Have you ever overestimated how much you can accomplish in a day?

…or a weekend?

If you’re an overachiever like me…

…you completely over estimate how much you can accomplish.

Only half of it gets done….

…and at the end of the day you’re exhausted and drained.

…and you feel like there is never enough time.

I used to resent my family…

…because I was working while they were having fun.

(As if I didn’t have a choice.)

But then I learned this awesome hack.

You tend to overestimate what you’ll accomplish in the short term…

…and underestimate what you’ll accomplish in the long term.

I call this pattern ‘the dream stealer’.

Most coaches are actually ‘blue sky’ thinkers when it comes to long term possibilities.

So a coach will get super excited about what’s possible…

But, when your high expectations for short term progress are not met…

It’s natural to feel disappointed.

If you’re feeling constant disappointment, reaching your goal starts to feel impossible.

Even logically…

…because when you constantly miss on your short term expectations…

…you’ll think the long term goal is unlikely at best.

You’ll lose confidence…

…and you’ll want to quit.

Do you want to let the ‘dream stealer’ win?

NO??

OK, then here’s the fix:

Managing your brain is crucial to recovering your vision from the ‘dream stealer’.

You need to organize your short term expectations this way:

1. Write a thorough list of everything that you want to get done. Take your time, keep writing until everything is listed.
2. Schedule time on your calendar for sleep, self care, and fun. (Do this step first! Otherwise you’ll cheat.)
3. Schedule the most important actions from your ‘get done’ list in time blocks on your calendar.

And this last step is a doozy…

You won’t have room in your schedule for all the items you want to accomplish.

Leave these remaining items off your calendar.

And that part is where your subconscious mind is going to freak out…

At least when you first try this…

…because you’re suddenly lowering your expectations for the short term.

But don’t let yourself feel like you’re not ‘getting it all done’…

…because anything that doesn’t fit in your short term calendar can be delegated or done later.

This forces you to focus on the things that matter…

And this is the end of the excuse, “I don’t have time.”

Because you will suddenly see that there is time.

(for the things that matter the most)

BOTTOM LINE = If you want to achieve your coaching business goals…

…some stuff just won’t fit.

(for now)

This requires constraint…

…which ‘blue sky’ thinking coaches don’t like.

Coaches want it all.

And so they love to dream, talk, connect, and brainstorm…

But this is all imaginary…

Just because you can do ANYTHING doesn’t mean you have to do EVERYTHING.

And if you want to actually REALIZE those dreamy coach thoughts.

You’ve got to whittle your ‘blue sky’ ideas down to ONE THING AT A TIME.

Which requires letting go.

And focus.

And you probably won’t like that.

But you’ll love the RESULT in the long term.

And that’s the cost of success in your coaching business.

It will require that you manage your mind.

Colette “Blue Sky” Coiner

• Facebook
• YouTube