Do you feel like you have too much to do and so little time to do it?
If you said YES, to this question, you are not alone.
I am hearing dental professionals around the world say they feel overwhelmed and they say they can’t complete it all!
I decided to attack this complaint head-on. I am on a mission to help you do more in less time.
Let’s strategize ways to overcoming overwhelm in the dental office.
24 Hours in a Day
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. This is something that we can’t change.
What we can change is how we look at MORE.
There will always be more.
There will be more holes in your schedule.
OUCH!
More holes in your schedule is NOT a good type of more.
There will always be more insurance claims to submit.
There will be more calculus to remove on people’s teeth.
Instead of looking at more as a negative, let’s flip this and look at more as a good thing.
More new patients. That is good; right?!
More calculus to scale?
Another good thing; right?
This means you have a J O B.
How many emails do you have to read each day?
How many voice messages did you listen to today?
How many text messages will you read today?
It feels a bit stressful to look down at your cell phone and see ten text messages and then we have those voice messages! This adds to more time away from doing something else you probably enjoy MORE of.
There is something MORE you would rather do than these type of tasks.
BTW: I decided to not delete my voice messages last week because I felt overwhelmed with all the messages. I thought, if this is an important call, this person can text or email me.
And yes, one person could not leave an important message because my voice mailbox was full. So guess what?!
This person emailed me. Then when I had a few minutes, I emailed them back.
180 Degree Shift
Let’s shift this negativity around MORE into MORE as a good thing.
How about if we now focus on:
More money.
More friends.
More hours of work because this means more production.
More production means a great chance of paying the bills for the dental practice, more money to share with the team, more money to buy new equipment.
The Plan To Overcome Overwhelm
- Feel Gratitude
- Each day take just three to five minutes and write three things that you are grateful for.
- Write down the first three things that come to mind.
- After you start to do this daily, your gratitude will come very easily.
I write silly things down that I am grateful for. Things like my electric toothbrush, my sweet dog and loving cat.
When you focus on the positive and especially before you go to bed, there is a shift in your thoughts.
Negative thoughts more easily turn to positive thoughts.
- Every 90 Days, Write A List Of What You Have Accomplished
Look back ninety days and think about what you have accomplished since that day ninety days ago.
If you can’t think back that far then get your calendar and go to ninety days from today. Mark today’s date on the calendar ninety days away.
Now when you get to that date on your calendar you can think back to today and know how much you have accomplished.
You have come a long way in ninety days. This is turning LESS into MORE.
There is always MORE to be grateful for.
- Volunteer, Give Back
Now this may sound counter-intuitive but when you have the opportunity to help people who don’t have as much as you, there is a natural shift into what you feel grateful for.
If you are able to read this, I know that you are in the top 10% of the population in this world!
I would love to know if this has helped you to overcome the overwhelm.
I get it!
I understand how much we have to do in a dental office and in life, in general.
Let’s create solutions to overcome the overwhelm.
Let me know by commenting below, if this has helped you to overcome the overwhelm.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DEBBIE SEDIEL-BITTKE, RDH, BS
Debbie founded Dental Practice Solutions in 2000. She speaks at dental conferences throughout the world and also coaches and consults with dental practices worldwide.
The team at Dental Practice Solutions takes a holistic approach working with each dental practice. Debbie understands how to quickly tap into productivity of the dental hygiene department to optimize systems with the entire team, showing everyone how to work smarter and not work so hard.