Many people ask me “how do you find time to…” paint, workout, learn languages, etc., so I thought I would boil it down for you in this short video and blog about how I do it. For me, it all comes down to a few principles: time management, super efficiency, multi-tasking, and Tony Robbin’s principle “NET”: no extra time. Let’s begin with NET. What Tony Robbins talks about is trying to do more in a day with less time by getting things done when there would otherwise be wasted downtime. I will refer to this principle sporadically throughout this post so that this idea will become more concrete.
I wake up every day at the same time around 5:30 am. I don’t even need an alarm clock because my body is attuned to the wake-up time. When you sleep in late on the weekends, your body will actually have a harder time on the weekdays due to so-called “sleep latency”. I don’t go to sleep later on weekend nights unless there is a late-night event that I must attend, which is uncommonly the situation. Of course, when life gives you a wonderful situation to be up later, then go for it. Being so regimented that you miss out on fun things is certainly not the point of this post. However, being disciplined enough not to have an erratic schedule can be incredibly beneficial for your health, your sanity, and your efficiency.
After I wake up, I work out in my home gym. I used to drive to a gym but that wasted me at least 15 minutes of driving time each way. However, in reality that would be closer to 45 minutes because you have to go and drive somewhere, park, get inside, etc. I go to sleep with my workout clothes the night before and use my socks from the day prior to my workout. I put those socks in the gym when I remove them the day before so they are ready to put on when I get in there. My gym is right next to my bedroom so that there is almost no delay in getting over to the gym. I work out a minimum of 2.5 hours a week based on the minimum guidelines of the American Heart Association. Usually I do the following: Mondays I do 30 minutes on the treadmill, Tuesdays I do 30 minutes on the bike (so-called level 2 workout), Wednesdays I do 20 minutes of rowing, Thursdays I do 20 minutes of weights or kettlebells, Fridays I do 30 minutes of weights or kettlebells, and Saturday I do 20 to 30 minutes of weights or kettlebells. I mix those days up. I take Sundays off. If I have a trip coming up where I know I will not make my 2.5 hours I will plan to workout longer on the days when I am not traveling to ensure that I will get my time in.
By not having to drive to the gym, I now get 30 to 45 minutes of time to paint every morning. That is my NET. I have found a way to eliminate drive time that will yield me more time to do what I love. I paint every morning from 6 am to 6:30 am in my studio, which is also close to my bedroom. During the time that I paint, I listen to podcasts, current events, etc. By painting and also listening to things I want to listen to that will nourish my mind and soul and get me caught up with events, I also am following the principle of NET. At 6:30 am I prepare my healthy breakfast. Look at my other blog on my health tips for my breakfast, which consists of nuts and seeds and supplements. Also, while I prepare this breakfast, which takes me 10 minutes, I am also listening to more mind-enriching content, that continues into my time that I am getting dressed. I then drink my shake around the time that I shower and get dressed so that I am not wasting time consuming it.
When driving to work, I am usually learning languages. Currently, I am working on German, as I prepare to go to Germany in October for the annual ISHRS congress, for which I am serving as chair this year. Will I be fluent in German? No, but it is fun to be able to learn a new language and it helps my mind stay sharp and resist cognitive decline. I use Pimsleur, which is the best way to learn a language quickly. I am not always learning a language, and when I am not then I am listening to podcasts, audiobooks, sermons on YouTube, etc. I would highly advise you not to learn a language when driving if you are not adept at languages, which I am, because I do not want you to have an accident! So far, I have studied French, German, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Russian on Pimsleur! I repeat: do not study languages while you drive if you are not good at languages!
After I have met with my patient and marked the patient out surgically, there is about a 30-minute window for the patient to be further prepared by my nursing and anesthesia staff. During this time, I withdraw to the back room where I have my time to read the Bible and pray. This year I am reading through the entire Bible with my church and now in August I am almost done reading it. I keep this time as sacrosanct as possible with God. On Fridays when I do not operate and start later in the day at 8:30 am, I plan to drive to work earlier so that I can arrive by 8 am to give me a 30-minute window for this devotional time.
During long surgeries, I also maintain efficiency. I am constantly thinking 5 to 10 minutes ahead to ensure that my staff knows the next step and what suture or instrument I need. If there is a 5-minute delay 10 times during a procedure, that would make an unnecessary one-hour delay. I am never in a hurry and am incredibly methodical, but I am always making sure that I have what I need before I need it so that I am not waiting. I have an expression that I use which is “RLF”, meaning rate limiting factor, like in a chemistry experiment. The limiting factor that will delay the case will extend surgery time unnecessarily which wastes my time, may make the patient more swollen, and may lead to longer anesthesia times. For example, I plan on harvesting the fat first and allowing my staff to start processing the fat, while I work with my second assistant to complete the blepharoplasty portion. By the time the fat is processed, I am ready to inject it without delay. If there is a delay in processing the fat, I will begin working on the neck portion of the procedure with my second assistant.
During the day, I am constantly thinking of NET with tiny windows in the day that I can get something accomplished, even writing this blog as an example. For instance, if a patient is 10 minutes delayed, I now have 10 minutes to write a blog, shoot and upload a video, or check my emails. With a very heavy academic responsibility, I work not to let that occupy my home time (more about that later). I do intermittent fasting and skip lunch during the weekdays (not weekends), which is great at many levels. First, I am able to get most, if not all, my academic responsibilities completed over the lunch hour. I have done many interviews with individuals promoting the ISHRS world congress that I am chairing, completed presentations for lectures, replied to emails, and worked on endless projects. My last textbook that was released in 2023 was completed almost 95% during downtime like lunch hour, travel time (transit time during traveling), early mornings, etc. Second, if I have a long 6-hour surgery like a facelift, fat transfer, blepharoplasty, etc., I am not hungry at all and do not need to eat lunch late like 2 to 3 pm, which then would throw off my dinner schedule.
When I leave work, I am very engaged with my family. I am able to spend that precious time with my family and not take time away from them for academic or business responsibilities. Because I am active on three boards, every quarter I will have meetings for these boards but they are not often. I also try to squeeze in academic responsibilities that do not interfere with my family time. I love my family and I really relish the time to be with them. I have written 12 textbooks but I remember one textbook that I co-edited many years ago and my co-editor said something to the effect in his dedication “to the family I have not seen, thank you for allowing me to have written 23 books”. I thought that was one of the saddest dedications I have ever read. I didn’t even have a family then, but I do now and make it a priority not to do excessive work during my dedicated personal time.
I hope this blog post helps you understand how you can structure a life for optimal efficiency, which actually enhances meaning and value during that time rather than robbing it of its essence. What works for me may not work for you, so if what I have written makes no sense or just doesn’t appeal to you, no problem. We are all different people with different lives and different priorities, but I have been asked so many times about how I can get so much done with so little time that I thought I would write a detailed exposition of it for you.
