EDITOR’S NOTE: Guest blogger, Patrick Jackman is the Chief Operating Officer at Together Clinic, a digital health startup focused on proactive patient monitoring and chronic care management. For more information, please feel free to check out www.togetherclinic.com or head over to their blog at blog.togetherclinic.com.
Every day, we are tasked with hundreds of things to do. From work to family to friends and to hobbies, it’s certainly easy to feel like there isn’t enough time to give everything ample attention. Yet, it’s something that we all wish we could do.
How can we begin to manage it all? That answer is simple: focus on what matters most.
However, ascertaining what matters is much easier said than done.
WHAT MATTERS WHEN IT ALL SEEMS IMPORTANT
Is it better to share a dinner with your family, or go to the gym with a close friend? Is it better to work on a Saturday, or start reading a new book? Chances are our personal experiences, expectations, and values will shape those kinds of decisions, but we often forget to externalize them.
Instead of asking someone if a particular decision would be agreeable, we can jump to conclusions and try to intuit a headspace that isn’t our own. From time to time this might work, but eventually we’ll fail to predict someone else’s perception of a situation.
That’s a lot of fancy talk, but what does it really mean?
IT BEGINS (AND ENDS) WITH PEOPLE
We need to interact with others in order to find the fulfillment and lucidity that we’re looking for every day. It’s ok to ask for help or clarification or insights from those around you. In fact, it’s often vital.
Keep in mind, there’s a right way and a wrong way to this. The distinction is heart: taking the time to show you care.
READ MORE: CARE FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES WITH PIZZA
This might seem like an obvious example, but consider healthcare where Together Clinic works with leaders to improve the care continuum.
Imagine you’re going to your doctor’s office because you’ve had a terrible stomach ache for the last few days. When you sit down with your physician, you’re probably not thinking “they already know exactly what to do to for me; we don’t even need to talk.” If you’re like the hundreds of people that we’ve spoken with at Together Clinic, you’re more likely hoping to express how you’ve been feeling. You probably want to paint a picture of your struggles and your needs so that your physician can take the best care of you.
With that in mind, what’s the best thing that your doctor can do? Care. Not by acting on autopilot, but by connecting with you and asking for your input. With that information, your doctor is primed to make decisions that better suit your needs, and you’ll likely feel more in-tune with the entire process.
This type of interaction, while very applicable to healthcare, can be useful in a wide variety of situations – from co-working to friendships and everything in between. So, the next time you find yourself feeling busy and unsure of what to do next, try to take a moment to connect with those around you.
Show that you care, and the clarity you gain might just surprise you.
