Key Point

• Recognizing what we dislike about our work can help us be more efficient with those tasks and keep our business on track.

Over the course of 35 years, I’ve worked in both mainstream and complementary medicine. Each role has been fulfilling and brought me joy. There is nothing more rewarding than a client leaving the office pain-free. However, there are some aspects of my work I don’t enjoy. Most of us, no matter what the field of work or how fulfilling it is, have tasks we don’t like. It’s not all roses. With that in mind, here are four things I don’t like about my work that might resonate with you and some reminders of why we need to carry through with the hardest or most mundane professional tasks to ensure we become better practitioners.

1. Charting

At the end of a busy day with clients, I’m tired. There’s dinner to make, chores to be done, and my teenagers to check in with. I tell myself, “I need time to relax and put my feet up,” or “I think I will tidy up my desk before I start charting.”

However, I am ethically bound to write them up, and the thought of a lawyer reading through poorly written notes does provide motivation. I know if I leave it until the next day, I won’t remember the steps of each person’s session. “When Sarah was on the table and remembered that fall as a kid, where were my hands? At the pelvis or the chest?”

Flip It: Finding out and acknowledging the areas of work we don’t like is the first step to making changes. Charting is a prime example. When I acknowledged I didn’t like charting, I looked instead to identify two benefits of charting. One benefit is I remember to research new information or anatomy that intrigued or puzzled me. For example, a client shared with me she had polio as a child. She recently discovered research into post-polio syndrome that reported an increased likelihood of having a heart attack. Seven years ago, in her mid-60s, she had a heart attack. It was interesting to read up on this topic. Another benefit of this task is that through charting, I can reflect on what I could have improved and what went well. At the end of a long day, it’s uplifting to note the positive changes and gratitude from my clients.

2. Awkward Conversations

Whether we run a business or are employed, we sometimes have difficult and awkward conversations.  

I had a client who saw significant improvement in her irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) over a three-year period. After a break during the onset of COVID-19, she came back for treatment. The morning after our session, her IBS worsened. On the phone, she asked me if the craniosacral therapy (CST) session could have made it worse. I said it was possible. It was hard to say this because I had enjoyed working with her and had seen good results. I remember closing my eyes and feeling the lurch in my stomach as I gave her my honest answer. I felt sad and rejected when she canceled her next appointment using my online scheduler. There was a temptation to call her and explain how it may not have been CST, to offer her a free session to see if I could “fix it.” 

Inevitably, clients are late to their appointments. Even with a late policy in place, some will still ask for their full time on the table—explaining to clients that it’s not possible in that situation can be very hard for me. I have a strong desire to please people and will try to avoid upsetting or disappointing someone, leading me to do things like work through lunch, work late, and run late for the rest of the day. 

Flip It: Journaling and reflecting on the aspects of my work I’m not enjoying—such as disappointment with a client canceling, a time when I ran late, impacting other clients because of my discomfort in setting a boundary—has helped me grow as a practitioner. Acknowledging that I am in control of seeing my clients on time, no matter what is happening with my clients, has really helped me.

If we continue to struggle or avoid issues such as having an awkward conversation with a client, the best solution may be to seek support from a paid professional, whether that entails bodywork, counseling, or coaching. Recognizing the barriers to honest conversations with your clients is important to the health of your business.

3. Dealing with Sticky Finance Issues

It is a rare person who enjoys sitting down to do their taxes. Even though I’ve been preparing business taxes for 20 years, it’s no less of an irksome task. Not only is there an annual financial reckoning, but we also have our day-to-day bookkeeping to do. Not keeping it up-to-date makes our tax forms even more overwhelming.

The other thing I don’t like about my work that’s almost on par with charting is raising my rates. It’s a sense of being conflicted: On one hand, receiving a pay raise feels good, but on the other hand, letting all my clients know they will need to pay more is not enjoyable. I recently raised my rates and deciding on the email’s wording took over an hour and weeks of procrastination. 

It is common practice to have a 24-hour cancellation policy, which means that individuals who cancel with fewer than 24-hours’ notice or who don’t show up for their appointment still pay the full amount for their session. I’ve observed a range of responses from clients—from the client who pays without any fuss to the client who asks, “How much do I owe you?” to the worst one, the client who refuses to pay, listing multiple excuses as to why they missed their appointment. The hardest thing for me to say is, “You missed your appointment and did not give me the required 24-hour notice. How would you like to take care of payment?” Again, I run into my desire to people please and my avoidance of confrontation.

Flip It: For the sticky financial tasks that are not getting done, explore professional help from an accountant or financial adviser or talk it through with a trusted colleague. Gaining the support of your local colleagues when raising your rates can give you that boost you need to send out the email, while maybe inspiring your colleagues to raise their rates too.

4. Special Issues for Sole Proprietors

When we get sick or something unexpected happens, we must reschedule clients. It’s hard when clients are disappointed and express that they rely on our services for their well-being. When we are sick or have an emergency to deal with, it can be overwhelming to find the time to reschedule clients; plus, we aren’t getting paid sick time.

There may be some of you out there who love to wash sheets. I don’t! I think for most of us, this is a daily chore we have to do.

Another pet peeve is dealing with telemarketers who get our contact information from our business license. It’s annoying to be on so many lists and constantly be hounded through the phone and email for cleaning services, health-care plans, loans, etc.  

Flip It: Discussions with trusted colleagues can help us strategize changes we need to make within our business. For example, a colleague told me she finds it draining to have multiple conversations rescheduling clients because of sickness. I told her I had found moving to an online booking system very helpful. Now, when I need to reschedule, I can email or text my clients, asking them to pick a time that works well for them, and they can reschedule themselves. It can be a relief to know we are not alone in our challenges as bodyworkers.

Why We Need to Tackle the Jobs We Don’t Like

When we don’t attend to the things we don’t like to do, our business tends to get messy. Things that don’t usually happen start happening, like clients forgetting their appointments, more cancellations, a slowdown in new clients, and decreased income. 

When Robyn Scherr and I were writing Elements of a Successful Therapeutic Business, we heard this reflected many times from our colleagues. We refer to these as signs of a leaky “business container.” The business container is the structure and boundaries we create to ensure our therapeutic business runs smoothly and efficiently.

How can you make sure you don’t have a leaky business container? Start by turning the tables on how you feel about the jobs you don’t like and appreciating their value—even if they are your least favorite thing of the day.

Finding a way to deal with the things we don’t like improves the success of our business. These insights provide great learning and growth opportunities that make us better practitioners. We may continue to dislike certain tasks in our business, but as long as we find ways to get them done, we can maintain a healthy, successful business, and our hands and hearts get to do the work we love.