Ready for a new dental routine focused on success?
It starts by creating a "command center" in your home.
Imagine walking through the front doors of your practice, hot coffee in hand. Before you can make it past the front desk, you're bombarded with questions, requests, complaints, and reminders from your staff. To top it off, you realize you're behind on paying a bill, and your spouse is texting you with details of the upcoming family vacation. In an instant, your morning has lost focus, intention, and purpose. You're exhausted and stressed, and you haven't even seen your first patient yet!
So how do you get off this merry-go-round of distraction? Fortunately, when I began the Scheduling Institute 20 years ago, I also initiated a now-foolproof routine that has helped me minimize distractions and stay focused on the business of my business, specifically finances. I've been following this one routine every single morning, and it's revolutionized the way I run my business. It can help yours too.
My routine—what I call my early-morning success ritual—allows me to prioritize my business in one simple step. In fact, it is incredibly simple, but it requires consistency, discipline, and planning. If you can follow this one routine before you leave for work in the morning, it will genuinely change the way you run your practice.
It starts by creating a "command center" in your home. Ideally, you would move your administrative office (e.g., your computer, filing cabinets) to your home. This is a radical shift in thinking, but it works. And it frees up space in your office for more lucrative uses (such as a new operatory or financial consulting space).
My command center is downstairs, away from the main activities of the house. I get up early, put on my CFO hat, and head down to take care of all of my financial transactions. I review my checking account, look over my savings and big purchase accounts, and move money where it needs to go. This takes me only about 10 minutes. Then I review my calendar and intentionally plan my day. Once I've finished my early morning success ritual, I leave for the office.
Since these critical action items have been taken care of, I arrive at the office focused, empowered, and in control. For you, that focus is directed toward providing the best quality patient care possible. And wouldn't it be refreshing to be able to be laser focused on what you do best-providing top-notch clinical care?
With a command center at home instead of at your practice, you can resist the urge to hop on your computer in between patients to check e-mail or pay bills. I don't remember a time when I didn't use the early morning success ritual to organize my mind, prioritize my calendar, and start off the day on the right foot.
And I'd like to reiterate that it's essential to take care of these activities before you go to the office. Just like anything else, it's tempting to procrastinate—especially if you aren't a morning person. But at the end of the day, you're tired, your back is sore, and you've dealt with one too many patients. Wouldn't you rather just be done for the day? Then you can relax and truly enjoy what's waiting for you outside of work.
I challenge you to start implementing an early morning success ritual tomorrow so that you can begin reaping the rewards for your staff, your patients, your practice, and your pockets.
Jay Geier is the founder of the Scheduling Institute and creator of the world-renowned five-star telephone training program that has revolutionized the way dentists attract new patients to their practices. He is finally revealing his secret for record-setting results, 600+ new patients in one week. Visit schedulinginstitute.com/DE to learn how he did it.
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