You’re Too Interruptible. Cut down your common interruptions in clinic.

(00:00:00) The cost of getting interrupted mid note (00:01:36) It's not just the question, it's the reserve it drains (00:03:24) Writing the rule down and handing over the permission (00:06:09) Changing the default from ask me to check first What question do you answer every week... repeat?You know the one. Mid note, mid patient, someone leans in with something you have already answered before. A patient showed up late, can she still be seen? Should this add on go here or there? What do we tell him about his work note? None of it is hard. It "only" takes a few seconds. All of it adds up.Answer before the question gets askedWe know these questions are coming (because they always do). Which means we can answer them before they get asked by giving your team the answer and the permission to answer it without you. Write down the decision, the one already running in your head, and hand it over. Not a policy. A sentence.The math on a few less interruptionsA few interruptions a day is 15 -20 less/week. Cut those down and the difference is not subtle. Less time explaining, less energy spent trying to control your face while internally containing frustration, more of your note finished before the next patient walks in.You are giving them the permission to do this without you because this is how you want it done and it's written down.Everybody wins when they know how you'd answer and they feel confident to make the call without involving youYour team does not want to interrupt you either. Give them the rule or guideline and their job gets easier, which means yours does too.Episode TakeawaysWhat interrupts you 10 times/week doesn't have to stay that way. Give the answer to your team so they stop needing to ask you every time:Write down the decision you already make automatically, the real rule running in your head, not a policy document. One sentence is usually enough.Give permission for someone else to use it without checking with you first. That permission, not the information itself, is usually the missing piece.The same questions won't disappear completely, and it doesn't need to. Going from 8 or 10 repetitive questions a week down to 1-2 is still real time and energy back.If You're Asking These Questions, This Is For YouWhy do I keep getting asked the same question by my staff every day?How do I stop my team from interrupting me for decisions they could make without me?What should I do about my front desk asking me the same thing every clinic?How can I empower my clinic staff to make small decisions on their own?Why am I so drained by tiny interruptions during my clinic day as a specialist?How do I write a simple decision guide for common patient questions?What's the best way to give my staff permission to act without asking me first?How do I reduce daily interruptions in a fee-for-service Canadian practice without hiring more people?