Coaching can be a very taxing job, both physically and mentally. While you may think you’re doing the right thing by pushing yourself just as hard as you push your clients, it could backfire on you (and them).
I know I’m writing to many different types of coaches within the health industry, all with unique approaches to their job, but I think we could all agree that both coach and client burnout is a real thing that can prevent us from showing up fully to do our best work every day.
Top Burnout Contributors:
1. Not listening to your body
2. Not prioritizing sleep AND rest
3. Overbooking instead of adjusting your prices
4. Not setting boundaries
5. Saying yes to the wrong things
6. Poor time and energy management
7. Becoming emotionally attached to your clients
Review that list and notice how many of those areas could use improvement. Before you feel too overwhelmed to start, choose either the most impactful one or the easiest one for you to start working on.
How to address the burnout:
#1. Start doing a daily body scan, about three times each day. You may have to set a reminder at first, to get into the habit, but this will teach you to tune in to your body’s needs so you can honor God’s temple. When you’re proactive about it, you can sense when you might start coming down with something and get ahead of it with rest, nutrition, and supplementation.
#2. Ensure you’re getting 7-9 quality hours of sleep EVERY night, preferably before 10pm and schedule periodic times of rest throughout each week. This could be active rest, like a casual walk or horseback riding, easy kayaking, anything you enjoy that doesn’t exhaust you. Rest and laziness are two different things; learn the difference.
#3. If your client demand is high, that’s awesome! It means you can start raising your prices instead of working yourself so hard that you become ineffective. It also might mean it’s time to hire an assistant or other employees, which can be paid for with the price increase.
#4. Take stock of all aspects of your life and notice where you need to set more boundaries: clients, employees, teammates, spouses, children, other family, friends, church or other social settings. This might feel hard at first, but everyone will be happier and others will have more respect for you and enjoy your relationship more.
#5. If you’re flying by the seat of your pants every day, responding to everything that’s urgent and unimportant, instead of being in charge of your day based on a schedule, you’re likely coming to the end of the day, week, month, and year frustrated yet again for not accomplishing your goals. Your schedule should be dictated by PRIORITIES (the things you know will help you meet your goals) FIRST. Take a look at your schedule and see if it’s time to reassess. Have the wisdom to turn down “opportunities” that don’t fit your values and priorities.
#6. Many of us are so unrealistic when it comes to time, not to mention that energy management is foreign to most. I get it; I’ve had to learn most of these skills myself, but it can be done! Start blocking off chunks of time when you’re most productive (think about when your brain feels sharp and creative) and get your big projects done that way. Save the more mundane, copy and paste kind of work for when you don’t need as much brainpower. In the end, it doesn’t matter how much “time” you have left in a day to do something, it’s more about energy. You don’t wait until 9pm to do a HIIT workout for a reason, right? It should be that way with all of our time. Be sure you’re creating some margin in your schedule as well, for the unknowns and unexpected. When our schedule is so tight that there’s no leeway, it can contribute to frustration and fatigue, and the important things suffer for the urgent things.
#7. Learn to separate yourself from your clients’ outcomes and emotions. Sometimes we feel like we need to be our client’s savior, especially the “wounded” ones, so we put in more than they do, and feel like it’s our responsibility to do the work they have to do. We can also become easily affected by their emotional state or their difficult circumstances. It’s a good idea to take some deep breaths both before and after each coaching session and remind yourself of your purpose. You can say a prayer for your clients, then put them into the Father’s hands, letting go. I personally pray with each client at the end of each session, and it helps both of us.
I know it can be hard to start thinking about and implementing some of these changes, but just like you tell your clients, don’t take them all on at once. Master one, then start with the next. The nice thing about this list is that they all relate to one another, so by working on one area, you’ll notice that it impacts another area, making that easier for you to change too.
You have some great tips to give your clients as well, especially once you’ve practiced it yourself and they see the example you’re setting for them!
Prayers for a successful implementation! 🙏
Guest Writer, Leah Campian
I help people who are overwhelmed by expectations and frustrated with dieting, ditch their diets for more energy, permanent weight loss and a fulfilling life they were MADE for!
WHO AM I?
•Child of God
•Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach®
•Certified Culinary Nutrition Expert
•Certified Hormone Cure Instructor
•Certified Independent Revelation Wellness Instructor
•Author of Amazon Bestseller, Ditch The Diet
•Public Speaker
Leah is a child of God, Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach, Certified Culinary Nutrition Expert, Certified Hormone Cure Instructor, Certified Independent Revelation Wellness Instructor, author of the Amazon bestseller, Ditch The Diet, and a public speaker.
