Ultimate Guide to Productivity Coaching in 2023

Do you snooze an alarm? Do you postpone the tasks on your to-do list? Does your mind wander often, thinking about random things as you try and work?
If you resonated with one or all of these questions, you’re not alone. Most people struggle against distractions and procrastination to be productive. And this is where productivity coaching comes in.

But who is a productivity coach? What do they do? What is meant by productivity coaching, and who needs it? Hold on! We'll answer all these questions, and more, in this comprehensive guide to productivity coaching. 

Let's dive in.

What is Productivity Coaching?

Most people think productivity coaching is about completing tasks faster and doing big things. But it's not. Productivity coaching is about transforming an overwhelming and chaotic lifestyle into a conscious one.

The more you're conscious, the more you become cautious about utilizing the resources around you. You do the right things at the right time. And productivity coaching is all about managing yourself rather than your time to achieve the most important goals in your life.

Who is a Productivity Coach?

In general, a productivity coach is a guide who helps their clients get their daily tasks done efficiently without feeling overwhelmed or anxious. The intent is to maximize outcomes while working for the same amount of time or putting in the same energy.

A productivity coach helps people to attain a calm and peaceful mindset while chasing their goals. They transform their entire lifestyle, impacting their personal, professional, mental, and emotional well-being.

How do they do it? Using practical and actionable daily assessments, tools, strategies, and habits.

What Does a Productivity Coach Do?

As a productivity coach, you need to help your clients realize their priorities and push them to work smartly and move forward on the desired path. You need to motivate and guide them to enjoy the process more than the outcomes.

Here are a few things you, as a productivity coach, need to do to improve your client's performance:

  • Help them beat procrastination
  • Make them accountable and inculcate discipline
  • Guide them on how to perform their tasks to amplify the output
  • Help them organize daily activities
  • Help individuals finish tasks without feeling burned out
  • Help eliminate distractions or obstacles
  • Guide them to enjoy more free time with the people and work they care about
  • Reduce anxiety or the feeling of being overwhelmed
  • Help them enjoy a more purposeful day
  • Help them utilize time more efficiently

To do this, you can create custom-tailored client assessments to understand their strengths, weaknesses, obstacles, and motivations. You also need to give your clients constructive and genuine feedback and motivate them to find the best possible solutions to achieve their goals.

How Does Productivity Coaching Work?

How can a productive coach help people? Do people need a coach to get their tasks done? Isn't it possible to be more productive reading related books or taking courses? Is it worth hiring a coach to get some extra time?

Let's find out.

Kaitlyn wanted to lose 25 pounds in three months. She spent a lot of time researching suitable diet and exercise plans. There was so much conflicting information on the web that it took her a long time to decide what she wanted to do. Whenever she found new information, she researched it on a different track. Armed with all her research, she set a very stringent plan for herself. But by the time she started following this plan, she was already a month into her 3-month goals. But better late than never. She started following the plan, and she did it diligently in the initial week. But then distractions started to show up – a friend's birthday, an office party, a deadline at work, a weekend travel plan, etc. Soon she found it almost impossible to stick to the routine she had set for herself. Demotivated and not seeing any results, she gave up completely.

What she needed was a coach.

If she had hired a professional to work with her on the goals, she could have avoided many of the challenges she faced and met her goals instead of abandoning the plan. A coach would have given her the motivation, accountability, and the right strategies to achieve her goal in the most productive way.

A productivity coach achieves transformation by:

  • Understanding the current state of the coachee with active listening, assessments, and asking the right questions
  • Working with the client to find answers to their most pressing problems
  • Crafting personalized plans based on tried and tested techniques to achieve goals
  • Introducing lasting behavioral change
  • Tracking their performance and course correcting

A good productivity coach makes their clients feel confident, intentional, and clear about their goals. They make the journey better and more exciting.

Who needs Coaching to Improve Productivity?

Anyone who wants to:

  • Build a progressive life
  • Spend more quality time with friends and family
  • Eliminate being anxious and overwhelmed
  • Kick-off overthinking and work on the most significant things in life

So, in a nutshell, everyone can do better with a productivity coach. The real question is, do you want to coach everybody? 

As an aspiring productivity coach, you need to figure out your niche to bring the best version of you. Who can you help the most? Where can your skills, inclinations, and intentions add the most value - entrepreneurs, consultants, teachers, or artists? Create your ideal client avatar and create frameworks and strategies to support them.

Check out this video to find out your niche and ideal target audience.

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7 Benefits Productivity Coaches Bring to their Clients

Here are the top seven benefits you, as a productivity coach, can bring to your clients.

Eliminate procrastination

Research suggests that 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators. This is even more prevalent in the workforce. Darius Foroux, author of Think Straight and Do It Today, surveyed 2219 people and found that 88% of workers procrastinate at least 60 minutes in a day

Think about it this way - time is money. If a person earns $40,000 per year and procrastinates for 3 hours a day, they end up losing $15,000.  

As a productivity coach, you can help your clients overcome procrastination by taking definite action. You can also keep them on track with daily reminders, weekly performance monitoring, and productivity tools. As they become more accountable and responsive to their tasks and goals, they will save time, money, and feel better about themselves. 

Check out this video for tools on how to stop procrastinating.

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Help prioritize life

Stephen R. Covey, a renowned American Author and Businessman, once said, "Most of us spend too much time on what's urgent rather than spending enough time on what's important." 

While most people think they can prioritize, only 10% -20% of them are doing it right. As a productivity coach, you can help your clients understand their priorities and align goals and tasks accordingly.

Set clear goals

People are often caught up planning long-term goals and ignore daily ones. As a coach, you can help your clients set micro goals and create a practical plan of action to achieve them.

Productivity coaches help clients break down mega goals into easy-to-manage tasks. They clarify goals so the client knows exactly what to do and how. As a result, the clients get more time to look after what's important for their work-life success.

Increase productivity

It's all in the name, really, isn't it? Productivity coaches drive productivity by increasing efficiency and effectiveness while reducing time and effort.

For instance, let's say the coaches wants to scale their business. They have a lot of things to do, such as managing clients, preparing presentations, marketing, and selling products. A productivity coach can help them work effectively by organizing their to-do list and applying the 80:20 rule to weed out non-productive tasks. They can offer tips on delegation, minimize distractions, and help the coaches use various tools and techniques to use their time most efficiently.

Check out this video for more details on how to be more productive.

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Create time for what your clients value the most

A productivity coach helps clients utilize time effectively through various strategies. This means they enable clients to get more time to spend on the things or people they love. One great technique to do this is the "Time Blocks Technique."

In this technique, time is divided into blocks of 30 minutes. The client is asked to note their actions in those 30 minutes. For every 30-minute block of time, the coach evaluates the following:

  • Where is the client spending most of their time?
  • Are the things demanding most of their time in alignment with their goals and priorities?
  • What are the actions and distractions that can be eliminated?

This analysis allows the coach to suggest actions that can free up more time for their clients.

Help overcome burnout and overwhelm

One of the most common reasons why people hire a productivity coach is to get rid of the feeling of overwhelm.

Heavy work pressure, multitasking, and information overload are making all of us feel burnt out and overwhelmed. It's tough to focus on what really needs to be done when 20 things simultaneously fight for your attention.

A productivity coach works their magic to get rid of these negative feelings. As you bring more structure and organization to your client's day, it reduces the chaos and gives them more clarity on what they need to get done – and that allows for quick action!

Eliminate stress and anxiety

No matter the circumstance in life or occupation, stress and anxiety have become lifestyle diseases today.

Reports from the American Institute of Stress say that,

  • 33% of people become victims of high stress
  • 48% of people experience sleep issues due to stress
  • For about 73% of people, mental health issues are a side-effect of stress

As a productivity coach, you can help people cope with a fast-paced life by guiding them on what they need to do and achieve first.

People perform better once they get clarity on what to do. They usually divert all their energy and focus on completing tasks. This, in turn, gives them a sense of accomplishment that positively drives their day.

In a nutshell, the best productivity coaches help their clients build an organized life, set clear goals, prioritize, find time for what they love, and minimize stress and burnout – making their lives more mindful and impactful.

The Secret of Successful Productivity Coaches [Revealed]

Whether you're into a corporate business, eCommerce, or the coaching industry, do you know the secret sauce of getting successful at what you do?

It's a robust business plan. Here's a quick guide to creating your business plan:

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01

Know your "why."

This is one of the most fundamental questions you should work on. Knowing your "why" is nothing but finding your real purpose to start the productivity coaching sessions. Find out what inspires you. Understand what's that one thing that drives your coaching business.

Have a problem articulating your "why"? If yes, here's the simplest technique that helps you know your purpose from Simon Sinek, best-selling author of the book, "Start with Why." Just fill in the statement below:

To ________ so that _______________ .

Example: 

  • Purpose of an "X" productive coach

To transform your chaotic and unorganized life into a conscious living so that you can focus on the most significant tasks that drive massive outcomes

  • Purpose of a "Y" business

To empower small businesses to use technology so that they can grow and scale faster.

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02

Understand the 2C's

The most important aspect of building a coaching business is customer and competitor research. Of course, everyone wants to be productive. But that doesn't mean you should train everyone.

Have a clear understanding of whom you want to train - entrepreneurs, global corporations, politicians, celebrities, employees, etc. Then figure out what their needs and desires are. Understand your client's pain points. List out where they struggle most and how you can help them.

Once you know what they want, look at who else is catering to this audience. Then sit down and think about what's unique about your offering.

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03

Work on your USP [Unique selling proposition]

A unique selling proposition is one of the key elements that coaches should craft to outperform the competition. A clear and short USP statement tells your audience why they should care and what they get from your coaching.

USPs could take several forms - low price, unbeatable quality, innovative products, 24/7 support, quick delivery, etc. One of the best tips to craft USP is to understand that you're selling an emotion, not a product/service.

For instance, the founder of Revlon, Charles Revson, says, "We sell hope, not makeup."

Similarly,

  • Restaurants sell ambiance
  • Insurers sell peace of mind
  • Airlines sell friendliness

Successful brands run on emotions rather than money. Here are some great ways to create a USP your customers will love.

  • Understand what's the one thing your customers like about your product/service. What motivates them to buy from you?
  • Understand what influences their buying decision
  • Know why the customers would knock on your door rather than your competitors'

Reflecting on the above questions will give you an idea on how to craft that USP.

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04

Craft your core statements

Once you've come up with an awesome USP, it's time to focus on your business' mission and vision.

What is your vision or ambition for the future? What do you want to contribute to the world? In what way do you want to make a difference?

Here are some great vision statements:

  • TED: "To spread ideas."
  • IKEA: "To create a better everyday life for many people."
  • Coach X: "To empower women, build resilience."

While a vision statement states your ambition or often specifies your why the mission statement describes "what" and "how." It tells what you're doing and how you will achieve it. In general, this statement should answer three basic questions.

  • What do you do?
  • Who do you help or empower?
  • What impact would you like to create?

Let's look at some examples of mission statements.

  • Microsoft: "Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more."
  • Southwest Airlines: "The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit."
  • Coach Y: "We are on a mission to help women build resilience through transcendental meditation techniques."

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05

Define your coaching business plan

Take some time to define what your coaching business would look like. To do this, find out answers to questions like:

  • Is it online or offline coaching?
  • Is the coaching conducted 1:1 or in groups?
  • How long do the coaching sessions last?
  • How long does it take to derive results?
  • What is the coaching package going to look like?

You can add as many details as possible that best describe the business. Also, make sure you focus on your coaching methodology. A solid coaching process increases your client retention rate and enables you to deliver the best transformation.

Look at this guide to understand how to create a coaching methodology.

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06

Implement a marketing strategy

In this step, you should describe the best possible ways to reach your target audience. It could be blogging, social media marketing, PPC ads, or guest blogging. A few strategies to attract an audience include:

  • Create a website and start blogging: Answer the questions your potential clients would ask you in sales calls.
  • Start a podcast: Did you know there are 420M+ podcast listeners and 2M+ podcasts on the web? If you aren't using podcasts to attract clients, you're missing out on a lot on your table.
  • Market through YouTube: Videos are ruling the Internet. People are engaged and hooked through videos more than any other media. All you need to make sure of is to use high-quality video production to attract folks. 
  • Get visible on social media: Each house has a smartphone. And every smartphone has a social media handle such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat, etc. Branding your business on social media is ideal if you're looking for an easier way to interact with clients. 
  • Leverage advertisements: One of the best ways to scale the business. However, if you're a novice coach, opt for above mentioned organic marketing strategies. Ads work best for coaches who can afford massive bucks.

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07

Set a price 

How you price your services is an important aspect of enrolling clients. To figure out the price and package that would work best for your target audience, ask yourself some questions:

  • What is your minimum viable price?
  • At what price point do you turn a profit?
  • How should your clients pay for your services?
  • Do you provide a one-time offer or monthly services?
  • Will you change the pricing scheme if your clients can't afford to pay a premium?

Make sure you research your competitors' pricing systems. Once you know the market price, you can offer your services at competitive rates.

Also, check out this guide to pricing your coaching program.

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Bonus: The Best Tools for Productivity Coaches

As a coach, you need to look after and manage many things. Thanks to modern technology, now you can get all these things done with a single software in a few minutes. So whether you need software for outreach and marketing or invoicing and billing, here are the two best tools you should take advantage of.

Quenza

Quenza is one of the best software for productivity coaches. It includes many features, including chat features, client apps, a library, a community, group coaching, and much more. In addition, Quenza's activity builder enables you to create coaching resources, from short assessments to large pdfs.

In addition, the interactive and user-friendly dashboard is a great place to monitor and track the client's progress. Look no further than Quenza if you're looking for exclusive software to manage your coaching tasks.

Coaching Loft

Coaching Loft is another best client management tool tailored for coaches and managers. A few notable features of this software include a user-friendly dashboard, administration, and billing tools. It even has goal and milestone settings that help coaches in the smooth functioning of the coaching sessions.

The ability to track clients' actions is another cool feature that helps you analyze the client's progress efficiently. Add a coaching loft to your bucket list if you're looking for the ideal all-in-one management software to stay organized.

Enroll Your First Productivity Coaching Clients

You can make a massive difference to your clients' lives as a productivity coach. And there is a huge opportunity in this space. So, think about what you have to offer and get started on building an amazing business!

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