The 7-minute Note Taking for Therapists Challenge
- Splash Supervision
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Behind on Notes? Stressed by KPIs?
Spending too long on session notes? Avoiding them? Hate paperwork?
We hear it all the time:"I'm behind on notes.""My KPIs are stressing me out.""I'm writing notes at night."
In every setting, note taking for therapists can become a real burden. But it costs more than time—it drains energy, creativity, and income!
Why does note taking for therapists take so long?
You might be:
Over-detailing
Re-writing similar content from scratch
Using templates and habits (but not sure what they are based on…)
Feeling unsure what’s “enough” to meet compliance
Delaying writing-up too long after the session
Try this SMART Goal:
This week I will write 7 session notes in less than 7 minutes each.
We’re calling it the 7-in-7 Challenge.
You will need:
A reusable prompt (examples below). If you do not have paid ChatGPT (about $30 a month), save the prompt so you can cut and paste it to save time.
A simple structure to follow.
A mindset shift - near enough is good enough if it's sound and complete.
Prompt:
“You are an experienced speech pathologist who works with children in preschools and schools. Write up session notes in a table format with 3 columns. The first column will have the “Activity”, the second column will have the “Goal” the third column will have the “Outcome”. Below the table write dot points of any follow-up. At the end of the notes include a friendly strengths-based summary that I can email to parents that includes three practical applications they can apply in routines at home.”
“You are a speech pathologist with ten years of experience working in a rehabilitation setting. Write a SOAP note for a 66-year-old male post-stroke targeting word finding using semantic feature analysis. Include brief client responses and accuracy levels. Create some activities for home practice that will be motivating for him.
He is retired but used to be a mechanic and enjoys attending the Men’s Shed and restoring European cars.”
Replace the setting, preferred format and follow-up based on your session.
Worried about confidentiality? Never use names of the client or any setting. Cut and past the output and add the identifying information in your confidential management system. Remember, AI does not do everything - the 80:20 rule still applies. AI does 80% of the work and the human does 20%,
Simple Structure
No need to write heaps in session notes. We have done a deep dive into the Speech Pathology Australia information on what is required in a session note. Yes you need the standards: date, who, where, and to keep them confidentially stored. But there is a lot of flexibility in structure. The main requirement is that another speech pathologist can look at them and know what was done. I have used a lot of different notes over the years, and I prefer the table format for speed, clarity, and scanning.
Mind set shift
Speechies love communicating and sometimes that spills over into our session notes. But let’s hit pause: Do you really need to write that much? Who's actually reading it?Yes, detailed notes can be essential in some contexts, especially for complex cases, multidisciplinary teams, or medico-legal documentation. But often, we’re writing to meet some internal standard that’s stuck around since uni. Back then, long session plans helped build clinical reasoning (and kept educators happy). But in day-to-day practice long notes can be time-consuming and unnecessary. It’s time to shift the mindset. Notes should be purposeful, brief, and usable.
Top tips for success:
Make sure you have the app for ChatGPT on your phone. This means you can dictate or type notes quickly on the move.
Set a timer: Speed adds clarity.
Skip perfectionism: You're documenting, not writing a novel.
Save your prompts somewhere easy to copy/paste.
Expand and add details to prompts. Remember the golden rule: the more detail you give, the better your result.
What is happening in AI?
Something Inspiring
Want a laugh?
Trend to watch!
Try It, Then Tell Us:
Take the 7-in-7 Challenge this week.Track your time. See what changes.
This isn’t about cutting corners, it is about making work more enjoyable!
We would love to hear from you!
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Want to Learn More?
Other speech pathologists have told us:🗨️ “10/10”🗨️ “We all got a lot from it and are really excited about trying all the AI options”🗨️ “Engaging and fun, the workshop was both insightful and enjoyable.”
Until next time,
Megan
from
Speech Pathology Leaning and Supervision Hub - SPLASH
If this saved you even 5 minutes, forward it to a fellow speech pathologist who’d love to make working life easier
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