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First things first, you need to have all your client information in order. Do you? This means being able to find something when you need it. Typically, your client information or materials will be housed in ONE or TWO different locations and that is IT. This may take a while if you haven’t been as dedicated to organization in the past. So, do you have all your stuff together? No? Do it!! We’ll wait. Check this post for an easy exercise.
Actually, we will be here when you get back!
Anyways...
Here are 5 quick steps to complete before sitting down to put your monthly or weekly schedule together. At the end, we have an amazing FREE guide and printables to help you with this process!!
What can you accomplish with a fresh new month?
A blank slate!
Gather your client related requirements in one simple place. When I had an active caseload, this was stored in a spreadsheet that captured all my caseload information in one at a glance.
Client requirements means having it clearly laid out how many sessions and for how long you need to plan for face-to-face case management. Do you need to provide case oversight for one client for 3 hours every week but only need to provide oversight for another client 1 hour every 2 weeks? Capture this in a quick way that is easy to check off as they are added to your calendar.
What are known exceptions to this coming month?
Exceptions are things that are out of the ordinary. They might not be captured in any traditional place. Try looking through your planner or calendars first to see if you made any notes in the upcoming month. Also, look through your notes for each of your cases across the past few months. Did you note anything there?
**In the future, consider a place to note these exceptions when you find out about them so that it is easy to reference when making your schedule.
Is there anyone on your team that will not be having services at some point in the month?
This might mean that a technician is on vacation or that the family is going out of town and taking a long extended weekend. Check your communication log and notes for each case. What is in your cancellation log?
You keep a cancellation log, don’t you? How do you track when and who is not having services at any given time? Does your Electronic Medical Record (EMR) do that for you?! Awesome if it does, BUT! What is happening in the upcoming month? Do you know of any cancellations that will be occurring that have been planned? Moving forward, these should be captured in your exceptions section but sometimes it is easier to think of them as cancellations.
Get recurring or one-off meeting schedules together.
Do you have a monthly team meeting or weekly 1:1s? Note them on your planning sheet so that they can be accounted for in your upcoming month. If these are regularly occurring, they are easier to schedule around.
Make a note next to meetings that you will need to prepare in advance or work after. You will want to take that into account when placing items in your schedule around those meetings.
Get personal schedules together!
What are your plans for this upcoming month? Do you have appointments to attend? Have you planned a great weekend get-away? What about a date night? These items are non-negotiable in my schedule. I do my best to have this not interfere with work hours but sometimes that in unavoidable.
If I have scheduled an appointment during working hours, there are two reasons:
It was likely all I could get!
Thank goodness I plan to keep the gosh darn appointment!
All too often we put our clients' needs ahead of our own when it comes to our requirements through the week and month. Time and time again we cancel our own appointments and rearrange our schedules to make accommodations for other people's cancellations.
6. If you don’t have anything special planned for this coming month, put at least one activity down! A date night (even in-home) is a great activity to look forward to. Sometimes it can be as simple as learning to cook something new one night a week with your loved one or a nail date with a girlfriend.
Schedule something fun for yourself this month…you deserve it!!
Self-Care Bonus Step:
Ok, real quick! What are two things you’d really like to do for self-care next month?!
Write them down! No one will judge you!! I promise.
Once you have written them down, ask yourself (NOT critically!) if they are feasible to fit into the schedule this month. What about in the next few months?! If they don’t fit this coming month, what can you do similar to those goals?
For example… if your idea was to have a spa day your responses may be:
This isn’t something you can sacrifice for with this short of notice - Look at the next 60 days - no longer than this and put it on the calendar.
This isn’t in the budget right now
I can’t take time to do that. I’m too busy.
Ok. Well, that seems very final. Let’s take a step back?
I feel like you really would like to find the time to do that. Let’s figure out some strategies to get better control over our time in the next few weeks?
Take a deep breath…nothing worth doing well is done overnight.
If any of those reasons was you, here’s two options to treat yourself to some spa-like activities.
One night you could take a few minutes to research a new face mask and the following night mix and apply it while watching a movie after hours.
Maybe you get a dishpan of hot water and some Epsom salts and give yourself an at-home pedicure. I STILL do this randomly throughout stressful seasons.
Remember, it is possible to do fun things and take care of yourself without spending a ton of money and resources. Jot down 2-3 ways you can take care of yourself this coming month.
Now you are ready to create a great schedule!