3 ways to reassess your goals heading into Q4

The views expressed here belong to the author. They do not necessarily represent the views of Optometry Times or UBM Medica.

As summer winds down and the holidays begin to come into focus, it’s beneficial to take time to reevaluate the goals we set forth months prior. It’s time to take a look at how we’ve progressed in accomplishing them.

It seems like, all of a sudden, the end of the year sneaks up on us. It’s as if the year just began, we set our goals for our practice-then before we can blink, it’s time to start the process all over again. In some years, we don’t accomplish all the goals we have set for ourselves.

When Q4 rolls around, it’s tempting to keep the focus on the upcoming year and simply roll over any unfinished tasks into the next list of goals.

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Give yourself a couple of hours to think and create a report card before it’s too late to effect any change for the remainder of the year.

Alleviate end-of-year stresses by these three steps.

1. Stop and reflect

Don’t pull the numbers, don’t poll the team. Just reflect. What did you accomplish this year that you wanted to achieve? What goals have yet to make it to the finish line? These might be such goals as fitting more scleral contact lenses, making a major equipment purchase, or jumping into OCT. These items we can just stop, reflect about, and review if we have or haven’t achieved the desired goals set forth to date. 

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2. Dig into the numbers

Now that you know what you wanted to happen through the year, it’s time to see what actually happened to date. If you wanted to grow 10 percent from 1,000 exams a year to 1,100 exams per year (numbers are an example) and heading into Q4 you are at 675 exams, you need to see if you are making the necessary changes in order to grow according to the goal you set.

Sign up for a service such as Glimpse or Edge that can help easily track numbers rather than having to a pull big, long report from your electronic health record (EHR). Knowing your numbers can help you quickly and efficiently track set goals.

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3. Map it out

Set a date to accomplish the task in Step One, and outline a road map to get there. 

For example, set up reminders to call the Optovue, Zeiss, or Heidelberg representative to come in to share OCT reports. If the numbers are not matching the set goals, then set a strategy to make it happen.

Next, work with your team because they are key to helping you achieve your goals. Share the updated goals, review them along with the statistics to date, and set out a strategy to help achieve them together. When we strategize together, we can achieve success together.

This ensures that everyone understands where we’re going and is on the same page moving forward.

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In our case, our goals shifted. We had a large group of team members leave the practice. We refocused our efforts from our numbers growth to team growth instead, realizing that next year will be better if we invest in ourselves now. 

It’s not too late to do the same in your practice. You can alter your course and refocus your goals now with these three easy steps. End 2016 on a high note.