Written by Shawn McQueen, Course Mentor for Group Coaching
Part of the role of a World-Class Coach is managing time effectively. If you are familiar with Parkinson’s Law, you’ve likely heard the phrase:
“Work expands to fill the time allotted.”
As you progress in your coaching journey, this will be a critical area to develop a sense of mastery.
We all only have a select amount of time each day. 24 hours to be precise.
Could you take on 6 personal training session clients each day, every day of the week?
Of course.
Would it lead to an eventual burn out? Highly likely.
Especially once you add in coaching 1-2 groups, your own training, possible other duties (cleaning, equipment maintenance, etc) and then on top of that, your own personal life.
The car can only go so fast before it crashes and burns.
Trust me, I’ve been that guy. I’ve been there before. Giving up endless amounts of time for myself because it is in my nature to care, to want to help, to give someone a better day you name it.
Here are 10 things you can do to improve your coaching today:
1- You have to plan ahead
Plan your day.
Know when you’re coaching group classes.
Coaching 1 on 1’s.
When are you training?
When are you shutting it down?
Block off time to prepare where it is needed.
Equally block off time to not work.
Write out your week – what days are busier – what days are slower.
Planning like this helps manage your stress.
2- You have to take it one day at a time.
It can sometimes be overwhelming to think of the week as a whole.
So just focus on the day ahead. One session at a time.
One smile.
One win.
One great performance at a time.
3- You have to learn from previous experiences/weeks.
What went well?
Where did you crush it?
Make change?
Celebrate it. Magnify it. Learn from it – how did you do it?
What was overload for you?
Where did you stumble?
Where did your best self not show?
Communicate to yourself.
Think it through.
Communicate to the team.
Talk it through.
4- You have to not give your energy in places that will rob you of it (or drain your battery)
Insert: social media, fights with significant others, falling out of a solution mindset and living in the problem mindset – lighting fires everywhere (look for bad and you’ll always find bad)
You only have so much battery power in a day.
We have to train ourselves (our minds) to find the good, spread the good, appreciate more.
And through that – creates a culture that does the same thing.
5- You have to down regulate
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying when you’re not at the gym it should be tv on or video games all day.
It should be to tackle your 3-5 bucket items for the day, plan for tomorrow, get done what you need to but make sure there is time for you.
Sit alone.
Breath work.
Read.
GET AWAY/OFF Social media.
Write – brain dump.
6- You have to add more value to yourself
Why did I add this here? Because the more value you add to yourself, your sessions, then you can do less for more.
Why can’t you charge $150 for 60 minutes?
What problem can you help solve?
What are your particular skills?
What communication skills can you improve upon?
This will be a never ending journey/pursuit.
But the professional takes it to heart.
7-You have to be honest with yourself
You can’t take it all on. You have to learn to say no to people.
You need to get a great sense of what you will and will not do.
“Can we do 5:30am next Monday?”
“I’m sorry but I’m unavailable at that time, is there another time that works for you?”
We are the writers of our book – you can say yes and you can say no.
8-You need to reflect
How was your performance today? As a Coach? Was it World-Class?
How about as an athlete? Where was your win?
How was your nutrition? Were you disciplined? Consistent? Are you leading by example?
How were your interactions today?
Who needs more of you? Where did you show up above and beyond today?
9- You need to stay accountable
Your highest accountability is to yourself.
But you’ll also allow yourself to skimp.
Skimp on your healthy eating or following through on what you said.
Your word is your bond.
Write things down.
Did you do it or did you not.
Commit to constant improvement. On your craft. On your health. On your fitness. As a significant other.
10- You need to get really good at the hats you wear
When you’re Coaching (of any sort) you are a World Class Professional.
When you’re training – you are a member who enhances the experience, raises the bar, holds a standard, has fun, makes the class better, leads by example
When you answer the phone – you’re a professional
When you greet a walk in – you’re a professional
When you are at home – you’re you. Still all of the above to some extent but you must water the seeds of your relationships, friendships, family.
The hat you never take off is being an exceptional human being.
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