Are you overwhelmed by the amount of resources you have or are available to you?
Do you feel FOMO when scrolling Instagram or Tik-Tok and seeing Speech Pathologists use a resource you don’t have?
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of needing more. We can always justify the purchase. The dopamine kicks in and it feels great to have something new and fun to play with, use and share with our clients. It also takes the boredom out of playing the same activities on repeat.
However, every time we lean into the urge to buy something new, we have a bunch of already existing resources gathering dust. Over time, we create a new problem for ourselves – storage dramas. This then leads to either having to cull (which is never easy) or having to purchase more storage.
So a way of stopping the cycle and gaining control is to start looking at the resources you have more objectively.
If you have a lot, it may be worth organising them into rotational rounds – maybe every term or semester. This way, it will give you the dopamine hit and your bank account will be so much happier.
You could also list all the resources you have. Then think about what goals and clients you use the activities for. By doing this, you can see a gap or gaps. This means that when you do buy resources, you are more intentional and add more value to your clinical tools.
For me, I have toys that are 20+ years old. I love them. Many of them you can’t buy anymore. Some of them are still in amazing condition. So I focus on having these available in my clinical space.
Then I slowly bring in resources to the clinic as my kiddos need them. It may be more books, magnetic letters, semantic sorting cards etc.
When I am tempted to buy a resource, I focus on problem-solving games. Ones which require the kiddo to think, inference, predict, evaluate and so much more. That way, I can build their comprehension skills as well as their resilience, patience, confidence and ability to explain their thinking.
By taking this approach to your resources, you’ll find the variety that you seek to make therapy interesting for you and your kiddo, whilst also saving you time and money.
& if FOMO is messing with your head, my go-to strategy is muting those accounts. My sanity is grateful, no willpower is needed and I can now use the money I save for things that add value to my life outside of work.
