If you want to become a business coach and start having instant success, use these 5 life coach tips. They work for employees, self-employed people, and people who work from home. And the great news is that these life coach tips can be applied to reduce and eliminate distractions immediately. To become a business coach you will have to provide strategy and accountability in these areas:

• Life coach tip #1: Have your clients use and honor their calendar and task list. Make sure they plan their day on paper, and decide which items are going to produce the most results toward your goals.  It is said that 80% of results are achieved with 20% of the activity. Have your clients do those activities first.

Become a business coach who can help your clients master time management skills that will keep them on track and eliminate distractions.

• Life coach tip #2: Tell your clients to stay off the internet. It is one of the biggest time wasters. If they need to research, have them set a specific amount of time for that activity…then get off. This includes emails. Have them set time that they will screen for anything important, and when they will get to the rest. Remove computer desktop icons. All of those things they love doing, like playing solitaire. Just have them remove the icon from their computer desktop. Out of sight, out of mind.

• Life coach tip #3: Discourage walk-in traffic. If they’re a manager, this may be more difficult; but see if they can set walk-in hours. This will at least cut down on a majority of the distractions, especially if they encourage people to stick to the schedule. Ideally, scheduling appointments is the most effective. If it can’t be avoided, encourage your clients to use concise communication to manage the conversation and make sure it stays focused. With tact and friendliness, of course. You can become a business coach who can provide added benefit by using assessments to help identify the various communication styles within the office.

For those who work at home, this tip applies to their family. Your clients need to set clear boundaries when they are not to be distracted.

• Life coach tip #4: Work when no one else is around. Encourage your client to get to work an hour early, or stay late. This can sometimes be the greatest distraction eliminator. Without clients, co-workers, or phone calls, they may accomplish more in 2 hours with no one else around than they could in 8 hours and a full office.  Another more extreme example of this would be to commit to a ‘working’ vacation or retreat.  If your coaching client spends a week in a secluded location just focusing on their work and plans, they’ll create a chance to focus intently on the most important projects that never seem to get done.

• Life coach tip #5: Remove desktop clutter. Have your clients keep only what they need at the moment on their desk, and file the others away until they need them. This includes magazines they’re going to read on their lunch break and anything else that might distract them from concentrating on their work. It’s OK to have a few personal items; they just shouldn’t be a distraction.

To become a business coach, and be successful, you will have to make sure your clients understand the costs of habitual distraction, and see the benefits of becoming more efficient. Remember, if you are to become a business coach who makes a difference for your clients, you will need to help them bridge the gap between what they intend to do, and what they actually accomplish.

Colette Seymann

JTS Advisors Accountability Coach