3 Super Simple Tools To Help Your Clients Beat Overwhelm, Negativity & Procrastination! | By Ruby McGuire

There are some fabulous coaching tools out there and sometimes it's the simplest ones that get great results. Here are 3 you can start using with your clients today.

1.  MITs - Most Important Tasks

When To Use It: Clients with overwhelm.

Stephen Covey talks about setting your MITs for the day - your Most Important Tasks. This has been one of the single most effective tools that I teach my clients when they are in overwhelm.

Our client might have the thought, "How on earth am I going to pull all of this off?" They may see this pile of stuff on their to-do list that they've got to do, their notifications are pinging in constantly to remind them and they feel as if they're drowning. The reality is your client probably won't be out of control of every area in their life, it just feels like that.

How To Use It:

• Ask your client to do this exercise after your session
• Tell them to write down on a piece of paper every single thing they need to do. Leave nothing off the list - this is about getting them out of their head onto paper
• Get them to go through the list and pick out their top 3 priorities
• Once they have their top 3 priorities they can start working on the first priority, and then the next and the next
• Remind them to focus on ONE thing at a time

If they want to, they can also categorise the different priorities into helpful groups - which can help them to recognise where their time is going. But the exercise on its own is usually enough. Remember they feel overwhelmed already so we don't want to overcomplicate things and send them into more overwhelm!

If your client finds it hard to prioritise they can ask themselves these 3 questions:

• Be specific - What is the actual problem you're facing?
• Get clarity - Which issues seem the most important or challenging?
• Check the impact - Which issue, when resolved, will have the greatest positive impact?

Once they know the answer to these questions, it's easier to prioritise.

This exercise is really powerful. Have a play!

2.  Just Because...

When To Use It: Clients stuck in negative thinking after something hasn't worked.

How To Use It:

• Explore the issue that's coming up for them
• Ask them what they think it means for them when that particular thing hasn't gone well
• Challenge their thinking by asking questions like, 'How do you know?', 'What makes you believe that?', 'Is that true?', 'What evidence do you have to know that it's true?'
• Then help them consider other ways of thinking by using the following phrase, "Just because 'x' happened doesn't mean 'y' will happen." For example:
  • Just because… I didn't get a new client today doesn't mean I never will
  • Just because… I made a mistake today doesn't mean it will go that way next time
  • Just because… Today didn't go so well doesn't mean tomorrow will be the same

Finish by sharing my favourite phrase (I read it first by Mark Henson), "You're exactly where you need to be right now."

3.  Set A Mini Dare

When To Use It: When a client is procrastinating and/or needs a nudge to try new things.

How To Use It

• Tell them that you have a mini dare for them
• Ask them if they accept the challenge
• Get them to come back to you to tell you when they've done it

That's it!

I've used this to help clients write books, to post on social media, write blog posts, ask to write guest posts/articles and more.

The magic happens because of the combination of the dare and accountability. To take it to the next level, ask your client to declare it somewhere publicly. Sometimes I get my client to post something online like, "My coach/mentor has given me the following dare… and then they go back and post when they've done it."

Wrap-up

So that's the three simple coaching tools - with powerful results. I'd love to learn what your favourite simple coaching tool is, why not share yours in the comments below. Let's all learn from each other!

If you liked this article from Ruby with 3 Super Simple Coaching Tools, you may also like:

• 3 Skills You Need to Be a Leader in Your Coaching Biz (even though it feels scary!) by Ruby McGuire
• 12 Great Ways to Use Coaching Tools & Exercises in Your Practice - and Why!
• Coaching Tools 101: The 9 Coaching Exercises and Templates I Would Not Be Without

Contributing Author:

Ruby McGuire is a Business & Mindset Queen. She's an Accredited Master Coach & Master Mentor with the IAPC&M, Trainer, Inspirational Speaker and Author of multiple books. She loves helping her clients step up and become leaders (aka Queens) of their businesses. She helps her clients develop their leadership and business skills, create a success mindset and attract dreamy clients. She is a Brit on a mission to live a simpler life without marketing on social media so that she can spend more time in her beautiful Scottish surroundings. You can find her at her pretty online home, over on her podcast show, Rock Your Fabulous Biz, and here where she shares her Mini Guide to Marketing Without Social Media. When she’s not working you’ll find her surrounded by books, making hand-made cards, and enjoying life with her hubby, little dog and chickens (usually with a Whittard Vanilla cappuccino in her hand)!

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