Kicking The Can Down The Road | How to break up with deciding not to decide

Stimulus | Helping Doctors overcome burnout, excel in leadership, and unlock their most fulfilling careers

May 20 2024 • 31 mins

"Kicking the can down the road" is a common behavior that manifests in various ways, from delaying difficult patient decisions to avoiding complex tasks. We explore the reasons behind on-shift procrastination and strategies for overcoming it. Our discussion includes practical steps to recognize and address decision deferral, techniques for managing aversion to some decisions, and pre-loading accountability. We also highlight the importance of building decision-making resilience and creating systematic pathways to streamline the decisional process.

💡 Check out our Free Resources specifically designed to address pain points in medical practice💡

We Discuss:

  • What does it mean to kick the can down the road?
  • How procrastination shows up on a clinical shift
  • Why does procrastination happen?
  • It doesn't take much dread for can-kicking to occur
  • Avoidance Awareness
  • Decisional Interrogation
  • Kicking the can because deciding will set off a cascade of more work
  • Avoiding the infinite test of time
  • Identify how, when, and where you’ll make high-level decisions
  • Long term guests | How is it that decisions can finally be made when the shift is over?
  • Chunking
  • Zero in on your critical decision points
  • Kicking the can at work: pick one thing and identify YOUR decision points
  • Preloading accountability
  • Perfectionists get caught in a tree when they're actually in a tunnel

Mentioned in this episode:

Out On Time Course

Finishing shifts with a stack of charts to complete gets old fast. It also contributes to burnout. Join us for 'Out on Time,' a comprehensive 10-week six-session course where you'll learn how to walk out the door unencumbered. This is the only Out On Time that will be fully live, so don't miss out! The course begins on August 15, 2024.

Out On Time Course

4 Free Resources specifically designed to address pain points in medical practice

Scripting your least favorite conversations | The Driveway Debrief | My 4 favorite documentation templates | The quick and dirty guide to calling consults

Free Resources Link

1 on 1 Physician Coaching

Love medicine, but the job itself leaves a lot to be desired? I work with many doctors in your shoes and help them rediscover the joy of being a physician.

Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching

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