A wise person once asked, “Who makes the best business partner?”
- Dumb, lazy person.
- Dumb, hard worker.
- Smart, lazy person.
- Smart, hard worker.
Most of us would pick the smart, hard worker. However the wise person will choose a smart, lazy person any day. The smart, lazy person will figure out a way to get the work done right with half of the effort.
This principal holds true as you manage your optometry schedule. Many optometrists are working 4.5 days to 5.5 days per week. They wonder why they are burning out and feeling controlled by the practice.
The typical optometry schedule has ebb and flow. There are seasons where the schedule is so packed you can’t get all of your patients in, and there are slow seasons that have a higher number of cancellations and no shows. Use these ways to work smarter by reducing clinical hours without reducing production.
- Pick the four slowest production months of the year and reduce your time in clinic by a day per week. (February, May, September, December)
- Pick your three busiest months and work an extra half day in clinic. When people are wanting to be seen and your clinic doesn’t have time available, they start looking elsewhere (March, July, August)
- Find the month with the highest no show rates/cancellations and reduce clinic days by a half or full day. (May)
- Open the office longer for high demand seasons (March, July, August) and in return take more time off during other months of the year.
Of course, the suggestions above will vary depending on your practice setting. Keep in mind the principal is to work smarter by scheduling smarter and maximizing the high demand times of the year so you can work less at other times of the year. This approach makes for a much more enjoyable and sustaining career and can avoid burnout.
