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Work Life Balance for Speech Pathologists: Mindful Time Management Tips for Therapists, Clinicians, & Private Practice Owners
A podcast about coaching strategies and time management tips for busy SLPs, PTs, OTs, therapists, and private practice owners who want to feel successful in their personal and professional life at the same time. Let's take back control of your time!
Work Life Balance for Speech Pathologists: Mindful Time Management Tips for Therapists, Clinicians, & Private Practice Owners
7. Unlocking the Magic of Proactive Time Management
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Ever feel like your day is running you, instead of the other way around? Today's episode offers an in-depth discussion about being proactive vs reactive when it comes to managing your time. I'm unpacking the pros and cons of each and uncovering what might be holding you back from being more proactive.
By reinforcing proactive management, setting priorities, and aligning tasks with your goals, you can take back control of your day. So whether you’re a business owner juggling multiple responsibilities, a parent navigating through a busy schedule, or simply someone yearning to make the most out of your day, this episode is for you!
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To find out how I can help you improve your work-life balance, click here.
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Proactive vs Reactive Time Management
Speaker 1This is your speech path mindful time management for the busy SLP . My name is Teresa Harp and , as a mom and speech pathologist turned productivity coach , I know a thing or two about how hectic life can be . If you're an SLP who's overworked , burnout and feeling like you're constantly falling short as a therapist and a mom , then this is the podcast for you . I cover time management and mindset strategies so you can learn to love your work and your home life at the same time . Let's dive in . Hello speech paths and all podcast listeners , welcome to another episode .
Speaker 1I don't even want to share the episode number because by the time this episode rolls out , I believe all of the former episodes , the episodes that I had recorded under the former name of the show , are actually going to come down . It is something that I was really dragging my feet on . I don't know if , in case , any of you are new listeners , if this is your first episode , you might not know then that this podcast used to have a different name . Just earlier this year in 2023 , I went through a rebrand and that came out of a trademark issue . I am completely finished with the rebrand , but there are episodes about 75 or 80 to be exact , but somewhere around 75 or 80 episodes that have to come down . I'm not numbering this one because I don't even know what number it's going to be by the time it's released . I don't know . I do batch , or at least lately I've been batching my episodes , batching my recordings . Sometimes I don't always know when certain episodes are airing and this is one of those times . That's it . I am planning on using the topics that were covered on previous episodes and doing a re-record , like a 2.0 version , for the biggest or the highest downloads , the episodes that had the highest downloads because it's important information and it's really helpful and I want it to be available for all of you who are listening .
Speaker 1This is what's going on here and it is still in the middle of summer , although we're getting towards the end of summer right now as I'm recording this , which is bittersweet , definitely bittersweet . I love summer , but I also really enjoy the structure and routine of the school year , but I'm not ready for it to end . I'm not ready for summer to end . So I am looking forward to doing some fun things with the kids and probably by the time all of that is done , I will be ready for summer to end . I will be ready for them to go back . What that means for all of you is that you're getting a bunch of episodes that are recorded all around the same time . You won't know any different because they'll be coming out weekly , but that is the beauty of having systems and processes in your business so that you can work ahead and still have time off . Just something to think about for those of you that are business owners .
Speaker 1What I want to talk about today is this concept of being proactive versus reactive when it comes to spending your time . I've been thinking about this a lot , because it happens when I think about the stereotypical type A versus type B people . I'm so type A , I always have a plan , or I'm so type B , I can never have a plan . I think a lot of that is just maybe stories that we tell ourselves , or maybe habits or just perspectives that have been ingrained in us . I do think that there tend to be two different approaches to time management that are similar to type A type B . There are people who are very proactive with their schedule and there are people that are reactive with their schedule . What we're going to talk about today are the differences between those two approaches to spending your time or to time management , then we're going to talk about some of the benefits of them , some of the drawbacks of them . Then I also want to share some insights about what might be holding you back . For those of you who might listen to this and want to be more proactive with your time , but you aren't doing it , for whatever reason , I want to offer you some questions to consider , just some thoughts to mull over , to figure out if you want to make any changes to your approach and how you spend your time . If so , what changes would those be ? How would you go about doing that ? That's the plan for today .
Speaker 1Let's first define what I mean by proactive versus reactive . It's pretty self-explanatory , but I do think it's worth going over for sure . Being proactive when it comes to time management really means exactly what it sounds like you are planning in advance . You're planning ahead of time how you're going to spend your time , what you're working on and when you're working on it , or what you're doing and when you're doing it . Someone who is proactive , who takes a proactive approach to planning and to time , would be at some point in the week sitting down and looking at okay , what are the things I need to accomplish this week and when are they getting done ? What are the events that we have lined up on the calendar and you're keeping an eye on what those are , when they are where they are , what are the details needed all those types of things . You could be proactive on a daily level . That might be sitting down every day and looking at just one day at a time , or you could be proactive on a weekly and or monthly level . It's going to look a little bit different from person to person , but the overall concept is the same . It's that , in general , you know where your time is going . You have that lined up , you have that written out somehow .
Proactive vs Reactive Time Management
Speaker 1People who tend to be more proactive with their time might be more likely to set goals , to prioritize their tasks and prioritize their yeah , prioritize their tasks and prioritize their goals . So they might be not only setting goals but then kind of coming up with a plan in terms of when am I working on that goal and how am I going to work on it . People who are more proactive when it comes to time management are thinking about what is the best way to spend my time , what's the most efficient and most effective way to spend my time , and they tend to be more likely to eliminate things that either they've decided are not a priority or not necessary right now , or just not something that is going to feel fulfilling you know a whole host of reasons . But they tend to be more thoughtful about what they're putting on their calendar , not just necessarily the act of filling your calendar to begin with . Okay . And so what happens is that people who tend to be more proactive when something unexpected comes up like if there's , you know , a sick kid and now everybody's home , they have a little bit more they're more likely to be able to prepare for that or , if not , prepare in advance , to sort of pivot in the moment to figure things out , because they already know what they're spending their time on in , you know , on the other days , so they can kind of look at their schedule and make adjustments as needed , right ? So it's sort of this overall idea and belief that they are in control of their time . That is like the one underlying piece , in my opinion , that separates people who are proactive versus people who are reactive .
Speaker 1Now , when we're talking about being reactive , this looks more like just sort of responding to whatever pops up in the day . So you don't necessarily have a set schedule , you don't necessarily have , you know , a written down plan of what you're working on and when you're working on it . You might just sort of sit down at work and say , all right , well , let me see what do I need to work on today . Then you might just get to work . You might not have planned all of that out in advance . You might be . You might be looking at your schedule and saying I need to keep this open , because who knows where I'm going to get pulled today , who knows what direction people are going to be pulling me in . And so you might not fill up your calendar because you feel like you need to have that available time and space to put out fires or deal with whatever comes up . And so people who are taking this reactive approach tend to allow I would say allow the external elements , like external circumstances , to dictate what they're spending their time on . Okay , so people who are reactive don't have that concrete plan , they don't have those clear goals . They just sort of have okay , let's see where the day takes us , let's see what happens .
Speaker 1Right , I remember I'm definitely more of a proactive approach than a reactive approach , just by nature . That is how I've always been and I don't think that will surprise anyone , but I remember noticing this not just in terms of work life but also in terms of home life . I remember when my kids were really little my twins were little I was always the mom who had a schedule . It wasn't super crazy , I don't think , but I had twins and I knew that sleep was the number one priority for me . I was like if I have sleep I will be functioning much better than if I'm just constantly awake and taking care of babies all day , all night . So that was my number one priority and I created our schedule around that priority . So I from the beginning set , put them on some sort of a sleep schedule and now that's , we could go down a whole rabbit hole . I'm like opening a can of worms . That's not the point of today's conversation or today's episode , but I knew that I wanted to be proactive about what I was doing and when we were doing it , so that we could work to get the girls on the same schedule . So that was my approach . But I know I have friends who are moms . I know I would see other moms who had a very different approach . There wasn't a NAP schedule . There wasn't a set schedule for when they would be eating or when they would be doing this , that or the other . It was just yeah , let's just see where the day takes us , and I'm not here to say that one is better than the other . I'm definitely not trying to imply that I think there are benefits to both .
Speaker 1However , for those of you who are listening , you might be struggling with feeling in control of your time . That might be why you listen to this podcast . You might be struggling with setting out a plan and knowing what you're spending your time on , and you might be interested in exploring other approaches . You might be interested in trying different techniques , and so , if that is you , I would invite you to consider the possibility of shifting to a more proactive approach with how you spend your time . Now I will also say that this can . You can absolutely get carried away with this , and if you are incredibly proactive , if you take it a little bit too far , you may find yourself sort of being a slave to the schedule . That's not what I'm promoting . I'm not saying that you need to have a detailed schedule down to the minute , all day , every day , and you cannot deviate . So I just want to be really , really clear about that . That's not being proactive . That's a very different approach , okay , and as you're listening to this , be aware of what thoughts are coming up for you , and if you might find yourself gravitating towards all or nothing thinking , I see that come up so much with my clients and I see that come up with me myself in my own brain . It's just something that I , that I , that my brain does , and so this is not , we're not , we're not trying to create this all or nothing thinking with these two approaches .
Speaker 1There's definitely a lot of gray area here and hopefully , as we're talking today , you'll hear what that looks like . You'll hear more about that , okay , but I think there's a couple of challenges . For those of you who are using a reactive approach for time management , you may feel like you have to address anything that comes your way . You may get very easily distracted because Anything that pops up , whether that's pops up in your field of vision , whether you , whether it pops up Auditorily you hear the email ding as of another email coming in whether that pops up In your space and someone comes in and interrupts you , whether it pops up in your brain with just thoughts that are kind of running rampant , that are disruptive to your ability to focus . All of that is going to be more common for those that are taking a reactive approach , and then what that results in is maybe task hopping , where you're going from one thing to the next without actually completing something . It can result in Decision fatigue , because you constantly feel like you have to make a decision on what you're spending your time on and that can be exhausting , as we all know , and it can result in things like missed deadlines or Incomplete tasks . You know balls being dropped , things that you don't really , things that you aren't really proud of , maybe as a clinician , as a business owner , as a mom , whatever . Okay , so we want to Try and adopt some of some elements of the proactive approach when it comes to time management . If we're feeling like we don't have control over our time , okay , because there are benefits of being proactive .
Speaker 1Right , we talked about some of the drawbacks of being reactive . Right You're , you're getting decision fatigue , your task hopping , you're missing deadlines . You might have more , you know , anxiety or stress or negative thoughts that are popping up , because you kind of have this , like you're sort of in this constant state of fight or flight . It's like what's gonna happen ? What's gonna happen today ? What do I have to do ? I have to put this fire out . Put that fire out , and so that can cause some feelings of anxiety or stress and Overwhelm . You might feel unprepared . You , quite frankly , might be less productive . You will likely be less productive because you're so busy reacting To the things that just pop up that it leaves little time and energy for the tasks that you actually do need to accomplish At any given time .
Speaker 1Okay , so those are some of the drawbacks of being reactive , but let's talk about some of the positives of being proactive when it comes to your time management . So , similarly , I think this this is probably intuitive , but for those people who tend to be more proactive with time management , they tend to get more done . They tend to be more productive and get things done in less time Because they're not wasting time trying to decide . They've already decided , they've done it once and they've moved on . They've made the decision and they've moved on , and they're focused on Execution . They're not focused on the decision-making . Okay , which , in turn , can reduce some stress . That might leave you feeling like you have more control . It might leave you feeling more focused . It might leave you feeling more More effective as a business owner , more effective as a clinician all sorts of emotions and Things that I believe are byproducts of having been proactive with your time management .
Proactive Time Management
Speaker 1It can also help you with goals . We mentioned earlier that people who are proactive with their time management tend to be more likely to set goals and achieve them . So in in theory , then , you may be more likely to Carry out the plan , to execute the plan Towards working on those goals , because you've worked them into your calendar , you've put them on your calendar in whatever way you know , whatever that looks like for you . So those are some of the benefits of being proactive . I would also offer that being proactive when it comes to time management it helps you to have a more I guess I could say well-rounded Day . You know you're spending your time on a variety of tasks or a variety of activities , not just on , you know , admin stuff or HR stuff , or you know content planning and creation . Right , it's okay if that works for you and if you like to just kind of focus one day , to vote one day , to one sort of category of tasks , so to speak , but I Prefer to be more well-rounded with with the things that I'm spending my time on . So I sort of look at my day and I'm thinking , okay , when am I gonna be , when am I gonna be working on my my business tasks , and then which business tasks are they ? And what am I gonna be working on my household tasks , and which household tasks are they so that the end of the day , I feel like I got some things done across all of those big areas , all of those big areas that I spend my time on right , and that , for me personally , that has felt really good . It's helped me feel , I would say , more fulfilled and it helps me feel like I'm being more productive across all of those areas , instead of just making progress in one area and not making progress in any of the other areas . Okay , so those are some of the benefits of being proactive with your time .
Speaker 1Now , those of you who are listening might have some objections . You might be noticing some like limiting thoughts or limiting beliefs that are coming up as you're listening to this that you're like not going to work for me can't be proactive . I can't do that . I'm not sure I want to do that . You know all of that right . Think about those thoughts . Think about your thinking . Look at what those thoughts are . They're really specific about what they are , because I believe if you actually unpack them piece by piece , you might find that they're actually things that aren't true . You're thinking things that maybe aren't exactly true , or you're thinking about you might be thinking thoughts that are solvable , thoughts that we can solve for right , instead of just keeping those thoughts , holding on to them and being resistant to trying a new approach .
Speaker 1Because this might be a little bit of tough love , but if you've struggled with time management for a long time , if this has been a constant theme or a consistent theme in your life , then spoiler alert it's probably time to try a new approach . You're going to have to do things that might be a little bit outside of your comfort zone . So if being proactive is really so much more productive , why don't more people do it Right ? I've got lots of reasons , but I'm going to share five of them , and this is very much relevant to what I was just talking about a second ago about what resistance might be coming up for you to the proactive approach in general . It might be because of one of these five things .
Speaker 1You might be thinking that , depending upon the season of your life , that proactive time management is not something that's available to you . It's not something that's going to work for me right now . Great Teresa , that sounds wonderful , and someday , when I have more time , do you see the faults here in this line of thinking ? But you might be thinking someday at another time I could do that , I could be more proactive , but now is not that time . So I hear you , I understand and I would offer you're right .
Speaker 1Maybe this is not the optimal time to be proactive . Maybe you do have some circumstances in your life that are going to force you to be more reactive . I can relate . I've got my kids I have four kids , my husband's deployed for the year , and so I totally get it . Like I'm not sitting here trying to preach all these things and tell you that you have to be proactive no matter what and you cannot be reactive and blah , blah , blah . I get it , I do get it . If you have young kids at home , you are definitely going to be in a more reactive season than proactive . I will give you that . However , it doesn't have to be one or the other . You can be both . You can incorporate elements of proactive time management and elements of reactive time management and , in fact , you will do that . Even those who are proactive will have to be reactive at certain points in their schedule . That's just life . So I would challenge the limiting belief that this is not the right season to be proactive . If you're listening to this and you're like , yeah , no , I'm good , I'm pretty reactive , that's just me and that works for me Fine , it's totally fine . Then you don't need to change it . But if you're sitting here thinking I want to be more proactive but I don't know how I want to be more proactive but I feel like I can't because I have young kids , that then I invite you to really think about this more critically and figure out ways through listening to this podcast , through joining in the Facebook group , through booking a consult , to figure out ways that you can be more proactive , because those opportunities are available .
Speaker 1The next limiting belief when it comes to trying a proactive schedule is the thought that you are not capable of shifting to a proactive schedule . So this is the first one , but this is more of the thought that , oh no , I could never do that . It's not just that this won't work for my life right now . This won't work for me as a person , ever and again take this or leave this . Like I said , if that's you and you don't want to listen , that's fine , but if that's you and you are open to the possibility that that thought might not be true , that the thought that you're not capable of being proactive is not true , think of what that might open up for you if you question that belief , if you challenge that belief . And I would encourage you to try just one thing one event , one something , one day , one hour , whatever feels doable for you , where you are being proactive with your schedule , and just see what happens .
Speaker 1This might bring up some feelings of tension or feelings of resistance , and that is very much what the third kind of barrier is to being proactive with time management . So some of you might be listening and thinking oh , the idea of a schedule is really claustrophobic for me . It creates tension and resistance and I don't love the idea of being tied to a schedule and I would say it doesn't have to be like that . You don't have to be tied to your schedule . You could be proactive , create your schedule and then throw it completely out the window if it doesn't work for you , if you change your mind , if something comes up right . Just because you have things blocked off on your calendar or planned out with the day and time that they're going to be happening doesn't mean that you are tied to that schedule . You are still very much in control of your calendar and I would offer that actually just a little bit of structure when it comes to time management can actually result in a lot more freedom . If you put some things on your schedule proactively , if you decide some things that you're going to do and when you're going to do them in advance , I would offer that that actually creates more time in your schedule and more bandwidth in your brain in terms of , like you know , mental capacity , energy , all of that to do other things , to do things that you want to do , to do things that aren't on your schedule right . So thinking about being proactive as a way to be more free with your time can actually open up some possibilities for you .
Speaker 1The fourth barrier to being proactive with time management is this thought and tell me if this is resonating with any of you I'm too busy to plan . I am so busy I don't even have time to come up with a plan . That is so relatable . I completely get it , and I will be the first one to admit that planning takes time . In fact , what has worked best for me is planning my planning , which sounds kind of corny , a little bit meta , but I do plan out what day of the week and roughly what time of day am I going to do my planning for the next week . Because what I noticed was if I didn't decide in advance when I was going to plan , the planning wouldn't happen . So I actually had to sort of block off time on my schedule . That was for me to be able to sit down and forecast the week and look at what's happening when . And yes , it's going to take you a little bit more time in the beginning , but it's going to save you so much time on the back end . It's going to give you back so much more time and freedom and control in your schedule . So if you could block off a little bit of time to plan , you will have more time available because you'll know where your time is going and you'll have a plan in terms of how much time you're spending
Value of Time and Proactive Management
Speaker 1on your tasks .
Speaker 1It's sort of like with budgeting . You'll hear people say when they're coming up with a budget that for families that never had a budget . And then they create a budget . All of a sudden it feels like they have more money . And it's not that they have more money , it's just that they now are executing more control over their money . So it feels like they got a raise , but they didn't actually . And it's very similar when it comes to time . When you start creating a plan for how you're going to spend your time , it will feel like you have more time .
Speaker 1I also think that some of you might believe that there's so much on your plate that if you sat down to come up with a plan and to be proactive with your time , it would cause overwhelm , because there's so much on there , there's so much that you have to account for , and you just don't want to even think about all of those things . You don't want to be faced with all of the tasks , all of the events , and I would say that you get to decide what you spend your time on , and , in fact , I think that then that's all the more reasons to sit down and be proactive with what you're spending your time on , because I bet you're spending your time on things that you don't need to be , spending your time on things you don't need to be doing and , in fact , if you eliminated maybe 15 minutes of mindless scrolling , you could sit down and work on a plan and have a proactive approach in place . There is time available to plan . You just have to use your time . You just have to use it . You have to use it for that .
Speaker 1Okay , then the final barrier that I'm going to talk about to being proactive with your time is and this one might be my favorite is lack of awareness about the value of your time . It is this sort of , I would say , belief , maybe a belief that you need to be doing things that don't actually matter , this lack of awareness on how valuable your time is and how valuable you are in areas of your business , in your family and in your household . Right , and this comes with first getting really clear on your relationship with time . So , if you've never thought about your relationship with time , I would invite you to do that . Maybe we'll do another podcast episode about that , but getting clear on your relationship with time and what that looks like for you , what it brings up , how you think about it , can help you to start to shift your thoughts about how valuable it is . Right , and I know for me , when I had my kids , I started thinking differently about time , because I knew that time spent at work would be time spent , or time that I'm not spending with my kids , Right , and time spent with my family would be time that I'm not spending on my business or in my business .
Speaker 1And I had to get really intentional . I chose to be really intentional about the things I was going to spend my time on . It really opened my eyes to how valuable time is . It's the thing you cannot create more of . It's the thing you cannot get back , right . And if you start to really step into how valuable your time is , I promise you it will start to lead to shifts in how you spend it and you can ask yourself is this a good use of my time ? I was just doing a coaching session with someone earlier and we were talking about how you need to show up as the CEO in your business .
Speaker 1So , especially for those of you who are speech pathologists , you know , as speech pathologists , we own a private practice and for those that own a speech private practice , we are still often many of us doing the speech and language intervention and that's okay . It could be okay for you , but there comes a point where you have to really recognize what are the tasks that only I can do as the owner of this business , what are the things that only I can do versus what are the things that other people can do for me ? Right , and so kind of really thinking about your time that way can help you become more selective in what you're putting on your calendar , in what you're saying yes to Okay . So we covered a lot . We talked about the proactive approach versus the reactive approach to time management . We talked about the benefits of both and the drawbacks of both . We talked about barriers to being proactive and how to try to overcome or take , you know , things that you can do to take small steps to overcome Taking that reactive approach and starting to incorporate more of a proactive approach with your time .
Speaker 1I hope that this was helpful . But if you're feeling like you need more support or you want to have an accountability partner or a team , a community of people that are doing these same things , come and join the Facebook group . I'll link to it in the show notes . In the Facebook group , we do monthly challenges and trainings and things that can help you spend your time more wisely . We'd love to have you in there , so join , and , of course , you could always book a free console if you want to share what's coming up for you when it comes to your time management .
Becoming More Proactive and Organized
Speaker 1We talk about ways that you can start to become more proactive , more intentional and more organized with how you're spending your time . There's always a link in the show notes to book a free console . We'd love to talk and learn more about what's coming up for you , what you're struggling with and , most importantly , how I can help . So definitely book a consult . If this is something that has been challenging for you , I'm here to help . All right , that's it for today's episode , but I will talk to you all next week for another episode of the your Speech and Path podcast . Bye .