
Our energy is like a tank of gas. Some
3. What was surprising to you about
activities and tasks put gas in our
your own energy? What was not
tank. Others use up the gas in our
surprising?
tank. Keep on running too long beyond when the gas tank warning
4. What have you learned about yourself?
light comes on, and before you know it, you can’t move forward or function at all.
Many of you may have heard of the 80/20 rule. It’s a statistical principle
One of the most useful things we can
that states 80% of results often come
do is to begin to increase our own self-
from approximately 20% of causes. It
awareness of our energy – of what
was first described in 1985 by Italian
brings us energy and what depletes us.
economist Vilfredo Preto, who
I know you already have an intuitive
published his rule when he discovered
sense of what is fun for you, and what
that 20% of Italy’s citizens owned 80%
is not. What brings you energy, and
of the country’s wealth.
what does not.
Tammie Chang, MD, LLC
How to Lead as a Woman Physician Series
The 80/20 rule has been widely
Write down how much time per week
adopted in business, finance, career
or month you spend per activity
development and productivity as a principle to help guide how we use our
Now, using the 80/20 rule (The Pareto
time and our energy.
Principle), look at how you’re
We can even apply the 80/20 rule to
spending your time. How are you
our energy.
spending your energy and your time?
Here is another activity for you:
Are you spending 80% of your time on activities and roles that are most
Make a list of each sphere of your life:
important to you?
Family
What brings you the most energy?
Career
What percentage of how you spend
Social life
your 168 hours each week are most
Personal growth
aligned with your personal values and
Finances
your Why?
Health What can you remove from your plate
Relationships
that doesn’t bring you energy? How Write down all of your activities, tasks,
can you apply the 4 D’s (Do, Delay,
and commitments in each area of your
Delegate, Drop) to any item that
life.
drains your energy?
Include projects, committees, programs, initiatives, leadership roles,
Join me back here in two weeks for my
community service, personal
next article on Productivity, Time and
activities.
Energy Management!
Tammie Chang, MD, LLC