A slow schedule is not the end of the world, it is a chance for opportunity. It is a chance to reflect on where you have been and where you are going. Many optometrists start getting very anxious when their schedules slow down. There are a couple of approaches that you can take to your day to turn a slow schedule into a positive thing.
- Develop Relationships – This takes the most times and is many times the hardest to do because the payoff is difficult to measure. When an optometrist has good relationships with staff then the busy times require less management
ttention. Take 30 minutes each week and meet with a minimum of 2 of your key staff. - Become a Fellow of the Academy or become an ABO diplomat – For optometrists that have been in practice for >10 yrs, either one of these will sharpen your clinical tools. It is easy to fall into the ways you have always done things and not be challenged to grow clinically.
- Read a business development book – Look in the Recommended Reading section of OptometryCEO for my top recommendations.
- Start a blog – This is one of the key ways to get your website to the top of the search engines and a way for your patients to receive “newsletters” of our times.Also a great database for content after you have been posting for >1yr.
- Take time off – Seriously, it’s not hard, you just have to do it. Take time to be with the people you love the most and give them 100% of you. I am sad to say that this usually takes me 3-4 days to “come down” from the hectic world of optometry and small business.
If I could have my first 5 years of practice over, I would have taken the time to enjoy the slower times in the practice. Now it is a constant fight to not be consumed by the running of a practice and keeping up with the clinical demands of patient care. A slow schedule is an opportunity to invest in personal, practice, or spiritual growth.
