The Cost of "Doing It All": How to Reclaim Your Time, Energy, and Private Practice
When you’re the CEO of a growing mental health practice, “doing it all” might feel like the only way to keep things running smoothly. But here’s the truth: being everything to everyone isn’t just unsustainable—it’s expensive, exhausting, and ultimately counterproductive.
Let’s break down the hidden costs of “doing it all” and, more importantly, how to reclaim your time, energy, and peace of mind.
1. Your Time Is Money: Are You Spending It Wisely?
As a clinician, your hourly rate might be $150, $200, or even more. So why are you spending your valuable time on tasks that someone else could handle for $50 an hour?
Every moment you spend chasing down invoices, scheduling appointments, returning calls, or troubleshooting tech issues is a moment you’re not spending on high-value activities like client care, strategic planning, or even much-needed rest.
Every hour you spend on tasks below your pay grade is money left on the table—and peace of mind out the window.
Try This:
Write down the last five non-clinical tasks you did for your practice. Add up how much time they took. Then multiply that time by your hourly rate. That’s the hidden cost of doing it all.
Example:
One practice owner realized she was spending 10 hours a week on billing and follow-ups. At her rate of $175/hour, that’s $1,750 a week in lost revenue. Delegating those tasks to a mental health VA saved her both time and money. In addition, her VA’s was able to respond to inquiries more quickly which resulted in more new clients for her practice.
2. Burnout Isn’t a Badge of Honor
Let’s face it—burnout is often romanticized in our culture. “If you’re not tired, are you even working hard enough?” But burnout isn’t a sign of productivity; it’s a red flag that you’ve delayed delegating and your existing systems aren’t working.
Warning Signs of Burnout:
Constantly feeling behind, no matter how much you work
Resenting your clients or team (even if you love them deep down)
Making mistakes because you’re juggling too much
Catching up with work on nights and weekends
Taking a vacation is more stressful than NOT taking a vacation.
Being overworked might feel like success, but it doesn’t make you a better leader—or a happier human.
3. The Delegation Dilemma: Letting Go Without Losing Control
Delegation is a skill, not a cop-out. It’s not about dumping tasks on someone else and hoping for the best; it’s about empowering your team to thrive while freeing yourself to lead your practice to its full potential—to see your vision come to fruition.
Common Fears About Delegation (and Why They’re Myths):
Fear: “No one can do this as well as I can.”
Reality: With clear instructions and training, many tasks can be done just as well—or even better—by someone else.Fear: “Delegation takes too much time upfront.”
Reality: Yes, there’s a time investment in onboarding a new team member. But the time you save in the long run is worth every second of upfront effort.Fear: “Delegating makes me less hands-on.”
Reality: Delegation makes you more hands-on where it matters—your clients, team culture, and strategic goals.
Pull-Out Quote:
“Delegation isn’t giving up control; it’s giving your team the tools to succeed and your brain the space to breathe.”
Pro-Tip:
Start small. Pick one task—like scheduling or billing—and delegate it for a month. Notice how much time and energy it frees up for you.
4. The Real Cost of Doing It All
If the financial cost of doing it all isn’t enough to convince you, consider the emotional toll:
The constant pressure to keep every plate spinning
The guilt of missing family time because you’re glued to your laptop
The frustration of feeling like your practice runs you—not the other way around
The worry that you aren’t doing your best because its impossible to do it all and do it well
Doing it all doesn’t make you a hero; it makes you a hostage to your to-do list.
5. Reclaim Your Time with Smart Strategies
Here’s how to shift from “doing it all” to “doing what matters.”
Step 1: Identify Low-Value Tasks
Make a list of tasks that drain your energy and steal time away from client care, business development, and family time.
Step 2: Delegate or Automate
Hire a mental health virtual assistant for administrative tasks. (Shameless Plug)
Do you dread the phones? Consider TheraRep, our mental health answering service! We do more than answer the phone—our TheraReps are trained to convert callers to clients, can handle rescheduling, and answer questions about your practice.
Use automation tools for scheduling, reminders, and data tracking. You don’t always have to delegate to people. Delegate to technology as much as possible to keep your payroll costs down.
Step 3: Create Boundaries
Set “non-negotiable” hours for personal time. Protect your evenings and weekends like they’re a VIP concert ticket.
If your intake calls turn into therapy sessions, a mental health virtual assistant can handle those calls and be your gatekeeper and boundary guard if you have a hard time saying, “no”.
Step 4: Celebrate the Wins
Delegation is an art. Each task you let go of is a victory worth celebrating. Once you fire yourself from more and more of the daily operations, you can fully step into your role as the leader and visionary of your therapy practice. You will be unstoppable!
Find a community of your peers to support and celebrate these accomplishments with you. Let’s face it, unless your friends own a mental health practice, it’s hard to relate to the roller coaster ride you are on. That is why we created TheraThrive! TheraThrive is a community of therapy practice owners who come together once a month on Zoom and connect in our online community. Now is a good time to join—we will be adding a 90-day goal accountability group to the membership in 2025.
6. A Better Path Forward
Imagine a practice where you’re not drowning in busywork. A practice where you can focus on what you love—helping clients, mentoring your team, and building your legacy. A practice that doesn’t leave you in a constant state of stress and overwhelm. A practice where everyone can thrive.
You didn’t build your practice to DIY yourself a stressful job with terrible hours—you built it to make an impact and have financial success.
Ready to Reclaim Your Time?
At Move Forward Virtual Assistants, we specialize in taking the overwhelm off your plate. Whether it’s billing, scheduling, or intake support, our Certified Mental Health Admin Professionals (CMHAP) and TheraReps are here to help.
Take the first step:
Consider the Practice Efficiency Blueprint. Let’s identify the bottlenecks in your practice and create a roadmap to freedom.
Here’s what’s included in your Practice Efficiency Blueprint:
90-minute Efficiency Assessment with an MFVA operational consultant
A review of your software tools, systems, and workflows
A custom, step-by-step blueprint with recommendations for automation efficiencies, better technology, reduced redundancy, and HIPAA compliance.
You will be ready to bring on support with a more streamlined practice!
If you are ready to free up your time in 2025, this is the perfect Black Friday Deal for you!
🎁 Get the Practice Efficiency Blueprint for FREE ($595 value) when you sign up for any of MFVA’s subscription services by 11/30.
This Black Friday Deal is open to 10 practices and expires on 11/30
Because doing it all doesn’t make you better—it just makes you tired.
