Orthotown November 2022 - 8

a voice in the arena
Time Famine
by Chad Foster, DDS, MS, editorial director
I've written before about my admiration for
orthodontists. We are quite the collection of
driven, disciplined and often overachieving individuals
in both our personal and professional
lives. This is true almost without fail with each
colleague I am privileged to meet. We're the type
of people who constantly run at 95%+ capacity
in our lives; we've contorted and stretched ourselves
to get where we are and where we want
to be. And in my opinion, as long as gratitude
is riding shotgun and our drive comes from
our truest desires and not from the lazy river of
" not-enoughness, " that is all good.
But when operating at such a high capacity
in our practice, in our family and in our other
passions, no matter how shrewd we are in multitasking
and moving effi ciently, the clock negotiates
with no one. In my life, I can say that the
clock and I have a very close-sometimes uncomfortably
close-relationship. To do the things I
have to do, the things I want to do, and to meet
the daily unexpected things that arise, I am constantly
watching the clock-in a way, living in
service to the clock.
I try my best to plan and prearrange in this
service to the clock. The quality time with the
kids and my wife, my practice, the workout,
vacations and any other interests or plans that
might be left-it's all negotiated ahead of time
with that which I serve.
Since having my second child-Sadie, now
10 months old-I've come to more consciously
accept the fact that I suffer from time famine
more than I would like. When I pull back and
refl ect, just like most of you fortunate orthodontists
out there, I realize my life is full of things
that have been built from the expense of my
time and energy. I realize now that I need to be
much more aware of how I spend it. Just because
we can doesn't mean that we should. Is making
the clock our constant companion worth the effi
ciency of what is produced? Often yes, sometimes
no-the answer is surely a gray area.
But again to repeat: Just because we can
doesn't mean we should. For me, internalizing
the clock to tick with the rhythm of my life has
been absolutely necessary at times, and my life
has benefi ted from my ability to do so, much
like yours surely has as well. Whatever point you
are at in life or your orthodontic career, it's important
to remember that what got you to where
you currently are is not at all what will be needed
to get you to where you truly desire to be next.
My hope for those who live too much of
their lives in an uncomfortably close relationship
with the clock is that we renegotiate our terms
of service. Spending time to routinely question
how and why we spend our time is great use of
it. And if you do fi nd some time you can take
back, don't just view it as more to spend; view
it as what it really is-greater distance between
you and the clock. ■
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8 NOVEMBER 2022 // orthotown.com
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Orthotown November 2022

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