We cannot magically create time, but we can focus on the right things to do. And for that, you need to be honest about how you spend and value your time. 

To make quality time for patients, you must:

• Establish objectives – what do you want your practice to deliver within the next 12 months?
• Achieve value – how will you allocate your time to the right activities?
• Delegate responsibly – which activities are you prepared to give to others?
• Lose some of your workload – decide what you are prepared to drop or carry out differently.

There are many resources on P3 to help with planning and setting goals and objectives. This is not easy in a busy work environment, so set some time aside outside of work instead. Start by identifying just three objectives that you want to achieve within the coming 12 months.

It is easy to get caught up in daily work life and allow non-value adding activities to occupy our time. These activities could be done by someone else, or not done at all. Consider: 

• How much are you worth per hour?
• How much time do you spend on activities that could easily be undertaken by others? Do these activities deliver value? Do they reflect what your time is worth? 
• How much time do you spend skilling others to support responsible delegation?
• Do you have the right staff with the right skills to support your goals?
• Which activities deliver no value? What tasks will you discontinue?

Pause to reflect

Take 30 minutes out of your day to identify activities that create value. Note these down, alongside what you do that is incidental or wasteful of time that could be better spent with patients.