Last Updated on March 24, 2022 by Anna Baumann

Motivational Quotes for the Dental Office

There’s no better way to start your day than by reading my favorite motivational quotes for the dental office. Share them with your team and add them to your office mission statement. (Especially the last one!) They’re cute and fun, but they also hold true for almost everything we do! ?

“Focus on being productive, not busy.” ~ Tim Ferriss

The two biggest reasons people are busy, but not productive are:

They make a concerted effort to not work.
They can’t prioritize.

The ones working hard at not working need to go. They are part of the Dental Office Drama we try so hard to avoid. And the ones who can’t prioritize just need some help.

I strongly believe in eating the frog. Even if I get nothing else done in a day, if I’ve eaten my frog (or frogs) I know I was productive. And, when you get through the tough stuff first, the rest of the day has nowhere to go but up!

“In every job that must be done there is an element of fun.” ~ Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins is awesome! If you haven’t seen the movie, watch it! Not the one where she returns. The original with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

The line is from the song “A Spoonful of Sugar”. I was literally brought up on this premise. When I was little and had to take medicine, my Mom either smooshed up the pill and mixed it with honey, or swirled honey in with the medicine. (Apparently, if she didn’t I spit it back out. Proving that “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.”)

You can find ways to make anything fun! When our office is open on a Saturday, I buy a box of donuts on my way in. Now everyone associates working Saturdays with donuts. It’s something to look forward to on a day that we’d rather not be there.

We still send Recare postcards. Our patients love them and they’re a great tool for us. Running them is my least favorite task. On those days, I listen to my Kindle playlist quietly at my desk while I’m sorting and stamping. Grooving to my favorite jams makes the task tolerable.

Find your fun and see how the day flies by!

“Be the person you want to work with.” ~ Unknown

I don’t know who said this, but it is The Golden Rule of the Dental Office. And of life, really!

Be what you want to see in your coworkers. It’s pretty easy because I think most of us don’t want anything difficult or spectacular. The things I want to see in my coworkers are:

Don’t be late.
Be kind.
Work hard and pull your weight.
Be approachable and pleasant to be around.
Don’t take my scissors.

“Cake! It’s not just for Birthdays!” ~ Me ?

Cake is an amazing motivational tool! Any workday that involves cake is a good day! Go back and read that again.

You don’t need a special occasion to bring a cake to work. Tuesday; bring cake. Staff Meeting; bring cake. CPR training, clean the autoclave day, changing the suction traps; CAKE, CAKE, CAKE!