I hope that you’re well and your week has had some good moments.
If you are new to this newsletter, welcome!
If you are a long-term reader, hello again. :-)
Last week someone wrote and told me that last week’s newsletter made her feel calm which was lovely to hear.
Let’s see how we go this week.
Happiness is having two phones
Up until recently, I resisted having two phones.
I like keeping things simple and I thought that two phones would be complicated.
Eventually, I realised it was getting harder to maintain my boundaries without a second phone, so I got one.
Then, it was really hard to decide whether the new number would be for work or personal use.
Eventually, I figured it would be easier to set up the new number on my new phone and only share it with close friends and family.
When I set up my new phone, I decided to only download or set up the apps I want for my personal life.
This means that my personal and work phones look completely different.
My favourite thing is that I don’t do email on my personal phone. At least, the app is there, but I have chosen not to set it up.
I realised that I rarely want to look at email when I’m not working, and I’ve decided that if I do, I will only do that on my computer, not my phone.
So now, on my work-days I have my work phone switched on and I use it a lot. But at the end of the day, I switch it off and put it away.
If I want to connect with friends and family in the evening or weekends, I’m not distracted by seeing apps related to work.
I really like the way it feels.
A second phone has been SO good for my boundaries!
The Four Tendencies (part 2)
I’m always interested to find new ways to help me with boundaries in my practice.
Gretchen Rubin has a useful model called The Four Tendencies.
She says that when we are trying to persuade others to do something, we generally consider what works for us, rather than what works for other people.
When I first came across this idea, I found it quite challenging to think about.
How could I accommodate different personalities while also maintaining my own boundaries?
Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies are:
Upholders
Questioners
Rebels
Obligers
Today I’m going to look at Upholders and Obligers. (If you want to read last week’s post, here it is: Rebels and Questioners.)
Upholders
According to Gretchen Rubin, Upholders want to know what is expected of them.
They want to avoid making mistakes and need to understand what the rules are.
The clients I have who are upholders are dependable, reliable, and may even remind me of my own rules. :-)
I like working with upholders as they rarely cause issues with boundaries. They will always read the client-therapist agreement and adhere to it.
Tips for working with upholders
Give a clear explanation of how to take remedies.
Try not to move their appointment once it’s booked.
Try to make sure that your appointments start and end on time. They are very organised and like to keep to their schedule.
Try to make sure that your practice guidelines are clear from the start, as they really don’t like breaking rules, even inadvertently.
Obligers
According to Gretchen Rubin, Obligers will sacrifice themselves because they can’t let other people down.
They excel at meeting external demands or deadlines and go to great lengths to meet their responsibilities.
They also have trouble setting limits for themselves and saying ‘no’.
To keep themselves accountable, they depend upon deadlines, late fees, and fear of letting others down.
Tips for working with Obligers
Obligers could allow other responsibilities to prevent them from keeping their homeopathy consultations, so make sure they know about your late cancellation policy.
Obligers appreciate the offer of accountability and will try to make lifestyle changes if they know you are going to check in with them.
They find it hard to make new habits generally, so make sure you help them see how taking their remedies fits into their daily life.
Gretchen Rubin’s model has been invaluable in helping me understand that everyone is different.
Next week I’m going to consider each of the Four Tendencies and how they can be applied to practitioners. :-)
Practice Reflections
I worked from my clinic one day this week. It was good to get out of the house but felt strange wearing a mask in the communal areas. I had to be very organised, remembering my water bottle, packed lunch, and chargers.
A client suggested a half-hour call this week but I told her we needed an hour. The last couple of times it has felt quite rushed. I explained that I felt we needed to have a chance to talk in more detail. I was very happy she agreed. She is an upholder, I think, as she often pays before I send the invoice.
I discovered that my booking system GetTimely, gives me SMS credits every month and I can use them to send personal SMS messages. When a couple of clients were late making payment I sent an SMS reminder, and this went down really well.
Two clients have posted the 30 ml brown glass bottles I use for Homeobotanicals back to me because they know I re-use them. I really touched, and it made me realise I need to mention it in my practice newsletter to encourage others to keep them for me.
In other news, I’ve finalised the fonts and the design of the Home Page for the new Radiant Business Blog with my web-designer and I’m excited about it!
This week’s links
I’ve sent this link to a few clients over the last couple of months. I haven’t read Your Body Keeps the Score, but this summary gives so much detail I feel I don’t need to.
Philosophical pieces like this help me see the big picture in terms of my practice. It’s easy to assume that we always need more. This helps me remember that sometimes we just need to subtract.
This article caught my eye as I don’t see many pieces about mentoring. It has some nice suggestions.
Your Radiant Business School is still open. Last Monday I recorded a webinar where I shared about the course. It’s still available to watch on replay.
This is all from me this week,
Thanks for reading.
A big thank you to Nicky for how to support this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber. 💌 (Scroll down to find the button)
I’ve updated the list of benefits of becoming a paid subscriber, so there is now a monthly ‘ask me anything’ webinar.
Another big thank you to Claire, Sarah and many others who have been sharing about the course.
Thank you!
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The comments thread is open, so please feel free to start or join the conversation.
Thanks so much for reading, and as always, please feel free to forward to a friend.
Tracy
xx