847: How Tracking One Simple Metric Can Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder – Dr. Barrett Straub

Are you burned out and want to work less? Do you want to take more vacations? Have you wished for more time with your family? You can do all the above! In this very first segment of Metric Mondays, Kirk Behrendt and Dr. Barrett Straub, ACT’s CEO, share the most important metric you need to know for a better practice and better life. To learn about the magic metric that will help you work smarter, listen to Episode 847 of The Best Practices Show!

Learn More About Dr. Straub:

• Send Dr. Straub an email: barrett@actdental.com 
• Join Dr. Straub on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barrett.d.straub
• Send Gina an email: gina@actdental.com 

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Subscribe to The Best Practices Show: https://the-best-practices-show.captivate.fm/listen
• Join The Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club: https://www.actdental.com/ttt
• See the ACT Dental/BPA Live Event Schedule: https://www.actdental.com/event
• Get The Best Practices Magazine for free: https://www.actdental.com/magazine
• Please leave us a review on the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-best-practices-show-with-kirk-behrendt/id1223838218

Episode Resources:

• Watch the video version of Episode 847: https://www.youtube.com/@actdental/videos
• Register for ACT’s To The Top Study Club (April 11, 2025): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climb-with-us-register-for-april-11-2025-ttt-study-club-tickets-1012966789937
• Register for ACT’s courses and resources in the BPA: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• Download ACT’s BPA app on the Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/best-practices-association/id6738960360
• Download ACT’s BPA app on the Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.actdental.join&hl=en_US

Main Takeaways:

• Time is the new rich. You only get so much of it, so use it wisely!
• Know the number of days you work. It’s the first step to control your time.
• Remove self-limiting beliefs. What you do is valuable, and patients will come.
• Recovery is not a reward — it’s a requirement! Stop working more than 190 days.
• Don't feel bad if you're working over 220 days. Slowly decrease the days you work.

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:45 How many days did you work last year?

3:54 Why this metric is so important.

7:06 Days open, further explained.

8:30 Why dentists are working more today.

11:24 Take control of your time.

11:58 How to get started.

13:13 Remove self-limiting beliefs.

Dr. Barrett Straub Bio:

Dr. Barrett Straub practices general and sedation dentistry in Port Washington, Wisconsin. He has worked hard to develop his practice into a top-performing, fee-for-service practice that focuses on improving the lives of patients through dentistry.

A graduate of Marquette Dental School, Dr. Straub’s advanced training and CE includes work at the Spear Institute, LVI, DOCS, and as a member of the Milwaukee Study Club. He is a past member of the Wisconsin Dental Association Board of Trustees and was awarded the Marquette Dental School 2017 Young Alumnus of the Year. As a former ACT coaching client that experienced first-hand the transformation that coaching can provide, he is passionate about helping other dentists create the practice they’ve always wanted.

Dr. Straub loves to hunt, golf, and spend winter on the ice, curling. He is married to Katie, with two daughters, Abby and Elizabeth.