Almost everybody who has a job has one or more aspects of it that bug them, irritate them, are just plain hard to do, nobody else wants to do it so you get dumped with it, and so on. It’s the one thing you leave until the last minute to do. Or maybe you neglect it altogether and it’ll go away on its own. You may have found yourself complaining about it to others or just to yourself under your breath.
What can you do about?
Breaking it down
First of all, there are some answers that are needed to these questions:
1. Is it actually your job to do?
2. If it isn’t but it isn’t assigned to anyone else either, will it help the practice grow and deliver better service if you just take it on and get it done?
3. What part of it is hard?
4. When is the best time to actually do that duty?
5. Who do you report to and say “done”?
Not Your Job?
As much as possible, duties should be assigned to someone specific, and you should do your own job. Practices are supposed to have full job descriptions for every position as well as protocols written up and a policy manual. But, all job descriptions should have as one of the listed duties: “And any other duty or action that will contribute to the growth of the practice and the delivery of perfect service to the patients.” So sometimes you are going to have to step up to the plate and do whatever is needed.
The hard part
What part of the duty is hard? If it is just a case of it being boring and tedious, make a game to get it done by a certain time or work out a reward for yourself as a bribe. If it is something you’re not confident doing, is there anyone who knows how to do it well who could train you? If it is hard to confront doing, e.g. calling a nasty patient or client, rehearse in your mind beforehand how you can maintain friendly relations with the person during the call.
Prioritize
Giving the duty a priority to get it done and off the list ASAP. If you actually put it on your schedule as to exactly when you are going to do it, stick to it no matter what. Is there a time of day that it would be best to do it? You may find a time in the day where it’s quieter and a good time to do the duty without interruptions.
Thankless Job?
When you have done the difficult job, you should be thanked. This is often a missing step. If it is just a routine part of your job, you should reward yourself for confronting it and getting it done. If, however, it was something your boss asked you to do or you decided on your own to do something outside of your own job description that would aid the practice, you should report that it is done to your boss and you should receive a very warm “thank you” for a job well done.
However, bosses often forget the power of a “Thank You!” It’s not always easy for some bosses to even say “thank you,” but there are some who are crazy good at always thanking their staff at any opportunity. In fact, thanking the staff for jobs well done is the main message of this article. Staff who are appreciated are more productive and happier.
