I’ve got a confession. I’m a systems guy now - but not because I love process documentation or SOP templates. I became a systems guy because 𝗜’𝗺 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝘇𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿. Or more accurately, a busy one who needs to work smart if I want to stay in this game without burning out.

If you're an allied health professional juggling clinical work, team questions, family life, and a never-ending to-do list, this is for you! Especially if you're the type who opens a policy doc, yawns, and immediately goes to make a snack.

In paediatrics and private practice, time is tight, mental energy is precious, and "just do it later" becomes "never." We waste so much cognitive energy answering the same questions, trying to remember how we did X, Y, or Z. Or where we saved A, B, or C. Systems save us from that mental load. But systems sound like a lot of work. I'm here to tell you they don't have to be a chore. They can be fast, useful, and even a bit fun - if you approach them the lazy therapist way. 

When we started capturing systems at MoveAbout, Sophie, our Bella Vista Clinical Manager, said, "I thought I was going to hate this but I have to admit it, I'm getting addicted to systems".

Here are my three favourite hacks - simple, practical, and perfect for the therapist who doesn’t have time to make things perfect.

1. Capture, Don’t Create

Want to improve your systems or policies? Don’t block out five hours to write them from scratch. Just wait until you’re doing the thing - and record it.

• Writing a report? Hit Loom and narrate your process.
• Booking a new client? Record your screen and talk through it.
• Answering a team question? Respond once in Loom or video and save it.

Then file that recording in a shared systems folder. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s way more useful than a theoretical 12-page policy you’ll never update (and no one will read!).

2. Done Is Better Than Pretty

You know what makes people avoid systems? Thinking they have to make them beautiful and perfect. This is even more true for updating systems (no one wants to kill that pretty doc).

You don’t. You won’t. And even if you did, you wouldn’t want to edit them later.

Raw is better. Quick and useful beats polished and ignored. Make it functional, not fancy.

3. Label Like Your Sanity Depends on It

The one place you should be a perfectionist? Your file names.

Why? Because future-you (and your team) need to find stuff fast.

Use this format:

YYYY.MM.DD.Category.Topic.Version

For example:

2025.06.10.Productivity.Essentials.3.Hacks.v2

That way your folder structure becomes an actual system - searchable, sortable, and scalable.

If you’ve ever put off writing a procedure, wished you could clone yourself, or felt like your brain was the only place a task existed - this is your sign to start small, go scrappy, and build as you go.

Capture. Don’t create. Get it done, not perfect. Label like a librarian.

And keep showing up for the work that matters.

Credit where credit’s due: These ideas are inspired by Mike Michalowicz's Clockwork and the Run Like Clockwork program by Mike and Adrienne Dorison. Their tools and frameworks made it all click. And a big thanks to Leesa Tuffnell , OT mentor and Admin divorcee, whose recent email sparked this piece. (If you’re not on her mailing list yet - you should be!)

If you’re building a team, mentoring others, or just trying to get out of your own way - start here. It's fine to be lazy if you're getting things done.

What are some lazy therapist hacks you use? Let us know in the comments.

And DM me if you want to chat more about getting your team systematised... the lazy way.