If you’ve ever stared at an empty hour on your calendar and felt a wave of anxiety or self-doubt, you’re not alone. In this episode, I’m reframing those open spots—not as evidence that something’s wrong, but as valuable opportunities to support your business, reflect on your work, or even rest (guilt-free!).

I’ll share how to stop spinning in indecision when you hit a lull in your schedule and start seeing those gaps for what they really are: a chance to move your practice forward with clarity and intention. Whether you’re in a growth phase or just hit a slow week, you’ll walk away with 10 tangible ways to use that time—no hustle required.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

1️⃣ How to reframe calendar gaps so they fuel growth instead of shame

2️⃣ Why rest only counts when it’s chosen—and how to know when it’s truly needed

3️⃣ A 10-item “gap menu” with concrete tasks (and yes, rest is on the list!) you can draw from anytime your schedule opens up

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• PsychToday Success Pack: walkerstrategyco.com/ptsp 
• Magnetic Niche Method: walkerstrategyco.com/mnm 
• Confident Copy: walkerstrategyco.com/cc 
• Today’s Full Caseload (free private podcast): walkerstrategyco.com/tfc 
• The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com 

Connect + Subscribe

Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe so you never miss an episode—and feel free to share it with a fellow therapist who’s building their private practice.

Explore more marketing support for therapists: The Walker Strategy Co website

About Marketing Therapy

Marketing Therapy is the podcast where therapists learn how to market their private practices without burnout, self-doubt, or sleazy tactics. Hosted by marketing coach, strategist, and founder of Walker Strategy Co, each episode brings you clear, grounded advice to help you attract the right-fit, full-fee clients and grow a practice you feel proud of.

Hey, hey, welcome back to Marketing Therapy.

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Today we're gonna talk about

something that every single therapist

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faces at some point, those pesky,

empty spots on your calendar.

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You know the ones where a

client could be sitting, but

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they're not, at least not yet.

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And if you're in the growth phase of

your practice, those gaps, they can

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feel pretty bossy, pretty loud, right?

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Maybe they feel like evidence that

you're not where you want to be yet.

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Perhaps it even feels like you're

failing when you see those gaps.

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But like I said, a client isn't

sitting there yet that spot.

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It's not full yet.

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That's all it is.

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It's not failure.

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That gap is an opportunity.

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And in this episode, I want to help you

see those gaps for what they really are.

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Time you can use.

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To build your business, reflect on

what you wanna be known for, or even

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rest, because if that spot was filled

with a client, you know exactly

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what to do with that hour, right?

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You'd show up and serve that client,

hold space, guide the session.

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But when that same hour is

open, it's so easy to get stuck

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and to spin an indecision.

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Twiddle your thumbs, kind of looking

this way in, that you wanna be

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productive, you want to use that time,

but you aren't sure where to start.

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I know that feeling on a deep, deep level.

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Back, when I began Walker Strategy Co,

I was still working in a nine to five.

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So most of the building of this business

happened in nights and weekends.

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But sometimes I'd suddenly have a

free hour, and the list of things I

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could do was so long that I ended up

wasting the whole time, or at least a

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lot of it trying to decide what to do.

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And that's really the trap that I

think it's easy to get caught in.

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Not the gap itself, but the

indecision about what to do with it.

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So today I want to help you approach

those open spots differently, shift

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the way you think about them, and

also give you some practical ideas of

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what you can do with those 50 minutes.

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So the next time a spot does

open up, because it will, you'll

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know exactly how to spend it.

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Okay, let's dive in.

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Here's the first thing I want you to know.

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You are not alone in this.

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Like I said, every single

therapist experiences this.

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Every single therapist goes

through a growth phase.

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No one starts out with a full caseload.

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Even if you left a group practice

and we're able to bring clients

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with you, they're still empty spots.

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But I know the feeling when you're

sitting with that empty spot.

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It's quiet, it's a little lonely,

and your brain can immediately start

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filling that silence with questions.

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Am I cut out for this?

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Is this gonna work?

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Why does everyone else

already have a full caseload?

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And I don't, should I even be doing this?

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That spot on your calendar

can feel like it's shouting.

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Those questions at you, if you

go down the path of gaps mean I'm

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failing or not going quickly enough.

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That's scarcity talking.

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But if you reframe these as I have gaps,

therefore I have space to build, that's

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opportunity, that's abundance, that's

self-trust and belief in yourself.

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We've talked about this recently,

that trust is what's required to

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build a practice that actually last.

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But sometimes you can still look at

a gap in your calendar and maybe you

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even feel grateful for the space, but

it can at the same time, still feel

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paralyzing because the list of things

you could do is so long that you

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end up spinning in that indecision.

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That's the thing about

these gaps in your schedule.

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They only feel heavy when you don't

have a plan, because the mental

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labor of deciding what to do in

the moment, that's what drains you.

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It's not the empty hour itself.

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Once I finally put a project management

system in place, I had left my nine

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to five, was doing this full time, but

still didn't have any sort of system.

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For how I was managing all

of the tasks in my business.

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After we put a project management

system in place, everything shifted.

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Now, if a meeting cancels or I have

a lighter day, more capacity, I

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don't have to think about what to do.

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There's a list right in front of

me and I can just get started.

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That has freed up so much

mental bandwidth for me.

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So I'm gonna encourage you here not

to leave your free hours up to ch.

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Give them structure just like you

would a client session, because like

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I was saying earlier, when a client

shows up, you don't spend the whole

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50 minutes deciding what to do, right?

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You just do the work, and I believe

your business deserves that same

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level of clarity and intention.

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Now, one thing we're gonna talk

about here is that clarity doesn't

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always mean action or hustling.

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Sometimes it can mean intentional rest.

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But resting doesn't count.

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If you're sitting still and

feeling guilty, rest only counts

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when it's chosen, when you can

really step away with intention.

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As I prepared for this episode, I

actually sat at my favorite salad spot

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in downtown Nashville Greenery Co.

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If any of you are local, it's my favorite

spot, and I had taken the entire day

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off of meetings on a random Tuesday.

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I could see that I

needed it, and I felt it.

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So I carved it out.

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I told my team I wasn't gonna

be available, and it was

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the most life giving day.

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I wasn't planning to plan out a

podcast episode on that day off.

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It's just kind of happened naturally.

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But that rest that I took and the

way that I showed up the following

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Wednesday, it was productive.

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I showed up more focused and

more motivated and more energized

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than if I hadn't taken that time.

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Now if you are like me, resting

probably doesn't come naturally to you.

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You might default to action, but if you

learn to tune in, you'll notice when your

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body or your business is begging for rest.

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But you'll also know when it's

begging for action too, and I want

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to encourage you to listen to both.

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The real danger is doing neither of those

things, neither resting nor taking action.

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Just spinning in that indecision.

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That's really the only unproductive

choice you can make with

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this time in your calendar.

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So whether you act or you rest,

just choose it with intention,

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know what you're gonna do and

that'll keep you moving forward.

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Now, what do you do with those hours?

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Like I said, I wanna give

you some practical ideas.

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So next time you are faced with

a cancellation or perhaps just

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an empty spot that hasn't been

filled yet by an ongoing client.

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Some things you can actually plan to do.

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The way I encourage you to think about

it is this, every free hour on your

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calendar is a session with your business

rather than a session with a client.

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It's a session with your business.

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I want you to bring the same

energy that you do to sessions

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to your business because your

business needs you to show up too.

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Not just when clients are on your

calendar, but in the spaces in between.

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So let's respect those free hours.

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Let's view them as opportunities,

and let's give them some structure.

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So I'm gonna give you 10 different things

you could do with a 50 minute block.

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Of course, the list goes on and on,

but maybe think of it as a little

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menu you can draw upon not having to

do all of them, certainly, but when

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a gap shows up, choosing one and

diving in rather than spinning the

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first one, reach out to colleagues.

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You've heard me say recently,

time and time again.

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Networking is the only

non-negotiable besides an

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effective website in this market.

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And networking, just like

any relationship, requires

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ongoing effort and engagement.

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So this first one,

reach out to colleagues.

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Start with someone you already know.

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It doesn't have to be some cold

email to someone you've never met.

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Maybe a, Hey, just checking in.

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How are things going in your practice?

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Email, it doesn't need to be fancy.

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Because you know better than

anyone that relationships are built

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through consistency and curiosity.

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Maybe if you do decide to reach

out to someone new, keep it simple.

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I read your website, I

follow you on Instagram.

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I think the work you do is really

interesting and I'd love to hear more.

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Remember that networking is a volume game.

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That means that you are gonna reach

out to people and you're never gonna

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hear back, and that is very normal.

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Not everyone is gonna reply and

want to be best friends, but all you

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need are a couple really fruitful

and engaged relationships to truly

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change the game for your practice

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. The second thing you can do,

update Your Psych Today Profile.

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Psych today varies and it's

an effectiveness right now.

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There's no doubt about it, and

yet it is still some of the lowest

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hanging fruit marketing wise.

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If you haven't touched it in a

while, use 50 minutes to do that.

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If you don't have a

video, please go film one.

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If there's one thing I can suggest for

psych today, right now is take the 20

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seconds to film a video and in a 50

minute block, you have enough time to

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do quite a few takes until you're happy

with one, pick the best one, upload it.

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It doesn't need to be

perfect, but get it up there.

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If you are paying for psych

today, please make the most of it.

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So jump in there, make some updates, maybe

focus in on a particular niche of yours.

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Our site today Success Pack is

a wonderful resource for this,

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but do something to improve that.

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The next thing you could do,

take a look at your own website.

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It is so easy to spend a lot of

time building your website and

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then kind of forget about it.

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I do the same thing.

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I don't know the last time I visited the

homepage of my own website, so go do that.

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And tweak things that maybe need to

be updated or could resonate a little

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bit more deeply with your clients.

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Load up that website and

focus on just that top space.

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We call that the hero space.

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It's the first thing people see,

and it is the most valuable real

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estate on your entire website.

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And ask yourself in the first five

seconds, can a potential client answer

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these three things, what you do, where

you do it, and who you do it for.

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Again, load up your

homepage in five seconds.

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Do I immediately know without

even scrolling what you do, where

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you do it, and who you do it for?

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If not, spend a session rewriting

that section and let that

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section of your website do some

more heavy lifting for you.

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The next thing you could do is record a

quick video for placement on your website

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and in other parts of your marketing.

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So this is a little bit different

than your Psych Today video, although

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you could certainly use your Psych

Today video on your website as well.

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But I suggest turning your phone sideways,

going horizontal on that one, and just

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record a one to two minute clip about who

you help and what your approach is like.

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Again, don't overthink it.

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We're not talking about a professionally

produced video in these 50 minutes.

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Right?

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Think about it as an opportunity

to connect, to give people a taste

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of how it is that you work to see

your face and hear your voice.

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Because in this market video and

that type of engagement is gonna

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build trust faster than text alone.

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So if you're comfortable with

it, make sure you got some

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good lighting in your office.

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Flip your phone sideways and click record.

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Then pop it onto the homepage

of your website, the about

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page, something like that.

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The next thing you could

do, outline a blog post.

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Blogging is interesting right now

because in the age of ai, anyone can

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put out tons and tons of content on a

regular basis, and so there are posts

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being thrown out into the ether at

a volume we have never seen before.

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But you have a unique approach.

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You have a unique way of seeing

things and of speaking about the

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work that you do with your client.

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And blogging can still be incredibly

beneficial for your marketing,

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for your SEO, for your a EO.

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As we talked about recently,

your ability to rank on AI tools.

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So I want you to think back

to a conversation you had

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this week with a client.

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What's something you said to a client

or a client said to you that sticks out?

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Maybe you suggested something to a

client that really led to a breakthrough

218

moment, or perhaps you got feedback

from a client about something

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that was particularly helpful or.

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Paradigm shifting.

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Start there as a blog post.

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Absolutely.

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Use chat GBT for outlining this.

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If you can, I do not suggest using

it to just go ahead and draft that

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copy for you as is, but use chat GBT

to create an outline and then start

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populating that with your own point

of view, your own voice answering a

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really specific topic or question that

you know is relevant because, hello,

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you had that conversation last week.

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Okay.

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Another thing you can do.

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Number six, organize your next steps.

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I don't want this to be about building

a giant to-do list, but it is helpful

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to plan ahead so that all of your

marketing isn't just reactive.

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Okay?

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So think about creating a plan.

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Ask yourself, what are the

next three things I can do

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to move my marketing forward?

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What am I prepared to commit to?

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So write 'em down and then

prioritize them and commit to them.

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Sometimes the most productive hour you

can have is one that provides clarity for

241

the hours and hours and hours to follow.

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So if you have been marketing from

just a reactive place, doing it in

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these 50 minute chunks as opposed to

a more comprehensive and intentional

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plan, then use a session with

your business to create that plan.

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It'll give you so much more stability

and sustainability where it doesn't feel

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like every single time you sit down to

market yourself, you're starting from.

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Square one.

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Number seven.

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Maybe consider using this time

to brainstorm some content ideas.

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So however you are sharing content,

whether that is blogging, social

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media, Instagram, LinkedIn, podcasting,

YouTube, whatever it might be, if you

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are sharing content on a regular basis,

plan out that content, get some new

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ideas, chat, GBT and ai, or another

great resource for this kind of thing.

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But start by setting a timer for

10 minutes and writing down every

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client question you can remember.

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About what it is that they were

struggling with, what they needed

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to know more about the psychoed that

you provided, the questions they

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had for you about your approach.

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Don't worry about filtering

them, just list them out.

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And then at the end, pick five to

10 that feel the most relevant.

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And there you have it a week or

weeks of content ideas to focus on.

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Number eight, review your intake forms.

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This is one of my very favorite exercise

to encourage any clinician to engage in.

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I want you to call to mind your

most favorite recent clients.

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Three to five of them.

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Pull up their intake forms and remind

yourself of what it is that they were

267

struggling with when they came to you.

268

Because if you've been working with

someone for 6, 9, 12 plus months,

269

it can be hard to remember what

brought them in in the first place.

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And maybe now they've realized, oh my

goodness, it is the relationship with

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my mom that is showing up in these

day-to-day patterns I'm experiencing now.

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They didn't know that back then.

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What did they know?

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Because your marketing must meet people

at their current point of need, right?

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We talk about that a lot.

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So pull up those last five of your

favorite clients and look for the words

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they used to describe their struggles and

what they were hoping for out of therapy.

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And look for patterns and themes.

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Jot those down, jot down direct quotes

that you could use in your copy and in

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your marketing, because we know that when

you borrow your client's language, we call

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that language mirroring, your marketing

instantly connects, and that's what leads

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to people saying, I read your website

and it felt like you were talking to me

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because you're using their own language.

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Alright, the last two suggestions I have

for you here are a little bit deeper.

285

One would be to take some time to

really reflect and journal to consider

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the vision you have for your practice.

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You know, sometimes you get into

private practice and you did it 'cause

288

you had to, and it was a little bit

of a hurried decision, or maybe it was

289

something you just always planned to do.

290

It was just the next logical step for you.

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But perhaps you've never really sat down

and thought, what is my vision for this?

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What do I want to be known for?

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What do I want this practice to become?

294

Or maybe look at.

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A session from this week or last

week that really felt powerful.

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Why did it work so well?

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What did you bring to the room?

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What did you do to really connect

with that client or invite the

299

breakthrough that you witnessed?

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These reflections can spark insights

absolutely, into your marketing,

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but also really enhance the level of

connection and confidence you have.

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In the work that you do and in

your practice and in your business.

303

So maybe taking this time to reflect

and journal will actually get you

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further than any tactical task would.

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And then finally, I mentioned it.

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The other thing you

can do is you can rest.

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You can take that hour, but

again, rest is only productive.

308

If it's intentional.

309

Get outside, take a

walk without your phone.

310

Meet a friend for lunch

and don't talk about work.

311

Give yourself some real space to

recharge because just like my salad day

312

that I was engaging in when I planned

this episode, coming back to your

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business with energy and clarity, that

is productive and it is worthwhile.

314

So sometimes that gap in your schedule,

that hour is an invitation to step away.

315

And that also can serve your business.

316

So those are some ideas for you.

317

Number one, reach out to colleagues.

318

Number two, update your site today,

profile or other directory profile.

319

Number three, tweak your

homepage of your website.

320

Number four, record a quick intro video.

321

Number five, outline a blog post.

322

Number six, organize your next steps.

323

Make a plan for your marketing.

324

Number seven, brainstorm

some content ideas.

325

Number eight, review your intake forms.

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Number nine, reflect and journal, or

number 10, rest, whatever it is that

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you choose to do, whether it's from

this little menu or something else.

328

The takeaway here is don't wait until the

gap shows up to decide what to do with it.

329

Make a plan now.

330

Create a little menu for yourself.

331

A little gap plan so that when a

spot opens up on your calendar, you

332

already know where to put your energy.

333

Sometimes that plan will be action,

and sometimes it will be rest.

334

Because remember, every free hour is a

session with your business, and you get

335

to choose how that session goes, and when

that spot isn't filled with a client yet,

336

you get to decide what it is filled with.

337

So next time you see a gap on

your calendar, don't let it

338

spiral into shame or indecision.

339

Okay?

340

See it for what it really is an

opportunity, a chance to build,

341

to reflect, to recharge that spot.

342

It may not be full yet, but it will.

343

I've mentioned a couple of

resources here in the episode.

344

Our Psych Today Success

Pack is really wonderful.

345

Our magnetic niche method is another

course you could tackle in a gap

346

or two and really refine your

niche if you're really looking for

347

deeper support in making sure your

website in particular does its job.

348

So when those inquiries do come in,

they're turning into RightFit clients

349

absolutely come check out Confident copy.

350

And if you wanna just keep these

mindset shifts coming, jump

351

into our free private podcast.

352

Today's full caseload, where I dive deep

into what's actually working right now.

353

I created that series based on

the meetings and interviews and

354

relationships I have with thriving

private pay clinicians who are

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still thriving in this market.

356

So it's really based on what I've

actually seen work and I go step by

357

step through all the pieces, both

strategy and mindset that are necessary

358

in order to be successful right now.

359

So if you haven't subscribed to today's

full caseload, I encourage you to do that.

360

We'll put the link in the show notes.

361

You can jump over there,

walker strategy code.com/

362

FC.

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One way or another, keep showing up.

364

Okay?

365

Use these gaps as the

opportunities that they are.

366

Use these hours with intention.

367

Because they are the bridge between

where you are now and the full

368

practice that you're building.

369

I hope this one was helpful for you.

370

I'm wishing you well in the

gaps in your calendar, and I'll

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see you in the next episode.