Autopilot

Have you ever been driving home and in such an intense thoughtful state that you arrive home without any memory of the journey? You’ve done the trip home it is so automatic that you don’t even have to pause to think about it. You know in exactly two minutes, you’re going to see the tree with the business sign on it. You know when you see that tree, you’re turn is immediately after, so you flick on your turn signal. You know when you pass the sign for the road before your house, that your turn into your driveway is just a few moments away. How are you so confident in all these things that you do that automatically? Well because you’ve done them repeatedly. Almost everyday since you moved into your home. Some days, you’ve went out more then once and done the same journey home. Repetition/practice is what makes things appear to be easy. It is what makes autopilot in your brain an accessible function. When I first started nursing, the incredibly long medication passes seemed like a soul eating never ending task. After about 3 months on the same unit, the task seemed easier. I had just as many patients as before. None of the patients had any less medications. So what was the deciding factor here? It was the fact that I knew where every patient would be because I had learned their routines. I learned who would still be sleeping and to pass them up and return later. I knew who would refuse medications and to leave them for last so that I had time to persuade them to take their medications without delaying the patients who would worry if their medications were late. So I was quicker and had a strategy. I also now had the advantage of knowing when the medication pass would likely be finished. So at the starting line, I knew when the finish line would be in sight. Flash forward to 6 months on the unit. Now I knew my patients extremely well. I knew all the medication changes in the last 6 months. I did not second guess any doctor’s orders as it was likely I was there when the orders were written. I knew why they were written and sometimes I had even suggested the medication changes to the doctor. Now my job felt easy and comfortable. Again, time and repetition put in will make the task seem easier. This can be applied to any area in your life. Starting a new diet? Give it time and repetition! Forming a new habit? Time and repetition! Trying to get your house to be sparkly clean? Say it with me now! Time and repetition!!!