Thank goodness January is behind us! I was really glad to see the calendar change to February this year, since it truly seemed like last month everyone and their brother, mother and cousin was offering a course, strategy or journaling system to help us accomplish our goals the beginning of the New Year!
Sheesh!
Whether you wrote your goals on paper, joined a course or just mentally went through your punch list of things you want to get done this year… did it occur to you at some point…
Wait…What? (Phonograph needle screeching sound effect)
Again? Didn’t I just do this???? And then you realize that was a year ago…
If you’re beginning to feel like you have deja vu every January, you are not alone!
Do any of these sound familiar to you?
- You have wanted to write a book for years now, and you have even written a few chapters; but you just can’t seem to find the blocks of time to get the material into what feels like a consumable ‘book” format.
- You want to offer a few condition-specific, all-inclusive care and treatment packages in your office; but you find yourself getting overwhelmed with where to start, and aren’t sure how to price, package and then offer the program to your patients.
- The thought of creating an online course has been on your radar for quite a while now… but the online space can be so confusing…starting with deciding on the platform to house your course… and then hiring someone to set it all up and someone else to manage the tech…but who would you get to do that??? (Besides you, of course!)
And then it doesn’t really matter anyway because your practice gets busy, and that takes precedence, and before you know it, it’s January again and you still have the same goals on your list from last year!
If this sounds a bit like you… you are in good company. Even super successful practitioners struggle with this; in fact, they may struggle with it the most, and here’s why.
No matter how much success you have achieved, something keeps getting in the way of finishing the big goals you set… and despite your good intentions, personal commitment and even a strong dose of willpower, the needle-mover goals (the ones that will give you more freedom) just seem to stay on the goal list, year after year.
You’re No Slacker
So what’s the problem? Why is it so hard to get those big needle-mover goals done? It’s not like you don’t know what to do.
After all, you are a super achiever! You didn’t get to where you are today by goofing off. You schedule in your gym time, book writing time, course creation time, meditation time, family time, and then… it’s a matter of just doing it, right?
Well, yes…and no. As a business owner, things come up, like when your staff calls and says we have a situation:…code for drop everything and get to the office right away.
Here’s the problem in a nutshell: when you own your practice, your ability to reach your goals is not entirely up to you. Being the Chief Everything Officer, it falls on you to make sure that problems get handled, fires get put out, your patients are satisfied AND your team stays intact.
Before you know it, the needs of your practice devour the time you so carefully scheduled to get your big projects finished. Those office emergencies and bumps in the road are the distractions that can stop you from reaching your game-changing goals.
Managing a practice is complex, with a lot of moving pieces. You have employees to oversee, records to maintain, labs to order, medications to manage and inventory to keep track of…oh, yes, and let’s not forget the patients you must see! It’s complicated.
Setting Goals For Your Practice
But what if you set some achievement goals for your practice? Just like your personal goals, maybe your practice (and your team) needs to establish some good habits to get on the road to independence, and not be so reliant on you to get it all done.
Where do you start? First, assess the situation. What is the biggest interruption that you get when you sit down to focus on your projects?
If you are like many of my clients, the thing that interrupts you the most are the questions you get from your staff throughout the day when you’re in the office. Seems that everyone needs an answer from you. All. Day. Long.
When you stop to think about it, many of these questions you get from your team are not urgent…I am not saying they are unimportant… but many times they can wait.
Start protecting your valuable time! And don’t be fooled by the idea that you are just taking five minutes from your work to answer a quick question! Numerous studies show that it takes approximately 25 minutes to get back into a task once you have been interrupted, even for only a few minutes.
No wonder you can’t get anything done in the office!
Strategies to Manage Your Time and Increase Productivity
Here are four strategies I use with my clients (and now you can use them too!) to help your staff be more self-sufficient, thus saving your time and expertise for the questions that you, and only you, can answer.
Office Hours
Set up office hours exclusively for your staff’s questions. Unless your staff has an urgent problem, train them to come to you during specific times you have set aside to answer questions. Emergencies, of course, are always a priority, but you can train your team to determine what needs an answer now, and what can wait until it is convenient for you.
Just like your professors back in college, this is the time you set aside to be available to your team. They can ask you any important questions they have during your office hours, but not during other working times, unless of course it is urgent or an emergency.
Ask your team to prepare their questions so they are concise, focused and to the point. Consider having them prepare their own answer to the question before asking you if appropriate for their position. This way, you are training them to think their questions through first, and not be so reliant on you for answers.
Regular Staff Meetings
Once weekly have a group meeting where all departments are present (members can attend by Skype or Zoom if part-time). Discuss important issues, review practice goals, weigh-in on clinical operations and procedures to evaluate what is working and what is not. Use an agenda form to stay consistent each week. Determine the time needed for each category and stick to it.
Some of my clients give me push back on this one, they say they have tried this and meetings are a waste of time. I wholeheartedly agree; if your meetings are not focused and very specifically targeted. But if they are specific, productive and enhance staff cohesiveness and communication; your practice will reap numerous benefits, and so will you.
To avoid dead-end meetings, set the agenda in advance, follow it religiously, and most importantly, have a timekeeper to enforce the amount of time to discuss each item. This way your meetings stay on track and you actually get something done.
Department Specific Procedure Manuals
This is a PITA to do, but it will save you time and money in the long run. Really.
Create (or update) a procedure manual for each one of the positions in your clinic. Include the tasks each position is responsible for on a daily, weekly and monthly basis: from turning on the lights in the morning to setting the alarm at night, and everything else in between. Put your lists in a binder for new hires to refer to throughout the day to ensure they are keeping up with the requirements of the position.
The beauty of having this all documented and accessible is so that you can quickly get a new team member up to speed, so it isn’t a complete disaster and time suck for you and the office when someone leaves. Your new hire will still need a bit of training, but at least you are not starting from square one every time you have staff turnover.
Frequently Asked Questions…For Your Staff
Create a frequently asked questions document for your staff. Create a FAQ section in each of your departmental procedure manuals from the questions you get during your designated office hours. It will be easy to record them since you’ll be sitting at your desk, in front of your computer and can easily add to your list. You won’t have to try to remember the questions you get while walking down the hallway!
How to Have a Self-Managing Practice
Is this even possible? Absolutely. Setting your business up to be self-managing does take some planning, discipline and good organizational skills. Keep in mind that a lot of it will be up to you to set up procedures, enforce your boundaries, be consistent and give your team room to grow. Implementing the above four strategies will help them to think for themselves, gain confidence, and learn the skills to help them be more self-reliant.
When you establish the right systems and implement consistent procedures; your staff will develop skills that allow you to have more personal freedom, and the time to work ON your business, instead of IN your business.
Do you have goals that you just can’t seem to get traction on, year after year? Are you getting up earlier and earlier in the morning just to fit it all in? If so, we should talk.
I specialize in helping practitioners identify their ideal practice, and assess what strategies and steps to take (in what order) to get them there.
Click here to schedule a complimentary strategy session with me so I can learn more about your business and see if I can help you. Either way, let’s get acquainted!
