drowning in paperwork

I'm writing this with the hopes that in 5 years or less I'll be fondly reminiscing about my struggles through fieldwork and thinking how they made me "the OT I am today". Of course I at least tell myself that to get through the 11-12 hour days that leave me with half a brain left in my head. But ha- do not be fooled, this is not the woe is me entry- but a mere reflective piece on my time management skills, or lack there of.

Since OT is driven by science, I'll be taking the evidence based route. I have had a history of long days at school or doing homework, periods of endless work days, and neverending journeys to Barnes and Noble or the mall. I have never consistently worn a watch prior to fieldwork. Similar to my father, I often lose track of time when grossly immersed in something. I often be told, "I wear myself too thin. You can't burn the candle at both ends." It almost feels like I have to hurry up to slow down.

The evidence obviously reveals that I do have a weakness in the area of time management. But continuing the scientific theme, what could be the underlying cause to this impairment. Is it as simple as the learning curve? Is it developmental? Is it an inherited personality trait? Is it an inner drive to be the best damn OT I can be? Is it not enough coffee at the end of the day? Is it a combination of all of these?

Whatever it is I know it's definitely something for me to work on. My goal for tomorrow is to write up each note after each session!

(For those of you unfamiliar with work as an OT in a long term acute care hospital. Let me give you a quick schedule rundown... You see 7-10 patients per day for about 30-60 minutes each and after each treatment you are required to carefully document the session. In between seeing patients and writing daily notes- there comes team notes, initial evals, weekly evals, monthly evals, discharge evals, department meetings, inservices, and discussions with families, doctors, and other therapists. Phew! How to make it all happen in even 12 hours?!?)