How to Reclaim Time, Focus & Motivation in Your Podiatry Week
Do you ever finish your week feeling mentally fried, emotionally drained, and wondering where your time actually went? You’re not alone, and you’re not lazy. You may just need an energy audit, not another productivity hack.
In this solo episode, I unpack a practical way to reclaim control of your energy, motivation, and mental clarity as a podiatrist, especially if you’re running a clinic or leading a team.
Whether you’re feeling the early signs of burnout or just want to be more efficient and fulfilled in your work week, this episode will show you how to align your energy with your priorities.
Why Time Management Isn’t Enough
We all obsess over time, calendars, schedules, and to-do lists, but time is only one piece of the puzzle.
If you’re emotionally flat or mentally drained, more time won’t help. In fact, it often leads to shallow work, procrastination, and frustration.
What matters more? Energy management.
Because two podiatrists can have the same schedule, but one finishes the day energised, while the other ends up completely wrecked.
What Is an Energy Audit?
It’s a simple weekly check-in that helps you pinpoint what energises you and what drains you.
Here are the 4 key questions to ask yourself:
1. What energised me this week?
2. What drained me this week?
3. What felt easy and fulfilling?
4. What felt heavy and repetitive?
You can rate tasks, people, meetings—even decisions—as energising, neutral, or draining.
Over time, this becomes a roadmap to better structure your week and protect your mental bandwidth.
The 4 Energy Zones Every Podiatrist Should Know
Zone 1 – Recharge Activities
These are your rest and recovery moments, walking, reading, laughing with the team, or even having lunch in peace.
Important note: Collapsing in front of Netflix with a drink is not the same as recharging.
Zone 2 – High-Energy Work
This is your genius zone. For many podiatrists, this includes seeing favourite patients, brainstorming marketing ideas, or presenting to peers.
Zone 3 – Low-Level Essentials
Admin, rostering, accounts—necessary but uninspiring. These need to be managed, but not allowed to dominate your day.
Zone 4 – Energy Vampires
People or tasks that drain you. Think: toxic referrers, micromanaging staff, or endless meetings with no clear agenda.
Common Energy Traps in Podiatry Clinics
Back-to-back patients with zero breaks (a fast track to burnout).
Unstructured admin time, bleeding into your evenings.
Toxic or misaligned team members who drain your leadership energy.
Saying “yes” to everything dilutes your impact and motivation.
No creative outlet in your weekly routine.
If any of those sound familiar, it’s time to realign how your week flows—not just what’s on your calendar, but where your energy is going.
Practical Ways to Apply the Energy Audit
1. Time Block for Energy, Not Tasks
Reserve your most focused times (e.g., mornings) for high-energy work. Don’t waste them on admin or email.
2. Guard Your Recharge Time
Breaks are essential. In my own clinic, we created a space called Margaritaville, a no-interruption chill zone. Your version doesn’t need beanbags and palm trees, but it does need boundaries.
3. Delegate or Automate Draining Tasks
If someone else can do it, and it sucks your soul, delegate it. Use tech to automate where possible.
4. Batch Creative Work
Choose one morning a week to focus on growth strategy, marketing, or team development.
5. Review Weekly
Take 15 minutes every Friday to reflect on what energised you, what drained you, and what changes you’ll make next week. Progress > perfection.
Bonus Insight: The Law of Diminishing Intentions
If you’ve listened to this episode and thought, “This sounds great, I’ll start next week”,… You probably won’t.
The longer you delay taking action, the lower the chances of ever doing it.
Start this week. Even a 10-minute reflection can make a massive difference.
I’d Love to Hear From You
If you do your first energy audit this week, send me an email at tf@tysonfranklin.com or tyson@podiatrylegends.com and let me know what changes you’re making and how it’s impacting your work and life.
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