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Are you running your week, or is your week running you? What would change if you planned your time instead of reacting to it? What if one focused priority could replace a dozen unfinished to-dos?
In this podcast episode, Joe Sanok speaks about why a regular planning practice will change everything with Demir Bentley.
Podcast Sponsor: Alma
As a clinician, you probably chose this field because you wanted to support people in navigating challenges and finding personal growth. But many mental health care providers end up spending almost as much time on billing, insurance, and other documentation as you do in sessions with clients.
That’s where Alma can help.
Alma supports clinicians in building rewarding private practices—with simplified insurance credentialing in under 45 days, enhanced reimbursement rates, and guaranteed two-week payback.
Plus, a free profile in their searchable, filterable directory—making it easy for clients who are the right fit for your practice to find you.
Learn more about how Alma could support you in building a thriving private practice at helloalma.com/joe.
Meet Demir Bentley
Demir Bentley is a productivity coach, speaker, and the founder of Lifehack Method. He helps entrepreneurs and professionals build simple, realistic planning systems that actually work in the real world. Demir is the author of Winning the Week: How to Plan a Successful Week, Every Week, where he focuses on replacing overwhelm and magical thinking with clarity, leverage, and sustainable momentum.
Visit Demir’s website and connect on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
In This Podcast
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Why a regular planning practice is essential
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How to make your 25-minute planning session effective
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Skip out on magical thinking when planning
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Demir’s advice to private practitioners
Why a regular planning practice is essential
Most people have a multitude of responsibilities that pull them in different directions throughout the week:
- Your available amount of time
- Your tasks and commitments to others
- Your personal internal priorities
These things do not want to play nice together … They are pulling you in three different directions. So, your plan for the week is just your algorithm for how you’re going to solve for this [issue]: “I’ve only got so much time, here’s what my commitments are, here’s what my priorities are” … [But] when you take a pass on that, what you’re really saying it, “I’m going to let chaos reign.” (Demir Bentley)
If you do not take the time to intentionally plan your week and sit face-to-face with your capacity, responsibilities, and goals, then you leave the door open for a mess to come through and turn your week upside down. A plan, while simple, helps to guard the door.
How to make your 25-minute planning session effective
1 – Take a look back on the week you have had for two minutes:
- Look at something that went right
- Look at something that went wrong
- Take a lesson from both for your week ahead
What’s great about a quick reflection, just two minutes, is you start to notice that you’re getting blown up by the same four or five things. The things that are blowing up your week … you’re experiencing them like they’re random … but [when you assess] you start to see patterns. (Demir Bentley)
2 – Check your calendar:
- Get a clear picture of your time supply for the upcoming week
- Add in tasks so that you have a correct assumption on how much time you have available for work, and to where your other pockets of time are being dedicated
- When do you have open space for deep work?
3 – Find your leverage priority for the week
- What is the ONE thing that, if you get it done this week, will make everything else next week easier?
Your priority should not be five footballs that you’re trying to carry down the field at the same time … What you want to be doing is taking one ball and running it to the end zone, come back, get the second one, run it to the end zone … And that’s how we [should] think about priorities. (Demir Bentley)
4 – Head over to your task list for the upcoming week:
- Take a deep breath!
- Ruthlessly triage your task list
- Understand that you won’t be able to get it all done, but you will get a few important tasks done, and a successful week is about moving you closer to the goal, and not ticking off every single to-do box that you give yourself
It’s the case that people often think that the definition of success at the end of the week is, “I have checked off all of the tick-boxes that I put on my plate for this week.” But really, [success] is a different one, and here’s a sentence I want to give you: “How can I do the most good with my limited supply of time?” (Demir Bentley)
5 – Calendarize your week:
- This is not about locking yourself into a rigid structure, but testing out your tasks for the week ahead
- Put everything in and check if it fits – realistically!
- If it does not fit, or it does fit but you have no time for rest, then take something off the list and move it to the upcoming week
Skip out on magical thinking when planning
Human beings consistently overestimate how much time they have and underestimate how long things can take.
Don’t rely on magical thinking, which is where most people screw up the process.
Don’t rely on that one perfect week you had 6 months ago, where you got everything done.
Not every day is going to go well, and sometimes you may fall ill, get a flat tire – whatever the hiccup may be. So, give yourself more time than you think you may need so that you can really knock things out of the park without unnecessary stress.
Demir’s advice to private practitioners
When you get real with your time, you let go of the promise of magical thinking. But, when you get closer to looking at your time realistically, that is paradoxically when you open yourself up to getting more done and seeing real progress.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Demir Bentley – Winning the Week: How to Plan a Successful Week, Every Week
Gary Keller & Jay Papasan – The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results
Sponsors Mentioned in this Episode:
Learn more about how Alma could support you in building a thriving private practice at helloalma.com/joe.
Work with us one-on-one!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Visit Demir’s website and connect on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
Check out these additional resources:
- Stop Worrying About What People Think of You with Dr. Michael Gervais | POP 1335
- Practice of the Practice Network
- Group Practice Launch
- Group Practice Boss: www.practiceofthepractice.com/grouppracticeboss $149 a month
- PoP Group Practice Owners Facebook Group
- Free resources to help you start, grow, and scale
- Work with us
- Practice of the Practice Network
Meet Joe Sanok
Joe Sanok helps counselors to create thriving practices that are the envy of other counselors. He has helped counselors to grow their businesses by 50-500% and is proud of all the private practice owners who are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.
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