Where is the time?

Whenever a doctor advises his/her patient to do some exercise, do some relaxation and meditation, take better care of his/her body, the common excuse we hear is that, ‘I don’t have the time’. 

I received a WhatsApp message a few days back that stated,

‘After this lockdown, if you don’t come out:

With a better body, a new degree or skill,

Then it was never a question of lack of time

But a lack of discipline and will power.’

True?

Although the work of many essential service providers like doctors and other para-medical staff, the Police, the administration, etc., might have increased, many others are indeed having extra spare time on their hands due to the lockdown to contain the coronavirus infection. Even those working from home are saving time in traveling to and from their offices. Out of these, how many have done the things they had justified not doing previously because they did not have the time?

Deep down I knew it to be true, as I had seen this in action right in my post-graduation (MS) days.

Dr. Dev (Fictional Name) was MS Surgery Junior Resident in AIIMS, New Delhi. This is the same AIIMS whose junior residents had challenged Indian Prime Minister Shri Narender Modi Ji to work a single day like them. Under the pressure to complete the Sisyphean task of the ward work to the perfection of the senior resident and consultants, Dr. Dev and his fellow junior residents like Dr. Murari (Fictional Name) struggled to find time to eat even a single full meal in a day.

In contrast, on many nights, the same unit’s final year junior resident, Dr. Robert Gupta (Fictional Name), even before the evening round started had done half the work, finished most of the work within few minutes of completion of the senior resident’s evening round, and then giving a list of the remaining work to be completed to Dr. Dev and Dr. Murari, he will be off to dinner with one of his lady friends.

While Dr. Dev and his fellow junior residents struggled to have a decent meal a day in the hostel mess, Dr. Robert was able to find/create time to take his lady friends to dinner in restaurants. So it was a question of prioritizing, smart work, short cuts, delegation, not running after the impossible target to complete the ward work to perfection and not just lack to time, which Dr. Dev was too stupid to realize at that time.

Wait! You are probably shouting now. A young male under the influence of his male hormones and driven by the passion of love can accomplice impossible tasks. The same cannot be applicable to doing things like exercises and self-improvements.

For that we will have to hear the story of another junior resident, Dr. Biplab Mishra, who joined as a junior resident in the Department of Surgery, AIIMS, New Delhi, around the same time period.

During the residency, the junior residents are posted in different departments of AIIMS, such as CTVS, Neurosurgery, Urology, Orthopaedics, etc. Since the junior resident is seen as a visiting doctor on their rotation postings, some department gives some more free time to the junior residents on rotation as compared to the parent general surgery department. Instead of wasting this relatively free time in just watching movies and TV, Dr. Biplab, when on rotation used the free time to do the basic course of Meditation and Pranayama (Yogic Breathing Exercises) and Sudarshan Kriya® of the Art of Living Foundation.

During the course, the instructor highlighted the importance the doing the yogic exercises daily without a gap of even a single day. If the person misses doing the daily Kriya even for a single day, the cycle gets broken and the beneficial effects on the mind and body get interrupted. A person has to start counting again as day one when he restarts doing this yogic practice once again. Also, the entire breathing exercises, which take around 40 to 45 minutes, have to be completed without any interruption; not even opening the eyes or talking to someone.

Unperturbed, Dr. Biplab resolved that he will do the pranayama and Sudarshan Kriya® daily without any gap. When people learned of his resolution, they thought that it is impossible to find the uninterrupted 40 to 45 minutes daily to do these yogic exercises while working as a junior resident in the Department of Surgery in AIIMS.

With the great determination that there should not be even a gap of a single day, Dr. Biplab Mishra managed to do this Pranayama and yogic exercises daily even when working as a junior resident in AIIMS, New Delhi. Even now, while working as Professor in AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr. Biplab takes time out from his busy schedule to practice his daily yoga exercises.

These two example shows without a doubt that it is never lack of time, but your interest, your priority, your time management skills, your dedication and discipline that determine if you do something or not. Don’t justify your laziness and lack of interest by labeling it as a ‘lack of time’.

On a lighter note, when next time I ask you, ‘Have you read my blog?’ and you say, ‘I did not have the time’ ……. 

(Based on allegedly true incidents)

— ND

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DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purposes. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, leg,al and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. 

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purposes. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, leg,al, and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost and according to MCI and other Board’s norms.