Struggling with time management
🔎 Client Situation: Struggling with Time Management
Client feels overwhelmed, can’t prioritize, procrastinates, or often runs out of time. May express guilt, burnout, or a sense of constant busyness without progress.
⚡ Techniques & How to Use Them
1. Time Audit Exercise
- How: Ask the client to track their time for a day or week in 30–60 min blocks. Review how time is actually being spent vs. how they want to spend it.
- When: To bring awareness and uncover time leaks.
2. Eisenhower Matrix (Urgent vs. Important)
- How: Plot tasks into 4 quadrants: Urgent/Important, Not Urgent/Important, Urgent/Not Important, Not Urgent/Not Important.
- When: To prioritize and eliminate distractions.
3. The One Thing / MIT (Most Important Task)
- How: Ask: “What’s the one thing you can do today that will make everything else easier or unnecessary?” Focus daily on the MIT.
- When: When client is overwhelmed by to-do lists or scattered focus.
4. Time Blocking & Theme Days
- How: Assign chunks of time to specific types of work or themes. Example: Monday = Admin, Tuesday = Client Work.
- When: To create focus, rhythm, and intentional structure.
5. Energy-Based Planning
- How: Identify high- and low-energy times of day. Schedule creative or focus-heavy work during peak times.
- When: When client is frustrated by lack of productivity despite effort.
6. Boundary Coaching
- How: Help the client say no, delegate, or protect time. Ask: “What would respecting your time look like this week?”
- When: When over-committing or constant interruptions are the issue.
7. Parkinson’s Law Reset
- How: Use the principle that “work expands to fill the time available.” Give shorter deadlines or constraints to boost urgency and focus.
- When: When tasks drag on unnecessarily.
8. Anti-Perfectionism Planning
- How: Ask: “What does ‘good enough’ look like?” or “How would you do this if it didn’t need to be perfect?”
- When: When perfectionism causes delay or avoidance.
9. Habit Stacking & Ritual Design
- How: Build new habits by attaching them to existing ones. Design morning or evening routines for consistent progress.
- When: For sustainable time management habits.
10. Accountability & Reflection
- How: Set weekly check-ins, journal prompts, or action reviews. Celebrate what’s working and adjust what’s not.
- When: To support behavior change and maintain momentum.
🔎 Powerful Coaching Questions
- “What are you spending time on that doesn’t align with your priorities?”
- “If your calendar reflected your values, what would it look like?”
- “Where is time being taken from you — and how can you reclaim it?”
- “What’s one task you can let go of, delegate, or do less perfectly?”
- “What would time freedom feel like for you?”
Tip: Time management is energy, boundaries, clarity, and courage in disguise. Start with small wins and structure that fits the client’s real life.