Dentaltown December 2022 - 63

team. You may have started your office with only a few employees you talked
with throughout the day, but as a business grows, informal communication
becomes less effective; team members are inadvertently left out of the loop or
get misinformed through the grapevine. The team will appreciate the effort
you put into a calendar so they, too, can better plan their lives with their
families and friends.
Now it's time to get intentional about executing action plans by scheduling
plenty of " prep days " on your calendar. These are the days you will work on and
follow up on the myriad tasks that will get you to your goals. Many action items
will involve others, so plan ahead and schedule time with the necessary players so
they can be prepared. Impromptu " Hey, where do we stand on XYZ? " meetings are
unfair to others and often a complete waste of time.
Step 7:
CREATE ACCOUNTABILITY.
You'll feel greater accountability for reaching your goals if you regularly
remind yourself that you do indeed have them and you put a lot of effort
into planning how to achieve them. Post your goals on the wall of your
home office, and review the list every morning before you go to work.
Keep a copy in your wallet. Keep a copy in your desk. Cross off a goal
once achieved, but leave it on the list so you are constantly energized
by your successes. Then add the next priority goal so you're always
working on your top five.
Scheduling time on your calendar for action-plan tasks is an essential
strategy for forcing accountability on yourself. But human nature
can make it easy to ignore ourselves or make excuses about other things
getting in the way. Consider doing what many of the most successful
athletes and business moguls do: They work with coaches or mentors who
will push them to be their best by holding them accountable. A coach
or mentor can help you stay focused on the goals and priorities you
wanted to achieve and do what you said you would to achieve them.
Get a jump start on your new year
Do you work to live or live to work? Are you a business owner, or does your business
own you? In both cases, it should be the former.
Of course, your practice is immeasurably important in your life. You probably spend
more time at the office than at home and see your staff more than your family. But
actually, work is the vehicle through which you should be able to achieve a fulfilling,
satisfying and balanced life-while providing a good life for your family and doing
something you love to do.
In other words, your business should be the means to an end, not the end in itself-
it should be your means for achieving all your wishes and wants and goals, professionally
and personally. So define what those are, identify the necessary action plans and be
intentional about following through. This is the ideal time to get a jump start on your
new year by focusing on goals that will have the greatest impact not only on next year
but also on the years ahead. n
Dentaltown December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown December 2022
