Parkinson’s law – the key to productivity
Dear Friend,
Today is a big day in my life. By the time you have read this, I shall have just completed my final exam for my MRCP – the PACES examination. I feel like life has almost been on hold for the past 5 weeks whilst I have been revising for this examination and I will be over the moon when it is over.
Now that it is exam season, like many other people, I have been hunting the Internet for productivity tips. How can I optimise my revision strategy? This week, I came across Parkinson’s law, which I found really relatable. In the fast-paced world of medicine, productivity isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a necessity. Whether you’re juggling coursework, clinical rotations, or patient care, efficient use of time is critical. Therefore, this week I’d like to share what I learned about Parkinson’s law to help you manage your workload more effectively.
What is Parkinson’s Law?
Parkinson’s Law states, “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” Coined by British historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson in 1955, this principle highlights a common phenomenon: the more time you allot to a task, the longer it takes to complete, often leading to procrastination and inefficiency.
How Parkinson’s Law Can Slow You Down
For medical students and junior doctors, Parkinson’s Law can manifest in several ways:
- Procrastination: If you set a distant deadline for a task, you might delay starting it, thinking you have plenty of time.
- Overcomplicating Tasks: With abundant time, you might overanalyze and add unnecessary steps to a task.
- Stress and Burnout: Last-minute rushes due to poor time management can lead to stress, reduced quality of work, and burnout.
Strategies to Overcome Parkinson’s Law
To stay ahead in your medical career, it’s essential to counteract Parkinson’s Law with effective strategies. Here are some practical tips:
Set Shorter Deadlines
- Break down your tasks into smaller, manageable parts with shorter deadlines. Instead of giving yourself a week to finish a project, aim to complete sections daily. This creates a sense of urgency and helps maintain focus.
Prioritize Tasks
- Use prioritization techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix to focus on what’s important and urgent. Prioritizing tasks ensures that you allocate appropriate time to critical activities without letting them expand unnecessarily.
Time Blocking
- Allocate specific blocks of time to particular tasks. For example, dedicate two hours in the morning to study pharmacology, followed by a one-hour break, and then another two hours for clinical practice. Time blocking helps you maintain structure and discipline.
Limit Time for Tasks
- Challenge yourself to complete tasks within a limited timeframe. If you usually take two hours to write a patient report, try to finish it in 90 minutes. This constraint encourages you to work more efficiently.
Use Productivity Tools
- Leverage tools like Pomodoro Technique apps, task managers (e.g., Todoist, Trello), and calendar apps to organize your tasks and track your time. These tools can help you stay on schedule and avoid time wastage.
Regular Reviews
- Periodically review your progress and adjust your plans accordingly. Weekly reviews can help you identify where you’re losing time and make necessary adjustments to stay on track.
Accountability Partners
- Pair up with a fellow medical student or colleague. Share your goals and deadlines with each other to create accountability. This mutual support can keep you motivated and focused.
Conclusion
Parkinson’s Law is a subtle yet powerful force that can derail your productivity if left unchecked. By understanding this principle and implementing these strategies, you can optimize your time management, enhance your productivity, and ultimately provide better patient care.
Remember, time is one of the most valuable resources in your medical journey. Use it wisely, and you’ll not only improve your academic and professional performance but also maintain a healthier work-life balance.
See you next week!
Drug of the week
Acetazolamide
These drugs inhibit sodium bicarbonate reabsorption in the kidney by inhibiting carbonic anhydrase in the PCT.
As HCO3 is not reabsorbed, Na+ is excreted as the major counter cation in the urine.
Consequently, water follows resulting in diuresis.
However, they are rarely used as diuretics as they are very weak.
Instead, they are used to treat acute mountain sickness and glaucoma (to reduce intraocular pressure) by decreasing aqueous humour production.
A Brain Teaser
A 25-year-old woman presents to the ED accompanied by her family due to a sudden change in her behaviour. She is notably agitated, restless, disoriented, and confused. Her recent commencement of an unspecified medication has been mentioned.
Physical examination reveals profuse sweating, marked muscle rigidity, hyperreflexia, mydriasis, and flushed skin. Her medical history includes generalized anxiety disorder for which she has been taking escitalopram with minimal symptom relief.
What is the most likely medication that has been newly prescribed to this patient?
A: Aripiprazole
B: Diclofenac
C: Paracetamol
D: Risperidone
E: Sumatriptan
Answers
The answer is E – sumatriptan.
The correct answer is sumatriptan. The patient presents with symptoms indicative of serotonin syndrome, such as agitation, restlessness, confusion, muscle rigidity, hyperreflexia, dilated pupils and flushed skin. Serotonin syndrome is a consequence of excessive serotonergic accumulation in the central nervous system and can range from mild to life-threatening. It often results from the concurrent use of multiple serotonergic agents.
Given that the patient was already on an SSRI (escitalopram), it is likely that sumatriptan has precipitated these symptoms. Sumatriptan is a triptan used in migraine management; it acts as a serotonin receptor agonist. When combined with escitalopram’s selective inhibition of serotonin reuptake, the risk for serotonin syndrome increases, making sumatriptan the most probable cause. It is worth noting that escitalopram is also notorious for QTc prolongation and, while not directly relevant to this presentation, it should be kept in mind for any unwell patient taking this medication as it most likely warrants an ECG as part of investigations.
Aripiprazole is an antipsychotic drug which does not notably increase the risk of inducing serotonin syndrome when co-prescribed with escitalopram. The British National Formulary lists its association with this condition as ‘frequency not known’. However, there is an increased risk of hyponatraemia when used together with SSRIs.
Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), should be prescribed cautiously in patients on escitalopram due to an elevated bleeding risk. However, it has not been implicated in increasing the likelihood of developing serotonin syndrome.
Paracetamol is not associated with an increased risk of serotonin syndrome. It is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic agent without known serotonergic properties.
Risperidone, another antipsychotic medication, similarly has no significant evidence suggesting it causes serotonin syndrome when co-administered with escitalopram. Nonetheless, there exists a potential for heightened hyponatraemia risk under such combination therapy.
