Behind the Scenes of My Weekly Calendar as a Career Coach
Today’s weekly planning podcast episode was highly requested after my day in the life podcast episode last week. Today’s episode is all about what my week looks like as a Career Coach?
I’ve been running this business for 10 years and have had 3 kids during that time so my schedule has changed a lot over the years. When I looked at my calendar at the beginning of the year, I realized I was working a lot of hours and was stressed and burnt out. Last year, I did a lot of testing to see how I could reduce my hours and stress.
I created a lot of systems last year so I had a good foundation going into this year. I knew that this year, I had to do something different to give myself more time and space. In the weekly calendar I am sharing with you today, I have two days off a week to hang out with the girls and be a mom. Then, I have three days of focus work where I am producing better content and work than I ever have before. I am so excited to share with you my calendar that I love today.
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In this episode:
- Exactly how Anna breaks down her weekly calendar day by day
- Two important questions she asks herself before creating her calendar
- The tool she uses to track her time
- How Anna successfully manages to work only 15 hours per week
Resources and Links
I highly recommend going to classycareergirl.com/freeplan so you can get the Classy Career Girl 90-day planner. This is the perfect time to create your new 90-day plan for Q2 of 2023. And inside the planner is a copy Anna’s weekly plan so every week you can use the exact template she uses to create her weekly plan. So go grab your planner today and start planning.
Transcript – Weekly Planning as a Career Coach:
Welcome, everyone, to the Classy Career Girl podcast. Today I’m doing a podcast episode that was very much requested by you all, especially after I did my day in the life podcast episode just last week. And I shared what I do in a coaching day on a Tuesday. And so today’s episode is going to be what I do all week, what is the entire week look like. And so I obviously I’ve been running this coaching business for over 10 years now. And so, and I’ve also had three kids during that time as well. So my schedule has changed a lot. So I am going to share with you what I’m doing today in 2023. And when I looked at my calendar at the beginning of this year, I realized I was working a lot of hours, I used Toggle, toggle.com to track all of my time. And so throughout last year, I was doing a lot of experimenting, a lot of testing to see how I could reduce my hours by creating systems on my team by just getting rid of products and services and like things that that weren’t working well. And also by delegating as well.
So by doing those things last year, I had a really good foundation because I wanted to go like in the beginning of the year I was working like over, I was like 45-50 hours, I was working on weekends and nights. And I was feeling very stressed, burnt out and overwhelmed. And so I knew by summer, when the kids got off of school last year that I wanted to decrease my hours to 20 hours. So I gave myself a few months to get to that. And I did get to that. We had vacation time this summer, we had a lot of trips, we had a lot of vacations, and we just had a really good summer a lot of really good quality time with my three kids.
And so when I got back from summer, then we did a launch for certification, it was really busy. We went to Spain at the end of last year over Thanksgiving. And then obviously Christmas and the end of last year is just like a blur. I don’t really know what happened, it just went by so quickly. And so when January started, I was still feeling like, Okay, something needs to change with my schedule, because I feel like I’m just still giving so much to my business. And I have no time for myself. And I really have no time for my kids. And so I created this brand new schedule. And I’m recording this in the middle of February. And so I’ve been doing this now for 45 days. And I love my weekly calendar now and so I can’t wait to share this with you. I’ve tested it. I’m working right now about 15 hours per week using this calendar and I am producing so much better quality of work.
When I am at work, I am focused, and I’m producing great content for this podcast, we’ve had the most downloads we’ve ever had. Because I’ve been recording brand new episodes for you all. So clearly you guys are loving the content that I’m producing here. And also I’m producing better content in my programs and giving better coaching and support and training inside of my coaching programs. And then I’m also preparing a lot better ahead of my launches. So I’m not stressed and I’m not overwhelmed and I’m preparing for a launch next month right now. And I’m getting ahead. And it feels great, because I’m never ahead so even this podcast I’m recording in February, and it’s gonna go live in April. And so just feels really good to have this weekly calendar.
When I am at work, I am focused, and I’m producing great content for this podcast, we’ve had the most downloads we’ve ever had. Because I’ve been recording brand new episodes for you all. So clearly you guys are loving the content that I’m producing here. And also I’m producing better content in my programs and giving better coaching and support and training inside of my coaching programs. And then I’m also preparing a lot better ahead of my launches. So I’m not stressed and I’m not overwhelmed and I’m preparing for a launch next month right now. And I’m getting ahead. And it feels great, because I’m never ahead so even this podcast I’m recording in February, and it’s gonna go live in April. And so just feels really good to have this weekly calendar.
So let me tell you what the calendar looks like right now. So I am focusing really on the 15 hours focus time per week. Now that does not include scrolling on Instagram or anything that is like the most important activities in my business. I use toggle.com to track all of my time. So anytime I like start anything in my work, I turn on that tracker. And to me it’s kind of like Okay, can I get this done in 30 minutes? Can I get this done in 15 minutes or I give myself an hour, you know, to write copy for these emails, like I give myself these kinds of challenges and these time limits. And I’m forcing myself to get more done in less time. And that has been really helpful for me rather than just having like, oh, I have four hours. What can I get done today? Let me just start my to do list. I’m like, I have these three things, they need to get done today. I’m giving myself an hour each to do them. And when I’m done I’m done.
I’ve really been able to get those things done really well, because I’m focused. I’m not doing having any distractions. So the two important questions I asked myself at the beginning of the year when I created this calendar is number one, what is the 20% of my work that creates 80% of my results? The Pareto principle, right? So what is the most important things that I should be doing as a CEO of my company, as the creator, like what can only I do that is going to grow our business and help us reach our goals? And then number two, if I only had 10 hours to work, what would I do? So right now I’m working 15 hours a week, but I’m asking myself this. I actually just read The Four Hour Workweek. And I asked myself, if I only had four hours a week, what would I do? I think this is such a great question, because it helps you see, like, what’s the best use of my time? Like what can only I do obviously, like these, what I’m going to tell you, in this weekly calendar I’m about to share with you are the most important uses of my time. So those are the two questions you want to ask yourself before you recreate your calendar.
So let’s get to my calendar. So Mondays, I start Monday morning with marketing, I start Monday morning creating my own content before I’m off consuming anyone else’s content. And I love this because I am not stressed or overwhelmed. I’m like refreshed from the weekend, because I haven’t been working on the weekends anymore. And it’s been fabulous. I’ve been reading a whole lot more. And, then when I start the work day, my brain is here and I’m like ready to go. And I’m excited to record podcasts. And I’m excited to create my social media content and schedule it for the week. And so that’s what Monday mornings are. It’s a couple hours in the morning to create podcasts, to outline podcasts, to record podcasts, and then also to create social media content and get it scheduled on Instagram for the rest of the week. And then if I have time I also schedule Classy Career Girl Network Facebook group posts and LinkedIn posts. And so that is Monday morning. That is that is focused time to create and get the best content for you all for the week out.
Monday afternoon then is kind of like my admin hours. So I set up one call every single Monday where my team can come to that call to meet me to ask questions, you know, to interact if they want to show up. So it’s not required. It’s an optional meeting. But I’m there every Monday at two o’clock I’m there, team can show up if they need me. That’s also the time that I’m answering their questions in Slack. I’m checking in on our metrics and our KPIs. I’m checking Asana to kind of see our projects and our calendar and what’s due soon. And like what I want to make sure that the team knows about what’s coming up for the launch. That is the only time that one hour during the work week that I’m answering the team’s questions. And I was really worried about this, but it has gone great. One of my team members last week showed up with like 10 questions because I hadn’t been busying myself all week in Slack, answering questions, written questions. So instead, she collected all of her questions from the weekend just showed up to the meeting, I answered the questions. And we were like done in 15 minutes, instead of like all all week being in there trying trying to answer it. So the team loves that as well. It’s worked really well. And it’s just really like my one of my strengths on the Strengths Finder is focus. And that’s actually my top strengths. So this is like my dream calendar, like I know, at certain times of the week, what I’m supposed to be focusing on. And so Monday afternoon, it really is it’s email, it’s like just answering all the admin stuff that is required to run a business.
Then Tuesday, I did a whole podcast on my Tuesday. So make sure you listen to a day in my life as a career coach because I go through step by step, everything I do on a Tuesday, Tuesday is my coaching day. So this is where I get to serve my clients. This is where I schedule my coaching calls. This is where I create content for my programs. I record videos, I answer questions. So I’m in our certification program, we have a Slack channel and in our membership CLASS, we have a Facebook group. So those are the days I’m in there, I’m supporting. I’m seeing what our clients need. I’m seeing what videos and training I can create to to help support our clients more. That’s when I’m scheduling all of my program calls. So usually they’re like back to back to back. I usually start them around like 11 go to about two o’clock. So I could potentially have like three back to back calls, coaching calls and trainings that day. But it really helps my brain focus like Tuesday, it’s all for serving clients, I’m not worrying about team stuff, I’m not worrying about the podcast, or social media or any of that, the social media is already scheduled. So it’s like, going at all times, and I don’t have to worry about it.
Then on Wednesday, I have off. And so this has been really nice, because I obviously work with my husband, John, and we have three kids. And so there’s just a lot going on. You know, my daughters are one, four, and eight. And so my oldest, yes, she’s in school all day. And that’s great. But my youngest two, we have preschool, which doesn’t go the whole day. And then my one year old, she’s home with us. And so there’s just a lot of coordination. And so Wednesday is really my day, my husband watches the kids on Mondays and Tuesdays, and I watch the kids on Wednesdays and Fridays. And so that’s been really fun. Because on Wednesdays, I get to pick them up, we get to have a special day, I am not worried about work, which is incredible. It’s like this freeing mind space that I can just spend, take my kids to lunch and not worry that I have to back by certain time for a call or I didn’t finish this task. And I really need to focus on this writing this email, none of that. It’s out the window. because I’ve completed my tasks, I’m done, I’m completely off. And so I really try and give my brain a rest on Wednesdays. And right now I’m recording this on a Tuesday. And, and I really need it like, I’m like craving tomorrow because I just need a little bit of a rest, I want to read a book, I don’t want to think about work about work. Because oftentimes, actually, when I have the best ideas, it is on a Wednesday or Friday when I’m supposed to be completely off because my brain can just kind of like shut off from the day to day, maybe I’ll read a book, I’ll go for a walk or listen to a podcast or audiobook and I’ll have more ideas and I’ll write them down. And so of course I say I’m off. But of course I’m having ideas because I’m an entrepreneur and I always have ideas, but we have to give ourselves that like rest time so that we can have those ideas as well.
So then I love Thursdays, I get to jump back into the business and only focus on launch stuff, only focus on sales stuff and revenue growth and partnerships, and things that are going to help us grow the business. So I’m not supporting clients that day, I’m not worrying about my podcasts or the team that day, I’m just focusing on things that are going to help my business grow. And so for right now, Thursday’s really are filled with preparing for our launch coming up for certification. Thursday’s are also filled for just really process improvement, for looking how we can do things better, for partnerships, for podcast interviews, for, you know, future growth of our company. And I also try and give myself like one hour of just thinking time on Thursdays where I just let myself think and not do, so that could be like journaling or it could be learning something new, or it could be you know, just kind of like wherever I feel drawn to maybe a book or an audio book or something on that day that I can use in my business because as a career coach, my clients pay me to learn and to grow and for my mind, and so it’s really important for me to also use the time that I have not to be busy, go go go go. But to use that time to improve myself and improve and learn and like see what’s going on in social media and marketing and business. And anything that I do I’m doing to grow my business, ultimately, it’s going to help support my clients as well too. Because I bring always bring back what I’m learning into my certification programs and into my membership as well.
And then that has been really helpful because now I’m ahead I don’t feel behind for my launches. So we’ll see how it goes in March. But I’ve never been this far ahead. The team has never been this far ahead, because a lot of the things rely on me to start first. So for example, this podcast, if my team doesn’t have these episodes recorded early, and I am like oh, this needs to go up on Monday and give them like three days to get it up. That’s stress, right? That’s stress on the team. And same way with the launch when I’m behind with the launch. And I haven’t written the emails or I haven’t created social media content. And I give it to my team last minute that creates stress for the team too. And so what I’ve really realized with this new calendar, and one of my goals was is really to get ahead so that I can decrease the pressure on my team. And overall our entire team can produce better content because if I’m not stressed, I’m going to create better content. For launch content. I’m going to create better podcast content, social media content, if I have that time and that space. And same with the team, the team is going to do their jobs better, you know, with operations and like actually Customer Service and everything that we do supporting our clients, they’re going to do better when they’re not stressed as well. And so I need to be the first person to get ahead. And so that’s what this new schedule has really allowed me to do is to get ahead. So overall, our team can perform at a much, much higher level, which we already are this year. So this has just been a really great weekly calendar, I highly recommend batching your time, creating these buckets in your business as well. And seeing where you’re spending a lot of time like, what are you doing that’s taking a lot of time in your day, is there is a ways you can say like, Monday is this and Tuesday is this and just kind of like give yourself that time and that space to do your most important work.
So I’m going to repeat those two questions, I would go do your homework right now, go ask yourself these questions, what is the 20% of your work that creates 80% of your results. And if you only had 10 hours to work, I know a lot of you guys work 40, 50, 60 hour work weeks, I totally get it. But if you only had 10 hours of all the things you do, what would you do. And if you don’t know, one of the things I would recommend doing is using a time tracker like toggle.com for one week, track all of your time track what you do, you know, in your business, track everything like every, every everything, and then look at that at the end of the week. And look how much time you’re using on certain things. And what are some ways that you know, maybe you can decrease that time by creating systems, or by delegating, or by just getting rid of some stuff, or giving yourself these kind of better boundaries like I have. So I only give myself a certain number of hours to create social media content for the week. So if I don’t finish, if I don’t have seven days of posts, or five days of posts, and I only have three, well then I’m just going to post the three for the week, because my Monday mornings over, that’s my social media time.
And so discipline, I mean, that’s really what it comes down to setting these boundaries, these time limits for yourself because ultimately, that’s freeing you up to do better work. And if you do that you are going to be in a much different place by the end of the year, you’re going to start performing at a higher level and getting better results reaching your goals as well. So I hope that you have enjoyed this behind the scenes look at my weekly calendar as a coach, I highly recommend going to classycareergirl.com/freeplan because there you can get my 90 day planner and this is kind of like a perfect time to create your new 90 day plan for Q2 of 2023. And inside that planner, it has a copy of my weekly plan and so every week, I create my weekly plan and you can use the exact template, it’s actually included in that 90 Day planning guide. So go check that out. Go grab that and I will see you next week.
If you want to find a job or business you love that supports the life you really want. You are invited to my membership CLASS, the love your work and life system. Inside of CLASS, you are going to get support and coaching so you can make money doing what you love. Whether you’re job searching or growing your own business. I’ll guide you through a success path full of step by step guides and tools to help you implement and make progress to take you from work you have to do to work you love to do. It’s time to have a career business you love that supports the life you really want. Go to www.classycareergirl.com/start to get started.
