Home » Coaching Blog » Coaching Tools & Resources » Coaching Exercises » Time Management Tools » Coaching Tools 101: Weekly & Daily "To Do List" Gets Clients Closer To Goals EVERY single day! Coaching Tools 101: Weekly & Daily "To Do List" Gets Clients Closer To Goals EVERY single day! Last Updated: October 7, 2021 Reading Time: 6 min ShareTweetShare5Pin292297 Shares A while ago, a .pdf of this tool was our holiday gift to our newsletter readers. We had so much interest in this tool that we updated and improved it - so people can buy, brand and use it with their clients! Stop procrastination in its tracks! This weekly and daily task management tool helps people achieve their goals! They focus on their Top 3 "Big Project" tasks and identify "Quick Wins" EVERY WEEK. With regular, focused action we not only achieve our goals - but we get there MUCH faster. "If there is anything that I could get you to do, it would be to spend ten to fifteen minutes each morning planning your day. If I could get you to do that, you'd not only scare yourself, you'd intimidate everybody on your block." Hyrum W. Smith Who is this tool for? This weekly task management tool is perfect for life coaches working with busy clients, small business coaches and also executive and career coaches where clients are working towards bigger life and career goals. So, why did we create this tool? Many people struggle with getting the important stuff done - we fill our days with activities, but don't necessarily make those big steps towards our goals and dreams! We procrastinate - either intentionally or just because we're so "busy". Your clients' new mantra is: "Work First On What Matters Most!" Because when we regularly work on what really matters - we achieve our goals and dreams and we get there faster! How This Simple 2 Page "To Do" List Task Management System Works: Page 1 - A Weekly Task Planner (as the name suggests) to use once a week. Identify your top 3-5 priorities, track upcoming actions and ideas, remember personal actions (eg. birthday reminders, pay bills, exercise class) and identify what to delegate/get help with. Page 2 - A Daily Task Planner (as the name suggests) to use once a day. Identify your "Big Project" task for the day, "Quick Win" tasks and personal tasks for that day. List your Top 3 Priorities that week at the top of the form to keep you focused when planning your day. I suggest running through the Weekly Task Planner with your client once to explain how it works, and go through setting up the first day from the Daily Task Planner with them. Then the system is self-explanatory and they can complete it for themselves. Get your New To Do List Task Planner (just $9.95) here >> Click to see larger image of Page 1 How to use Page 1) The Weekly Task Planner: Get your client to start by scheduling a regular time to plan their week's activities. Allow 15-30 minutes. Eg. first thing Monday morning, but your client may prefer Friday afternoon or Sunday night. Use last week's Weekly Task Planner and make sure they transfer across any incomplete tasks and the items identified as "Next Week's Big Priorities". Review their diary for the week - appointments, meetings and other commitments - and factor this in when planning their weekly tasks so they don't overschedule themselves. Then review their monthly/quarterly goals with them, focusing on the highest priority goals first. Use these to decide their Top 3-5 tasks for the week that move their big goals forwards. Now they write out their week's tasks (following the instructions under each heading): 1. "Big Project" Tasks - Top 3-5 "Big Project" tasks in priority order - these must be SMART tasks, doable that week. 2. "Quick Wins" - 3 "Quick Wins" - shorter tasks with big impact that take up to one hour. 3. "Filler Tasks" - 3 "Filler Tasks" - regular or necessary tasks that take 30 minutes or less. 4. "Delegate/Get Help" - up to 5 tasks they need to delegate or get help with. 5. "Personal Tasks" - key appointments and things they need to remember this week. Scroll down for more information on Big Project, Quick Wins and Filler Tasks. FINISHED: Now your client is clear on their actions and key priorities for the week! Click to see larger image of Page 2 How to use Page 2) Daily Task Planner Get your client to schedule a regular time to plan their day's activities. Allow 5-15 minutes. It could be first thing in the morning, but your client may prefer the afternoon or night before. At the start of the week, list out their Top 3 Priorities to get done, at the top of this worksheet. Each day prior to starting work, complete the boxes for the day in question. Refer to this week's Weekly Task Planner, and review your diary for the day (factoring in any meetings, client sessions and commitments you have). If necessary, bring forward any incomplete tasks from yesterday. Start with a "Big Project" task for the day - then identify up to 3 "Quick Wins" or "Filler" Tasks. Next include the actions they need to delegate and any important personal tasks like renewing insurance, paying bills, birthdays, exercise plans FINISHED: Now your client is clear on their priorities for the day and whenever they start work on their business during the day, they simply refer to their Daily Tasks - and work on the priorities they've identified! Get your New To Do List Task Planner (just $9.95) here >> Task Types Explained: What are "Big Project" Tasks? These are the key tasks that move you towards your big goals for the year (or monthly/quarterly goals). These goals could be finishing your website, developing a new product, career certification, a joint venture, moving to a new newsletter provider. Each of these goals takes a lot of work, and we must take action towards them on a regular basis until they are done. It could be a day spent writing your "about" or "services" page for your website, research into 3 newsletter provider systems, a half-day spent cataloguing your hours for certification. Be sure the task is SMART and do-able this week - if not, chunk it down to something that is do-able, even if it says 3 hours working towards X. Love goal setting? Get our Complete Guide to SMART Goals (with Special .PDF Report!) here >> What are "Quick Wins"? These are high impact tasks that can be completed in under an hour. It could be writing up the actions for that joint venture, submitting your article to that blog, making tweaks to your sales page, finding the perfect graphic for your new website or those final steps to actually finish something! Note: some quick win actions may SEEM HARD (like a phonecall to the bank manager or following up with a potential client), but are actually a LOW OUTLAY of EFFORT with a high potential impact. What are "FILLER" Tasks? These are usually regular or necessary tasks that can be done in 30 minutes (or less). They can be standalone tasks or smaller tasks of a bigger project that have been chunked down. It could be essential admin, reading industry journals, making a dentist appointment, social media posts. Some Final Time Management Tips: Don't overdo it! ALWAYS review your diary and think about what you are likely to achieve given your pre-existing commitments. Working on one big project task and 1-3 filler tasks per day is usually enough. Know when to think small(er): If you have a very busy day, skip the "Big Project" Tasks and plan to do "Quick Wins" or "Filler Tasks" ONLY (even just one!) to move your business forwards. Be Flexible: Sometimes Life and Business will get "in the way" - an unplanned opportunity, a long lunch with a friend you haven't seen in years, an urgent life or business situation. That's OK. These task planners are supposed to focus the mind, to help prioritise and work on what's most important first. When something comes up - your tasks just shift to the next day or week. It's that simple. If you liked this New To Do List Task Planner, you may also like: Our Productivity and Time Management Toolkit (which contains this and 7 other tools!) 5 Surprisingly Easy Tips To Get Focused, Be Happier and More Productive Coaching Tools 101: The Action Priority Matrix - achieve more with the time you have! Goal Ecology - What to Ask When a Client Consistently Fails to Complete their Actions! This is just one of our many coaching tools! Learn more about what coaching tools are, when to use them and how they can help in our Complete Guide to Coaching Tools here >> Categories: Coaching Tools 101, How to Use Coaching Tools, Productivity & Time Management, Time Management For Coaches, Time Management Tools Image of Happy Client Organizing their Task List for the Week by NakoPhotography via Shutterstock Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ