There is a lot going on in any business: information flying in all directions, emails, files, clients wanting attention, marketing, finance, website, your calendar – it can easily get a bit messy. And sometimes that’s ok. But sometimes it would just be a bit easier to focus on what you really want to be doing if the rest was just tidier. If you could find the file you needed instantly, focus on this project, know what needs to be done.
For coaches in particular you are often passionate, empathetic, enthusiastic, creative, client focused. Sorting out the day-to-day things gives you space be who you are and spend your time on all those important things you’re best at. It is so freeing to know that you’re doing what you need to be doing, and that it’s ok to not be doing what you’re not doing – being an organised coach.
Being organised doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people, and often the more creative you are, the less easy it is – there has to be a price to pay for that brilliance! You can learn how, just like you learnt your specialism of how to help your clients. It’s just another ability for your entrepreneurial bow. Learning these skills will change the way you run your business, and as a result, your life.
Many of my clients are coaches of various disciplines – life, fitness, nutrition, finance. Reflecting on the common challenges, below are the main areas I find improving makes the biggest difference to their business and life.
Organised mindset
Most coaches are very familiar with mindset and motivation – far more so than I! It’s worth taking some time to reflect on your own mindset with regards organisation in your business as it’s easier to be motivated to work on projects you truly believe in.
Running a business and the associated admin can take a lot less time and stress. I want you to believe that things can be different, you can focus more on serving your clients. Everyone is motivated by their own reasons, so explore and discover what is most important to you.
If you put in the effort to change the way you work, it will be worth it.
Freedom from your emails
Occasionally I am so busy I don’t have time to keep up with my emails as well as usual and seeing them piling up makes me so STRESSED. Then I think of the people who don’t have tools and techniques making the most of their inbox and must feel like this all the time.
If you think that most people share the problem of too many emails, you’d be right. But just because it’s seen as “normal” doesn’t mean it isn’t affecting your work… or your mental and physical health.
On average we check our emails every 6 minutes, leaving no real focus time to do meaningful work. Making the most of your email technology and better email habits gives you more productive working time and reduces how long you spend on email management.
Smart Task Management
Our heads are for having ideas, not holding them – the more your mind is cluttered with reminders and things to follow-up on, the less attentional space we have to focus on our most meaningful work.
The first step is to write down everything you need to do. Just getting it out of your head makes it easier to concentrate, enables you make choices on what is most important and plan when you’re going to do things.
A great task management system is so much more than a to-do list; I run my whole business through mine and I love it!
Time Maximisation
I know you want to have time to work on your own goals and progress your business rather than feeling like you’re frantically running just to stay still.
Everything you do fits into one of 3 categories: planning, planned work, and ad hoc work. Ad hoc work is a problem as by doing this you are by default deciding this is the best and most important use of your time at that point. However, this is often not the case when you look at your bigger goals and plans – it’s often just the shiniest thing right now or most recent problem.
Good time maximisation training will show you the techniques to enable you to get it all done in less time, know what to work on at any time – and be confident that it is the right thing for you and your business.
Your Ultimate Week
Sometimes a week can run away with you. Each day comes in a flurry of emails, deadlines, stuff that should probably be done now. Have you ever wondered if there was a better way?
In order to make the most of your next week, it is important to plan. This way you are proactively taking control of your time, not just reacting each day and each moment. Taking this control has a very calming effect and gives you the confidence to know what needs to be done.
The plan is not concrete, but it allows for you to achieve what you want in the week, so if something else comes along you can decide on the higher priority and move things – knowing the consequence. Actively making these decisions rather than them happening to you makes a massive difference.
The Organised Coach Method
At the moment I’m only able to help coaches 1:1, which means so many are persevering and struggling with organisational challenges holding them back from serving their clients best.
Therefore, I’ve created an online course taking coaches through step-by-step how to make the above an easy, integral part of your business taking little thought and enabling focus on what you do best, with lots of resources, templates and workbooks helping you along the way.
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