As an allied health worker, there’s a lot on your plate. Depending on your specific discipline, you’re responsible for managing complex equipment, working directly with patients and colleagues, as well as filing billing paperwork. 

Suffice it to say, it’s easy to get burnt out. That is, unless you prepare. 

We’ve prepared these field-tested time management tips to help you beat the burnout that can become a nasty side effect of a job as busy as yours. Read on to learn more. 

Prioritize Your Tasks by Using The Eisenhower Matrix 

As an allied health professional, you have to become a master at distinguishing between urgent and important tasks. But it’s not always that straightforward. Say you have a patient waiting for your services in one room, but you have until 5 p.m. before you must get important paperwork pushed forward. What do you do? 

Consider the “Eisenhower Matrix.”  

The Eisenhower Matrix was coined by Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, who based the concept off a speech by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower said, “I have two kinds of problems: the urgent, and the unimportant. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” 

The Eisenhower Matrix defines urgent tasks as tasks that require immediate attention, with distinct consequences when not completed on a specific timeline. Not finishing these tasks as soon as possible typically leads to higher stress levels and eventually burnout. 

Important tasks, however, do not require immediate attention. They should be completed because they help you accomplish long-term goals. They may take more careful planning, but do not need to be finished right away. See the chart below: 

You can sort your daily tasks into four quadrants: 

1. Urgent and important – these require attention as soon as possible, and involve deadlines or consequences 
2. Urgent and not important – these tasks might not have deadlines or consequences, but they do need your attention 
3. Not urgent and important – there may be no clear deadline to these tasks, but they do contribute to your long-term success 
4. Not urgent and not important – these tasks are distractions or a waste of time 
5. Master this concept, and you’re well on your way to mastering your day-to-day. 

Decide What’s Urgent by Using the ABCDE Method 

The ABCDE method is another way for you to prioritize your tasks. It shares the same goal as the Eisenhower Matrix, helping you sort your tasks by deciding those that must be accomplished within a timeframe versus those that are less urgent. 

The ABCDE method breaks down your tasks, sorting them by urgency and consequences. 

A: Must be done today – tasks that have serious consequences if they aren’t finished 

B: Should be done today – tasks with minor consequences if delayed 

C: Nice to do – these tasks can be postponed without negative consequences 

D: Delegate – someone else should handle these tasks 

E: Eliminate – these tasks are unnecessary and don’t contribute to your goals 

Sorting your daily tasks and determining which are your A and B tasks can help you get a better handle on where to put your attention throughout your day. 

Break Your Work Into Chunks Using the Pomodoro Technique 

The Pomodoro Technique started with a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. In concept it’s pretty straightforward: Break your work into manageable, time-bound chunks. 

Here is the original six-step approach: 

1. Decide on the task to be done.
2. Set the Pomodoro timer (typically for 25 minutes).
3. Work on the task.
4. End work when the timer rings and take a short break (typically 5–10 minutes).
5. Go back to Step 2 and repeat until you complete four pomodori.
6. After four pomodori are done, take a long break (typically 20 to 30 minutes) instead of a short break. Once the long break is finished, return to step 2.

There are boundless applications of this technique for your work, but this works well for administrative tasks. If you have any downtime between patient visits, you know that that time is finite. So, set yourself up for success but accomplishing what you must during those interim periods. There are a variety of apps that can help, but all this takes is a simple phone timer or other countdown clock. You’ll be shocked at how much you can accomplish when you give yourself a time limit. 

Be Kind to Yourself and Take Short Breaks 

It might seem obvious, but taking even a five-minute break can offer a big boost to mood and energy levels. It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of work during a busy shift as an allied health professional but finding time to rest whenever possible is important for your own mental health. 

That may look as simple as stepping away for a drink of water and a snack, or even just some personal time to slow down and breathe. Mindfulness goes a long way when your attention is constantly being shifted across your responsibilities on the clinical floor. If you can, try to set a timer to take a five-minute break every hour.  

It's not unusual for healthcare professionals to feel selfish or guilty for taking a break. This caregiver guilt can create unrealistic expectations for oneself, and lead to burnout. Try to mentally reframe your break time as essential to your caregiving toolkit. These breaks help ensure you're operating at your best. 

Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help 

Remember, you are surrounded by fellow allied health professionals who understand that shifts can get chaotic. It often feels safe to assume that your colleagues are equally swamped and don’t have time to help you, but falling into the habit of that assumption can be dangerous. It can lead to not asking for help at all. 

Don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues for help when you need it. A network of professionals within a health system helps keep everything moving by supporting one another – nobody works alone, in a vacuum. 

Try implementing these organizational time management techniques. Even if you don’t utilize them exactly how they’re presented, organizing your workload into bite size pieces will help everything appear more manageable. And remember, communication is key – if you’re floundering or need support, ask your colleagues for help!