Work Smarter, Not Harder

Dawn Heiman, Au.D.

As we begin summer, I’ve been reflecting more on how to organize my life so I can not only enjoy my personal time, but also my practice time. “Work smarter, not harder” keeps popping up in my head. We hear that all the time, but what does that actually mean? It’s all about a planned strategy to run your private practice more smoothly. Your life can achieve its goals more easily when you find ways to organize it. Consider seeing your patients with a planned strategy that is kinda like playing a longterm game of Jenga. As you build upon what your foundation was built from and you reach higher levels, you can do it with pre-planning and strategic moves. This edition has some great articles that you can use to ensure a great strategy for your practice.

Block Scheduling:

Have you ever arrived at work, glanced at your schedule, and thought, “How on earth did that happen?” Does your schedule feel inefficient and even profit-draining? I have found that working on block scheduling is time well-spent because it can help with efficiency and profitability while bringing the clinician a sense of joy because it is pre-planned.

Don’t forget to Block Schedule your non-patient hours too. As a practice owner, we need to have time to work on community outreach, including Advocacy time to attend our local Congressperson’s events – and to simply call them to let them know what matters most to us!

Community Hearing Screenings:

How will others know they need to see you? How will they know who to see when they discover they have a change in their hearing? Community screenings are a great way to give back to the community, step outside the walls of your office, meet people, and let them know they can trust you. Written advertising can only go so far. Your community needs to meet you and have at least brief interactions before coming to the office. By taking the time to carefully plan and organize your community hearing screening activities, you will be able to provide quality care for those who need it most. Efficient scheduling will also help ensure the success and reach of your event.

Plan to have a Communication Partner in Goal Settings:

When someone’s hearing changes, we all know it doesn’t only affect that person, it affects their entire network of family and friends. It makes so much sense to include at least one person at their initial appointment to set their goals for success. At any given time, communication partners can provide invaluable support to those whose hearing is changing. By scheduling ahead of time, they can make sure that their input has a lasting positive impact on goal setting and beyond.

So, as you wrap up the 1st half of the year and look ahead to the second half, make sure you reassess where you’re going, strategize for efficiency, best patient outcomes, and profitability. I don’t know about you, but I will definitely schedule my personal time within my daily, monthly, and quarterly schedules. Enjoy the strategic fun in the game of private practice! ■