I don't have enough time

This week I have had lots of conversations and communications with members of dental practice team, all with a common theme – “We don’t have enough time.”

I am being told that there isn’t enough time to

• ·        Speak to patients
• ·        Discuss treatment plans
• ·        Spend time with the team
• ·        Train the team
• ·        Keep on top of compliance
• ·        Keep track of the numbers and KPI’s
• ·        Discuss adverse outcomes and near misses
• ·        Review and up-date processes and protocols
•          Learn, develop and train
• ·        Etc, etc, etc

What are you too short of time to do?

There are only 24 hours in any one day for any one and the knack is how you manage yourself to make best use of the time you have here are some simple tips that will help you have the time you require

·        Do less you can action this by either saying “no” and delegate more.

·       Allocate time. For the tasks and responsibilities that you are failing to do, calculate how much time they will take and schedule the time in your diary to complete them.

·       Recruit – if your team don’t have the time available to do the what they need to maintain and improve the quality of treatment and care you offer, you will need to recruit more members to the team or use external contractors

·        Automate Some of what you do manually could be completed by software, or machinery, if so, bite the bullet by the appropriate tools to free up some time.

·        Ultilize the time you do have. If you have a FTA rather than a cup of coffee and a casual chat use the time to do something constructive.

·        Eliminate distractions. If. Like many you don’t get your tasks done because of too many distractions and interruptions, create open door and closed-door times. During closed door times, you are not to be disturbed save for a medical or other emergency.

·        Walk away. This may seem counter intuitive to walk away when you have too much to do and many incomplete tasks. However, evidence and experience shows that when you work for too long the number of mistakes you make increases. Step away, nourish, hydrate exercise and sleep so that you can return renewed, revived and reinvigorated.

     Let me know which of these strategies you have used an what difference it has made