Hey friends! Happy Friday!
I hope you have had a really great week and are gearing up for an awesome weekend. It’s been a while since I just had a chat with you guys, so I thought today would be the perfect day! I know these things always start out by saying, “If we were having coffee together….” but I just wanted you guys to know that I am actually having a cup of coffee right now (it’s 5am when I’m writing this- why do I wake up so early?!).
My Private Practice
If we were having coffee right now :) then I would tell you that G&G Nutrition Co. is going so, so well. I had spent most of 2017 juggling several different jobs, and having the chance to only focus on my own practice was just what I needed to see my practice grow into what I had envisioned.
While it’s sometimes hard to be a non-diet dietitian in a world where fad-diets and meal replacement shakes seem to be the norm, I have found that I can still stay true to my personal nutrition philosophy (uh- based off of scientific evidence) and connect with clients who appreciate that.
Wedding Planning
It’s crazy to say this because it feels like we just got engaged yesterday, but our wedding is coming up next month! We are trying to keep things fairly low-key but we do have quite a bit of loose ends to wrap up just related to the wedding ceremony details, seating chart, and decorations. My last dress fitting is actually today! I am really looking forward to all of our friends and family being in 1 place.
B had a bachelor party last weekend, and I am lucky to have the best friends ever and they are throwing me a spa day tomorrow. I think getting a massage and hanging out with friends sounds like the perfect way to celebrate!
Time and Stress Management
A lot of you guys said you wanted to talk more about stress, stress eating and time management here on the blog in 2018. So if we were having coffee right now then I would tell you that these are all areas where I’m constantly improving.
Decreasing stress and time management has been one of my primary focuses in 2018. It’s almost a necessity to focus on these things as a business owner, because being too stressed out and managing my time poorly will directly decrease my income.
I changed my client scheduling to only seeing clients Tues-Thurs and some Saturday mornings. This reserves Monday and Friday for meetings, more involved emails, bookkeeping type things. podcast stuff, and tying up loose ends. Starting off Monday with a clean slate to be able to knock things off of my to-do list has felt mentally freeing, and I try to take part of Friday off if I’m seeing clients on Saturday.
One thing that has really helped me with time management is realizing that I don’t have to be everything to everyone 24/7. It’s OK to tell a client that I only take appointments on certain days. It’s OK to let an email sit for an afternoon. It’s OK to say no to something that doesn’t really feel right to me, or to put a project on the back burner until I have more time.
I wish I had learned and practiced these things when I was back in a regular 9-5 job as a school dietitian. It would have made me more productive. I just think about all the time I wasted putting out fires, responding to emails, and going above and beyond on certain tasks that really shouldn’t have been a priority. Doing all of these things definitely increased my stressed levels and I think it’s part of the reason I was so unhappy as a school dietitian.
I also think making your happiness a priority is a key part of this whole discussion. I recently read the book called The Happiness Advantage, which talks about all of the different studies out there related to happiness in the workplace. Did you know that being happy makes you healthier and more productive? This is just another reason to put caring for yourself at the top of your list.
Cheers to the weekend!
I saw clients the past two Saturdays, so I think I may give myself a little bit of grace and have some “me time” this afternoon. I want to get a a manicure but I am re-thinking gel nails… I love the look but they destroy my nails.
I also may take my bike in to get serviced and replace the clip-ins with flat pedals. I have honestly not ridden so much since I got into my bike accident 2 years ago, and I think using flat pedals will make me feel a lot safer on the bike.
What’s on your agenda this weekend?
Do you get gel nails?
Sam
I’m so glad that your practice is flourishing the way you want it to this year!
I need to take up your advice about not stressing about getting tasks done “right now” that can actually sit for a while. I like to feel on top of things, but by getting on top of one thing I seem to get behind on another thing. I need to prioritize better for sure. Everything can’t be priority number one!
I get gel nails. I like them just because they hardly ever chip. I have noticed that different nail techs treat nails differently. I finally found a nail tech I love because she’s very gentle. If the techs you’ve seen have ruined your nails I would keep shopping around. My nails are stronger than ever and I’ve been doing gels for almost a year now.
The last time I was at the nail salon I thought about the podcast in which you said self care isn’t always going to get a manicure. I like gel nails but I think of getting them as a chore rather than something for self care! I hate sitting there for an hour with nothing to do and the inability to touch my phone haha!
Oh man, I feel the same way about getting my nails done. I love the way they look but I really can’t stand sitting in the nail salon, lol. My self-care is now is sitting on the couch in complete silence :)
I learned a lot about prioritizing when I did the Todd Herman program. He said to prioritize the things that move your business forward, and then make everything else secondary. When I was a school dietitian, I worked hard all day long and then got in the car and felt like I got nothing done. Changing the way I view productivity has helped immensely!