How to Decrease Stress as a Clinic Owner in 2024 (And Beyond)

Owning a clinic isn’t for the faint-hearted.

Between managing your team, looking after patients, and keeping the business afloat, it’s easy to feel like you’re constantly treading water. And if you're reading this in 2024 (or even 2025), chances are you're looking for ways to feel a little less overwhelmed.

You’re in the right place.

In this blog, we’ll walk through some powerful questions and reflections that can help you reduce stress and regain control over your focus, time, and energy.

Start Here: 3 Questions to Reflect On

Before diving in, grab a pen and paper. Answering these questions honestly will help you gain immediate clarity.

1. What do you focus on that makes you feel stressed or overwhelmed?

Think back over the:

• Last quarter

• Last month

• Last week

• Last 24 hours

Write down everything that made you feel overwhelmed — split it into two columns: Business and Personal.

Common stressors around this time of year for clinic owners include:

• “Will cash flow be strong enough over the holiday period?”

• “Is January going to be busy enough?”

• “What if we’re understaffed due to sick leave or holidays?”

Whatever it is, get it down on paper.

2. What do you spend time thinking about that you can’t control or influence?

Look over the list you just created.

Now, highlight or mark the items that are completely outside your control. These are the thoughts stealing your energy — and they’ve got to go.

Then, mark the things you can influence but not control. For example:

“What if a team member leaves in Q1?”

You can’t control it — but you can influence it. Perhaps by:

• Creating a magnetic workplace culture

• Offering competitive pay and recognition

• Having regular check-ins to understand team needs

Estimate your level of influence. For me, I’d say I have 80% influence over retention because we’ve intentionally built a place people want to stay.

Finally, mark the things you fully control with a little ‘C’. These should become your top priorities.

3. What are you stressed about purely because you left it too late?

Let’s be honest — some of the stress we feel is self-inflicted.

We let important-but-not-urgent tasks slide... until suddenly, they’re important and urgent. Then we’re scrambling.

Think of that uni assignment you had 8 weeks to complete but only started 48 hours before the due date — Red Bull and regrets flying everywhere.

It’s not that the task itself was overwhelming… it's that we left it too long.

So ask yourself:

• Which of my current stressors were avoidable with better planning?

• What could I do now to prevent this next month or quarter?

Bonus Question: What Did Life Look Like When You Felt Most Inspired?

This question is gold.

Think back to when you felt the most inspired and energised as a clinic owner. What did your life look like then?

Consider both:

• Professionally: What were you working on? What was your role? What did your team dynamics look like?

• Personally: What were your routines, health habits, social life, and energy levels like?

Now… what’s one or two things you could bring back into your life right now?

The goal? To do more of the things that fill your cup — and less of the things that drain it.

Key Takeaways to Decrease Stress in 2024

If you’ve followed this exercise properly, you’ve likely uncovered a few blind spots. Here’s a quick summary:

✅ Stop giving energy to what you can’t control or influence.
✅ Double down on what you can control and prioritise where your influence is strongest.
✅ Don’t let the important-but-not-urgent tasks become tomorrow’s emergency.
✅ Reignite the habits, roles, and routines that used to inspire you.
✅ Plan your time with intention — week by week, quarter by quarter.

Final Thought

You didn’t start your clinic to feel more stressed and overwhelmed.

You did it for:

• Time freedom

• Financial reward

• And the opportunity to love what you do

Make 2024 the year you get back to why you started. Choose joy, reduce stress, and focus your energy on what really matters.