How a Productivity Coach Structures Their Coaching Plans

Are you thinking about “productivity coaching plans structure” in your business, professional, or personal life?

Do you want to learn more about the productivity coaching process and what it actually entails?

In this article, you’ll learn how a productivity coach like myself structures their coaching plans and works with their clients.

Key Takeaways

Table of Contents

What is a productivity coach?

A productivity coach is a professional who works with small entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives to help them work more efficiently and effectively in their daily routines.

You can think of it like a tune up for your productivity work flow. Working with a productivity coach can teach you new mindsets, habits, and skills so you can work with ease. And they can also show you how to effectively use productivity tools and techniques.

These coaches typically work with people who are looking for better work-life balance. You might feel overworked, stressed, or frustrated by your workload in your business or professional life.

What is a productivity coaching plans structure and why does it matter?

You wouldn’t attempt to make a cross-country road trip without planning your travel route or destination, right? Well, the same logic applies when it comes to productivity coaching.

A productivity coaching plan structure provides both you and your coach with a personalized roadmap that will help you get to your destination of improved productivity.

Having a plan in place acts as living guide you can refer to as you progress in your coaching. Of course, you can always change or edit your plan as you go.

But having a plan in place acts as a reliable beacon you can follow so you’re more likely to reach your goals. That’s a much better process than simply winging it and hoping for the best!

Who can benefit from structured productivity coaching plans?

You may benefit from a structured productivity coaching plan if you are a(n):

• Entrepreneur overwhelmed with multiple projects, assignments, and tasks
• Small business owner who is stretched thin working with staff, clients, customers, and vendors
• Executive seeking better work-life balance and more sustainable way of working within their organization
• Individuals looking to transform the way they think about and perceive their productivity levels

Generally speaking, if you tend to procrastinate on tasks, have an overbooked calendar, or suspect you’re not working as productively as you could be, then you may want to consider working with a productivity coach.

Deciding if productivity coaching is right for you is an individual choice. It’s important to thoughtfully and honestly consider how well you’re working, or not working, in your professional life.

How a productivity coach structures their coaching plans

Ever wonder how a productivity coach like myself structures their coaching plans? I tend to follow a six-step process.

While the general process stays the same, some of the steps overlap one another. It’s worth noting that coaching is often a fluid and changing process that grows with the individual being coached.

So, just keep in mind that this is a guide, not necessarily a be-all-end-all hard and fast rule.

Step 1. Complete an initial assessment and hold a discovery call

First, I encourage potential clients sign up for private 1:1 Strategy Session with me. In order to do this, I’ll ask you to fill out some basic information about yourself. This includes basic information about your situation, such as your current challenges and goals.

This process may sound simple, but it is of great benefit to both parties. For starters, I get to learn more about my potential clients’ concerns before we hop on our call together. That way, I can better structure the flow of your strategy session.

Potential clients like yourself benefit because you get to explore why you’re contacting me and what you want to accomplish should we work together. You can think of this intake form almost like your first mini-coaching session exercise!

Here’s some helpful questions you can ask yourself throughout the process:

• What are your business and professional goals for the next several months or year?
• What do you find to be the most frustrating part about your work, projects, or tasks?
• What’s been top-of-mind in your business or professional life for the past several weeks?
• Where do you tend to struggle the most when it comes to your work-life balance?
• If you could wave a magic wand and magically improve your current situation, what would you change?

Once you’ve booked your Strategy Session, we’ll then meet at the appointed day and time together 1:1 via Zoom video call.

What happens next? Should we decide to work with one another, I’ll send over an agreement for you to review and sign, process your payment details, and schedule your coaching sessions on the calendar.

Step 2. Set and prioritize top-of-mind goals

What do we talk about in our first coaching session together? Well, for starters, I’ll help you clarify the goals you want to reach over the next several months. I’ll ask you where you feel you need the most help. In many cases, I’ll make targeted suggestions for improvement or growth based on our conversation together.

Sometimes, people will have a few concerns they want to work on, such as improving delegation or their project planning skills. Still others may want to specifically target a topic that’s important to them, such as setting better boundaries in their business and home life.

So, if you have many goals, we’ll drill down to what’s top of mind for you. In my experience, there is an overflow effect in productivity. If you start working on one area of your productivity in your business, it tends to influence and positively affect other areas.

For instance, if we focusing on helping you gain confidence when processing emails, guess what? That can spill over into you making confident decisions when prioritizing tasks and delegating assignments to your assistant and team. It’s a total win-win situation!

Step 3. Address productivity mindset and work on behavior change

In my line of productivity coaching, I help people transform their hustle and grind mentality to one that’s sustainable and comfortable for the long term. Let’s face it: there’s no sense in being productive for a single day if you’re burned out the day after!

One of the first things I like to address with my clients is to talk about their productivity mindset. How you think about productivity will ultimately dictate how you approach and conduct your work. If you think you can work a certain way, you will. And the same holds true vice versa.

What are some examples of this in action? Here’s a few pointed questions you can ask yourself:

• Do you think you need work long hours during the week to be productive?
• Do you think you must use the latest productivity app or tool to be productive?
• What do you believe about your personal work preferences? Do you work with or against them?
• Do you think you need to jump on every non-urgent and non-important task to get things done?
• And do you think setting business or work hours will help or hinder you and your work?

Obviously, addressing people’s mindsets and improving their behavior doesn’t resolve itself in one session! Many times we must address your mindset multiple times during the length of your coaching arrangement. And that’s perfectly okay.

Look at it this way. If you’ve thought a thought for many months or years, it will take time to unlearn it. It takes time to train your brain to think and embrace new thoughts. The same thing applies when it comes to your productivity mindset.

Step 4. Discuss existing systems, technique, and tools

While I primarily work with folks on their mindset, I also address things like existing productivity systems, techniques, and tools. I love helping people gain clarity on whether a productivity solution is the right fit.

I believe everyone knows the best working environment, conditions, and methods for themselves. But there’s one glaring problem. You don’t know that you know it.

You see, there’s a tendency to search for what I call the ‘productivity silver bullet.’ It’s that tool, system, technique, or method that promises to solve all productivity challenges. We’ll try one or more solutions, only to find out they don’t work.

But the solution isn’t to find any tool. It’s to find the right tool. The one you’ll enjoy using on a regular basis.

Here’s a few questions to get you thinking about your current tools and systems:

• What productivity tools, techniques, or approaches do you absolutely love to use?
• What productivity tools, techniques, or approaches do you absolutely dislike to use?
• Where in your business do you think a system, method, template, or checklist would be beneficial?
• How do you want to feel when you use a productivity tool, technique, or approach?

Sometimes I work with clients to either embrace or let go of unhelpful tools. Other times, we’ll shift how they use the tool or implement a new system in their business or personal life.

And in other situations, I may simply call them out on the spot. I’ll ask why they’re forcing themselves to use a tool they absolutely despise. These items may seem small, but they do have a bit impact on how we work as a whole.

Step 5. Supportive accountability and regular progress tracking

A big part in working with clients when it comes to productivity coaching plans structure is accountability.

One way I do this is to have regular ongoing biweekly calls. I’ll meet with clients every two weeks. This allows you to not only have your sessions with me, but to have sufficient time apply what you’ve learned in your business, professional, and personal life.

During our sessions, we’ll review what worked and what didn’t. We’ll then make any necessary changes or adjustments as needed. What’s more, the assignments I give my clients are fully relevant to their unique situation and goals. I make a point to help my clients be productive in their thoughts and actions every single day.

Here’s some sample progress questions you can ask yourself:

• What did I plan to accomplish today?
• Did I accomplish it? Why or why not?
• How did I feel about accomplishing or not accomplishing my work? Why?
• What’s a lesson I learned from this experience?
• What’s something I could do better next time?

Another way I provide accountability is in the form of ongoing email support in my coaching packages. This allows you to check in with me between sessions. I’m all about helping people strive for progress not perfection, and having this external support can be really helpful.

Some folks may want to update me on their progress, what they worked on, or what they observed about themselves during the day. Others need some motivation and inspiration to keep on going when they have an off day or didn’t complete tasks.

Tracking your progress on a regular basis doesn’t have to be difficult. My Productivity Mindset Planner™ is designed as a daily check-in to help you shift out of overwhelm and into intentional action. Click the button below to download the planner:

Step 6. Ongoing evaluation and make adjustments to the plan

Lastly, the final step of the productivity coaching plans structure process is to keep learning. Ideally, I want my clients to take what they’ve learned and continue to use it for the rest of their professional and personal lives.

Many, if not all, of these productivity-adjacent skills, like planning, delegation, time management, and mindset mastery, are transferrable to many different situations in life. I strive to help people incorporate these skills into their daily routines.

It’s worth noting that people learn and grow in different ways. Some people will make great initial gains in one of their goals. We can cross off that goal and then move onto the next with little to no friction.

Other times, we’ll need to put our attention across several of their goals to create forward momentum. And sometimes, we’ll need to address different issues at different times throughout their productivity journey.

All in all, productivity coaching is a customized experience that’s tailored to an individual’s needs. So, if you’ve thought about working with a productivity coach, now’s the perfect time to get started!

For a broader look at how these steps fit into the full coaching experience, see my comprehensive productivity coaching guide for new clients.

FAQ: Productivity coaching plans structure

Conclusion

A structured productivity coaching plan gives you more than strategies, tools, tips, and techniques. In reality, it gives you clarity and direction to help you better manage your professional and personal life.

With personalized support, you can shift your mindset, build confidence, and work more comfortably. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or executive, coaching can help you go from busy to balanced. Ready to move from busy to balanced? Book a 1:1 Strategy Session with me today.

Rashelle Isip Productivity Coach and Founder of The Order Expert®

Rashelle Isip is a productivity coach and founder of The Order Expert®. She is a contributing columnist for Inc.com and author of four books. With over 16 years of experience in the productivity industry, Rashelle helps people work comfortably, sustainably, and joyously for the long term.

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Productivity coaching Time management coaching Mindset-driven productivity Work-life balance Organization systems Entrepreneur productivity