Coaching for Productivity

Howdy and welcome back!

Today, I want to talk about productivity coaching and ways to move toward your goals, whether that means managing stress better, improving your time management, or simply creating a better plan to attack your day. Let’s get into it!

How to Increase Your Productivity

Step One: Determine Your Goal

As always, this needs to be specific. “I want to get more done” or “I want to spend more time with my family” isn’t enough. What exactly are you trying to do?

For example:

• “I want to attend all of my children’s soccer games on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

• “I want to get my best work done during my optimal timeframe each day.”

• “I want to stop feeling so rushed and wondering where my day went.”

  
  

Pick one goal to start. Often, one small win naturally flows into other areas of your life. But first, let’s build momentum and rack up a few wins. Remember: Baby Step to Glory!

Step Two: Honest Evaluation

This step requires a bit of humility. You need to honestly evaluate your strengths and weaknesses.

• What do you already do well? Can you leverage those skills more?

• Where are you struggling, and is it worth the effort to train yourself out of that habit?

• Or, do you need to simply avoid the situations that trigger unproductive behavior?

For example, maybe you're like me and scroll Instagram to take a mental break, but it quickly becomes an hour-long binge. There are tools you can use - like app timers or phone settings that limit screen time. Or you can schedule better brain breaks into your day.

Either way, your job is to get honest and build a plan that sets you up for success. Stay focused. Keep your eye on the prize.

Step Three: Make a Plan and Write It Down

It sounds obvious, but it matters. Your brain is juggling a lot. When you write your plan down, it frees your mental space so you can focus on actually doing the work instead of just remembering what needs to be done.

I recommend having two lists:

• A master list for everything that comes to mind

• A daily list with just two high-priority tasks

  
  

Experts say that focusing on just two “must-do” items per day helps keep overwhelm at bay. Anything else you accomplish is a bonus.

Writing it down may feel small, but it’s powerful. It reduces mental clutter and improves follow-through. Plus, seeing tasks written out helps you prioritize - what’s important vs. what’s urgent. If you’re interested in diving deeper into those distinctions, we can go over it during coaching, or you can look into some excellent resources online.

Step Four: Motivate Yourself

Productivity goals usually involve changing how you think and behave, which means your brain will resist.

Your brain wants comfort. It wants routine. It wants easy. So when you try to implement change, your brain throws up all kinds of resistance. You’ll feel unmotivated, overwhelmed, or just plain tired.

Plan for that.

Here are a few ways to push through:

• Get an accountability partner who checks in with you

• Set up rewards for hitting milestones (Example: If I stick to my screen time goal for five days, I get a fancy iced coffee.)

• Build in dopamine hits so your brain starts associating your new habits with reward and success

Don’t expect yourself to be motivated all the time. Create systems that motivate you anyway.

Step Five: Self-Care and Stress Management

Trying to be more productive often adds stress at first. That’s completely normal.

You are changing your systems, rewiring your brain, and disrupting the comfortable patterns it’s used to. So when you feel like quitting - don’t. That’s just your brain begging to go back to the easier path. Breathe. Push forward.

Here are a few tips:

• Try guided meditation (there are tons of free videos on YouTube)

• Schedule regular breaks

• Be mindful of how much you're giving to others vs. what you’re giving to yourself

A lot of highly productive people are also caretakers - whether for a family, a team at work, or their community. You cannot pour from an empty cup. Give to others, yes, but also protect time for yourself. That includes setting boundaries when needed so you can focus on forming new habits that truly support your long-term productivity.

These are just a few tips to get you started.

If you’re feeling stuck and want to take the next step, reach out to chat about 1:1 coaching. There are so many ways to customize a productivity approach that fits you, and I’d love to help you find the one that works best.

What helps you stay productive? Do you have a goal you’re working toward? I’d love to hear what’s working for you.

See ya next time!