Radio Front Desk
Radio Front Desk is a podcast that talks to real people in real clinics about what it takes to build a health and wellness business.
Host Denzil Ford, Editor-in-Chief of Front Desk magazine, digs into the inspiring stories of folks building their practices from the ground up — including what works, what hasn’t, and everything in between.
Created by the team at Jane App, this podcast is your source for discovering fresh ideas and proven strategies for clinic life. Join us on this journey of building a practice you love.
Radio Front Desk
Is time off really enough? How to recover without burning out again
Burnout isn’t always solved by taking time off — especially if nothing really changes when you come back.
In this episode, Denzil shares a powerful question from psychotherapist and clinic owner Roxanne Francis: “What’s going to change this time when you go back?” It’s a simple prompt that opens the door to rethinking how we work, recover, and protect our energy before burnout hits.
Denzil speaks openly in this episode, reflecting on her own work life and sharing practical ways to make it more sustainable, with ideas like:
- Treating rest as part of the job, not a reward
- Bringing small vacation joys into everyday routines
- Making the first day back softer and slower
- Experimenting with fresh approaches to meetings, tools, and personal goals
For anyone juggling a full plate, whether it’s in healthcare, running a clinic, or navigating life in general, this episode offers thoughtful, down-to-earth ideas for making the everyday a little lighter.
Got your own tips for keeping burnout at bay? Send them to frontdesk@jane.app.And if you enjoy episodes like this, subscribe for more reflections from Denzil.
Hi, it's Denzel and it's time for some real talk. I used to think that the solution was simple. When work and life and kids had me frayed at the edges, I'd book time off, step away, and the plan was to come back restored and recharged Problem solved. But the truth is, once I got back, within a few days or weeks I'd return to the same overwhelmed state of being allegedly in need of a vacation. I think this has been happening most of my life. Part of it is that's how I roll, but it's also something more. That's why something the lovely Roxanne Francis said to me during a recent customer panel really stuck with me. She was talking about how, after taking stress leave, she'd come back to work and find herself back in the same cycle. Then her doctor asked her a question that hit home what's going to change this time when you go back? And that's when she realized she didn't need a short break. She needed something to really change about how she was operating overall. It's a great insight, but it's way easier said than done.
Speaker 1:What's fascinating to me is that summer might actually be a really good time to think about your workday. Stick with me here. When things are generally slower, you can take a moment and ask yourself what's causing me stress, what's not working right now and what could shift. What can I do ahead of burnout, before it creeps in? Here's a few ideas for you. Try treating recovery as part of the job. In healthcare, we all know that the body can't heal without rest, but the same is true of day-to-day life. It seems to me that you can't have high performance without recovery. What I'm thinking is that you definitely don't need to earn rest only after you've run yourself into the ground. Instead, schedule it into your regular routine. Maybe this is well known, but it's a good reminder to create small, regular breaks throughout the week that let you breathe, reset and stay well. Bring the good stuff back with you. What did you do on your last vacation that helped you feel like you again? Was it being outside, reading a good book, or maybe making home-cooked meals For me, when I can, I cook on Sundays.
Speaker 1:I can't always do it, in fact, if I'm being honest, I usually don't but I know that I love cooking for my family, and when I take a Sunday afternoon listening to music and chopping, stirring, tasting, plating, there's some kind of magic happening for me. If I have any thought that might resonate with someone reading this. It's to start small and start with where you feel joy. Cooking on Sundays does take me a few hours when it's done right, but I'm not sure if it's the right time. When I can't do that, I lie on the floor with my legs up the wall and my eyes closed and breathe for like four minutes, because all I have is four minutes. Sometimes I stretch, sometimes I convince myself I'm going to get stronger at push-ups and I try a few. Sometimes I just text a friend.
Speaker 1:Okay, I veered very far from weekend and vacation things, but the point is that little moments can hold a lot of power and it's so interesting how easy it is to forget that. Try making the re-entry softer. Another idea I love is to ramp back up slowly and make your re-entry softer. Sometimes all I can get in is an extra hour on my first day back to go a little slower, but I take it and I revel in that hour. And when I say take your time, I mean really take your time. I find that when I jump back into things too quickly I don't get the chance to process everything I'm jumping back into and that doesn't help anyone.
Speaker 1:Experiment with change, but without overhauling everything. Experiment with change, but without overhauling everything. This idea is simple Try new stuff, see what happens. It mixes it up. It adds freshness to life.
Speaker 1:Here are some things that I'm currently experimenting with. First off, meeting structure, meeting timing, attendees and cadence are never set in stone. I definitely see them as staples of communication, but as time passes I like to try different setups. If I meet with a mentor monthly, sometimes I change the time in between our chats. This can also look like changing up team meetings each week, changing the day or time or operating on a rotating agenda. Basically, I'm trying to breathe new life into things that are very regular.
Speaker 1:I'm also experimenting with new tools. I think we're all aware that I work in a tech company, so we have access to a lot of information about tools, new tools coming out and new ways of working with them. I find it super helpful to keep an eye on how these tools can be used to take the load off of all of us. Obviously, jane is one of my favorites and there's always new stuff to explore that helps take the load off. For example and I cannot believe I'm saying this out loud I just learned about a chat GPT feature where you can talk into it instead of typing like Siri, but with all the depth of a chat GPT conversation. I can just speak, no typing needed so cool.
Speaker 1:I'm also setting new personal goals. Even with a firehose of new things coming my way, something that helps me is setting fresh personal goals that I know impact my health and well-being. My recent example is starting to work with a nutrition coach. We don't weigh and track food because that just causes me more stress, but she has this cool system where I send her photos of my meals and we talk about tips for creating more balance, substituting with more nutritious options, water intake and on and on. It's just good stuff that gives me a solid and, for me, a goal-oriented reason to step away from the intensity of my life, even for just a moment.
Speaker 1:Maybe this whole episode feels a little silly, but I've literally had to check in with my therapist, family and friends so many times on keeping everyday life manageable and I feel like it's possible that some of you out there are experiencing the same. Am I right? Would love to know your tips and tricks as well. Send me an email at frontdesk at janeapp and share some thoughts. Well, that's all for me, headed to a leg up the wall moment. Now you got this.