You may not think your bad practice management habits are hurting your practice, but they are – in ways you may not even be aware of.

None of us are perfect—we all make mistakes. The key is to not repeat them. Yet there are plenty of us who continually do the wrong thing – and sometimes we’re not even aware we’re doing it. But whether you’re guilty of letting your travel receipts pile up, ignoring social media as a way to market your practice or not checking staff references, you need to break the bad habits that are restricting your practice growth.

1. Not Protecting Your Data

This isn’t just a bad habit—it’s a dangerous one. All practices need to regularly back up their data, create policies for staff use of social media and the Internet, and install software to monitor and protect their networks.

2. Sleepless Nights

We all wish we had more hours in the day. But it’s a bad idea to create them by staying up in the early hours of the morning. Studies show that sleeping less than five hours a day doubles your risk of heart attacks or strokes. The good news is that even one night of restful sleep can make a big difference in your performance. Regular exercise, healthy eating habits and a consistent bedtime routine all help make it easier to wind down at the end of the day.

3. Ignoring Mobile Marketing

Most healthcare practices don’t have mobile-optimised websites, making them simply unprepared for the mobile revolution. Responsive web design provides users with an optimal viewing experience by offering easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning and scrolling.

4. Not Having A Blog On Your Website

If it seems like just too much work to put a blog on your site, consider this: Adding fresh original content to your site—several times a week is ideal—will help you rise organically in search engine rankings and can help you to create leads. Stressed about what to write? Think about what patients want from you: health tips, inside info and practice news.

5. Thinking Short Term

As healthcare practice owners, we’re constantly busy putting out fires, as well as having to deal with the day-to-day duties of running our practice. But if you don’t set aside time to sit, think and plan for the future of your practice, you might not have one. Schedule some time every week, even if it’s only an hour, to review your progress and your goals. And make time once a quarter (at minimum) to get out of the office for an uninterrupted, in-depth strategy session with your key people.