Page 5 - NYSAGD GP Fall 2018

From the Regional Director

Ira Levine, DDS, MAGD who are retired is that they are busier now than when they were
working. The truth is that they have much less to do, but they take
Over the years, I have written many of these a lot longer to do it.
articles and have touched on many subjects.
Some have been meant to be thought provok- No matter how much I have on my plate, it always gets done, al-
ing, some have been meant to be inspiring, though it may not get done in the time allotted. I have learned to
some have been to relay important infor- be highly productive with my time. The busier I am, the more
mation, and some have been to instigate ac- productive I am, and the better my time management is. My one
tion. I am no literary genius, but I love to weak point, as with most obsessive-compulsive people, is being
read. While my favorite is science fiction, I able to effectively delegate.
will read almost anything except perhaps ro-
mance novels. My wish is that all of you get started. Here are some aphorisms to
live by: “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.”,
Like many of you, I receive numerous journals. Reading through “Being busy is good.”, “ Work hard, play hard.”, and, “ There is
all of the journals on a timely basis can be a chore, so most of us plenty of time to rest when you are dead.” If you follow my ad-
wind up stacking them in a corner saying that we will eventually vice, you will have few regrets and you be more satisfied with your
get to read them. I know people who have stacks so high that I am accomplishments.
afraid they will topple over and kill them. I no longer do that. If
it hasn’t been read in three months, it is very unlikely to be read What about that pile of journals? There is a secret on how to read
at all. journals. Read the abstract. If you find it interesting or if you
think that it may change how you practice, read the conclusion. If
I am very big into time management. I think it should be obvious you still have an interest, read the methods to see if the study is
why. I am involved in so many things that if I don’t carefully designed well enough to support the conclusion. If all that is in
watch my time, I get so bogged down that I have a hard time recov- order and the N is large enough to be able to derive a statistically
ering. Finding time for family, business, personal time, my local significant result, read the remainder of the article or remove the
Rotary Club, and dental organizational duties (AGD and ADA) is paper from the journal for more detailed reading later on. If you
not as hard as it seems if I manage my time well. I am not a fan of are really organized, place them in folders according to subject.
time management books. I know it, I live it. It is common sense. Even better, scan them into your computer.

What are my not-so-secret secrets? Never procrastinate. It is okay I have two quotes for you. I can’t decide which I like more. You
to make short notes about what you need to. Don’t spend a lot of decide.
time trying to organize and prioritize, but know your goals and
deadlines. Just roll up your sleeves and dig in. Avoid multi- Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to com-
tasking. Don’t spend your free time without thought, because it plain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how
certainly isn’t free and the more that you spend it unproductively, much can be done if we are always doing.
the less of it you have for the things that you really want to do. Thomas Jefferson
When I first opened my office, I had a million things on my list to
get done. I had no idea where to start, which thing had the highest A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the
priority, and I ended up standing in the middle of the office staring value of life.
into space. The key was realizing that all that I needed to do was to Charles Darwin
start. Once I got started, I never stopped. What I hear from people

From the National Trustee continued
cally face to face, but in the comfort of our homes. The idea behind
all these meetings is to conduct AGD business as it comes up rather
than wait, which makes the AGD Board much more efficient so at the
face to face Board meetings we can spend more time brainstorming.

One issue that the AGD Board recently discussed is to hold a mid-lev-
el provider symposium that will establish a template for constituents
that may face the mid-level problem in the future. The Board has es-
tablished several committees and task forces to look into issues such
as the future of dentistry, social media, and governance. The Board
is working hard to make the AGD a more effective and efficient or-
ganization. The addition of the new executive director, Max Moses,
has been a big help.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesi-
tate to contact me at abedyzenhaus@gmail.com.
www.nysagd.org l Fall 2018 l GP 5