Business leaders and entrepreneurs often struggle to balance their personal and professional lives and self-care. Professionals should learn the art of synchronizing their schedules to have a meaningful and productive life in all aspects, including work and personal relationships.
Coaches, in particular, need to sync their schedules with others to meet client needs while also making time for their priorities. Below, 15 members of the Forbes Coaches Council offer their top tips for achieving this balance:
1. Allocating Time for Both Working in and on Your Business
From DTK Coaching, LLC, David Taylor-Klaus suggests that success begins by allocating specific times for working in and on your business. For instance, he reserves Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for client and prospect sessions. Mondays are dedicated to internal business tasks like team meetings, planning, finance, and marketing. Fridays are kept for projects, events, and travel. This structured approach brings clarity to your schedule.
2. Be Courageous To Change Priorities Transparently
Judit ábri von Bartheld, from CHN LLC - Coaching Without Borders Hungary (Coaching Határok Nélkül), suggests being mindful of your priorities and understanding what influences them. Have the courage to adjust them as needed and advocate for what benefits you most. Being courageous involves communicating your priorities transparently to those who matter to you.
3. Syncing Your Daily Activities In Your Calendar
Scheduling time with clients, partners, stakeholders, and loved ones can be complex, but it is not impossible. By syncing one's calendar, individuals like Carlos Then, from Mr. Then Consulting LLC, can meet others' needs while preserving their agenda, ranging from meals and workouts to meditation and calls, ensuring they manage their time effectively.
4. Scheduling Priorities In Your Diary/To-Do List
Incorporate your priorities into your diary or to-do list to elevate their importance in your mind. Remember, they do not have to be scheduled in large blocks of time. You can allocate micro-moments throughout your day, like 10 minutes to call a loved one or 15 minutes to check a job website. This approach, suggested by Palena Neale from Unabridged, helps ensure you tend to what is important to you amidst your other tasks.
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5. Saving Low Priorities For Later
Stay focused by steering clear of distractions like shiny objects. If you cannot resist them, schedule them for later. Be firm about saying "no" to low-priority tasks, advises Natasha Charles of Intuitive Coaching with Natasha Charles.
6. Maintaining Free Space In Your Schedule
Maintain free time in your daily, weekly, and monthly schedule. According to Parkinson's law, tasks tend to expand to fit the time available for completion. Having empty slots in your schedule enables you to accommodate unexpected demands from others and yourself. If necessary, you can also bring future tasks forward and complete them ahead of time, says Vinesh Sukumaran from Vinesh Sukumaran Consulting.
7. Blocking Out Personal Time And Top Priorities First
Nicole Brant-Zawadzki from BZ Coaching suggests that blocking out a schedule is essential for staying focused and productive. She advises honoring personal rhythms and communicating availability for meetings or work commitments. Brant-Zawadzki recommends prioritizing personal time and other important activities to ensure presence and energy during engagements.
8. Establishing Professional Boundaries
Jonathan H. Westover, from Human Capital Innovations, LLC, advises being clear-eyed about core values to inform key priorities, blocking out time for these priorities, and committing to them. Westover emphasizes the importance of saying "no" to conflicting opportunities and establishing clear professional boundaries while also respecting the boundaries of colleagues.
9. Focusing On Energy Management Over Time Management
Rosie Guagliardo, from InnerBrilliance Coaching, emphasizes energy management over time management. She suggests identifying peak productivity times for strategic versus administrative work and engaging with clients or loved ones. Guagliardo advises blocking out the calendar according to energy levels and ensuring activities align with personal values, ensuring optimal focus and presence for ideal clients and loved ones.
10. Taking Care Of Yourself Before Others
Lauren Najar, from Lauren Najar Coaching LLC, stresses the importance of prioritizing self-care and business needs before attending to others' requests. She emphasizes that business growth depends on taking care of oneself and one's business first while maintaining boundaries for flexibility and accommodation.
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