Conversations With My Students - Time Management
One of the things that I emphasize in my school is time management. From the moment they begin in our program, it is conveyed to our students that everything we do revolves around time. Simply put, time is money.
I often have new and prospective massage therapy students that don't understand this idea. It is not usually said aloud, but rather it is displayed by their actions. Students arrive continually tardy for class. no show clinic appointments and un over the allotted session time, and still, they wonder why they receive disciplinary action.
I try to set real world expectations for my students. In the job field if an employee is late for work daily, they would receive disciplinary action, because it can negatively impact the business.
If they no show their client appointments, that too warrants disciplinary action as it has an immediate financial impact to their employer, not to mention the impression it makes upon the client of the business. Repeated occurrences of this would likely result in termination.
In a self-employed scenario, I explain to my students that it would mean they would suffer the financial loss and likely not retain the client due to the negative impression they have given of themselves.
The one that is most difficult for them to understand though is that running over the allotted session time is just as bad. In an employment situation, it is not uncommon to find businesses with 5-minute turnaround times between clients. Running over session time can immediately impact the next client's massage, and again the business as well.
In self-employed situations, students often argue that it's my time, not an employer's, so it wouldn't matter if I run over. They fail to realize that they are setting a precedent that a 60-minute session may be 70 or even 75 minutes in length. For some clients this may not be an issue, but what happens if they come to expect it, especially if you later try to manage your time and keep it to the session length?
For other clients who perhaps have responsibilities that they must attend to after their massage, it can be a very negative experience. What if you make them late for work? Or perhaps you make them late picking up their kids from daycare and they now must pay more than they planned?
At the very least you are devaluing your work. Once a price per hour has been established for your services, any additional time of your own that you provide to the client without charging them results in you devaluing your own product. You are now making less money per hour.
So, if you are a student, prospective student, or a new therapist and have issues with time management, please, for your sake, that of your school, employer and clients, take steps to better manage your time. The effort brings its own reward.