Coaching on Time Management

Time management has to be one of the most popular problems that people want to improve through life coaching. Clients might be looking to improve productivity, increase sales, get a new job, or get fit, but the coaching often involves an aspect of time management. A fitness analogy is that members of health clubs nearly all want to lose weight. This comes in different guises; tone up, fight the flab, drop a size, etc, but the basic goal is the same for many.

People who are new to coaching are often looking for advice or expertise; in other words they want the coach to provide the solution. This is not what coaching is about, because 9 times out of 10, it will not help the client. And I believe that this is also why time management is such a common problem. Many managers impose their ways of doing things on employees, or when people ask a friend or colleague for help, they’re often given a solution that works for the friend, which may be a short term fix, but doesn’t normally stick.

Different strokes work for different folks. There are a lot more distractions these days, but there are also more tools to help us to manage time and focus. Making lists works for some, while others use prioritising, planning, scheduling… personally, I’m a big fan of eating frogs. The key is to find what works for you.

Coaching helps with the motivation to make a change and to keep up momentum. We check on the desire for change (if it’s not there, it’s not time to change yet). If the time is right, we set smart goals, investigate options, identifying what might work, gauge the way forward, and move towards the goal with purpose and belief. Good coaching is non-directive, i.e. the client comes up with the options and solutions themselves, and 9 times out of 10, these stick.

Helping people to seemingly create more time is very rewarding!