To-Do or To-Don’t, That is the Question: Our Top To-Do List Tips

It seems simple to just write your tasks on a list and cross them off when you finish. In our experience, however, many medical practice employees and owners simply have trouble completing projects, meeting deadlines, and doing what they say they’ll do, which not only leads to personal frustration and upset employees, but also to a loss of trust and respect from patients, vendors, and teammates. Yes, to-do lists are serious business.  Read on to learn how to increase your efficiency by keeping a detailed and current to-do list…

Every Medical Practice Team Member Needs at Task List

We’ll begin with the part you know, but which must be stated, bluntly: you must have and maintain a task list of some sort. Whether you’re a doctor, practice manager, patient care coordinator, or an intern with minor administrative responsibilities, a written record of what you must accomplish is paramount for an organization.

We know you have patients calling, reps visiting, and consults to see, which is why key tasks slip through cracks and projects remain in perpetual progress. When everyone has their own list of tasks, responsibility is clear. You avoid the dreaded, “Oh I thought you were doing that” or even worse, “I forgot”. Amir Salihefendic, the CEO of a successful to-do list app, stresses the importance of a system for completing your work above all else.  It doesn’t matter if your list goes into a notebook, a Google Doc, or you develop an app on your own time to respond to precisely your own organizational techniques, you need a list to create organization and structure in your workday.

7 Simple, Super-Tips for To-Do List Productivity

• Include deadlines so the priority of tasks is clear.
• When you delegate a task, leave it on your list with the name of the project manager (which we call here at YT, the “Spearhead”) and deadline — the task is not done until it has been completed, not just assigned.
• Meet with each of your employees no less than once per month. When meeting with them,  perform a simple run-down of their lists. This helps management get updates on the status of tasks without micromanaging.  The activity will also help with assigning priority and ensuring tasks are pending and not missing.
• The second you are assigned a task, no matter how tiny or large, write it down, otherwise, you will forget.  Right now, in fact, you should be writing on your new to-do list to create a to-do list, which you can now check off as you create one (is your mind blown??!).
• Take your organization a step further by taking time Monday morning to block off realistic amounts of time in your schedule to accomplish each task for the week. Try to front end load your week as much as possible. Doing so will mitigate tasks not being completed by the end of the week due to emergencies popping up.
• Re-write your list every so often to keep it clean and organized.
• Nothing comes off the list until it is truly completed and there is no further follow-up left to be done.

Crossing completed tasks off a to-do list often reaches “In The Air Tonight” drum breakdown levels of satisfaction and we can’t wait for you to experience the high of productivity!  To learn more about the art of to-do’s and other tips and tricks on growing your medical practice, reach out to us at info@yellowtelescope.com.