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Goal Setting and Flexibility for a Balanced 2026
13 Plays14 hours ago
About the Hosts:
Savanah Craig, DDS and Ronnetta Sartor, DMD are dynamic dental professionals navigating their careers beyond graduation. Dr. Savanah Craig is known for her enthusiasm in continuous learning and development within dentistry, while Dr. Ronnetta Sartor has established herself with her own practice and focus on growth in practice ownership. Both dentists provide genuine insights into the challenges and triumphs faced in the early years of their careers, offering relatable experiences to young professionals in dentistry.
Episode Summary:
In this episode of "Beyond Graduation," hosts Dr. Savanah Craig and Dr. Ronnetta Sartor engage in an enlightening discussion on goal-setting and planning for the upcoming year, 2026. Recorded in October 2025, they explore both personal and professional strategies for success as the holiday season approaches. This conversation provides listeners with an in-depth reflection on past achievements and areas of growth while emphasizing the importance of flexibility in goal setting for the upcoming year.
Dr. Sartor shares her systematic approach to planning her office and personal life, highlighting the revelation that flexibility is just as crucial as intention. Meanwhile, Dr. Craig discusses her journey towards embracing spontaneity after her realization of overcommitment through continuing education courses. Both dentists highlight how leaving room for new opportunities can often lead to unexpected career growth and personal enrichment. Listeners will find valuable insights on maintaining balance and the benefits of intentional, flexible goal setting as they transition into the new year.
Key Takeaways:
- Planning and goal setting require reflection on past achievements, evaluation of short-term and long-term goals, and the flexibility to adapt to unexpected opportunities.
- Co-hosts Dr. Craig and Dr. Sartor emphasize the importance of setting intentional goals that allow for personal and professional growth without unnecessary pressure.
- Both discuss the significance of work-life balance and provide strategies for effective time management, resonating particularly with dental professionals in early practice stages.
- They echo the need for periodically reviewing and adjusting goals to ensure continued progress and avoid stagnation.
- Dr. Craig introduces the concept of reducing rigid planning to maximize present experiences and seize new career advancements.
Connect with Us:
- Savanah Craig, DDS: @savanahcraigdds
- Ronnetta Sartor, DMD: @dr_sartor
- FutureDentists Beyond Graduation: @futuredentistsbeyondgraduation
- FutureDentists: @futuredentists
- IgniteDDS: @ignitedds and @ignitedds_coaching
- A-dec: @adecdental and https://www.a-dec.com/find-a-dealer
Join Dr. Craig and Dr. Sartor on this thought-provoking episode of "Beyond Graduation" where they delve deep into the nuances of professional growth and planning. Subscribe and stay informed for more enriching discussions that resonate with professionals.
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Transcript
Introduction to ADEC's Smart Start Program
00:00:00
Speaker
ADEC's Smart Start program offers first-time practice owners their deepest discounts on equipment and furniture for two years, plus other savings and complimentary services. Ask your ADEC rep for details and start smart with ADEC.
Meet the Hosts: Drs. Savannah Craig and Renetta Sartor
00:00:13
Speaker
Join Drs. Savannah Craig and Renetta Sartor as we navigate life beyond graduation. Real conversations about forging our own paths in our early years in our careers.
00:00:24
Speaker
There's a reason it's called practicing dentistry. Welcome back to another episode of Beyond Graduation. i'm Savannah Craig and with me as always, I'm Renetta Sartor.
Goal Setting and Planning for the New Year
00:00:34
Speaker
All right, so we are coming at you in October 2025.
00:00:39
Speaker
Holidays are fast approaching, so we thought we would talk a little bit about goal setting and planning for the new year. Renetta, what does that typically look like for you, and what does that look like this year in particular?
00:00:55
Speaker
So as it pertains to like dentistry and for the office, because we're a smaller team, We take vacation together. So we start planning our schedule for the next year in June. So June of this year, 2025, you plan for 2026. Okay.
00:01:16
Speaker
okay Right. And so we we'll have all of our vacations on there. Most of the time, the only thing that's added later for me is like continuing education. Because sometimes we don't have the dates for those just yet.
00:01:31
Speaker
So from an office perspective, that is done already. And that kind of helps dictate my like personal life in terms of when I'm going to have time off and that sort of thing.
Reflecting on Past Goals and Vision Boards
00:01:44
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But around November or December, or reflect on the year and look at like my vision board and goals that I set for the previous year.
00:01:55
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See which ones I got to See which ones I didn't. See how close I got to get into some of them. yeah And, you know, plan for the next year. and i try come with word or two.
00:02:07
Speaker
come up with a word or two That will be my word for the next year too, kind of help keep me centered and balanced when I'm looking at my goals for the year.
Strategies for Goal Categorization and Centering Words
00:02:22
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and I try to create like a personal, professional, and like sometimes even like financial goal bucket or categories and...
00:02:34
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That's what i try to do. How about you?
Balancing Education and Presence: Savannah's Struggle
00:02:36
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Yeah. I think the past couple of years, i have set like really big... CE and travel goals. um And so I'm actually kind of trying to work to be a little more flexible learning in therapy that I sometimes trade one checklist for another, especially with like travel and CE. And so I'm not like as present as I want to be. so working to maybe not have the whole year planned, which is kind of You got to get used to it. Yeah. Yeah. But I actually think it's like a lot of growth to just be like, I don't know, what do we want to do And the realization when i I had to renew, like really renew my license for the first time, because like when you get an Ohio license, you're
00:03:28
Speaker
The first renewal cycle is they're just like are like, oh, you're good because you just got it. Like you just graduated from residency, whatever. So you don't have to like put in your CE or like anything. so this is the first time I'm doing like the traditional cycle.
00:03:42
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And i kind of broke the website putting in all my CE. It actually like gave me an error and was like, girl, you did
Implementing Learned Skills and Improving Patient Care
00:03:50
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too much. Like we just want your 30 hours, like calm down.
00:03:54
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That's hilarious. So that was kind of a reflection moment for me of like, we both, I love CE and I love learning and growing, but like, I also am starting to realize that maybe I'm not implementing everything I've learned to the best of my ability because I kind of was drinking from a fire hose.
00:04:11
Speaker
but So what if I step back and just like really focus back in on like what I've learned over the last three years and like do it?
00:04:22
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And take a break from some of the CE. Yeah. And I think we're in a very similar place because I'm coming off last year finishing the mini residency yeah through Dawson. And this year I didn't do as much CE, but it still was enough to break a website. Yeah.
00:04:42
Speaker
too yeah and so i think this coming year i think we'll be in the same boat and maybe we can hold each other accountable but I'm wanting a year to be more so on implementation of all of the things that we learned and and yeah this year we did a lot of coaching yeah I think night coaching so a lot of that too is using all the tools that we got from that to make sure that we're being as efficient as we can be you know with our patients and you know getting getting patients the treatment that they want and need and if they're not getting the treatment figuring out how we can help alleviate whatever the obstacle is for them to be able to get it
00:05:29
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Totally.
Savannah's Plans for Licensure and Personal Time
00:05:30
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that's That's so funny that we've both come to this same place of like, it's not even like information overload, but I think i think you can just take so much CE that you never get to use all of it or like like trying to like look back at notes and like actually like use the information that I was given instead of just like, okay, and the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. The other hopeful thing that should be working, I've been working on getting an out-of-state license to do some teaching, sedation teaching. So we'll hopefully have more information on that. So that would be like a cool professional goal.
00:06:07
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e And yeah, I think this year is just really enjoying the fruits of my labor. Like maybe I stay home and enjoy my mortgage and like,
00:06:22
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Like in in September, in the beginning of October, we traveled like four weeks in a row for various things like weddings and CE and all of these things. And Adam was like, have you considered being at home? I was like, no.
00:06:38
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So I think that would be good for me too.
Flexible Time Off and Spontaneous Travel Plans
00:06:40
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But my, you know, actually going into the year, my new planner came for 2026. So very excited to have that. That's like my big thing. It comes out.
00:06:51
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I think it I ordered it the end of September. so Is that from the same company you did last year? That's a pretty cool planner. It is a very cool planner. Shout out to Laurel Denise. Sponsor me. Give me free stuff. It's great. I'm obsessed with it.
00:07:07
Speaker
So as it pertains to your office, how do you go about planning the year for you know your office and time off and stuff? Or are you saying that you're not plan time off from the office either?
00:07:22
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And so we because we're like such a big team and can kind of just shift things around, we don't really have to plan office wise. We can be a little bit more flexible and spontaneous.
00:07:35
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Obviously, it's kind of a like first come first serve basis with vacations. So I've put some things like the Ignite Retreat and things like that that are for sure, for sure.
00:07:45
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But we've also been doing a lot more like swapping shifts. So nobody's working like You know, like our one coworker has Fridays off. And so she kind of always gets asked more often to cover because I work my day off is Wednesday and most people aren't taking just a Wednesday off. And so we've been trying to be a little more fair. So she's not working Five days in a row the whole month of whatever. So we'll just swap. And that makes taking time off a little bit easier because we can work it out amongst ourselves and the whole office isn't impacted.
00:08:21
Speaker
My team has become a little more travel hungry. And so they're like, should can you take like three weeks off and we can like go to Europe? And I'm like... I don't know. Let me look. when When do you want to go? I don't know. So that that is a little bit different, but we do just like trade team and stuff. So it's not that big of a deal. But my team and I are probably a little codependent. So they're like, can we just all take off at the same time and we don't have to switch?
00:08:48
Speaker
But that's awesome though, because you don't have to look for like someone to come help or yeah figure that out. Yeah. The benefits of benefits of the group practice. We are doing, I guess the one big trip that's already on the the calendar is my husband's family does like a big beach trip every other summer.
00:09:07
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and it's like the whole extended family, like 45 or 50 people. That's awesome. Yeah. So that's that's on the calendar
Reflections on Practice Ownership and Personal Growth
00:09:16
Speaker
for August. I also am trying to be more intentional this year about like spreading out the time off because I think summer gets hit really, really hard. And so trying to spread it out so that maybe we're not traveling four weeks in a row, you know, mix it up a little bit. That's awesome. do you have So you are very good about taking time off, but not always doing things with your time off or like going on vacations. what are your are you Are you working on that still? So this year coming up is going to be a big birthday year for soon. You'll be happy. I've already made plans for my birthday. Amazing. I know.
00:09:56
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And then there'll be some other big things that we'll chat about when it comes. And so, yeah, I think next year I don't have a choice but to figure it out.
00:10:09
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Good. Because it's such a big year for a lot of stuff. And then time flies, but next year will be like four years of practice ownership. so Yes. I'm really excited to see what year four will have it in store. Are you, so we had talked about a little bit about having these goals, but maybe not making them so fixed to like a timeline.
Flexible Goal Setting and Embracing Opportunities
00:10:31
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Are you focusing a little bit more on that with like practice and personal goals?
00:10:36
Speaker
think. Or we're not there yet. No, no, I think it's a really good question. It'll be interesting because what I typically do is that So like in 2020, I did a year goal and then a five-year goal.
00:10:53
Speaker
Okay. Well, we're at the five-year mark. So I think I'll do both. Okay. and yeah, pretty much if it doesn't happen in the one year, then pretty much it's still on it on that list ultimately for the five-year Okay, I like that. I know when they talk about setting goals and planning, they always say to be specific. But I think you and I are kind of in the same boat as it pertains to intentionality.
00:11:22
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And because we have very similar personalities to like not being so like strict in terms of it has to happen now. Or within this time frame.
00:11:35
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Or exactly in this way. Exactly. Yeah. exactly All the things. All the things. Pretty much my goals have to be more loose because of those things. Because I know who am. I know myself.
00:11:49
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Yeah. And it's my way of not self-sabotaging. Ooh. Ooh, yes. Yeah. it's It's very funny. to my goal is to have less goals or more flexible goals. that you Yep.
00:12:06
Speaker
Top of my list too. Top my list too. I think it's so funny because I would love to... You know, i'm I know that we've talked about this in in previous podcasts and I would love to go back and find i maybe when we did this, when I first was finishing residency, because I would imagine this conversation was so much different. Oh yeah, for sure. sure.
00:12:30
Speaker
for sure You know, it'll be interesting. i loved at Ignite Retreat. Was it a couple of years ago? We had to write the letter to ourselves. Yeah, like our future self in the next year. That was pretty awesome. So that might be something we need to bring back.
00:12:46
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And then I totally forgot we even did that. And then I we got this paper and I was like, this is my handwriting. What the heck? And then you looked at it and you saw what areas you did good in and what areas you didn't. And that was interesting.
00:13:00
Speaker
I think it was so interesting to see like what, what was top of mind and like maybe what was so stressful in that moment. And then realizing that like most of those things like didn't end up mattering so much in the end or like worked out however. i think that can be super good perspective of like, I don't know. I think because of who you and I are, we can take like self-reflection almost to a detrimental level.
00:13:28
Speaker
boy And so just like letting things, letting things be. yeah I don't. So when I started residency, we weren't Prisma, we were Palmetto rome meow at the time. And so we even wrote letters during orientation. Oh, that's right. Letters to ourselves. And I think I found it several years after like being an associate and it was,
00:13:52
Speaker
it was just so because I mean you're like fresh out of dental school everything is so scary it's I think it was like words of encouragement to your like future self and that sort of thing so it was pretty interesting I like looking back on those things to just be able to just see the growth because even if it doesn't seem like You're growing or that things are happening. it always is.
00:14:18
Speaker
yes You know. And most of the time it's happening for our own good. And we're learning lessons. Yeah. and i And things that you couldn't even fathom happening.
00:14:32
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Happen. And this is I think part of the other thing with like being more flexible. Is i have seen myself miss out on opportunities. Because.
00:14:44
Speaker
everything is so strictly planned and there's no room for these things in my schedule or in my life because of how booked I keep myself, which is a whole other, we're working through it. But so I think like that's part of it too is like, I don't know, we probably can't even fully conceptualize all of the amazing things that are going to happen in this next year to even plan for them. I love that perspective. So leaving that space for awesome things to come and have room in our lives if we don't have every month planned to a might be good. I love it. love that.
00:15:22
Speaker
Well, let us know where you are in your new year goal setting journey. Are you working on more flexible goals or are you trying to have a goal at all? I think life is so weird in that. Yeah, we're just all in such different places. So I'm interesting to hear what everyone is looking forward to in 2026.
00:15:42
Speaker
That feels like a fake year. I'm going to mess it up in dates for a long time. But anyway, we'll catch y'all back here next week. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Beyond Graduation.
00:15:53
Speaker
If you enjoyed this week's episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Connect with us on social media at Savannah Craig DBS and at Dr. Sartor.
00:16:04
Speaker
And remember, you are not alone on this journey.
Sustainable Practices with ADEC and Episode Sponsorship
00:16:07
Speaker
ADEC certified pre-owned equipment is a sustainable, affordable choice that makes genuine ADEC equipment available to every doctor. Each package is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. So if you see one you like, contact your dealer. For more information, go to www.adec.com backslash findadealer. Thank you for listening to Beyond Graduation brought to you by Ignite DDS and Future Dentists. This episode was sponsored by Ignite DDS Coaching.
00:16:35
Speaker
We build self-determined futures. For more information, please reach out to the Ignite DDS team.