The Doctor's Crossing Carpe Diem Podcast

Episode #235: Taming the Charting Beast: From Overwhelm to Ease with Charting Coach Dr. Sarah Smith

Dec 3, 2025

Dr. Sarah Smith, a rural family physician and founder of Charting Coach, reveals her journey from charting chaos to clinical ease. She shares how shifting mindset and auditing daily habits transformed her workflow, allowing her to reclaim personal time. Discover strategies for managing interruptions, finishing notes efficiently, and overcoming perfectionism. Sarah also emphasizes the importance of team support in combating charting guilt and discusses using AI wisely to enhance rather than hinder documentation.

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ANECDOTE

From Charting Chaos To Coaching

Sarah Smith spent 15 years drowning in unfinished notes until a mindset shift let her finish charts before leaving clinic.
After reclaiming evenings, she began helping colleagues and started Charting Coach to share the method.

ADVICE

Start With A Daily Audit

Notice exactly what you do during the day before changing anything by auditing timing, interruptions, and task switches.
Ask "What do I need to be successful here?" and redesign small steps to close charts now.

ADVICE

Close Charts In Real Time

Close the chart before moving to the next patient whenever possible to reduce mental load and end-of-day backlog.
Reduce leaving the room and task-switching to preserve decision energy.

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Do you ever feel like your workday follows you home — in the form of unfinished charts, inbox messages, and nagging guilt about what's still left to do? You're not alone. For many physicians, charting is the part of the job that never seems to end — and it can leave you feeling exhausted, behind, and questioning whether you'll ever catch up.

Today's guest, Dr. Sarah Smith, knows that struggle firsthand. As a rural family physician, she spent years buried under a mountain of paperwork until she discovered a way to completely transform her workday. Now, as the founder of Charting Coach, she's helped hundreds of physicians learn to finish their notes on time — and reclaim their evenings, weekends, and peace of mind.

In this empowering conversation, Dr. Smith and I dive into the mindset and systems that help physicians finally get ahead of their charts. You'll learn why this isn't just about efficiency, but about freedom — the freedom to leave work at work and enjoy the rest of your life again.

In this episode we're talking about:

The moment Dr. Smith realized she couldn't keep living in "charting chaos"
How noticing — rather than judging — your patterns is the first step toward change
How perfectionism and impostor syndrome impact charting
Practical strategies for charting in real time and managing your day more intentionally
How to set boundaries, reduce interruptions, and get notes done before the next patient
What "good enough" documentation can look like — and why it's more than enough
Some tips for using AI to help with charting

You can find the show notes for this episode and more information by clicking here:

www.doctorscrossing.com/episode235

Links for this episode:

Connect with Dr. Smith: Website: https://www.chartingcoach.ca Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChartingCoach/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechartingcoach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-smith-999101200

🌟Because we really want to keep spreading the word and growing the Podcast, we're doing a little something fun! We've created a new contest, and this one's super easy to win. All you need to do is share the podcast with two people you haven't shared it with before. Then just email us the episode you shared and the initials (or another way to identify) the two people you shared it with. That's it!

We've got a special prize waiting for you, and you have until the end of 2025 to enter. So if you've been meaning to tell a friend or colleague about the podcast, now's the perfect time. Just send us your email at team@doctorscrossing.com and we'll send you your prize!