My private practice resolutions for 2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

First of all, honestly, where the heck did 2023 go??

Secondly, how are you feeling about the new year? Truly? Excited? Scared? Blah?

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I don’t tend to get in the habit of new years resolutions because I’m often too lofty with them and then I’m discouraged.

But I found that the resolutions I’ve made in my private practice have actually been super realistic, but that I need a bit more intentionality (specifically in terms of planning and looking ahead) to be a bit more effective and even more sustainable.

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Here are my resolutions for my private practice in 2024

• Commit to only scheduling ONE weekend of work per month, whether that’s trainings or intensive sessions.

  • Why? I generally work Monday-Friday, and over the course of 2023, I signed up for a TON of clinical trainings (like, probably too many) because I just love learning. I also got a lot of interest for scheduling weekend intensives and sometimes I would schedule 2-3 weekend ones per month. Generally this wasn’t a problem because if I only saw 8-10 hourly clients in the M-F week, it didn’t feel like a lot of extra work to work on the weekend, especially when I could make $1.5-3k if I did). BUT, I got in the habit of saying “yes” too much, and while that was great for my income, I actually want 2024 to focus even more on the LIFE of the work/life balance! And that, for me, means not giving up more than one weekend per month.

• Schedule self-care activities in advanced.

  • How? I’m a part of a pilates studio where I book my classes on a month-by-month basis. Generally this is helpful for actually committing to getting some movement in (anyone else guilty of a monthly gym membership that goes totally unused because of how unstructured it is??) because, well, I’ve already paid for it! I also went and booked out my monthly 90 minute massages through June. If it’s already in the books, I’ll plan around it, as opposed to forgetting to schedule one of my favorite forms of self-care.

• Continue to find ways to streamline my workflow.

  • What?? Every therapist has a workflow – particularly around the client journey of booking a consult call, having the consult call, onboarding the client, and maintaining the client. I’ve spent the past year trying to streamline this and other tasks (especially social media) as much as possible, but my goal for 2024 is to fine tune it even further. The more fine-tuned it is, the more easily my solo private practice can run on autopilot. No more double-booked appointments, fumbling to update all my calendars, or something falling through the cracks!

• Track my data better.

  • Huh?! No no, this is not about using the skills from the dreaded research methods class we’d all like to forget about from grad school. BUT, it is important that you collect, track, and utilize your data. Data such as: how many consult calls did you get each month? Where did those calls come from (website, PT, referral)? How many converted to clients? etc etc. By knowing various numbers in your business, you’re able to better make decisions about where to spend your energy and efforts in your business!

So! Those are my hopes for me in 2024.

And here are my hopes for you

• You commit to more time off to recharge.

• You give (or have given!) yourself a raise because you’re worth it.

• You allow yourself the permission to do what works for you, even if that means making some changes that don’t work for your clients.

• You embrace self-compassion for making mistakes in your business or life, because mistakes are inevitable, but learning from them takes a lot of grace.

• You find some supportive, non-judgmental spaces that allow for you to show up authentically and motivate you to make 2024 a GREAT year both personally and professionally.