Time management, productivity, efficiency, and our efforts as orthodontists are interesting topics to discuss. When I hear about time management skills and practice efficiency, a key missing piece is reflecting on how we measure time. We do things in fewer appointments, faster processes, and full-time employees doing more with less. Common measures are time in consults, treatment time, number of visits, and time spent doing digital work to improve our orthodontic practice’s output and effectiveness.
Kairos vs. Chronos
The ancient Greeks viewed time in two different fashions. First was Chronos, like in the word we still use: chronologic. Chronos refers to how we measure time. Whether in seconds, minutes, or hours, we can quantify time. But many of us can agree that we can spend time but not necessarily enjoy or leverage it to be meaningful. Hence the second viewpoint on time is Kairos, how we live and experience time. Where Chronos is the quantity of time, consider Kairos to measure the quality of time.
While Chronos can be unrelenting in its passing, Kairos can be generous in its opportunities for incredible moments.
The different focus of time
Unfortunately, we often focus on being efficient at our assigned tasks. We rarely focus on why we do certain things and what we want the quality of our time to be instead of doing something more efficiently. We assume if we do more, we get more. Instead, move from time management to life leadership by focusing on time differently. Especially when we feel overwhelmed with all that we do.
When presented with tasks and productivity, take the time to figure out what you want. Do you focus on the time you spend (your Chronos)? What if you divert your efforts to the quality of your time (your Kairos)? Am I building the practice I want to have and the work I want to do as an orthodontist, or am I misdirected? Do I take on too many tasks that don’t add value to my life? Are my efforts in alignment with the life I want to live? Connect to your purpose and why you do what you do. Review your roles in that mission. Identify your strategy and goals. Then, put the effort and hard work into following this strategy. Working hard is important, but working on the right thing is more significant.
We are fortunate that we can have a great amount of control of our time as orthodontists. As we start a new year, we can strategize on where to focus our efforts to make the biggest impact.
