Episode 782: How to Go  From To Do to DONE

At the start of a new year, it’s easy to get lost in all the to-do lists. In this episode, Kiera encourages listeners to remember to give themselves grace. When you’re overwhelmed, it’s important to remember to take a breath and consider three approaches:

1. Prioritize one thing

2. Utilize your team effectively

3. Be intentional with your time

Kiera breaks down each of these steps and reminds everyone to take a well-deserved breath.

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 Transcript:

0:00:53.2 Kiera Dent: Hello Dental A team listeners. This is Kiera and oh we're going to car cast it up again tonight. I do feel like I'm back on Delilah after dark. It's dark tonight. For those of you who were listening I did Podcasting car casting this morning on my way to an office and now I'm driving home from that office. So it's kind of been a pretty fun day for me going into an office seeing a brand new office fun to see them growing into their second location and I caught them a month and a half after opening their second location. And I don't know for any of you who have opened practices do you remember month... Basically, two of new practice ownership and I think the overwhelm the stress it's like having another baby in your family. I don't know what this exactly feels like because I've never had a baby but I've been in a family with lots of babies in the family. I've known a lot of people and I just think that when you open a second practice it really does open up a lot of issues concerns. And what I just want to say to those of you who are going through any part of transition in your practice coming in off this office I'm surely lots of thoughts tonight but I think you just need to give yourself grace.

0:02:03.9 Kiera Dent: And I think as type A people in this world we don't allow ourself to have grace. We constantly think that we should know this and we should be better than this. And I just think about gosh why can't we give ourself that space? Why can't we give ourself that grace? Why can't we just realize that it's something new and that we need 3, 6, 12 months to get good at this? I don't understand and I don't have an answer for you but definitely something to ponder of why can't we give ourselves grace? And going through that today watching this office kudos to them. We got to work we figured it out. And I think the biggest takeaway that I had today was you have to prioritize. And I know that that sounds so cliche but when new things come or challenges are there and when we need to give ourself grace the biggest thing you've got to work on and the biggest thing you've got to realize is you have to have it figured out of what is the most important priority right now. What does that look like for you? Because if you don't figure out the biggest priority with the greatest impact you're going to spin around in circles. And it takes me back to the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown and he has these two circles.

0:03:23.2 Kiera Dent: So imagine in your mind if you will one circle has one arrow going straight up and it's very like a long arrow far away from that circle. And in the middle of that circle it says energy. And in the other circle again it says energy. And there's lots of little maybe a half an inch long arrows and lots of them. So probably like 10 to 15 little arrows all around that other circle. And it just shows when we're putting our energy and our effort in all these different places we make minimum momentum. And when I look at that second circle with all those little arrows literally by physics if you push in all those arrows you physically and scientifically would spin around in a circle. And so just thinking about that when we're in this overwhelm how do you figure out how to prioritize? I think one thing you can do like this office did massive kudos to them is she called in help. She said look I'm in this space Kiera I want you to come in. The second thing you can do is just look to see list off the big priorities. Sometimes this can be long and sometimes just getting that dump list of everything in front of you oftentimes can really help you.

0:04:27.1 Kiera Dent: It can help you see what is in front of me what really are these big boulders and then figuring out if I could only do one of these, only one, which one's going to move me forward the most? Only one, which one is it? And so for this office even though it wasn't the one they wanted to accept it's the one that really has to get done. And sometimes it's urgent and sometimes it's most important depending upon where you're at. So if you have an urgent one I also like to do and this kind of goes against the you have one thing do that one thing that's what I prioritize and then what I do is I standardize below that of other things. So for example you as a new owner doctor or you're opening a second location there are things that only you can do and you've got to hit those high fires. But then after that your team what if we have your team get to work on some things that they could do? So for example in this office today we decided to tackle case acceptance because with a new practice one of the number one things that I'm sure you get concerned about is you know it don't pretend like you don't know it. You for sure know it. And that is you get nervous about cost you get nervous about the fees of that new location. And so thinking about that what can we get the entire team working towards?

0:05:44.3 Kiera Dent: They're looking at how can we increase our case acceptance? What can we do to get our production numbers where they need to be? So we spent the time today going through and figuring out what is the BAM bare ace? We said ace minimum. What are our true costs to break even to make sure we don't go under every month we sat there for quite a while we had to go through every credit card literally line item by line item by line item figure out what the BAM is even though expenses are high to then know what our true numbers are. We got the entire team then focus on things that would impact those numbers to help serve more patients because at the end of the day it's stressful. These things are stressful. So if we can alleviate that stress and get the whole team working on that that becomes their focus. And then that way you can work on another focus. I think so often we don't realize that we've got team members and if we just do one or two hours of training and get them focused on this KPI you can then go work on the other hot fire that might be most important for you. I find that when people take on new challenges and new tasks what they do is they almost get ostrich in the sand and they just hunker down and they can't see anything else.

0:06:48.8 Kiera Dent: And so everything feels super super overwhelming. And this is normal survival mode. So in survival mode we're not doing anything else. And I know as perfectionists we want to do everything else. I think about my mom and my mom had just put on a family reunion and there were a lot of people there and we're about a week away and there was so much for her to do. She was literally buying food for gosh like 30 people we're cooking and that just feels exhausting in and of itself. And I remember they were asking what other things do we want to add on? Do we want to add on quoting and boating and paddleboarding? And I said mom we're in the 11th hour. This is the time where we cut and prioritize because when you're in survival mode you have an oxygen mask on you. It's not the time to go be doing humanitarian aid and trying to get everything else fixed. And I think that that's why we spin. We get overwhelmed we feel like we can't do it all because we're trying to do all the extra things rather than just realize right now is a season to do one thing. Right now is the season to do one thing and do it really really well.

0:07:56.1 Kiera Dent: There's 700 other boiling pots I'm aware of that. So you have to pick the one or two boiling pots that you need to focus on. Now we put all of our effort and energy there and we delegate if we can to other people. So for this new office like I said they're doing a lot of things amazingly well. They just got a brand new practice which feels like we've got three more children added to the mix. So we've got to figure out what can we get the team focused on that's really going to make the biggest impact and what can we as owners do that's going to make the greatest impact? This is why I love consulting. I love coming in from a bird's eye view with no emotional attachment to it and saying, "All right, guys. This is what's going to be most important. This is what's going to push your team forward and this is what's going to push you forward. Now let's divide conquer and set a little system to make sure these things happen." So what we did with the team today was we created... We had them know their BAM what they needed to produce and then we had them rally around of what could they do what things do they want to track what things are they going to go after every single day that they get excited about? Why do you need to create all these things?

0:08:57.7 Kiera Dent: Why do you, as the owner, need to figure out their solution give them the problem and trust that your team is brilliant to find the solution. It might not be what you would normally do it might not be the things that you ultimately want to do but guess what? They can run this for a couple of months while you get things to settle down. And I feel like so often myself included I forget how brilliant my team is hand my trials over to them hand the big problems over to them and have them help solve it with me. You pay for brilliant people and then also make sure you're not trying to solve other problems that aren't problems yet. For example, team hiring. We don't need to do that we don't need to fire we don't need to shake that tree let's not shake it while everything else feels shaken. Let's make sure that the other things that are more important like overhead costs getting production up really are there. And then this is something that I just feel is a skill to be learned and that is prioritize your time as well. So if we're stressed about the finances we're stressed about all these systems. All right, perfect. Let's set some CEO time one or two hours a week where you will literally work on the business and nothing else. You build the systems you figure out the most important things.

0:10:22.1 Kiera Dent: And then on your other time you put your head down and you go to work and you do the best dentistry and the best patient experience you ever can give something crazy. And I found with going through consulting I have had to do this. It's been something it's a skill. It's not something I know how to do. But today I have burning fires all around me in the company I have other things I've got stressful things. When I walk into an office I put my head down I don't look at my text messages I don't look at my emails I don't look at Slack none of those things because when I'm there I'm there to work and work on that office. Everything else I'll pick up the next day. So when you're there being intentional with your time that also can help you not feel as stressed. I actually enjoy consulting days because guess what? It's a day free from my problems. So for you doing dentistry have that day that time those hours be a day free from your problems. You don't have to worry about the business during that moment. You get to do the most beautiful crown and do the best patient experience and do the best exams and just have fun with your patients. And then during your deep work admin time you worry about the business.

0:11:23.4 Kiera Dent: Maybe you book a day or a half a day where that's when you stress about the business and figure out the strategy behind it. And then the other days we go to work and if your emails stress you out put a vacation responder on that say, "Hey, I'm busy seeing patients. I respond to my emails on Thursdays. I'll be sure to get back to you on Thursday if this is urgent send me a text." Can you imagine how much easier your life could be if you put these little things into play? But we forget that those things are available to us because we feel like we have to do everything. And something that I've heard often is when everything's important nothing's important. So I think about it how can you go back and put that one focus of energy make sure we discipline our time and we're intentional with our time when we're there to work we're there to work. And today I'm driving yes I've got a hundred other things to do but guess what I'm going to Podcast with you guys. I'm going to car cast with you because this is my time to be here. I can't worry about the other pieces. I'm going to put my head down. I'm going to have a ton of fun podcasting with you. My problems will be there when I get home. They'll be there ready for me tomorrow.

0:12:18.6 Kiera Dent: And really when you can learn to almost compartmentalize your time again it's a skill. It's something you learn over time. Something where you don't let it creep in. I used to be a terrible consultant. I wouldn't say terrible. That's a little extreme, because when I was consulting I was still trying to work on the business at the same time. Well, I'm not going to be good on the business and I'm not going to be good in consulting. So like I said allow those dentistry moments to be your free time. Go have fun have that be almost your white Zen meditation time. I heard another doctor say, "I love when I get to do dentistry because that's my meditation time and it's easy and it's fun and there are no problems there. And I really just get to kind of tune in and tune out and then I get to work on the business." But I really do think to work on the business you have to plan those two hours. So even if you need to cut two hours of production which sounds counterproductive especially if you've opened a new practice you're stressed about overhead you're stressed about production. Taking those two hours to work on the business will allow the rest of your 38 hours in a 40-hour work week to be productive. So for that I want you guys to really really think about what can you do right now. Where can you prioritize?

0:13:33.7 Kiera Dent: Where can you intentionalize your time so that way things don't feel overwhelming. It's not easy. I'm not here to say that this is something easy this is something hard. But I think when you can put some of those pieces into play you can give yourself more grace like we talked about at the beginning. When hard things come when there's a season of your life that's the season to be in and realize it's not going to look like the other seasons of your life. Businesses are cyclical. I love thinking about the seasons just like a year is we've got seasonalities we've got spring summer fall and winter. Businesses have spring summer fall and winter businesses have times where we're blooming and blossoming. And then summer is total coast time and tons of fun. And then fall is when things die and it's hard and we've got to plant the seeds and start to harvest and then winter's where it's really really hard everything in business is the same. We reap the rewards. We have the hard times where it's dark and dreary and feels like nothing's working for us and then we go blossoming and blooming and then we go on coast mode and then we reap the rewards and then it's hard again that's normal. So in those seasons of hard where it feels dark. Prioritize what's truly, if you could only do one thing, what truly is the most important?

0:14:53.7 Kiera Dent: Number two how can you utilize your team more effectively and get them to focus on it and share the load and empower them to be the rock star amazing people that they are. Then number three be intentional with your time. If you're going to be at work be at work if you're going to work on the business work on the business and really maximize those different times to have it where you really truly can work on the business and then you can be having fun doing dentistry. Go to work, work hard. If we're going to take that time away from our families let's make that time count and then give yourself grace. It's a season it's going to change. It's not going to be here forever and sometimes we forget that it's not here forever. It's a small season. So those are some of the things that I took away. Learning from this office helping this office just experiencing it with this office and remembering that seasons don't last forever. This is just a time. So what can we do? I've also found during winter, if you will, when it's really hard in businesses that's also when we need to ramp up the self-care ramp up the time and shut off. So be done at five o'clock from work close the computer go home be intentional with our time. Go do something fun with friends refill your well of whatever it's going to be.

0:16:07.8 Kiera Dent: For me, it's hiking and working out and being with my husband. Those things fill and fuel me and with my family. So I'm going to put more of that in my life. Close the computer at five o'clock and be there tomorrow because if we keep working we're burning out and we actually aren't as effective. So close the computer at 5:00, go in. Just think about wintertime. It's cold. Our hours aren't as long and it's the hard time. We often try to do the opposite of that just thinking, "If I just push through this it'll get better." Do the opposite. Do what's not instinctual and I have found that I have more fuel in the tank to be able to better problem solve get things done more efficiently and effectively and really give myself grace. Same thing when a team member calls our Office managers say this to me all the time, "Kiera I don't have a team member. I have to cover all these things and I have to get all this done." And I'm like, "No, this week is the time to cover the front desk." That's the most important thing you can do. Other things you can wait or we can delegate or we block one or two hours to make sure that we have those one or two hours where we really focus on the business the rest of the time we are there as the front office whatever it is making sure that we really truly give ourselves the space the grace to be successful.

0:17:12.7 Kiera Dent: I think, oftentimes, we really put ourselves up for failure because we try to do too much. It's overwhelming. We shut down and we physically can't do it. Realize that that's what you're doing and be graceful be kind and give yourself that space. These are things I love to do. I love being able to make it easier for people. I love being able to see the blind spots for people. So if we can help you in your practice reach out [email protected], whether you're in growth mode or survival mode, either one. I would love to help you [email protected]. This is what we do for a living and this is what we're really, really, really, really good at. So stop doing it the hard way. Bring someone in, have them help you out. And as always know that you guys can just have this life. Show yourself the grace you're doing better than you think you are. Prioritize your time use your team and realize what season you're in and maximize that season. Every season you're in. Not all seasons will be ultra productive. Not all seasons will be ultra hard. Every season is different.

0:18:24.9 Kiera Dent: See the season you're in. Enjoy the season for what it is and if we can help you I'm here for you rooting you on helping you intentionally or virtually, whatever it's going to be. And whatever we can do to help you, we're here. As always, guys thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on The Dental A Team Podcast.

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0:18:31.8 Kiera Dent: And that wraps it up for another episode of The Dental A Team Podcast. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.

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