Celebrate your Accomplishments
The other day I was working out and Carrie Underwood’s song “So Small” came on. If you aren’t familiar with this song, it is an uplifting song about the moment when you realize that this big issue you’ve been dealing with gets resolved. The moment when you are able to look back and think how “small” that issue really was, or how easy it turned out to be to climb that mountain. It’s a song I like to turn to when I’m feeling down, or at a moment in my workout when I want to call it a day.
We have a client that has been going through a lot of personal and professional struggles. There has been a lot of turn over with team members, an associate is leaving the practice, close family members have been diagnosed with cancer, all the while we are going through a pandemic and they are trying to keep their staff and patients safe. Many of our clients are going through those same struggles, we are in a very unusual and stressful period of history. It’s hard to find employees, and challenging to keep them and the patients safe.
When you are finding yourself in these struggles, feeling as through no matter how hard you try to just can’t get ahead, I like to take a step back to try and get a bird’s eye view of my situation. It can be easy to get overwhelmed thinking of everything we need to accomplish. Humans truly can only focus on one thing at a time, we are not designed to multitask even though many of us believe we are excellent multitaskers. When in reality we are merely changing gears from one task to the next. When we change gears, it takes time and energy away from us and can diminish the quality of our work.
Overtime when our quality goes down, it can bring down our energy or spirit and we begin to feel overwhelmed. In those moments of overload, write a list of everything you need to accomplish. Have a brain dump on paper (or computer if you prefer to type). When you take your to-do list out of your head and onto paper, it can bring some relief because then your brain doesn’t have to rely on its memory to keep track of your responsibilities.
After you have completed your brain dump, find items that coincide with each other. Since we are not designed to multitask, find the best (or most urgent) place in your list and focus on those tasks. Oftentimes I will tackle the tasks that take the least amount of time to cross them off. Sometimes it’s the task that takes me the longest to complete that is also the most urgent. Be honest with yourself and take on that challenge, doing your best to not let the rest of your list distract you.
We are living through unprecedented times, there is more asked by our work and social lives than anyone could have imagined. It is easy to get lost in the shuffle. Each time you’re able to accomplish something on your list, find a quick moment to celebrate. When we are kids, there are a lot of moments that get celebrated. When we become adults those celebrations dwindle; if we don’t celebrate for ourselves then there won’t be any celebration. Celebrate brushing your teeth, going for a walk, verifying that insurance policy, collecting that payment, getting a lunch break, scheduling that big cosmetic case, no matter how big or how small. Celebrate everything you do! Each of those accomplishments are going to be what helps you to get past that mountain that seemed so big at the time.
Chris Ciardello, Consultant
Chris Ciardello joined Global Team Solutions as a consultant in 2013. As a practice management consultant, Chris is passionate about sharing his expertise in the areas of technology and marketing as it pertains to the dental office. Chris has a distinctive knack for understanding the needs of an office and he communicates those needs to the team, which creates a cohesive, productive atmosphere. He is a member of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants and Toastmasters International.
He can be reached at: Chris@GTSgurus.com.