What Is a Time Management Coach?
A Time Management Coach is a professional guide trained to help you take control of your most valuable asset—time.
They work one-on-one with you to analyze how you currently allocate your time and identify opportunities for more effective and purposeful use.
Beyond merely organizing your calendar, they delve into your
- habits,
- routines,
- priorities,
and teach actionable, practical strategies to optimize your schedule.
With their assistance, you can break the cycle of procrastination, avoid burnout, and create a balanced life that aligns with your goals and values.
Most successful people can make a lot of money and increase their overall happiness through increased productivity. These busy entrepreneurs can also create more free time so they have enough time to enjoy with their loved ones. That’s why so many of them hire coaches to fix their time management issues.
Key-Takeaways
A Time Management Coach is your guide to mastering time, going beyond the organization to help you align your life with your goals and values.
Time Management Skills are essential, enabling you to work smarter, complete tasks efficiently, and focus on what truly matters, thereby reducing stress and preventing burnout.
Developing Effective Habits is attainable with commitment; it involves setting priorities, realistic deadlines, and dedicated time for tasks, with ongoing practice and adjustments as the keys to your long-term success.
What Are Time Management Skills and Why Are They Important?
Time management skills are the abilities that help you use your time productively and efficiently. They are pivotal because they empower you to accomplish more in a shorter period, reduce stress, and enable you to focus on what truly matters in both your personal and professional life.
- Planning/Scheduling:
Effective time management starts with a solid and realistic plan. Creating a schedule helps you allocate specific blocks of time for tasks, ensuring that you’re focused and productive, not just busy.
- Prioritizing:
Not all tasks are equal. Learning to distinguish between what’s urgent and what’s important is vital. Prioritizing ensures you are investing your time where it has the most significant impact.
- Stress Management:
When you control your time effectively, stress levels often decrease. Time management skills can provide more space for self-care, resulting in a more focused and peaceful mind.
- Record-keeping:
Maintaining a log of how you spend your time can be eye-opening. It allows you to see patterns, eliminate time-wasters, and make data-driven decisions about how to adjust your routines for better efficiency.
Related: 7 Best Focus Coaches & Ultimate Guide
Results of Poor Time Management
- Wasted Time:
Poor time management often leads to hours spent on non-essential tasks, leaving crucial tasks neglected. - Missing Deadlines:
Without effective planning, deadlines can sneak up on you, resulting in missed opportunities and strained relationships. - Rushing All the Time:
Constantly playing catch-up not only feels chaotic, it also prevents you from giving your best to any single task. - Poor Work Quality:
When time is mismanaged, the quality of your work suffers. Tasks completed in haste are rarely your best efforts. - Multitasking:
Juggling multiple tasks at once might seem efficient, but it usually leads to errors and half-finished projects. - Burnout:
The constant stress of poor time management can lead to physical and emotional burnout, rendering you less effective in all areas of life.
Creating Better Time Management Habits
Creating better time management habits begins with a commitment to change. Prioritize tasks effectively, set realistic deadlines, and allocate specific time blocks for different activities.
Remember, improving time management is a skill; practice consistently and adjust as needed. Patience, persistence, and ongoing refinement are key.
10 Best Time Management Coaches 2024
1. Elizabeth Saunders
Elizabeth Saunders is a time management coach who helps individuals and organizations improve their productivity and work-life balance. She is the founder of Real Life E® and the author of several books on time management and productivity.
2. Ellen Faye
Ellen Faye is a certified productivity leadership coach who has been helping clients work smarter and live better in their professional and personal lives since 2001. She offers various services, such as productivity coaching, leadership coaching, strategic planning, and volunteer engagement.
3. Alexis Haselberger
Alexis Haselberger is a time management and productivity coach who helps individuals and organizations improve their productivity and work-life balance. She is the founder of Alexis Haselberger Coaching and Consulting and has over 15 years of experience in operations and HR at several early-stage start-ups.
4. Garland Coulson
Garland Coulson, also known as “Captain Time,” is a time management speaker, trainer, and coach who has spent over 25 years mastering time management strategies. He is the author of the Amazon bestseller, “Stop Wasting Time: End Procrastination in 5 Weeks with Proven Productivity Techniques” and has helped thousands of people get more done in less time. Garland Coulson offers various services, such as productivity strategies, leadership coaching, strategic planning, and volunteer engagement.
5. Kelly Nolan
Kelly Nolan is a time management strategist who helps professional working women manage their time effectively. She is the founder of Real Life E® and the creator of the Bright Method, a practical task management system designed to help women manage all personal and professional activities with less stress and more peace of mind.
6. Jake Smolarek
Jake Smolarek is a life coach who offers personalized coaching tailored to clients’ needs and goals. He helps people achieve their goals, such as financial freedom, career changes, or becoming an entrepreneur. Jake Smolarek offers various services, such as time management coaching, marketing, branding, client acquisition, finances, investing, and helping you build a successful business.
7. Allyson Lewis
Allyson Lewis is a productivity expert and time management coach who helps individuals and organizations improve their productivity, time management, and overall work-life balance. She is the founder of The 7 Minute Life, a professional development and training company that offers practical tools and resources to help individuals and organizations improve their productivity.
8. Curt Steinhorst
Curt Steinhorst is a consultant, speaker, founder of Focuswise, and author who specializes in helping individuals and organizations improve their productivity and work-life balance. He has over a decade’s worth of executive consulting and research in brain science, generational differences, and technology trends. He is also the author of the bestselling book “Can I Have Your Attention?”.
9. Marydee Sklar
Marydee Sklar is the president of Executive Functioning Success and the creator of the Seeing My Time Program®. She is an educator and author of three books on executive functions, as well as a trainer and speaker. Marydee Sklar is a time management educator and the founder of Executive Functioning Success.
10. Carl Pullein
Carl Pullein is a productivity and time management coach who has helped thousands of people around the world get better at managing their time and become more productive using technology they carry around with them every day. He is the creator of the C>O>D™ and Time Sector System™ time management and productivity systems.
Benefits of Hiring a Time Management Coach
- Wise Use of Time:
A coach helps you distinguish between urgent and important, guiding you to allocate your time more wisely. - Better Balance Between Work and Personal Life:
With a coach, you’ll learn to set boundaries that enable a healthier work-life balance. - Reduce Anxiety and Feeling Overwhelmed:
A coach provides tools and strategies that can calm your mind and simplify your schedule. - Stop Procrastination:
Your coach will help you break tasks into manageable chunks and set achievable deadlines, helping you to move forward. - Increase Productivity:
With focused goals and structured days, your coach helps you accomplish more with less effort. - Make Fewer Mistakes:
By not rushing, the quality of your work improves under the guidance of a coach. - Discover your Passion:
Coaching can reveal what truly excites you, guiding your time use accordingly. - More Growth Opportunities:
Efficient time management can free you up to pursue new avenues for personal and professional growth. - More Energy:
With tasks well-organized, you stop wasting energy on stress and indecision, leaving more vitality for life’s pleasures. - Setting Goals And Realizing Them:
A coach offers personal in setting and steadily moving towards your personal and professional milestones. Most coaches will help with your goal-setting and act as your personal accountability coach, as well as helping you improve your time management skills. - Boost of Confidence:
Success breeds success; as you start to manage your time effectively, your self-confidence will soar. - Reduced Stress:
Order brings peace. As your time becomes structured under your coach’s guidance, watch your stress levels plummet.
Benefits of Hiring a Time Management Coach for Remote Workers
As a remote worker, maintaining focus and setting boundaries between professional and personal life can be challenging. Hiring a good time management coach can transform this dynamic.
They guide you in structuring your day, prioritizing tasks, and creating a work environment that fosters productivity and balance, all from the comfort of your home office.
Training or Certifications a Time Management Coach Should Have
When selecting a time management coach, scrutinize their qualifications carefully. Look for certification from a reputable coaching association, such as the International Coach Federation (ICF), which ensures they adhere to a set of professional standards and ethics.
Additionally, coaches with a background in psychology, counseling, or business efficiency may bring valuable insights into human behavior and organizational practices. Training in specific time management methodologies, like the Eisenhower Matrix or Pomodoro Technique, is also a strong indicator of a coach’s expertise.
Experience is essential; ask potential coaches about their years in practice and request client testimonials or case studies. In this evolving field, ongoing education is a must.
Check for evidence that your prospective coach is committed to their own professional development through regular training, workshops, or conferences. This shows they are not just resting on their laurels, but are continually honing their personal development skills to serve you better.
Other Important Time Management Coach Selection Criteria
- Good Communication Skills: Your coach should be able to articulate life-changing ideas clearly and effectively, making the process transparent and collaborative.
- Ability to Listen and Understand What Clients Are Saying: An effective coach listens more than they speak, absorbing what you say to guide you appropriately.
- Good at Organizing Their Own Time and Managing Their Own Stress Levels: They must walk the talk, exemplifying the time management principles they teach.
- Empathetic and Compassionate: Your coach should understand your struggles without judgment, fostering a safe space for growth.
- Keep Up With the Latest Trends in Time Management: A great coach is a lifelong learner, continually updating their strategies to offer you the best advice.
- Good Organizational Skills: Look for a coach who is methodical and systematic, modeling the habits you aim to adopt.
- Good People Skills: A strong rapport with your coach is essential; they should be approachable, friendly, and respectful when offering personal support.
- Motivational Skills: Your coach is your cheerleader, inspiring you to stay committed and achieve your goals, even when the going gets tough.
How Much Does a Time Management Coach Cost?
Investing in a time management coach varies in cost, generally ranging from $100 to $300 per hour. Some coaches offer packages that provide a set number of time management coaching sessions for a flat rate, which can make the overall cost more predictable.
It’s crucial to view this as an investment in your personal and professional growth. Remember, the goal is to gain skills that can lead to a more productive, balanced, and fulfilling life.
Related: Productivity Coach – 9 Facts Checklist
Questions to Ask A Time Management Coach
Here’s a list of thoughtful questions you can ask a potential time management coach. These questions are designed to help you gain a clear understanding of the coach’s expertise, approach, and how they can specifically assist you in your journey towards better time management. These questions will help you decide which time management coach is your perfect fit.
- What is your coaching philosophy and approach to time management?
- Can you share your credentials and professional experience?
- How do you stay updated with the latest on time management tips, techniques and trends?
- What specific tools or methods do you use to help clients improve their time management? (Do they have basic methods like time-blocking or making a to-do-list that you’ve already seen in YouTube videos, or new strategies that you’ve never tried before?)
- Do they have methods to help you set priorities, improve your self-discipline or beat procrastination?
- Do they have strategies to help you get enough sleep and ensure you’re well-rested? This is key to effective time investment.
- Can you provide examples of past clients’ success stories?
- How do you tailor your coaching program to individual needs and goals?
- What do your coaching sessions typically look like?
- How much homework or between-session work is involved?
- How will we track my progress and measure improvements?
- What are your expectations from me as a client?
- How do you handle clients who are struggling to make progress?
- What is the cost of your coaching services, and are there different package options?
- What is your availability, and how often will our sessions be scheduled?
- What is your cancellation policy?
These questions aren’t just about getting facts. They’re designed to give you insights into the coach’s style, values, and methods, helping you decide whether this is someone you can trust and want to work with.
Remember, effective coaching is a partnership, and you have a right to choose someone whose approach resonates with you.
Time Management Coaching Process: A Step-by-Step Guide
Managing your time effectively is more than just organizing your calendar — it’s about aligning your actions with your core values and long-term goals.
A time management coach works to guide you through a transformative process to help you gain control of your hours and your life. Below are the key steps involved in the time management coaching process:
Initial Assessment:
Meet with your coach to discuss your current time management practices, challenges, and goals. This is a chance for the time management coach helps get to understand your unique needs.
Set Clear Goals:
Work with your coach to identify specific, measurable, and achievable time-management goals. This can include both professional and personal objectives.
Analyze Current Time Use:
Track your time meticulously for a week. This raw data becomes the basis for understanding where your hours are going.
Identify Time Wasters:
Review your time logs with your coach and spot activities that don’t align with your goals or that could be done more efficiently.
Prioritize Tasks and Responsibilities:
Learn to categorize tasks based on urgency and importance, focusing on what moves you closer to your goals.
Develop a Personalized Time Management Plan:
Your coach will guide you in crafting a tailored plan that includes schedules, routines, and strategies that suit your lifestyle.
Implement and Adjust:
Put your plan into action. Regularly meet with your coach to review progress, discuss challenges, and make necessary adjustments.
Monitor Progress and Celebrate Success:
Track your improvements over time and celebrate your wins, no matter how small. Use these success stories as motivation to continue your growth.
Develop Long-term Strategies:
With your coach, establish routines and practices that will continue to serve you after the coaching process ends.
Final Review and Future Planning:
In your final sessions, review your progress with your coach and set new goals for the future. Reflect on what worked well and identify areas for continuous improvement.
Remember, effective time management is a skill that takes practice and commitment. With the guidance of a skilled coach and your own dedication, you can reclaim control of your time and, in turn, your life.