Importance of Dedicated Appointments? Why Do They Matter?
- Clifton Fuller
- 6 hours ago
- 6 min read
Time is life. How we manage our time has a direct impact on our lives. How we spend our time can increase the quality and happiness of life. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot” (Michael Altshuler)
Everyone's life is busy. The more responsibilities we juggle (whether work, family, church, friends, home, vehicle care, medical or dental appointments, etc.), the less time we seem to have to relax and the more stressed we become.
Having working systems in place supports clearer thinking and smoother days, while disorganization increases mental load and makes it harder to stay on track. Organizing our time effectively helps us focus, discard unnecessary distractions, discover the best path to achieve our goals and find time for what we consider to be important in life. Disorganization steals our time (life)...inch by inch, minutes by minute. Who hasn't become really frustrated when they couldn't find car keys, a sock or shoe, or that favorite shirt because it's not where it's supposed to be? That's why it's important to develop habits and plan systems that make our life better. “A plan is what, a schedule is when. It takes both a plan and a schedule to get things done.” (Peter Turla)
I am not a techie type of person at all, yet I have realized that using automation to my advantage has saved me valuable time that I was able to use for more important things in my life! I like what Michael Hyatt says, “Automation is solving the problem once and then putting it on autopilot.”
I had two personal experiences that showed me how important automation unexpectedly became in my life.
The first was when I was in grad school. My wife and I were so busy, juggling studies, young children, jobs, finances, activities, and daily living. We were constantly busy and began to look for answers on ways to simplify and organize our lives. Some friends invited us to go to a meeting with them about building financial security in life. We were stretched financially due to grad school and wondered if anything we might learn would benefit us. The speakers at the conference were major financial gurus, and we happily accepted the invitation, using it as excuse to take a break from our busy schedule and possibly learn something valuable.
One of the speakers was a man, unknown to us at the time. His name was David Bach. His presentation inspired us. He offered attendees a special pricing for his book, "The Automatic Millionaire". We bought it, took the book home to read, and immediately began to apply its 'automatic' recommendations. We began to test the truth of what he said to see if the ideas actually worked as easily as he indicated. They did.
In Bach's book, he shares simple and practical advice on ways to automatically set up systems to financially plan, pay bills (easier and earlier than expected), and how automation (setting up a system once and then letting it run automatically) saves valuable time and money. His description on Amazon states, "This secret is a timeless system and tiny changes that produce results. You don't need to make a lot of money, a budget, willpower, or be that interested in money. You set your plan up in less than an hour. The plan works automatically---while you sleep." What he said was true and he became a hero to us as we began to gain more control of our lives and more time.
As we began to discover success, and joy, in setting up other one-time systems he recommended, we began to think about applying his recommendations in other aspects of our live to test them out there, as well. What we discovered was that using automation could be a great time saver, lessened our stress, and just made life easier.
The second example occurred when the Covid pandemic hit. Suddenly, the clients I was seeing were unable to come to my office, some became ill but still needed counseling, and my physician said to 'get out of the office before you're exposed to this Covid stuff that we know very little about'. As mentioned, I am not a techie type of person so the idea of being forced to see clients over my computer was unsettling to me. Covid forced me to do it, however. What I unexpectedly discovered was that by moving to an online system (with automated intakes, payment systems, logins, and scheduling) allowed me to continue to help my clients even if I could not be with them in-person in my office. Even after Covid passed, when I planned to go back to my office, the greatest percentage of my clients said they wanted to continue to schedule appointments online due to the time they saved, travel to and from my office, childcare, and cost savings. I was surprised but also comfortable providing online services by then, and my life changed positively in ways I hadn't expected. I was also able to offer services to those who had difficulty traveling or getting to my office due to distance or circumstances.
Why am I telling you this? Because the same automation principles apply to setting up dedicated appointments, whether with a counselor, physician...or numerous other groups, events, or professionals. What is the real importance of dedicated appointments?
Keeping a steady rhythm in counseling means you’re not juggling calendars or squeezing in last‑minute openings, which naturally saves time and keeps therapy from becoming another task on your plate. It also takes the mental load out of “figuring out when to go,” making it easier to stay committed and show up with a clearer head. And because consistent sessions help you maintain momentum — rather than restarting or losing ground — you end up using your time and money more efficiently while building real progress in a way that feels calm, steady, and doable.
A ‘dedicated appointment’ is when a patient reserves a specific time to schedule their recurring appointments in a specific time, whether weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. That time is then reserved and removed as an available time. Other patients cannot schedule at that time as it is dedicated appointment, specifically for that patient.
Recurring appointments allow you to focus on accomplishing counseling goals and find appointments at regular meeting times that work best in your schedule. Clients who set up dedicated appointments are more likely to resolve issues permanently and be in counseling for briefer periods of time. They tend to be positively focused on finding insights, tools and incorporating permanent resolution skills into their lives.
There are basically four reasons to schedule dedicated appointments:
It saves time to schedule once for multiple recurring sessions. For example: rather than logging in six times to schedule six appointments, log in once and schedule six appointments (for weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly time slots) at one log-in.
Clients or businesses may need specific appointment times due to family or job demands.
Clients may be highly focused and dedicated to addressing life or work issues as quickly as possible.
It helps organize a client’s or their family’s schedule more effectively. Everyone knows the time and day of a dedicated appointment and knows to schedule around it if other activities arise.
Here's other ways it helps:
Families with children don’t want children to miss school or they need evening appointments.
Some want personal appointments when their children are in school during the day.
Some professionals want appointments after work to avoid interfering with their work.
In contrast, other professionals prefer counseling during lunch breaks, so it doesn’t impact their work or time in the evening with their families. Clifton schedules his lunch later in the day at 2 pm to meet the needs of these professionals.
Some individuals need or prefer morning or afternoon appointments.
Businesses that schedule dedicated consulting appointments usually address work-related issues for their employees or managers. They want to schedule these at times that work in their business group.
Call us at 210-970-1511 for more information or assistance scheduling dedicated appointments.
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