How To Stay Consistent With Your Private Practice Goals When You've Got 1000 Things To Do
A Between Sessions exclusive: guest expert Kayla Jury shares how to stay consistent and grow your practice—without the burnout.
It’s been a while since we wrote about private practice support, yet I know it’s one of the biggest issues for therapists trying to transition out of agency, insurance and/or NHS work!
Something I often get asked by therapists are thing like:
“Where do I even start with setting goals for my practice?”
“How do I actually stay consistent when my caseload is packed?”
”How am I supposed to post on instagram, record videos, market myself and work 9-5?”
“Is there a way to grow without burning out?” 👀
I’m so excited to bring you an expert to discuss this. Someone outside of the therapy world, who specialises in consistency and goals.
BUT, before we go into it. I want to lay the groundwork. Many therapists feel uncomfortable about having conversations about money, charging more, or feeling embaressed by saying they want to earn a high salary. Between Sessions is a shame-free place. I am a firm believer that therapists do their best work when they’re not working from financial scarcity and can see an amount of clients that allows them to truly engage in the work rather than thinking ‘how will I get through 5 clients today?’.
And while using tools like problem-solving and behavioural activation gets us a step forward, I wanted to introduce you to someone who lives this stuff.
Enter our amazing guest author: Kayla Jury. Author of Having it All here on Substack.
Professional nerd. Part Hermione Granger, part Carrie Bradshaw. Curriculum consultant and coach who has built multiple six-figure businesses, moved cross-country, and somehow still finds time to write a YA fantasy series. (Yes, really.)
Kayla has a gift for turning big, exciting dreams into actual, tangible - you can live it, breath it and feel it results - without the hustle-till-you-drop vibe. In this guest post, she’s sharing her no-fluff process for setting goals and following through, so you can grow a practice you love and keep your sanity.
Take it away, Kayla! 🎤
Sophia invited me to write an article for all of you on consistency with your business practice - and when she did, I agreed right away. Because I KNOW so intimately what it is like to care so deeply about the work you do and have that be the most important thing to you while simultaneously wanting your biz to grow. Because really you just focus on helping people, not be stressed about money, and in fact actually go have time and money freedom to do fun things in your life!
So today we are going to dig right in!
Let’s be real - most of us didn’t become therapists because we love building spreadsheets or setting quarterly business goals. You became a therapist because you wanted to help people.
But here’s the catch: building and sustaining a private practice is its own kind of therapy work. It asks you to dream about the practice you want, then show up day after day to make it real.
And if you don’t know how to set clear goals - and stick with them - you’ll find yourself in the same cycle many therapists do: excited to grow one week, exhausted and avoiding admin the next.
Here’s what I want you to know: goal-setting doesn’t have to be heavy, overwhelming, or one more “should” on your list. Done right, it can actually feel energizing, supportive, and sustainable.
I’ve learned this firsthand - from teaching classrooms full of students, to running a six-figure coaching business, to now consulting and helping professionals like you. And the one thing that has always made the difference? Consistency.
Not perfection. Not overworking. Just consistent action that matches the vision you have for your practice and your life.
Consistency sounds simple: just keep showing up (**rolls eyes). But if you’ve ever promised yourself you’d “finally stay on top of admin” or “post every week” and then found yourself ghosting your own goal - welcome to being human.
The good news? You’re not broken. The reasons consistency is hard are surprisingly universal and once you can name them, you can actually outsmart them.
But first - let’s start with setting your goal!
We’ve been talking a lot lately in my own community about goals and one question keeps popping up:
How do I even know what goal to set?
Should you start a private practice? Write a book? Buy a house? Move across the country? Grow on YouTube? Start your own Substack? Have a team? Be a Solopreneur?
That “where do I even begin?” spiral is real.
I get it. I’ve been setting and achieving wildly different kinds of goals my whole life: podium finishes in marathons and Spartan races (after growing up unable to afford sports), teaching and training teachers, launching a six-figure coaching business, moving cross-country, and now living in New York while building a consulting business, writing a YA fantasy series, and running a Substack with paying subscribers.
And after years of trying, testing, and tweaking, here’s what I’ve learned: goal-setting is less about finding the “perfect” goal and more about creating a process that carries you from idea to reality.
This is the process I return to every time - whether I’m training for a race or launching a new offer. And yes, it works beautifully for therapists ready to grow a private practice without burning out.
1. Get a Super-Clear Vision
Skip this and you’ll wander (I know from personal experience!). Your practice goal isn’t just “fill my caseload” or “earn six figures.” Ask: What does my ideal day actually look like? Are you working evenings? From home or a shared office? Seeing ten clients or twenty? Journal the details - pen to paper. Let your future day unfold from the moment you wake up to the time you shut the laptop to when your head hits the pillow again that night.
2. Identify the Feelings
Knowing how future you feels during this time is actually the ultimate goal that you want. You don’t run a marathon because you want to run a marathon - you run a marathon because you want to feel proud. Or dedicated. Or like you are capable. Those feelings are actually your goal. It’s the same in your practice. What does future you feel when she is in that perfect day?
The MAGIC is that you can start tapping into those feelings NOW. And that actually helps you feel more progress, it helps you feel more successful, and it actually brings you to your goal faster. If you start seeing where you are already capable - BOOM quantum leap to the result you are really looking for!
Go back and reread everything you wrote in your vision. What is that person thinking all day? What are they feeling all day - and make a big ol’ list. Write them alllll down.
3. Know Where You’re Starting
Google Maps can’t give directions if you don’t drop a starting pin. Be honest about where you are - client load, income, systems - and also where you already feel those future self feelings. This isn’t self-critique; it’s data. This is how we know where to build from.
Do you already have 2 clients but future you has 10?
Do you already have 25 clients at $100 a session, but future you has 5 at $500 a session?
Do you already post once in a while on your blog, but future you posts weekly?
4. Brain-Dump Every Possible Action
Make a long, no-filter list of every action that could move you closer: outreach, website updates, new referral partnerships etc. Write down all the good ideas and yes, all the bad ideas. The ones that make your body say ‘no way’ help clarify the actions you DON’T want to take (so that you don’t end up doing a ‘should’) and help you see the ones that would be fun and easy to take instead!
5. Choose Aligned Action (this is my fave!)
Filter that giant list down by asking: 1. What would be fun? 2. What would be simple? 3. What would be easy?
You should have a couple left, from there ask - what would be the best return on my investment of time/money/effort?
Consistency isn’t about doing everything, it’s about choosing the actions that fit your life and then actually doing them. And this filter allows you to do the things you will actually stay consistent with (we will break down all of that soon too! Promise.) while also being things that will move the needle!
6. Define Progress Markers
One of the fastest routes to burnout is measuring success with only one yardstick (like revenue or client count). Track other signs of progress: more referrals, easier scheduling, shorter admin hours, even a lighter emotional load at the end of the week. IMO you can never have enough progress markers to help you know that you are on your way. The more markers you see, the more positive momentum you will build and the more energy you’ll have to keep going.
7. Build Consistency
This is where dreams turn into reality. Consistency isn’t about working more; it’s about trusting yourself to keep showing up. And while I could just put a small blurb here on a few bullet points of what to do - I know that this can be the trickiest part of goal setting and goal getting.
I believe that consistency is the thing that makes the difference between wishing and actually achieving.
How to Stay Consistent
Here are the four biggest culprits I see that keep you inconsistent (and yes, I’ve fallen into every single one):
1. You Don’t Actually Like the Thing
This one sounds obvious but it’s actually really sneaky. Maybe you decided you “should” write a weekly blog or offer Saturday sessions because someone said that’s what successful therapists do. But if you dread every minute of it, you’re not going to keep showing up.
>> >> Before you label yourself “inconsistent,” ask: Do I even like this? If not, what’s another way to reach the same outcome that would actually feel good? If it were FUN what would I choose?
>> >> Be thoughtful when choosing your aligned action above - so that you don’t fall into this one!
2. You Went Too Big, Too Fast
Sometimes we love the goal so much we try to do everything at once. You launch a new Substack and suddenly commit to daily posts, daily notes, and daily comments - until life catches up and you burn out.
Or maybe you went all in on IG, Substack, and email newsletter at the same time.
Or you decided that networking was going to be your thing and you signed up for 8 events this month and after the 3rd you’re exhausted and regretting it.
>> >> Instead, write down a list of allll the things that you want to do on your way there. Then break them out into smaller steps - like climbing a staircase. Then, you commit to, for the next two weeks, just being on that first step of the staircase. After you’ve been able to keep that one up, keep it going and move up to the next staircase. Now you will be doing both. And so forth, and so on.
This is what I have coined the next nudge - the smallest sustainable step. Master that, then add the next layer. Small steps build real momentum.
3. Your “Why” Isn’t Strong Enough
Without a reason that lights you up today, the hard days will win. If your only why is a far-off result (“someday I’ll have 1,000 subscribers,” “someday I’ll make six figures”), it’s too easy to quit when progress feels slow.
>> >> Get curious: Why does this matter to me right now? Journal it. Make it personal. A strong why makes showing up feel inevitable. What would having 1,000 subscribers feel like? Why will it matter in the world? How will it affect your mission?
What would making $100,000 do for you in your life? Why does that matter to you?
Staying connected to your WHY helps you find purpose in what you are doing now every time. You will see the importance of writing for your 49 (for now) followers. You will feel how that $250 client payment is enough right now.
4. It Doesn’t Match the Life You Actually Want
This is the sneakiest one. You might think you want a schedule full of clients and speaking at conferences (oh wait, this is me. 🫠 But maybe you too, lol.) or a trendy social presence until you try it and realize it doesn’t fit the life you’re building.
This is where the vision part of your goal setting really matters, and why not to skip it. BUT still, sometimes you are envisioning something that turns out, its not what you thought.
>> >> Treat every new habit like an experiment. If it doesn’t align with the way you truly want to live, give yourself permission to pivot. Freedom lives on the other side of that honesty.
You’ve now got the framework to choose the right goal for you and stay consistent with it - clear vision, aligned action, and the four biggest reasons people fall off track.
But here’s the truth: most people will read this and nod along…and then slide right back into “someday.”
You’ve seen how consistency builds trust. You know the steps.
The only question left is: what’s your next move?
Steady and Unstoppable is here to help you make it.
Inside this mini-course I’ll walk you through how to:
turn tiny promises into unshakable self-belief
break the start–stop cycle for good
grow your practice without burning out
If you’re ready to stop restarting and finally trust yourself to show up consistently, confidently, and on your own terms - then I’m giving you EARLY access! And because Sophia is the bomb, I’m giving you an exclusive discount that I reserve for only my paid Substack community. If you’re ready to get support to stay consistent and grow your practice, I want to be here to help you do it! Use the code: SUBSTACKER for your exclusive discount!
➡️ CLICK HERE FOR YOUR SNEAK PEEK!
p.s. Sign up before October 6 and you’ll get a little extra magic - bonus coaching + guidance inside the community from the moment you join until the day we officially kick off
I hope you enjoyed Kayla’s guest post! I for one am definitely going to be taking this into my next private practice goals. Tell us in the comments what you think!! Sophia x
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