Catherine Rutland advocates communication and prioritisation and if things are getting on top of you – delegate.
Sometimes I would like to be able to press pause on life.
Not for long; just long enough to be able to think, breathe and refocus.
We are currently in the middle of a series of events all over the country.
I love seeing so many dentists and practice managers, and it would be good to be able to pause the rest of my life for a moment!
Yet we can’t, and the rest of your life has to continue, both professionally and personally.
What can become difficult is that everyone else around you are continuing with their normal pattern.
They expect the same level from you in the other areas of your life.
Fulfilling expectations and keeping yourself sane becomes an art form.
This applies to family, friends, work colleagues and patients.
Trust in those around you and delegate
We all face this at certain times in our lives.
It is important to recognise when it is happening and protect those around us, as well as ourselves.
This doesn’t have to be a series of events.
It can be a qualification you are working on, a sporting event you are training for, an illness in the family – the list is never-ending.
As with many other areas of life, it is important to communicate with all involved.
Be brave and prioritise so you can manage expectations, and maybe even have the courage to say no.
Learning to delegate and trust those around you is also critical; certainly, as dentists we can have just a little tendency to be control freaks in our working lives.
Contrary to what we often believe, we cannot do everything.
Maybe we can for a very short period, but not for any sustained time – and we are fools if we think we can.
That said, I’m my own worst enemy and need to take my own advice, and the advice of those around me.
What I discover more and more is that if you do delegate and trust, you find people almost always exceed your expectations which is exciting, for them and for you.
Then you don’t need to have a pause button because it can all happen – just not all being done by you.
