What do you do if your life coaching practice is taking a toll on your personal life?

If your life coaching practice is negatively impacting your personal life, it's essential to take steps to address this imbalance. You may try to implement effective time management strategies to maximize productivity during work hours, allowing you to have more time for personal activities. Here are some productivity tips that changed my life: 1. Planning your day the night before 2. Doing max in 1st half of the day 3. Working with 0 distractions 4. Taking refreshing breaks 5. Saying no Remember that maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial for your overall well-being and effectiveness as a coach. Don't get me wrong, working hard is essential. But so is rejuvenation.

High return on your time investment = long-lasting value in your work = balance. Besides the tried-and-true things like boundaries, self-care, fresh air, prioritizing sleep, eating healthy food, & exercising, identify time-wasting activities: Checking social media Checking your email more than twice a day Doing tasks you can delegate or hire someone to do Perfectionism Multi-tasking Inefficient work processes Disorganization The 80/20 rule is an excellent way to balance your day, which balances your life. 80% of results come from 20% of actions. A small minority of actions lead to a large majority of results. Create a 10-item to-do list. Two of those tasks would generate the majority of results, focus on those two high-impact actions.

Becoming a coach, full-time, self-employed, means you are in charge of what your days look like. You have the opportunity to create your ideal life. Plan what that looks like, your ideal schedule and work toward making that your reality. If done correctly you won't have any issues.

If I coach my clients to lead holistic lives, it's essential that I live by the same principles. I believe in practicing what I preach. While I do put in long hours on a typical workday—around 12 hours—I also prioritize taking breaks for my family, friends, special occasions, and exercise. To ensure I'm emotionally available for my clients, even during busy periods, I invest time in self-care and adhere to my morning rituals without compromise. Living this way isn't just a job for me; it's my life's purpose. It fuels my determination to reach out to more people and guide them on their transformative journeys. This constant pursuit of expanding my impact keeps me hungry, driven, and motivated to do more.

It's a dilemma that many coaches face, but are often hesitant to discuss. The truth is, it's a widely shared experience. As we guide clients to their 'aha' moments, their breakthroughs, and their personal milestones, we often unknowingly let our own needs take a back seat. Constantly being the pillar of support for others can lead us to neglect our personal growth, our self-care, and our relationships. How did I turn it around? By implementing self-coaching techniques. Holding myself accountable for my personal life just as I would for my clients. By scheduling time for self-reflection, I was able to realign my personal and professional life.

Setting time aside before and after a coaching session is highly recommended. This time is for your benefit and is equally important as the session itself.

Set Boundaries and Schedule Regular Breaks: Establish clear boundaries between your work and personal life to prevent burnout and maintain a healthy balance. Define specific work hours, designate time for self-care and leisure activities, and communicate your boundaries to clients, colleagues, and loved ones. Incorporate regular breaks and downtime into your schedule to prevent burnout and recharge your batteries. Take short breaks throughout the day, schedule days off or vacation time periodically, and disconnect from work-related tasks during non-working hours.

Be transparent with your clients about your availability and boundaries. Clearly communicate your coaching hours, response times, and any periods when you'll be unavailable due to personal commitments or self-care.

If your life coaching practice is negatively impacting your personal life, setting boundaries is crucial to maintain balance and well-being. Start by clearly defining your work hours, client availability, and communication policies. Establish boundaries around workload and client expectations, including limits on session frequency or duration. Prioritize self-care activities such as exercise, relaxation, and leisure time to replenish your energy and prevent burnout. Communicate boundaries assertively with clients, emphasizing the importance of self-care and respecting personal time. Regularly adjust boundaries as needed to maintain a healthy balance between your coaching practice and personal life.

Setting your schedule out at least six months in advance is really helpful. This creates a first-level boundary, and a real visual that you have to follow. If clients are contacting you directly, and you find it difficult or anxiety provoking to disappoint them (in the sense they cannot get an appointment right away), it may be helpful to get an executive assistant to serve as a schedule gatekeeper. You have a personal relationship with clients, and this can influence you to be endlessly flexible - whereas an assistant will follow the guidelines you set at all times (guilt free!)

As a coach, you must have what you want to offer. It's important to remember that you can't give what you don't have. It's important to prioritise activities that promote relaxation and rejuvenation in your schedule. It is important to prioritise self-care and engage in activities that promote well-being, such as getting sufficient rest, nourishing your body with nutritious meals, staying active, connecting with nature, and indulging in hobbies that bring you joy. Prioritising your well-being is essential for being an effective and supportive guide for those you mentor.

Schedule out your exercise, healthy meals and downtime in your schedule FIRST. Make it non-negotiable. For example, I had to move my exercise to the morning as it removes all chances of me missing it because a meeting ran long, or a problem came up that absolutely needed my attention. Sounds like a simple suggestion, but believe me it works!

Hire an executive assistant, and invest in all aspects of your process for your clients or patients. This takes time, and money - but it will allow you to do what you do best - which is to serve your clients. The other tasks will continuously pull you away, and eventually bleed into your personal life and mood.

The best, world-class athletes have several coaches and trainers. We should take the same approach in life if we want to get to that level. Having (and contributing to) a community of entrepeneurs, coaches or whoever is in your circle is absolutely instrumental. This circle can and should grow, change and evolve.

All successful businesses are made up of great people and your business should be no different. Imagine for a moment that you are a #1 ranked tennis player. How many people would you hire to help you maintain your peak performance?

Understand what part of your practice is taking a toll and then get the right support from there. Is it the business side of your life coaching practice, or more the client side? If it's the client side, are you burned out from too many 1:1 clients? Do you need to scale more or assert stronger boundaries with clients? Try to get very specific about the problem so you can work with a coach or a mentor on solving it.

Make it a priority to set aside dedicated moments for self-reflection. This will allow you to evaluate the personal effects of your coaching practice. Are you experiencing a sense of satisfaction or exhaustion? Have you considered the long-term viability of your current approach? Are there any changes you can make to achieve a more harmonious equilibrium? Engaging in journaling or seeking guidance from a professional can be valuable for personal introspection.

If your coaching practice is starting to feel draining, it's crucial to take a step back & reflect. Ask yourself if you're truly passionate about what you're doing. Does coaching help you fulfill your purpose, or is it merely a means to make ends meet? Additionally, it's vital to recognize the balance between being emotionally present for your clients & becoming emotionally invested in their journey. While it's essential to empathize with their struggles, becoming overly emotionally involved can hinder your ability to coach effectively. It may prevent you from challenging them to tap into their potential and overcome obstacles. Striking this balance is key to fostering a healthy coaching relationship & meaningful progress for your clients.

It's important to have a well-rounded life. Work, pleasure, connection, fun etc. People who are the givers of this world can often struggle with this. I was a workaholic at one point until I healed the part of me that used work as a way to validate myself. You deserve a personal life! :)

Address and change any core limiting beliefs that may be keeping you from creating a work-life balance. Ask yourself what you would recommend to a client who was asking you how to balance their work and personal life. How would you help them to: a) become aware of the patterns that are limiting them, and b) change those tendencies? Then, do the same for yourself. You are not just a coach, you are your most important client - because that client is affecting all of the others. ;)