How to Manage Your Time as a Therapist
We may all have the same number of hours in a day as Beyonce, but it sure doesn't feel like that when you're running a one-person therapy business!
One of the biggest shocks I faced when going solo was trying to manage my own schedule. It felt like a never-ending headache when I had so many other things to think about -- booking clients, promoting my services, endless paperwork etc. etc.
After all, effective time management when running a private practice isn't exactly something they're teaching us therapists at school...
Now that I've got my routine sorted and implemented the right time management tools into my personal and professional life, things have got a lot easier.
Here are some of my best time management tips for therapists to help you get everything done and prioritize your own sanity. Content Plan for "Time Management for Therapists"
My top time management tips for therapists
As a therapist, of course we want to do what we do best - help others. But, when you're drowning in a mountain of paperwork and administrative admin, it can feel like you're running out of time to actually speak to your current clients, let alone bring in more.
The goal of effective time management is to equip yourself with the skills and tools that free up your time to focus on your client sessions. Here are some of my top tips.
1. Think about your goals and priorities
Start off by thinking about what your personal and professional goals are. Maybe you want to be fully booked within a few months, or maybe you want to reduce your schedule to part-time hours.
Equally, you may want to niche down your services to suit a specific sub-category of clients, or maybe free up some time to work on another business venture. You may also just want to spend more time with your friends and family.
Whatever your goals are, this is the starting point for any business decision you make. But it will also play a huge part in how you schedule time, set healthy boundaries, and boost your productivity.
2. Assess your current time allocation
Here's a task for you, next week keep a worksheet where you account for every hour that you work. Take a look at each task and add up how much time is spent during the week on these tasks.
In an ideal world, the bulk of your time would be spent in client sessions, with a few hours spent on admin and paperwork. But, most of us don't live in an ideal world, unfortunately.
Take a look at the most time-consuming tasks in your schedule and start to identify areas for improvement. Maybe you realized you're spending hours on accounting, or too much time writing up client notes after each session, for example.
3. Create your dream schedule
What's the perfect ratio of work to personal time for you? What does your ideal workday look like?
One of the best parts of being self-employed is that you have complete control over your schedule. You can work as much, or as little, as you'd like.
The exercise of creating your 'dream schedule' is a good exercise to get started with as you can start to visualize how you plan to manage your time. Think about how long you want client sessions to be, how many hours a day you want to work, how often you want to go on holiday etc.
4. Make the most of time management tools
Most therapists I know use eletronic medical records to manage their paperwork, accounting and client bookings. Some of the popular ones include Theranest, SimplePractice and TherapyNotes, but there are several out there that you could choose.
I'd recommend scheduling a free intro call with each of the platforms so that you can figure out which one will work best for you.
You can also use project management tools like Asana or Trello to help you keep track of all the tasks you need to do in a week outside of therapy calls, for example reminding yourself to post on social media.
5. Minimize distractions and maximize productivity
You can use all the time management tools in the world, but if you find yourself constantly wasting time or getting easily distracted, you may want to step back and optimize your digital and physical space.
Start by organizing your workspace. Keep things clean and clutter-free, storing any loose papers in binders so you don't have to spend all day staring at them. While you're working, use noise-cancelling headphones or find a quiet location so you have more focused time to get things done without interruption.
If you feel overwhelmed with your workload, time blocking can be a really effective way to maximize productivity. It works by splitting up your day into blocks of time where you assign a specific task. Maybe for the first block you'll check emails and then you'll allocate a large block for clients' sessions in the afternoon.
6. Plan for unexpected changes
This tip isn't exactly relating to time management skills, but it's an important skill to learn if you want to manage time effectively -- you need to be adaptable and flexible in the face of the unexpected.
There are some things in life that we can't plan for, and you'll really notice this when your time is money. Maybe you have a last-minute change to a session with a client, or a consultation call turns up late, or maybe you get issued a quick deadline on your paperwork - if any of these things happen, you need to be ready to adjust your schedule quickly.
Master your schedule as a private practice owner
Being your own boss is hugely rewarding, but it does come with some pretty big challenges.
It may sound simple, but I can't explain how much of a help good time management can be. If you're able to master your schedule, you'll not only have more time to work with clients, but you'll also feel so much less stressed.
If you're a new private practice owner and need some help setting up your business, you're in luck! I've been helping therapists just like you create their dream business on their own terms, and I can help you too.
If you want to find out more, let's chat today!
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