What Coaching Really Looks Like, Month-by-Month
when is the “right time” to sign on?
When I start a 6-month package with a client, the first thing we do together is get clear about their goals and where they’d like to be half a year from now.
This can sometimes be tricky. Many of our personal, professional, and academic projects will take longer than 6 months or feel completely untethered to a due date. Naturally, this leads many folks to wonder if they should pursue coaching now, later, or not at all.
One thing I keep hearing from folks before they sign onto Success & Accountability Coaching is:
When is the “right time” to do this program?
In my years of experience, I’ve found it’s most successful when you have a project deadline coming up in the next 4 - 8 months.
(For example, if you have a dissertation due in Spring 2025, August or September of this year is the PERFECT time to invest in Success & Accountability Coaching).
When you have a solid target we can aim for, it allows me to facilitate one of the most satisfying parts of my job: guiding you from being overwhelmed by your project to feeling confident and amazed at the momentum you can achieve.
I do this by supporting you through the process of breaking your projects down into actionable tasks, determining a process for scheduling productivity sessions based on your actual calendar, priorities, and competing responsibilities, and serving as an external and supportive accountability partner.
Also, I’m used to my clients having overlapping projects and deadlines, so while my key focus in Success & Accountability Coaching is to help a client hit their big goal, we also sketch out a plan to chip away at the other priorities, too.
What does this look like, month-by-month?
Here’s how I tend to help clients complete a big writing project after it’s been living on the back burner for a while.
Month 1
We start by establishing a baseline of where you’re at—doing so without judgment for not being further ahead or finished already. By getting clear on what you’ve already done, we determine what is left to complete in the next six months and identify which section of your writing project to focus on. I take detailed notes during my coaching sessions, which we use to break down this section into actionable tasks and a shared to-do list. From there, we make your task list achievable by setting small deadlines and scheduling personal productivity sessions that account for what else you have on your plate right now. Because we meet twice a month for coaching sessions, and we email back and forth throughout the week, we can identify obstacles when they occur, cultivate helpful patterns of behavior, and choose next steps to help increase clarity and confidence.
Month 2
This is when a burst in momentum usually kicks in! Based on your progress on the short-term goal we identified for Month 1, we update our working timeline and strategize next steps. At this stage, perhaps you receive feedback from an advisor or editor, or you experience “a-ha!” moments about your own project. Our task list in Month 2 might include instructions on who to reach out to, what questions to ask, and when to send the emails (we might even take time on our coaching call to draft up an email together). By setting mini-deadlines for communication and research tasks, we support you in getting important information that can streamline your process. Just like in Month 1, our weekly check-ins and email support help you keep up momentum on chipping away at our actionable task list.
Month 3
Part of my work as a Productivity Coach is to always keep an eye on how you are progressing towards your larger project deadline so I can help you scope out an approach each month and keep up the pace. By Month 3, if we find that a deadline has to move or a part of the project has to change, we develop a process together for how you will make adjustments.
Month 4
By the time you hit Month 4, you may be feeling pulled in a few different directions with your project. If this happens, we focus on prioritizing your task list based on the actual energy and time you have available. By identifying which tasks are best completed on specific energy days (high energy, low energy, etc.) or in specific locations (coffee shop, home, campus, etc.), we can strategize an approach that keeps the project feeling interesting.
Month 5
At this point, we are using our coaching sessions to strategize which tasks are “must-do” tasks and set boundaries around how long you should spend on tasks that were “nice-to-have,” but aren’t central to completing the project well and on time. By reviewing your calendar and competing goals and responsibilities, we proactively schedule time blocks for you to focus on writing, including monthly co-working sessions facilitated by me.
Month 6
By the time we reach the last month of our coaching package, we are strategizing on how you will finish your project (or, if you’ll continue to work on it after our time together, how you’ll complete this portion of the project). Because we had reverse-engineered a timeline for your writing project at the very beginning of this process, we budgeted a week or more for you to do any necessary final edits and complete a draft you feel good about. After you hit your final deadline, we are able to reserve some time in our final coaching session to discuss how you will continue to use the skills you learned in future projects.
While each person’s Success & Accountability Coaching journey is unique, this is a general look into how I support clients in completing big writing projects such as dissertations, book proposals, manuscripts, journal articles, and other publications.
I would be honored to help you reach your deadline next Spring.
Click here to book your free 30-minute Discovery Call and discuss all that is possible in the next 6 months of Success & Accountability Coaching.
I’m around if you have any questions. Feel free to leave a comment here or email me directly at Kate@KateHenry.com.
Take care and talk soon,
Dr. Kate
