How can you help clients set realistic deadlines?

? Work Backwards ? Get all stakeholder buy-in up front ? Understand and talk your customers language ? Communicate often internally and externally

As a coach, my role is to empower clients to set realistic deadlines. We'll start by examining their goals, breaking them into manageable steps. I'll guide them in assessing their capabilities, considering external factors, and prioritising tasks. Together, we'll foster a mindset of accountability and adaptability. Realistic deadlines aren't about limitation; they're about achieving dreams effectively, respecting diverse backgrounds and timelines. Let's embark on this journey, respecting your unique pace, and watch your aspirations become accomplishments.

Realistic deadlines ensure that the tasks you set are doable, give you the time needed for thoughtful, high-quality work, , allow you to work at a pace that keeps stress levels in check, provide room for learning and improvement, ensure everyone is on the same page, account for unexpected challenges, giving you the flexibility to navigate detours without derailing the entire plan, support steady progress, allow for a healthier work-life balance, preventing burnout and ensuring overall well-being.

In addition to the above, we can ask about specific projects or tasks they've worked on lately and how they approached the deadlines, what worked well, and where they faced challenges? Understand their perception of meeting deadlines as well as what motivates them to meet deadlines: like whether it is a sense of accomplishment, fear of consequences, or external rewards. Ask them about any challenges that they regularly encounter when meeting deadlines ( like I forget everything else when I try to meet deadlines ). Find out how their habits align with their aspirations? Discuss their expectations for future projects and what they aim to achieve, and how their habits can evolve to support those aspirations.

In addition to the above , we can ask about specific projects or tasks they've worked on lately and how they approached the deadlines. What worked well, and where they faced challenges? Understand their perception of meeting deadlines as well as what motivates them to meet deadlines: like whether it is a sense of accomplishment, fear of consequences, or external rewards. Ask them about any challenges that they regularly encounter when meeting deadlines ( like I forget everything else to meet the deadlines. ). Find out how their habits align with their aspirations? Discuss their expectations for future projects and what they aim to achieve, and how their habits can evolve to support those aspirations

All are aware of setting SMART Goals Putting them into Practice we can 1) make them crystal clear by defining Specifics like "Write 1000 words every day from 6 to 7 AM for a period of … days “, 2) providing a method to Measure and track the progress like recording the no of words written everyday in an excel sheet, google sheet or any tool, 3) setting targets that push them a bit beyond their comfort zone but are still Achievable with some effort like “writing 1000 words daily, and not 50000 words. 4) Keeping it Relevant to their broader aspiration like putting a routine for writing and not for Fitness when the Goal is for writing a book, 5)and Timebound to add a sense of urgency as well as help in planning

Assisting clients in setting SMART goals involves guiding them to create objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For instance, let's consider a fitness trainer working with a client who wants to improve their overall health. Instead of a vague goal like "getting fit," the trainer helps the client define a SMART goal. The client's SMART goal could be to "lose 10 pounds in the next 8 weeks by exercising for at least 30 minutes five times a week and adopting a balanced diet."

All are aware of setting SMART Goals . Putting them into Practice we can 1) make them crystal clear by defining Specifics like "Write 1000 words every day from 6 to 7 AM for a period of … days “, 2) providing a method to Measure and track the progress like recording the no of words written everyday in an excel sheet, google sheet or any tool , 3) setting targets that push them a bit beyond their comfort zone but are still Achievable with some effort like “writing 1000 words daily, and not 50000 words. 4) Keeping it Relevant to their broader aspiration like putting a routine for writing and not for Fitness when the Goal is fto writing a book, 5)and Timebound to add a sense of urgency as well as help in planning

We can also use David Allen’s Get Things Done (GTD) methodology to get everything out of the mind onto paper, categorize and execute them. This includes all tasks, ideas, and mental clutter to create a clear starting point. I use this method myself. Once you have your Master List, you’ll be able to identify and categorize tasks based on priorities, importance, urgency, level of attention required, time duration for execution along with deadlines. Use the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize based on urgency and importance, Ivy Lee Method to rank daily tasks by their priority, ABCDE method to separate tasks with similar priorities and “Eat the frog” method to complete the non-negotiable task first thing and so on

We can also use David Allen’s Get Things Done (GTD) method to get everything out of the mind onto paper, categorize and execute them. This includes all tasks, ideas, and mental clutter to create a clear starting point. I use this method to make a Master list of all projects and tasks that I need to complete. Once you have your Master List, you’ll be able to identify and categorize tasks based on their priorities, importance, urgency, level of attention required, time duration for execution along with deadlines. Use the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize based on urgency and importance, Ivy Lee Method to rank daily tasks by priority, ABCDE method to task first thing and so on

We can let them know that facing obstacles is entirely normal as all of us face hurdles and setbacks. Every challenge provides an opportunity to gather insights, refine strategies, and come back stronger. Get them to reflect on the setback , to make it a powerful tool for future success ie reflect on what went wrong, and what can be learned from the experience and so on . Strengthen their emotional resilience by reminding them that developing the ability and skill to bounce back is not only important but is a valuable skill. Encourage them to reach out for support to friends, family, or mentors as having a good support system can provide better perspective and encouragement.