Balancing Act: Managing Your Private Practice and Motherhood
I get how hard it is to balance motherhood and starting/growing a practice.
This picture was taken several years ago, at 7 PM after a long work day. I was moving into my new therapy office (which I was SO excited about!) and balancing breastfeeding, my baby’s sleep schedule, and a full caseload.
As a single mama and business owner, finding the right work-life balance is everything. While I am very dedicated to my work and running my group private practice, spending quality time with my daughter is a huge priority. It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride to figure out how to balance my time and energy–and I know I definitely don’t have all the answers–but I have found some ways to deal. If you struggle with managing your own practice as a mom, this post is for you.
Here are three tips to balance your time while wearing multiple hats:
Learn your preferred work style–and lean into it.
Everyone has their own way of working. Some people are at their “peak performance” in the mornings, and some are better suited for the afternoons. Some like to schedule short breaks throughout the day. Personally, I like to work in intense ongoing periods–to be fully ON and then OFF. To honor that impulse, I typically take back-to-back meetings from 11 AM or noon until 4 PM. I’ll do other work in the morning that requires a little less of my energy and then dive into a busy afternoon. I am sure this isn’t ideal for everyone, but for me, this is the workflow I both genuinely enjoy and find the most effective.
Everyone’s ideal schedule and work style are going to be different! To figure out yours, I would first ask yourself:
How do I like to work?
What time of day am I most productive?
What habits help me enjoy my work the most?
From there, I’d create a work schedule that honors your preferences. Then stick to that schedule, to the best of your ability! Not only will you be more productive, but you will–ideally–be more present in your time with your family, since you’ve figured out a consistent work routine that best accommodates your unique needs and energy levels.
Which brings me to my next point:
2. Set a schedule that ALSO makes space for you and your family.
This is so important! For all of us who own our own practice, we dedicate so much of ourselves to our work. It’s the nature of owning your own business–and yet. Without carving space for the people we love, we can become disconnected, losing sight of what really matters.
For me, factoring time with my daughter into my schedule has been life-changing. Here’s what that looks like: on weekdays I finish work around 4 PM every day so we can spend quality time together after I get home. This looks different from day to day, but whether I’m taking her to soccer practice or spending time at the house, the stability of this schedule has been helpful for both of us. On the weekends I don’t work (unless something crazy comes up) because I spend them with family and on the other parts of my life that will replenish me.
I’ll mention one caveat: if you’ve just started your own practice, you may have to work those extra hours. Getting a business up and running requires sacrifices–especially when it comes to your time. My advice for you? Make sure to schedule time with family when you can, and communicate to them that your busyness is just for this season. It won’t feel ideal, and that’s because it’s not. But putting in the hours now will allow you to sit back and relax later, so just keep that end goal in sight.
Speaking of putting in the hours:
3. If you’re feeling burned out, set aside time to recover.
Burnout is so real, and it will only snowball into feeling much worse over time. When I get really burned out, I’ll schedule a slower start to my day or take off on a Friday if possible. Of course, if it’s during a busier season, this is much harder to do. Sometimes I have to be intentional about planning or accepting less social activities so I can spend the time recovering by myself instead.
One other bonus tip of advice for burnout? Don’t make business decisions that you feel you “have” to do if they’re going to burn you out. For example, a lot of therapists feel the most obvious next step to growing their business is becoming a group practice owner. But not everyone is well-suited to that role. There are plenty of other ways to grow your business (online courses, group therapy, and much more) without becoming managing a group practice.
The bottom line is that you shouldn’t sacrifice your health and well-being for your practice. Being a mother comes with great joy–as well as a boatload of pressures and stress on your plate. You deserve to take good care of yourself, which will in turn allow you to take care of your business AND the ones you love.
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For more advice on organizing the chaos of being both a therapist and mother, check out The Entrepreneurial Therapist Podcast hosted by me, Danielle Swimm. I’m passionate about helping therapists scale their private practices while taking care of themselves and the people they love.
If you want to hear more about how I manage my life and business, listen to Episode 96 of my podcast. I discuss:
What a typical week looks like for me right now balancing motherhood and multiple businesses
The real meaning behind all of us, what’s really important vs. what’s not
Signs it’s time for you to make your first hire as a group practice owner
Hi- I’m Danielle Swimm,
a Business Coach for Therapists
I’ve helped hundreds of ambitious therapists like yourself start, grow and scale their private practice. I love being a therapist, but hate the rhetoric that you need to sacrifice your energy and income to help your community. Let’s build your dream practice that allows you to make six figures and live the life you’ve always dreamed of.
