Here’s some advice you may not be expecting to hear: stop spending so much time at work!
If you’re like many dentists I’ve known and worked with, you feel a need to be physically present at your practice from open to close each day of the work week. And while that dedication and work ethic is certainly a good thing, the truth is that working too much can cut into your effectiveness, your mental sanity, and ultimately your profitability.
The fact is, every one of us needs to take time to re-energize and re-focus. And most dentists, even after work hours, find it difficult to stop thinking about our patients and our business. As a result, they never get the time they need away from work, physically and mentally. This often results in a lack of focus at work, a lack of energy and enthusiasm, and delays caused by operating at less than 100%.
Now, many of you may be saying “I’d LOVE some time off… but I literally can’t leave my practice.” I understand that in many cases, you may be the only dentist—and in that case, you’re right, nobody else can treat patients. But take a moment and think about how you spend your time each day. If you’re honest, I’d bet that most of you would admit that you spend a significant portion of your time each day working on tasks that COULD be performed by someone on your team. You just continue to do these tasks because delegating them would require that you train your team for these new systems. And sure, in the short term it may be more work for you to create systems and train your team to handle additional work. But in the long run, this is one of the best investments of time you can make.
Training your team and creating systems to handle tasks like accounting, patient management, marketing, and office management will free you up to do what you do best—which is treat patients. At the same time, these systems will allow you to spend less time working—and less time worrying about work once you’ve left the office. And THAT is a win-win scenario! If you’d like to learn more, please contact me today!