Turn Summer Downtime into Your Most Productive Season Yet
Jul 02, 2025
Turn Summer Downtime into Your Most Productive Season Yet
Map every key process now so your team hits the ground running when the busy season begins.
By Connie Kurczewski | July 2, 2025
If July has opened up your schedule a bit, consider this your moment to invest in your practice. By refining your operational systems now, you’ll return in September with more consistency, an aligned team, and processes you no longer have to personally oversee.
Below are five strategic moves to tackle before fall and the exact steps you need to make them stick.
1. Capture Every Key Process
Your team might know what to do, but how much of it actually lives outside their heads? Set aside two hours to map out key workflows like new patient intake, inventory tracking, and requesting Google reviews. Assign each section to a team member to draft into a living playbook. By the end of the month, you’ll have clear guides in place so every step is handled the same way without you needing to repeat yourself.
2. Define Ownership for Every Task
Vague responsibilities pull you back into the weeds. List every recurring task such as social media posting, supply ordering and handling feedback. Then assign exactly one primary owner and one backup person. Post this in your staff area so the ownership is clear and your team steps in without a second thought, giving you back that mental space.
3. Standardize How Your Team Communicates
Scattered messages waste time and lead to errors. Choose a single platform for urgent updates, whether that's your EMR team chat or a shared task tool, and centralize all core communication there. Set clear guidelines so urgent matters are flagged in chat and routine items live in your shared document.
4. Trim and Tune Your Tech Stack
Every extra app adds another layer of complexity. List all your tools (booking, payments, marketing,etc.) and ask whether each one truly solves a core problem. If it doesn't, cancel it. Then train your team on the remaining essentials until they feel second nature.
5. Run a Live Workflow Drill
A process only proves itself under pressure. Choose one common scenario, such as checking in a new patient, completing notes in the EMR or requesting a Google review, and run it exactly as written. Note where the handoffs breakdown, update the playbook and practice again. Once your systems run smoothly under testing, they’ll keep your practice running efficiently when patient volume ramps back up.
Each of these steps turns the temporary summer lull into your practice’s secret growth engine.
If you’re ready to apply them with strategy and structure, I’d be glad to support your next move forward.
