15 Nov How to Achieve the Right Work/Life Balance
It is incredibly important to take passion in your work, especially if that work entails maintaining or improving the health of others. If you own or operate your own dental practice, it goes without saying that you are passionate about dentistry. Building and running a practice is not for the faint of heart, and you should take pride in your dedication to the craft. Nevertheless, this level of commitment can be a double-edged sword. Operating a practice can demand a significant portion of your time. Dedication to helping as many patients as possible takes up even more time.
Such demands of your time can throw your work/life balance out of flux. It can detract from time with friends or family, hamper the pursuit of hobbies and make it nearly impossible to plan a vacation. Oftentimes, it can feel like there is simply no other way. You may believe that these are simply sacrifices you must make in order to continue operating a profitable practice. But this is not true. Further, failure to maintain a balance between personal and professional time can have significant physical and mental consequences.
Below are a few ways to combat burnout and strike a healthier balance in life.
Reassess Your Business Hours
One of the most direct methods of taking back your own time is by adjusting the business hours your office keeps. For instance, shortening your work week to four days can go a long way in freeing up your personal schedule. Do not be concerned about the optics of this decision; this model is increasingly common among dental practices. Also, don’t worry about reduced productivity. By working slightly longer days Monday through Thursday or Tuesday through Friday, you can still see the same number of patients with the added personal value of a three-day weekend. Studies have shown that a four-day work week reduces stress levels while increasing productivity and commitment to one’s career.
Practice Self-Care
When your job entails a duty to others, it can be easy to overlook your own wellbeing. Taking care of yourself can help you feel better when you’re not at work, in turn, allowing you to get more out of life. Perhaps you could benefit from adjusting your sleep schedule to avoid burnout and exhaustion. Maybe you can use some of the extra time afforded by a four-day work week to prepare healthy dinners so you can fight the urge to get takeout after a long day in the office. Whatever the case may be, don’t forget to make yourself a priority.
Improve Your Workflow
Streamlining your daily tasks can help move appointments along and reduce time spent on other work obligations. For example, upgrading to cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) from traditional 2D imaging methods can preserve significant time and energy. A CBCT scanner will integrate easily into your office’s current technological infrastructure, allowing you to easily send the scan files to patient records and access patient scans from multiple locations. Its impeccable image quality can also reduce time spent educating patients, as they can more readily understand their dental issues. Not only does this save time, but it can reduce the stress of communicating clinical findings to patients and decrease resistance to proposed treatment plans.
If you would like to learn more about CBCT technology and how it can help you improve your work/life balance, call us today at 855-PREXION or find a representative in your area.