Updated, July 13, 2020

As I was scheduling my week recently, I decided to take note of the systems that keep my life and business running. There are more than I realized!

Today, I'm sharing with you the tools that I use and love for organizing not only my work, but also my life--which includes my personal soul care, cooking, parenting, errands, and all the things that adults do on a daily basis.

I know it's a long list, and my intent is not to give you a roundup of tools you will never use. So, instead of glossing over this list, I invite you to choose one system that could genuinely simplify your tasks, and give it a try.

ConvertKit

ConverKit powers all of my emails. The options available for sign ups, sending opt-ins, creating funnels, and segmenting are extensive. And, if you have no idea what any of these terms mean, it's a user-friendly platform with tons of helpful video tutorials. Learn more about ConvertKit.

Zoom

If you hold online meetings or sessions on a regular basis, then Zoom is for you. I use Zoom for all of my live meetings, because of its recording, screen sharing, chatting, meeting registration, as well as viewing features. Zoom has a free starter level. Take a look at Zoom's features.

Zapier

Zapier, because you need to send yourself a text message when you get a new email, or you need to send yourself an email when an overdue invoice gets paid, or you can't imagine how you lived so long without making your apps mingle. I use Zapier to gather analytics, seamlessly integrate ConverKit forms into my websites, automate meeting setups, among other things. Try Zapier for free, and see how it will save you time.

Asana

I use Asana to organize my life, work, and thoughts. Take control of your post-its, and get a grown-up system for keeping track of all. the. things. Seriously. My content schedule, launch schedule, client sytems, to-do lists, and team tasks are all on Asana. With the option to create lists or boards for your projects, it works for the most organized as well as the aesthetically discriminating. If you manage a group practice or agency team, Asana's options for collaboration will simplify your team workload and communication. Asana is free! Check it out.

I highly recommend this system for organizing your Asana dashboard, adapted for your client onboarding, note writing, referral, and other therapy tasks, of course.

Trello

Trello is an organizational system that allows you to prioritize and organize everything from meal plans to monthly goals using boards. Manage a team by attaching files, commenting on progress, and staying otherwise up-to-date.. In Trello, I prioritize my Asana tasks, and schedule my days. My weekly schedule lives in Trello and (Bonus!) integrates with my Google calendar. You need this. Sign up for Trello's free level.

Milanote

Milanote is a tool for organizing creative projects into beautiful visual boards. By design, it feels a lot like working on the wall in a creative studio - visual, tactile, and sometimes, a bit messy. Milanote is a great fit for designers, writers, and bosses who work with remote teams. Learn more, and sign up for a free account.

Typeform

Create surveys, ask for feedback, or put together an exit interview for clients or colleagues using Typeform. There are so many possibilities for using this platform to gather information that informs your business practices. Learn more, and start for free.

Google Drive

Google's forms, sheets, and documents save my life on a daily basis. I am able to easily put together a library download, create team interviews, manage member information, store graphics, etc. Google's free services rival many paid options on the market. If you need more features and flexibility, Google for business starts at $12/month, and can be configured for HIPAA compliance.

Pocket

Pocket is my go-to application for saving content. With the mobile app, as well as the browser extension, it's simple to put information "in your pocket" that you'd like to grab later. I use tags to organize content, so that I can find it easily. After several years, I'm still using the free version. Check out Pocket.

Tiny Scanner

Use your phone's camera to create single or multiple-page documents, and save them as pdfs. Tiny Scanner lets you bypass a physical scanner in a pinch, and quickly email documents. Use Tiny Scanner to send a signed document, store a template you need often, save a recipe from your favorite magazine, etc. Take a look at the app.

Canva

Beautiful graphics are a necessity for therapists with an online presence. Create images for all your social media platforms, and explore your brand's style using Canva. No need for a design degree, either! Start free.

Buffer + Planoly

Buffer is a social media scheduling platform that allows you to plan ahead and avoid social media posting stress. Linkedin page posts, Twitter articles, Facebook group updates--you name it. If it's a social media post, it goes in my Buffer queue. Set aside one to two hours per week to fill your Buffer queue, and forget about social media for the week! Learn more about Buffer.

Planoly is a beautiful platform for scheduling THE beautiful platform--Instagram. Plan your images, so that they create a gorgeous grid over time. Take a look at Planoly.

Both Buffer and Planoly offer a free starter level.

Bullet Journal System

The Bullet Journal is a pen-and-paper system for scheduling as well as organizing your information. The system teaches you how to create a daily, monthly, and future view of your tasks and events, and allows for task prioritization as well as keeping lists and ideas. Easily find what you need in your table of contents. Incorporate the system with any notebook; although, there is an official Bullet Journal, should you be interested.

I use a Bullet Journal as my daily agenda and can't-live-without recording system. Learn more about the Bullet Journal.

Cultivate What Matters

For setting and staying on top of my goals, I use PowerSheets, One-Year Intentional Goal Planner, from The Cultivate Shop. They guide me to create action plans and S.M.A.R.T. goals, as well as hold progress check-ins with myself, all with an inspiring attitude of embracing imperfection. I highly recommend these sheets as a lovely system for accountability as well as creating and sustaining a vision for professional progress.

Let's Chat

Which tool do you already use? How do you like it?
Which tool sounds like it would be the perfect fit for you?

How to Keep Your Therapy Communications Secure, While Working Remotely: An Interview with iplum CEO Pankaj Gupta

Pankaj Gupta, CEO of iPlum, joins me for this post. I interview him about iPlum’s mission, the services the company offers, as well as why iPlum is the right fit for therapists in private practice.

If you haven’t already read Part 1 of my partnership with iPlum, see the five benefits of using a HIPAA-compliant phone solution.

5 Ways Vicarious Trauma Can Sneak Up on You as a Psychotherapist

Vicarious trauma is a term that is not unfamiliar to most therapists. Many of us were warned about VT in grad school, have attended self-care workshops that promised to resolve the effects of VT, or have simply resigned ourselves to white-knuckling it through each day. But do you really know how to identify vicarious trauma? Can you pick up on sneaky warning signs that VT is already present in your life?

When You Don’t Want To Do Therapy Anymore: Ten Tips for Rekindling Career Energy, for Therapists Who Are Burned Out

Recently, I published two articles on the topic: Reasons why therapists are leaving the mental health field. In them, I covered ten of the most common reasons therapists are choosing to change their career path. (If you’d like to read those posts, here are the links to part one and part two.)

There are many therapists who are living through challenges in their work and career, and yet have not chosen to, or do not want to, leave the field. If this describes you, then keep reading for ten steps that will help you rekindle some career energy.

Five More Reasons Why Therapists Are Leaving The Mental Health Field

In this post, I continue listing reasons why therapists are considering leaving the mental health field, because there are many. And, if you are one of the therapists considering leaving the field, please know: You are not alone. If you missed the first post on this topic, head here, and read that first.

Five Reasons Therapists Are Leaving the Mental Health Field

Each week, I coach at least one therapist who mentions that they are considering leaving the therapy field. This sentiment seems to have increased among psychotherapists in the past two years with challenges related to COVID (for therapists and clients), including a) sickness, b) working from home, c) relational and family transitions, among others.

Of course, each therapist has their own particular reasons for their desire to leave their profession. Also, from my interaction with thousands of therapists each week, I have noticed several common challenges emerge in conversations about leaving the field.

How to Find and Live The Refreshed Therapist Life

As a clinical supervisor and consultant to therapists, I meet many clinicians who find themselves burned out, bored, or numb after years of showing up for their clients, and neglecting, to some degree, to show up for themselves. The reality of our work is that in order to sustain and enjoy it, we must intentionally deal with the nuances of what it means to function as a therapist inside and outside the therapy room.

As therapists, we have the opportunity to be vocal about the ways we live out the intersection of life and work. Our voices generate more expansive and encouraging conversations that can lead to a sense of flow in navigating our personal and therapist selves.

How To Engage In Social Media Self Care: Eight Steps For Therapists

Social media posting is a must if you’re a therapist marketing a private practice. Even if you’re not a business owner, you may find that your social media is taking up more time than you’d prefer (gentle nudge: How’s your screen time report looking this week?).

Hey—like therapy, this is a judgment-free zone. It is also a “let’s be our best selves” zone. And, to show up as our best selves, self care is essential.

Technology-Assisted Clinical Supervision: Benefits, Challenges, and Regulations

If you’re a clinical supervisor navigating the delivery of supervision right now, you may have encountered some challenges, including state, institutional, and technological limitations. The information I present in this post is intended to encourage the legal and ethical use of technology-assisted (distance) supervision in a variety of settings.

Dr. AnnaLynn Schooley and I recently discussed this subject as it relates to our experiences and our development as supervisors. Dr. Schooley is a LMFT and LMHC in the state of Florida, and carries licenses in additional states. She serves as a supervisor for master and doctoral-level MFT students in her role as professor for Capella University.

Start on Time, End on Time: HOW TO MANAGE Your Private Practice THERAPY Sessions

Whether you’re 6 or 60, there’s one thing everyone hates when going to the doctor; and no, it’s not getting pricked with needles. It’s waiting to get pricked with needles. Your appointment is at 2, but as 2, 2:05, 2:10 rolls by, you ruminate “I had an appointment. If the doctor wasn’t going to be available, why schedule at this time? Apparently, my time isn’t valuable.”

As our lives are perhaps more rushed than ever, waiting for any appointment or meeting is a hassle. However, a tardy counseling session is qualitatively worse than other late meetings. Getting started late is a broken promise in a relationship that needs trust in spades.

The Problem With Loving Your Work: The Role Of Expectations, Wages, and Passion

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the role of work in my life, as well as how I relate to work. This train of thought naturally leads to evaluating how well I am doing engaging with people (and myself) as more than a worker.

How much time and mental energy does my work take from me, or give to me?

How much of my drive and motivation does my work inspire?

These are a few of the questions I am asking in order to continue my mission for myself and other therapists: To live and work well.

10 Therapist (and Child)-Approved Activities to Support Kids with Anxiety

If you’re a mental health professional working with children, you will probably agree that many of the calls you receive from parents have something to do with anxiety or stress. Child therapists have the amazingly important yet challenging task of educating and supporting kids in a therapeutic setting that is both productive and fun. When working with children as young as preschool age, it can be a very daunting task to keep things fresh and exciting week after week! So, how do we help children develop the coping skills they need while keeping them engaged (and not glancing at their watch)? Here are ten therapist (and child!)-approved, fun activities that address anxiety-based disorders and promote relaxation and stress reduction in children:

The Art and Science of Therapy as Craft, Part 2: Crafting Questions

For this week's video chat, Dr. AnnaLynn Schooley returns to discuss therapy questions as an intentional craft, and she covers four basic question types: single answer, open, closed, relational, and circular.

Therapist Self-Disclosure Simplified

Self-disclosure is a touchy subject among therapists. Some therapists never self-disclose, while others feel stifled by having a rigid boundary around self-disclosure. As I consider self-disclosure in therapy, I ask myself, “When is self-disclosure appropriate?” “How does self-disclosure deepen the therapist-client connection?"

Solution Focused Brief Couples Therapy Tips, with Elliott Connie

Elliott Connie is a Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) practitioner, author, and speaker. He developed an approach to couples work that distills the essence of SFBT into guiding principles for working with couples.

As a therapist who loves working with couples, I am always interested in ways to enhance my couples therapy skills. For this reason, I invited Elliott to explain the reasons why SFBT is his choice for working with clients, as well as how it creates a contrasting experience for couples that have a history in therapy.

Family of Origin Exploration for the Therapist: How to Create Your Genogram

In article three of the Family of Origin for the Therapist series, you learned 3 simple steps for how to begin family of origin (FOO) exploration: 1) read Bowen’s chapter, 2) observe your FOO experience, and 3) reflect on what you learned. Hopefully, your curiosity has led to significant understanding.

Understanding is the foundation of Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST). Bowen (1985) believed that if clients could understand themselves as members of their FOOs and as created by their histories, they could begin and continue significant change.

In today’s post, I offer the next step in developing understanding: Creating your genogram. I explain how to create a basic genogram that you can expand as you continue your exploration.

5 Tips for Keeping Up with Therapy Paperwork

In my interaction with therapists as a mentor and supervisor, I’ve learned that one of the main struggles therapists face is having too much work and not enough time. Many therapists find themselves overwhelmed by documentation responsibilities, in particular; this includes completing client notes, referrals, billing, treatment plans, etc.

In today’s post, I offer several strategies for keeping up with paperwork, so that you can stay on track and avoid the stress of falling behind.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Client Types, and Their Relevance To Every Session

In her 1989 article, Of Visitors, Complainants, and Customers, Insoo Kim Berg details three types of “client-therapist relationships” (p. 21). Her wording is significant, because she is not labeling clients; she is describing them in terms of their relationship to the therapist, the process of therapy, and the problem. These three relationships have undergirded Solution-Focused Brief Therapy theory and interventions over the years, although they are not consistently discussed in newer works. The client relationship types are widely applicable to therapy, regardless of theoretical orientation, making them one of the most useful concepts in marriage and family therapy.

In this post, I present a review of these client types, and I explain their relevance to and usefulness for all therapeutic sessions.

How to Ethically Offer Coaching as a Licensed Therapist: A Step-By-Step Guide

One of the most common professional goals for my clients is expanding their private practice to include life coaching services. As professionals with a depth of knowledge in personal development and goal achievement strategies, therapists are ideal candidates for the coaching profession. Despite this near perfect fit, there are some important ethical consideration for therapists when offering coaching services alongside therapy, or when choosing to become professional coaches. In this post, I focus on offering solutions for these complications, in an effort to help you ethically practice coaching.

5 Step Plan for De-escalating an In-Session couple Argument

Most of us, therapists, have been there: A simple disagreement turns into an all-out screaming match in the middle of a therapy session. This is, thankfully, not a common scenario for most therapists, but it’s also not rare--especially for therapists who specialize in couple therapy.

In this post, I cover steps for disrupting an argument occurring in a couple therapy session. Intervention on the part of the therapist is necessary during some conflicts, because the arguments can cause further damage in the couple relationship. And, if therapists allow arguments to continue for too long, they can affect the couple’s sense of safety when in therapy.

The main goals of intervention in this case are to: