Stop Trying to Do Everything

2025-06-26 · Short · Ali · recording, 1:28 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Productivity and time · mode: Personal story · tags: His medical past

In a Short, Ali retells his first week in emergency medicine, when the waiting room stayed full however many patients he saw, and a consultant told him the goal is to see patients in order of priority; he applies it to life's endless waiting room of tasks.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — First week in the emergency department: the waiting room is always full

• ★ Asked whether he has had burnout, Ali says he has come close at various points. — 00:00:00 · burnout
• ★★ In his first week in emergency medicine Ali walked in with a swagger to save lives, saw about eight patients in a day at about an hour each, and on the way home found the waiting room still full. — 00:00:00
• ★★ The next day Ali tried to be more efficient by seeing two patients at once and saw about 12 patients, but the waiting room was still full, and this went on for a couple of days. (hedged) — 00:00:29
• ★★★ When Ali asked a consultant why the waiting room always seemed full, he said emergency medics soon realise it will never be empty: the goal is to show up every day as your best self and see patients in order of priority. — 00:00:29

00:00:58 — An endless waiting room of tasks: accept you will never get through everything

• ★★★ Ali applies the consultant's advice to life: we all have an endless waiting room of projects, tasks and chores, and accepting that you will never get through everything is liberating, since each day you then focus on the one or two most important things. — 00:00:58

  “we all have a endless waiting room of projects and tasks and responsibilities and chores”

Threads in this video

• retold · In his first week in the emergency department, Ali skips lunch to get through the full waiting room, and a consultant tells him to take his breaks — When Ali asked a consultant why the waiting room always seemed full, he said emergency medics soon realise it will never be empty: the goal is to show up every day as your best self and see patients in order of priority. (00:00:29)

Mentioned

Central: Emergency medicine

Also: burnout

Also centred on Emergency medicine: I'm Moving to America 🇺🇸 - Life Update · Why I Left Medicine (And Why I'm Going Back) · This Rule in Emergency Medicine Changed Me

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