The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt 1029: The Real Reason Your Schedule Feels Like Chaos - Robyn Theisen
Is your schedule “full” but still feels chaotic, stressful, and unproductive? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with ACT Dental coach Robyn Theisen about the real reason your schedule feels like chaos—and how to fix it by designing your day with intention, predictability, and clear scheduling agreements.
You’ll learn how to work backwards from annual goals to daily targets, use block scheduling without losing flexibility, protect emergency time, and stop letting patients dictate your day. Listen to Episode 1029 of The Best Practices Show!
Main Takeaways:
- Chaos in the schedule is a design problem, not a people problem.
- Predictability in the schedule reduces stress for the doctor, the team, and the patient experience.
- A proactive schedule shifts the practice from being busy to being productive and consistently hitting goals.
- Build the schedule by working backwards from annual production goals to determine daily production targets.
- Use block scheduling across the entire week and protect block integrity by shifting blocks instead of overriding them.
- Reserve true emergency time and use separate urgency time for patients who need to get in but can’t come immediately.
- Assign a single owner of the schedule and reinforce their decisions so the system stays consistent.
Snippets:
00:00 Intro
01:45 Why a reactive schedule increases stress for the team and patients.
03:05 Predictability as a major driver of dentist and team happiness.
04:45 Why schedule chaos is a design problem, not a people problem.
05:50 What a schedule without intention looks like.
08:05 How to work backwards from annual goals to daily production targets.
10:35 Using the production-per-day feature in practice management software.
12:10 Build the schedule for the doctor’s wants first, then patient needs.
17:10 How blocks protect flow, profit, and patient access.
18:55 Why you need block scheduling across the whole week.
20:05 New patient and hygiene/perio scheduling must be intentional.
21:40 Emergency time vs. urgency time and how each should be used.
24:05 Confirming key appointments earlier and setting scheduling agreements.
25:05 One person must own the schedule and the dentist must support that role.
26:05 “Show me your schedule and I can tell you how you’ll feel at day’s end.”
27:10 Rating the day to identify what made it a 10 or a 5.
29:05 BPA resource mentioned: Ideal Day Scheduling Guide.
Guest Bio/Guest Resources:
Robyn Theisen brings an entire life and legacy of dental experience to the team and every team with which she works as the daughter and sister of dentists. With almost 20 years of experience in dentistry, her roles ranged from practice management to operations at Patterson Dental to coaching teams. Robyn’s passion is empowering teams to realize that they can dramatically impact the lives of the people they serve by implementing skills and systems to remove barriers to life-changing dental treatment. She has done it for decades and does it every day with dental teams.
Outside of coaching, she enjoys time with her husband, Rob, and two daughters, Emerson and Ruby. She loves traveling, music, fitness, and cheering on the Michigan State Spartans.
More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:
- The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
- Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
- Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
- Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
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- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com