Episode #408: The One Habit to Improve Your Future as a Dentist, with Heather Crockett

Why do some dentists produce more per hour, while other dentists struggle? One answer is time — or how you think about time. Successful people take the time to think, and this habit is crucial for your practice. Clarity breaks will improve your future, and Kirk Behrendt brings back Heather Crockett, ACT’s Lead Practice Coach, to share how. If you feel that your practice is running you, not the other way around, it’s time for a clarity break! To learn about its value and the best ways to schedule them, listen to Episode 408 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Clarity breaks are crucial for your practice.
• Without clarity, you won't have focus.
• Don't just try clarity breaks. Schedule them.  
• Work on your business, not in your business.
• Take time to “sharpen the saw”.
• Less is more when talking about priorities.

Quotes:

• “It’s crucial to have that clarity break because we get so lost and focused on the busyness of the day and all of our tasks that sometimes we lose sight of those priorities, or how to improve the business and how to make it better. And the same thing goes with dentistry too. We need to make sure we land the plane, get that clarity, think about how we can improve our day-to-day. It saves us thousands of hours and helps to not only improve the business but the bottom-line profitability.” (5:57—6:31)
• “They're called priorities for a reason. We need to focus on what we say is the most important, big, hairy, audacious goal, if you will, for this quarter, and then keep that at the forefront of our minds so that we focus on and work on that the most this quarter. Less is more when you're talking about priorities. If you have five, are they all going to get done and be done well? Probably not.” (6:34—7:01)
• “It comes back to your core values and your core purpose, which is something that we do early on in our coaching process before we jump into anything else. We go back and say, ‘Okay, these are our core values and our core purpose that we said are core to us and the foundation of the practice.’ And if we’re saying that we don't have time to get that clarity and decide what our priorities are and to give time to our team members, then we’re saying that these core values and core purpose are null. They don't mean anything.” (9:27—9:59)
• “My [Apple] Watch will remind me to have focus time. It will say, ‘Open mindfulness.’ I want to sit and be mindful at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day. So, within five, 10 minutes of putting my watch on in the morning, it will pop up and say, ‘Open mindfulness,’ and help to focus. There are so many different options — you don't have to have an Apple Watch. But what I'm saying is it helps me because it reminds me to get in the right frame of mind for my day and helps me to clear out everything else that I'm thinking about, because I'm worried about this, I'm worried about patient X that's coming in at 11:00 that I'm a little bit nervous or anxious about. Helping me to calm down and focus can be very helpful, even on a daily basis.” (13:43—14:36)
• “Don't try a clarity break — schedule regular clarity breaks. They're part of who you are. It’s like scheduling sleep. Sleep is not underrated, and it’s not optional. You should actually have scheduled clarity breaks, one of them being with your team every single week. Our highest producers schedule two hours of clarity breaks with their team, because you can work 30 to 32 clinical hours, have a magnificent practice — and trust me, your team will appreciate the fact that you're slowing down the whole business to talk about how we can get better. And it makes everyone happy. You guys are all looking for the secret. There's no secret. It’s your patterns, your values, and what you do every day that determines who you become.” (15:35—16:28)
• “These hands can only go so far. Your back can only go so far. Your brain and your heart have infinite potential, but they’ve got to be nourished in an environment of other people trying to help you do the same.” (17:32—17:46)

Snippets:

• 0:00 Introduction.
• 1:10 What are clarity breaks?
• 5:03 How many priorities should you have in a quarter?
• 8:23 How important are clarity breaks?
• 12:41 Tips on mindfulness and clarity breaks.
• 15:09 Schedule regular clarity breaks.
• 17:07 Nourish your brain and your heart.
• 20:01 Last thoughts on clarity breaks.

Reach Out to Heather:

Heather’s email: [email protected] 

Heather’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heather.r.crockett

Heather’s social media: @actdental

Resources:

Traction by Gino Wickman: https://www.eosworldwide.com/traction-book

Atomic Habits by James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

ACT Dental To The Top study club: https://www.actdental.com/ttt  

Heather Crockett Bio:

Heather Crockett is a Lead Practice Coach who finds joy in not only improving practices but improving the lives of those she coaches as well. With over 20 years of combined experience in assisting, office management, and clinical dental hygiene, her awareness supports many aspects of the practice setting. 

Heather received her dental hygiene degree from the Utah College of Dental Hygiene in 2008. Networking in the dental community comes easy to her, and she loves to connect with like-minded colleagues on social media. Heather enjoys both attending and presenting continuing education to expand her knowledge and learn from her friends and colleagues.

She enjoys hanging out with her husband, three sons, and their dog, Moki, scrolling through social media, watching football, and traveling.