I’m a big fan of lists, which I keep on my calendar and a daily planning sheet that I’ve created. For me personally, if I don’t have lists of items that have to get done, I’m more likely to be disorganized, which leads easily to a sense of overwhelm. If my required chores, work projects, errands, family requirements, etc., are all on a calendar or a list, I don’t have to keep them in my head, I just have to keep track of the calendar! The items not completed are still waiting for me when I come to work the next day. Here’s my thoughts about prioritizing my to do lists…especially for any of you new to running a business.

What items should be on it…in what priority?

•Any actual patient appointments!

•Marketing activities (this is where your next patients are coming from so this is second only to patients you already have!)

•Family obligations and events

•Calls to return (patients, marketing activities, other professional calls)

•Bookkeeping, patient billing, insurance paperwork

•Inventory management (needles, supplies, herbs, other)

•Clinic maintenance (cleaning, repairs, shopping)

•Self care (yoga class, writing to a friend, a glass of wine)

•Other (volunteering in the community)

When you cannot yet delegate…

At the end of each work-day, spend five minutes making your list for the next day. I like to put these items right onto my calendar book (or into calendar/planning software if you prefer)

While you are building your business, think about what could you do to take better care of the patients you already have. Have you asked them for referrals? Do you have referral request signage in your clinic? If not, that’s a good “to-do” list assignment.

Prioritize based on what’s real. If you need more ptx, marketing and outreach time is first.

Don’t dink around on Facebook unless that’s REAL marketing for you. Instead, write a blog or search for opportunities to write for other publications.

If you had the guts to do anything at all for just 30 mins a day to grow your biz, what would it be? In fact…that’s where the juice it…that’s where the new patients may be.

Once you actually have someone to delegate some items to…

•These things should be what your employee is doing when the phone is not ringing…

•Calls to return; bonding calls, reminder calls

•Bookkeeping, ptx billing, insurance paperwork

•Inventory management (needles, supplies, herbs, other)

•Clinic maintenance (cleaning, repairs, shopping)

•Ptx file maintenance

•Proofreading things you have written for promotional purposes

•Sending letters to orgs. to find speaking gigs for you; Sending letters to find publications for your written pieces

Then…

•Do what you can and let it go.

•Don’t be lazy, but don’t beat yourself up for things not completed…just put things on the next list!

•Don’t delete self-care from your list

•For things not completed, create tomorrow’s list and put them at the top

•Consider doing the things you least want to do first, so they are over with!

Teach your employee(s) a new skill so you can delegate more!

So if you are feeling scattered, overworked and overwhelmed, maybe organizing things into a realistic to-do list could help you relax at the end of the day, knowing that you’ll know exactly what is on tomorrow’s plate when tomorrow becomes today.

Best wishes!