DITL #7: Clinical (Call) Day

I am very glad to be wrapping up the week of time tracking, both because a) I’m sick of tracking (and this is coming from someone who REALLY LIKES TO TRACK A LOT OF THINGS, so I’m not sure what it is about time?); and b) I’m tired of writing these posts!

But – I said a week so let’s finish this out, shall we?

5:00 Up. Objectively not enough sleep (6.5 hrs), but I somehow didn’t feel terrible and really wanted to get my workout in. AM routine including Caroline Girvan Iron #20 (arms/abs).

6:45 VERY FAST breakfast / kids / GR routine (timesaving hack: let oatmeal cool while showing so I can eat it in ~2 minutes afterwards. Not the most enjoyable, but it worked.)

7:35 Drive kids to school; we listen to Ella Langley’s Dandelion again. I am kind of obsessed.

8:40 Get to office; spend a long time going over rounding list, looking at charts, familiarizing myself with the patients and making plans BEFORE I head to hospital

9:50 Hospital – see pts/parents, talk to providers, etc + write notes

11:15 Go to my own cardiology appt (across the street from my office). Device is checked, everything is good, the med I’m on still works (yay).

12:15 Eat lunch at work desk, write blog post, take a 20 min walk

1:30 Patients, notes, calls – clinical melange

5:10 Drive home

5:45 Dinner, talk to C/A (nanny is with G at dance pix)

6:30 Take A to her dance pix

7:10 Home briefly, then go to C’s soccer game (nanny had dropped him off on her way home after taking G to her dance pix . . . ). Meet a parent who is moving to AZ and text Kelsey because they happen to be headed to her hometown (WHAT ARE THE ODDS). Soccer is very nice and low key – it’s a rec 5v5 team, verrrrry casual compared to travel. Thankfully the weather is nice, so watching is pleasant!

8:30 Home with C; put G to bed. SPIN WHEELS DOWN A RABBIT HOLE OF COSTA RICA TRAVEL FOR NEXT SPRING BREAK. Why? Because I’m on call and this is like a stress relief. Answer page and put in orders for new patient.

10:00 Read Sky Daddy

10:30 SLEEP

(Why yes, I should have gone to bed earlier — but often when I’m on call I’m just kind of antsy and restless PLUS 9-10 pm is a very very popular time for my pager to go off, so sometimes going to bed early backfires. This time though I COULD have slept. Ahh well!)

((AND – I did get to sleep through the night!))

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What did I learn this time around from time tracking? Hmm. Mostly the same thing I was reminded of last time: MY EVENINGS ARE PRETTY DARN SPACIOUS. It’s not just time confetti anymore. And also — I don’t always get to work full days on Monday/Weds. Knowing this really does make me feel at peace when my creative work enters other spaces (like my lunch hour on clinical days or weekends or on the plane while traveling etc etc etc).

Will I keep dong it: Yes . . . but only once a season for a week or so! Beyond that, it just becomes too much of a chore for me. I find it so interesting how Laura can do this continuously despite not enjoying tracking some of the other things I really like to delve into (macros, money, workouts, books read, media).

Will I keep posting it: Not sure! I sometimes feel self-conscious about sharing these publicly, but the accountability is also kind of nice.