Name: Super Human Productivity & Efficiency | Tips from a Surgeon
Uploaded: 2021-02-23T20:50:05.000Z
Duration: 9 min 4 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

there doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day.

Adverbs of degree

I have been fascinated by the constraints of time and how to maximize efficiency.

For as long as I can remember in this video, I'm going to share with you the secrets I've learned over the years that have allowed me to reach insane levels of productivity and efficiency.

From med school insiders dot com Quick announcement.

There aren't a new channel called Life of a Surgeon link in the description below.

For those of you who are new to the channel, I am a plastic surgery resident physician, the founder of medical insiders.

And I do several other things on the side, such as advising for another company that I founded, as well as performing clinical research.

I have learned how to get a lot done in a short period of time, and I'll show exactly how you can do the same one quick thing before we jump to the advice.

Ah, lot of you may be concerned that becoming so efficient and productive may drain the fun out of life that could not be further from the truth, and this thought stems from ignorance and fear.

When you achieve similar levels of productivity, you will open up so much free time that you can decide if you wanna have more fun or get more things done.

My balance between work and play may be different than yours, but by being efficient, you actually are able to decide how you spend your time.

Most people don't maximize their time efficiency and are a slave to time.

You can decide if you want to spend more time in the gym and get jacked, or spend more time at home with your family, or if you want to pick up a second or third side business like I did.

My philosophy is that since time is limited, maximize it.

That means either fully enjoy yourself or be fully productive and present in the moment.

None of that nonsense in the middle, where you are trying to relax and get work done at the same time, it just doesn't work.

Time is your most valuable asset, but the problem is that you do not treat it as such.

When you add up all the inefficiencies throughout the day, you are wasting hours every single day.

Begin to acknowledge the importance of your time and treat it as such.

A common mistake many people make is wasting time trying to save a few dollars.

Does going out of your way to pick up dinner from the restaurant makes sense?

Or should you spend the $3 for delivery in order to save 30 minutes of your own precious time?

Does signing up for a grocery delivery service like Google Express or Insta cart makes sense if it saves you a few hours every week, this analysis will yield different results day to day and depending on where you are in your life.

Now that I am a physician and no longer a student, I have an income and I can place a higher price on my time.

Ultimately, determining how much your time is worth is a very personal decision, and I cannot do that for you.

I personally would argue that waiting in line for 10 hours to get a good deal on a TV on Black Friday is a complete waste of time, but you may enjoy the experience and see value in doing so.

Parkinson's law states that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.

This means if you give yourself five hours for a task rather than to, it will take you the full five hours to do it.

But if you give yourself two hours, you will be much more efficient and feel that time crunch.

And although you may go over your target of two hours, you will still spend far less time than five.

This is a tricky technique because you have to purposely cut things close and not give too much time for anyone.

The downside is that it can generate unhealthy amounts of stress if you don't have good coping mechanisms or if you are too aggressive with your deadlines.

This is something that takes experimentation to get just right.

I use this all the time, even when researching and writing medical insider scripts as it helps to keep me efficient.

Identify tasks that you can perform anywhere.

I want you all to start paying attention, how much time you waste each and every day, waiting in lines, standing around and not doing anything fun or productive.

I guarantee that you will be surprised how much time is sapped each and every day.

Now, the best way to navigate this problem is toe have tasks you can perform anywhere and residency.

I use on key flash cards, which I have made multiple videos about when I'm either waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting for someone at a restaurant or in other brief moments of downtime.

The brilliant thing about these flash cards is that you can do them anywhere in just brief spurts of free time.

You don't even need to set aside 20 minutes.

If you only have two minutes, you can get 10 flashcards done, and that is still very effective.

When I'm driving, I listen to audiobooks or podcasts.

This allows me to consume valuable information when I would otherwise not be doing anything or just listening to music.

Last year, when I was finishing medical school and flying around the country for residency interviews, I maintained my productivity even while traveling when on the plane, I told myself I will either sleep, read my Kindle or do work.

I don't watch TV or movies on planes, and this leaves me feeling accomplished and happy When I step off the plane.

I feel like I spent my time the best way possible.

And it also means that I have more time to do the things that are important to me.

I did the same thing even when I was on vacation.

Flying to South Africa took about 30 hours.

I was rotating between working on medical insiders, research projects and sleeping.

When I got off the plane, I did not have to worry about work since I already got it all done and I could truly enjoy my vacation and be present in the moment with my significant other.

If you do it right, it is just an efficient and optimized way to manage your time so you have more flexibility to do the things you love.

If you are able to squeeze in an hour of work every day during your brief moments of down time, then that means you have one more hour later in the day to do whatever it is that you want.

Optimize your brakes and switch tasks to maintain momentum.

Our brains cannot run at 100% intensity at all times.

One highly effective method to maintain focus and avoid burning out is to use the Pomodoro technique.

However, even with Pomodoro, you will be unable to maintain intensity later on in the day after a few cycles.

This is where I used to tricks, optimizing breaks and switching tasks.

When I say optimizing breaks, I mean doing the things you have to do every day as a break from your work.

If you're getting fatigued from work and need some time away, then go shower or do dishes or do laundry.

Or get a quick workout in do task that you need to complete anyway and that allow you to take a mental break.

Switching tasks is another trick I utilize.

Often, If I find myself getting bored or my focus is slipping, I will switch tasks to something else.

Let's say I'm working on a research project for a couple hours and my rate of progress is sharply declining.

I can either take a break or switch over to something else, like doing flash cards or working on medical insiders.

This keeps things interesting, and I'm much less likely to get bored or to slow down.

And number five delegate appropriately, no matter how efficient you get, there are always on Lee, 24 hours in a day.

Even Elon Musk, the Martian and productivity machine, has learned his own limits.

He doesn't pursue everything on his own and has tasked others with working on some of his world changing ideas.

While I am nowhere close to being an Elon musk, I too have learned the importance of delegating tasks with medical insiders.

I now have helped animating videos and with social media with the other company I started.

I step down from my president role now, opting for a senior adviser position to help keep the company on track with research.

I have medical students helped me perform chart review and other tasks that are less critical for me to be actively involved with.

For you, this may mean taking turns, getting groceries with your roommate or dividing up chapters in your study group and then taking turns teaching each other the important concepts.

Take a look at the Feinman technique, video form or information on this effective study hack.

So tell us down in the comments below, How are you going to apply some of these tips and tricks to your own life or share some of your own?

As always, Thank you all so much for watching Special thanks to my patryan supporters who make videos like these possible.

 If you like the video, make sure you press that, like button hit, subscribe if you haven't already, and I will see you guys in that next one. 