Oh great and powerful appointment schedule, your beauty is unsurpassed.
You are the source of my power.
I cannot resist your colorful templates.
You are the force that moves me.
Your rectangular rainbow is hypnotic.
When I see you filled to the brim I get giddy.
Oh great and powerful schedule I am your liege.
I knew that communication was lacking in the office. I knew that we probably needed to schedule a time to meet on a weekly basis. But I sat there paralyzed, staring at the screen. I just can’t do it. I’ve gotta see these patients. The schedule says we have to work. We obviously don’t have time to schedule a weekly office staff meeting.
So several weeks went by and eventually I forgot about it, hypnotized by my full schedule into thinking everything was hunky dory. And then my front desk staff came into my office and asked a question. Something about contact lens policy. There was confusion and someone else in the office had been saying it was to be handled one way and the front desk staff thought it should be handled in a different way. It really doesn’t matter what question was asked, all that matters is that for some reason that event triggered some deep down courage in my soul that allowed me to………..hold onto your hats people…………block some time from our appointment schedule to allow for a weekly office meeting.
Time to preach now.
It is so elusive that an appointment schedule could become an idol in our lives, but it is so common. In broader terms, it may not be a written or computerized schedule. It may just be the rat race of life. The thousand little things that you feel you MUST do every day that supplant the important things that you NEED to do. If you remain blind to it, the neglected important things in your life become elephants in the room that can no longer be ignored and cause way more disruption than if you had just dealt with them in the beginning.
We now have office meetings every Friday morning from 8-8:30am. There is no agenda other than to monitor bonus goals and discuss any large negatives or positives from the week. Many times, someone on the team will share a wonderful story about something a patient said. Other times we talk about difficult patients and laugh and vent. The important thing is that we communicate. Nothing is shoved into the corner and forgotten about. Everything is discussed and solved. I really credit these meetings for the friendly atmosphere we have in the office and the camaraderie.
So take a deep breath and say the following out loud. “I am in control of my own schedule.”
Now, think of one really important thing you need to do but haven’t had time to do. Now, and I mean right now, just do it. Call your front desk staff or secretary or take out your iphone or pull up your Google calendar and block out some time on your schedule.
Did you do it? Did it hurt? Or did it feel good?
See, you really are in control. Now, try it again.