Busy by Design Plans: How to Use Downtime to Drive Revenue and Make Uptime Smoother for Your Team

In today’s fast-paced dermatology industry, treatments can sometimes feel more transactional than transformational. While advanced technology and streamlined operations are essential to the success of your practice, they can sometimes overshadow the intentional, human element that truly builds patient trust and loyalty.

What happens when schedules are lighter or when daily tasks are complete? No one enjoys being bored, but it can be hard to motivate employees to do more if you have not intentionally set expectations about how they can use downtime more effectively to help drive revenue and make busier times smoother. You and your team infuse more purpose into daily operations while empowering everyone at the practice to drive both revenue and remarkable patient outcomes using a simple but powerful tool: the Busy by Design Plan.

What Is a Busy by Design Plan and Why Does It Matter?

A Busy by Design Plan is a proactive strategy that maximizes downtime by engaging your team in meaningful tasks that support both business and patient care objectives. Rather than waiting for the phone to ring or the next patient to walk in, your team can optimize slower periods by engaging in purposeful tasks that support revenue growth, operational efficiency, and patient satisfaction. This forward-thinking approach helps turn idle time into revenue-building opportunities while boosting team morale and collaboration.

Benefits of a Busy by Design Plan

1. Better Patient Outcomes: When staff intentionally prepare for patients by reviewing charts, aligning on treatment goals, or refining care plans, they are positioned to offer a higher level of personalized care. This preparation helps build rapport and foster loyalty, potentially leading to more frequent visits and improved long-term results.

2. White-Glove Service: Being intentional with downtime allows your team to go above and beyond for patients. Whether through a personalized follow-up, thoughtful gesture, or custom treatment plan, these small touches can set your practice apart from competitors and enhance perceived value.

3. A Greater Sense of Purpose: Employees find greater satisfaction when they see themselves as active contributors to a larger mission, rather than as mere task executors. Involving them in initiatives such as marketing or process improvement can strengthen their connection to the practice’s broader vision.

4. Shared Ownership: When team members lead initiatives during downtime, workload is distributed, capacity increases, and leadership skills are honed. Over time, this strengthens internal culture and builds operational resilience.

5. A Stronger Practice During High Demand: Proactively using slow periods to improve workflows, update systems, or refine training enables greater efficiency when business increases. This positions the practice to scale and adapt effectively.

Building In Collaboration and Intentionality 

Creating an effective Busy by Design Plan starts with team engagement. Integrate this mindset into your standard operating procedures (SOPs) using the following strategies:

Departmental Projects: Assign experience-enhancing or revenue-driving projects to teams based on expertise. For instance, the front desk could refine membership offerings and patient outreach, while clinical staff update post-care protocols.

Team Buy-In: Engage staff in brainstorming and planning. Their ownership promotes accountability and fosters a collaborative atmosphere.

Clear Objectives: Define measurable, realistic goals for downtime activities—such as updating 20 charts weekly or reactivating lapsed patients. Post initiatives visibly so all team members are aware of expectations and responsibilities.

Use Cases of Busy by Design

Here are some ideas to help spark your own Busy by Design brainstorming sessions:

Patient Follow-ups: Reach out to patients 48 to 72 hours after appointments to deepen trust and improve satisfaction.

Chart Mining: Identify gaps in care, upsell options, or follow-up needs using patient histories.

CIQs and Treatment Plans: Update Customer Information Questionnaires (CIQs) and ensure treatment plans align with patients’ long-term goals. Follow up with patients who haven’t scheduled the next step.

Loyalty and Membership Programs: Analyze usage patterns, renew lapsed accounts, or create packages based on trending treatments. Follow up on unused gift cards, loyalty balances, or partially redeemed packages. Send thank-you notes to new or returning patients.

Increasing Team Knowledge: Use downtime to strengthen staff expertise and elevate credibility. Encourage continuing education, share credentialing techniques, and ensure access to current training resources.

Downtime does not have to mean lost opportunity. With a Busy by Design Plan, you can transform slow periods into opportunities for alignment, satisfaction, and growth. These intentional actions, when repeated over time, position your practice for scalable success and long-term resilience.

By embedding this mindset into your SOPs and culture, you are not simply filling time—you are investing in your team, your patients, and the financial future of your practice. 

Nikki Horton

• Practice Management Consultant
• Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company

Erin Wallace

• Practice Management Consultant
• Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company