Have you heard about the 80/20 rule of time management? Developed by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, the “Pareto Principle” states that 80% of what you accomplish comes from just 20% of your efforts.
How can you improve the balance in your own practice? That’s what we asked two optometrists who have spoken and written about this subject:
→ Meenal Agarwal, OD, operates three locations in Ontario, Canada, and hosts the “Uncover Your Eyes: The Truth About Health and Wellness” podcast. She also taught a course on time management at last month’s Vision Expo West.
→ Michael (Mick) Kling, OD, is president and CEO of Invision Optometry in San Diego and senior director of professional development at Vision Source. He co-presents a Vision Source Business of Optometry course called “E.A.S.E.—Eliminate, Automate, Simplify, and Elevate,” which he recently conducted in Houston.
Both agree that the first step toward improving time management is analyzing what you do. “I use time-blocking and conduct a weekly audit,” says Dr. Agarwal. “For one week, I jot down everything I do, even 10-minute tasks.” Then she analyzes that schedule, determining what her most energy-draining and time-consuming tasks are.
“Systemize everything and write it all down in a daily activity log to help determine where time is wasted,” adds Dr. Kling. “Always document processes and automate when possible.” His office uses the Whale Platform (usewhale.io) to help.
Track and Delegate
“I don’t micromanage time,” explains Dr. Agarwal, “but I do set clear priorities and [key performance indicators, or KPIs] so my staff knows what results matter most.” She uses Google Calendar for herself and asks employees to track tasks. “Not for policing, but so I can see workload balance and bottlenecks.”
Rule No. 1? “Stop structuring your practice so everything depends on you,” says Dr. Kling. “Get out of the way, and you will be surprised at what your team is capable of without you.”
How do you decide what to delegate? Dr. Agarwal follows what’s known as the 10/100/1,000 productivity rule. That is, if a task is $10-an-hour work (data entry, ordering contacts), someone else should do it. The $100-an-hour tasks (managing staff schedules and patient flow) fall under the office manager’s purview, while Dr. Agarwal takes on the big $1,000 tasks (including business growth and other high-level strategies).
If you’re not a natural delegator, start by identifying three tasks, suggests Dr. Kling. For each one, “assign an owner, set a deadline, and document the system they will use.”
Put It in Writing
In Dr. Agarwal’s practice, every major process has a written standard operating procedure, or SOP for short. She keeps them all in a shared Google Drive so her team always has access, and they’re reviewed every six to 12 months, “or when there’s a big change in staffing, technology, or regulations,” she says.
Dr. Kling agrees. “Extract knowledge locked in team members’ heads and put it into shared systems, then update them regularly. They should be living documents, not forgotten policy manuals.”
As Dr. Kling says, “It’s all about replacing control with controls.”