In many ways, the practical aspects of leaving your practice for a sabbatical – locums, money management, etc. – are, believe it or not, the easiest. What can be incredibly challenging is the emotional roller coaster ride of walking away from something you’ve worked so hard to build, and then trying to remain sane while you’re gone. Given our recent transition, here are a few tips for you:

Stay Big Picture
From 40,000 feet, the big picture of leaving your practice (assuming you don’t shut your doors) looks like this: patients show up, consume products and services, and happily pay. It’s a system for exchanging services for money. In the past, you may have been the main engine of that service, but now it’s time to pass the torch.

Certainly leaving your practice for any length of time – even a short vacation – can result in the world’s longest to-do list. Resist the temptation, though, to get caught up in the details. Yes, they’ll all have to be taken care of, but not at one time. Start a list right away, and just jot down all the little things as you go so you don’t have to think about them until it’s time.

While you’re away, continue to focus on the larger picture. One slow day at the office doesn’t mean your practice is going down the tubes – each day’s going to be a little different. Remember that you have slower days when you’re there, too – one bad day doesn’t make a trend. Micro-management isn’t going to work when you’re gone.

Practice Before You Go
The best way to iron out the kinks of the no-you practice is to…well, leave. Do a test run before you go. Get your locum started a few days before you leave, turn off your cell phone, and see how things go. You’ll be surprised at how many kinks you’ll work out in one day.

While there’s clearly a practical side to this, there’s also a huge emotional benefit to a trial run, particularly if you’re leaving the country. Traveling or relocating can be stressful enough without wondering how things are working at home. A trial run is the best stress-reliever there is. Most of the kinks are little things that are easy to fix while you’re in the office, but far more emotionally draining when you’re halfway around the world. In our case, the trial run made a huge difference during the week or two it took to get email access and a phone.

Accept the Worst-Case Scenario
Calculate the worst possible financial outcome for your practice in your absence. What will you have to pay out if not one single patient shows up the entire time you’re gone? This is likely the sum of all your fixed costs for your practice, give or take.

It’s also extremely unlikely to happen, and the objective is not to focus on it. The purpose of this is to be able to say, “the worst thing that can happen is I’ll lose $X, and I can live with that,” and then get on with your planning. In reality, your clients will show up. The worst-case scenario is just that, and it lies in the very fringes of probability – it just ain’t gonna happen.

Ask yourself, “is it worth $X to be home with my new baby/travel/do volunteer work/etc.?” If the answer is yes, then move on.

Focus on What’s Real
Once you’ve accepted the worst possible outcome, focus on what’s real. Don’t speculate on problems that aren’t there (and likely won’t be). Feel free to do a little disaster planning – data backups, staff changes, illness, fire, etc. – but don’t obsess on issues that don’t exist.

Obsessing over the possibility of declining patient visits is not productive. If that happens, start generating positive solutions to the situation, but not until then. Learn to understand the difference between brainstorming solutions to possible outcomes, and obsessing over problems.

Give Up Your Ego
Small businesses tend to operate in an “owner is everything” environment. You may be used to doing everything yourself. Over time, that can evolve into believing you have to do everything yourself. That in turn, evolves into believing you’re the only one who can do the job at all.

Let it go. The truth is that we’re all dispensable. What’s led you to believing that no one else can do your job is the subconscious feeling that no one else cares about your practice as much as you. Instead of focusing on how no one else can do it, focus on finding ways to motivate your staff to care as much as you do.

Maybe it’s not Supposed to Be Easy
Leaving your practice is hard. It’s a whole new skill set. For most practitioners, what’s really going on is a transition from owning a job to truly running a business, and that’s a tough change. Don’t expect it to be simple, but at the same time, don’t expect it to be impossible or painful. Just expect it to be a challenge that you’re well equipped for.

If you’re thinking of taking some time away, feel free to email any questions you may have: dan@practitionersjourney.com

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