This post is part of a series called "Engage with Reality," highlighting common gaps between how we plan and how things actually work in private practice.
You plan your 10-minute breaks carefully. They rarely go exactly as planned.
The Wishful Thinking
You've got 10 minutes between clients. Enough time to take a bathroom break, quickly check messages, maybe finalize the note using AI. It's a tight window, but you've got a system. Stick to the system and you'll leave the office on time.
The Reality
Your client has a "real quick question" as they're heading out the door. You can't shake the tension your body is holding from the last session. A text comes in from your spouse. You see an email notification from a prospective client.
These aren't rare occurrences. They're Tuesday.
To hope that your 10 minutes will go as planned is to set yourself up for frustration. These interruptions aren't disruptions to your work — they're part of it.
The Shift
Expect the unexpected. Create a system that allows you to be flexible with this valuable time.
Schedule slack into your calendar — 15-30 minute admin blocks 2-3 times throughout each day. When interruptions happen, you have somewhere to move the tasks that got bumped. You're not scrambling. You're adapting.
With that flexibility, you can center yourself before your next client, return your spouse's call, and still leave on time.
You're not doing this because you're slow. You're building a system that works with reality, not against it.
More from the "Engage with Reality" series:
