What to do when your schedule's full?

[Memphis]

What do you do when you're schedule's full? Even though this is the goal many of us shoot for, it can be really stressful when that day arrives. That's because usually, your schedule doesn't fill up cleanly. There are clients who have been seeing you for years who suddenly can't get appointments. When someone needs to reschedule an appointment, there's no alternate appointments available. New clients call who are convinced only you have the skills to help them, yet again, there are no appointments available.

If you've been in this position, what choices did you make & were they successful in terms of your business, client response & your happiness as a massage therapist? What was the hardest part about making your choice? If you aren't in this position yet but hope to face this challenge in the future, how do you see yourself responding?

From other threads, I've gleaned these response options. I'm sure there are more:

1. Stop taking new clients, referring calls to other MT's.
2. Get all your clients on a regular appointment schedule, to compress your workdays & get a clearer picture of just how full your schedule is.
3. Expand your practice to hire other MT's.
4. Work overtime, trying to meet the overflow of appointment requests.
5. Change your practice to a "treat & release", working with the acute conditions & referring them elsewhere for maintenance work.

I've been in this position twice. The first time, I chose option 1. It felt wonderful to support my fellow therapists, and I found it an easy boundary to maintain. Fast forward a couple of years - some of my clients moved, creating space in my schedule. I learned a new specialty (lymph drainage) & filled my available appts. with clients seeking lymphatic work. My schedule filled again, but I found it much more challenging to maintain my boundaries. There were lots of reasons. There were no other MT's trained in LDT locally, so referring overflow wasn't an option. I loved this work & loved the opportunity to practice it, so I accepted all LDT appointments. Usually people seeking LDT have a healthcare issue they're trying to treat, adding the pressure to find a spot for them in my schedule. Without meaning to, I chose option 4, and wound up feeling blessed by work but exhausted as well.

So, now I'm choosing a combination of options 1 & 2. I made a list of all clients who were coming to see me regularly, but didn't have a "regular" appt. time. I then looked ahead on my calendar & figured out what "regular" openings were available & how I could best fit my current clients into these slots. (It took a long time! It was like a puzzle.) I then contacted them one at a time, and gave them the option of a regular appt., to guarantee them spots on my calendar. Everyone I contacted said yes. Now I can look at my schedule for the entire year & see that it's full, which leads me to option 1. It's still hard for me to turn down LDT clients, but I know I have to. The truth is, I can't treat everyone in my town, so I had to set a limit eventually. Now's as good a time as any. It also helps me to remember people survived without me for years, and they'll find alternative healthcare options now as well. I'm not indispensable.

So, that's my story. What's yours?


Edited for typos 1/12/08

 

[Zamarus]

What to do with a full schedule

What a nice predicament to be in. I had this occur several times last year and in 2006. It became a double-edged sword for me for the following reasons:
1. I overworked my self and got injured.
2. I had some feelings about not being able to get everyone scheduled in a timely manner.
3. I had overbooked myself with a few home visits and that made those days very busy and I was rushed.
So, after a session with my supervisor, I decided to limit my day to four sessions, be greatful that I was booked and started telling clients that they need to book early and often or risk having to wait.
Now when the wave of busy flows in, I have some better ways of handling it.
Hope this helps,
rubmsyter

 

[KATE KILLS]

What to do with a full schedule

What a nice predicament to be in. I had this occur several times last year and in 2006. It became a double-edged sword for me for the following reasons:
1. I overworked my self and got injured.

Ditto, except substitute: I got sick. (Have been sick with flu/exhaustion for over a week.)

2. I had some feelings about not being able to get everyone scheduled in a timely manner.

Also, ditto. If I have to move someone, I usually feel really anxious, and will often put them on the front or back end of an already overly-full schedule.

3. I had overbooked myself with a few home visits and that made those days very busy and I was rushed.

I don't do home visits, but have overbooked with other job related responsibilities.

So, after a session with my supervisor, I decided to limit my day to four sessions, be greatful that I was booked and started telling clients that they need to book early and often or risk having to wait.
Now when the wave of busy flows in, I have some better ways of handling it.
Hope this helps,
rubmsyter

Which leads me to this: I've realized from reading so many great posts from people dealing with the same issues, that I need to find a counselor/supervisor. I have no idea how to go about finding one. But there are some issues that have sunk their sharp, nasty little teeth into my business, and they are not resolving by ignoring them. The biggest one is this schedule thing. The second is that I would like to have a practice that is based on "treat and release." Instead, I find that the last several months I have been doing more maintenance and relaxation than ever! I do NOT know how to deal with this. (Many issues surrounding that.)

Before this hijack goes any further, if anyone has found a good practice supervisor, can I get a few pointers on how to locate that type of counselor?

 

[KiKi KaNNiBaL]

Before this hijack goes any further, if anyone has found a good practice supervisor, can I get a few pointers on how to locate that type of counselor?

From prior posts, haven't you indicated that you like Cherie Sohnen-Moe? She does business coaching & is running a special right now for an intro. session:
http://www.sohnen-moe.com/coaching.php

I also think there are some members of MassagePlanetl who do business coaching. Here are 2:

LisaG
Kneadfulthings

If you'd prefer to work with someone locally, I recommend seeking someone who has the type of massage therapy practice you want to achieve. Contact them & ask if they'd be your mentor.

 

[~A.Michelle~ M]

Before I moved this is where I was. With having just had a baby, and an 18 month old as well, I was not willing to give more than 3 days. Plus I was still nursing exclusively so needed 45 minutes every 2 1/2 hours to go take care of the baby.

My calendar was completely full with no wiggle room - my regular clients had standing appointments and they knew to call if they couldn't make becuase I would easily fill their spot.

I did have several other therapists I could refer out to but it felt like betrayal you know? They wanted to come see ME. *laughing* When I moved I had 100 people all saying "No Angela - DOnt' so it!" hehehehe

And now I'm starting up from scratch again - fun.

I honestly can't wait for the day I'm stressing out about a full schedule again.

 

[Ivory]

started a new thread about this sidetopic.

 

[Memphis]

Ok,, NOW I am on the correct thread!
I don't know about you guys, but I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one in this predicament.
My whacky schedule was created because I was juggling another job and therefore was building my massage practice "after hours" which means I accumulated many clients that wanted late evening appts. Which was great since I worked during the day, right?

WRONG! All of a sudden I was a full time, fully booked therapist and not only was I taking early morning appts I was keeping the late hours also. I felt guilty about trying to move them to a more decent hour since they had been with me from the very beginning.
I eventually weaned the late appts off the schedule and was so proud of myself. Most clients adjusted well and the few that I lost were ones that were very demanding anyways so it was all good. My clients are booked out on aregular basis and I too, can look at my schedule for a year in advance and know who I will see when.
But I am still scattered all over the place with their appts. Add to that I was offered a nice position at the Massage School that I attended so now I teach Tues., Thurs evenings and Saturday mornings.
Sooo,, yes, you guessed it- I need to cluster my appts together and get my life back.
Did I mention that my husband was in the moreforum.xxxe industry and was laid off last year and I feel the pressure to carry the load right now??? :

So, here I am, all ready to make the changes to compress my massage hours and have days off and BAM! several of my good clients call with emergencies and need extra appointments.......
This is why I am sooo glad to have found this forum and am probably driving you all crazy with my questions. :
I would like to believe that this is one of our life lessons and we all just have to push through and learn and grow with it..... right?
I would imagine that we are all grateful for our full practices and great clients. We just need to stick to our "gameplan." and it isn't fair to blame them for us not setting the boundaries.