The Danger of Complexity

What is it that is holding you back from making progress on the new employee orientation process? Or crafting a clear vision where you and your practice should be in three years? Or planning that international anniversary trip with your spouse?  Or creating a consistent marketing plan for your practice?

If you have your own heath and wellness practice, these will all sound familiar to you. You’re overwhelmed. Like you, I have started and stopped on journeys toward these exact goals multiple times. The process usually goes like this:

• Read several books on the topic.
• Take a course or two.
• Draft an outline, and write a multiple-page document on the project.
• Write it for the most advanced person in my audience.

Again and again, I have started all of these projects with good intent – and they never even make it beyond the walls of my brain and office. A predictable pattern emerges:

• Frustration sets in.
• I doubt myself and my ability to grow this practice, indulging in self-criticism.
• I go back to what makes me feel competent – treating patients.
• My schedule gets overloaded and I am once again trapped without the time necessary to grow my practice.

I have really gained traction in the past few years in breaking this routine of insanity. And I share the benefit of my experience with this helpful advice so you may escape the madness of the hamster wheel.

Five No-Fail habits to move diligently forward toward your goals:

1. Schedule focus time with a limit
   
   
   • Schedule a “focus block” of time each day to work on your projects
   • Choose a time each day when you are at your peak energy, in an area will you will not be interrupted, and for a reasonable amount of time.
     
     
2. Always communicate at the beginner level
   
   
   • Remember to make it SIMPLE, clear, and very basic.
   • Assume your reader knows NOTHING, and start at the beginning, as you would with a child.
     
     
3. Delegate:
   
   
   • Things that are in your “drudgery zone” (These are tasks you not competent in and are not passionate about.)
   • Understand that there is someone else who is both competent and passionate and will do a better job than you.
   • Delegate clearly what is expected, using my delegation reference as a guide.
     
     
4. Think of your project like Wet Cement (or an experiment that is not set in stone)
   
   
   • Perfectionism is the enemy of progress.
   • Everything can be changed….and will be changed.
     
     
5. Set a date and “Ship It”
   
   
   • Draw a line in the sand and consider it completed.
   • We can’t reach our destination if the car is not moving.
   • We can always revise and refine in the future.

I invite you to sign up for my weekly email, Tips to Growing Your Healthcare Practice, so I can send you my Delegation Level Reference. This handy reference guide will help you overcome your need to do it all yourself – and will make it easier for you to identify tasks that can be delegated, freeing up your time to grow your practice!