How much silence do you encounter in the remote space every day? Many days can be a blur of back to back calls.

Incorporating what I call “The power of the pause” is an important element of remote work.

What can we do to make more of a pause during our calls?

• Provide people with a prompt they can explore during the call. If you are working on strengths it might be:  Take 2 minutes to reflect on the one strength you have been utilizing recently.
• Pick up a copy of the Digital Conversation Sparker Weekly Journaling Prompts – You’ll have immediate download to the more than 50 graphics. Use one for each call you have. I often give people 2-3 minutes of silence to write out what their insights are. Pick up a copy of them here - (currently $35 US with an immediate download)
• Provide a word prompt and have people write or draw whatever comes to mind
• Have group members mind map whatever comes to mind for them – 2 -3 minutes

These activities can often be more powerful when you then leave time for dialogue and conversation afterwards.

What do you want to do to leave some time for reflective pause?

What do you notice when you do leave time?

Best,
​Jennifer

This time last year I hosted a Q1 reflective stock taking session that became very popular. Given how valuable people found it, I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. Here is a link to that webinar so you can follow along. 
 
Quarterly reviews are an invaluable tool to see how things are going with your business. It’s an opportunity to take stock of:

• Your accomplishments
• Your learning
• Your focus
• Your relationships
• Your goals
• Your projects

​And also your numbers - - what have you been tracking? What do your Monthly Daily Trackers say?

If you are using the Coaching Business Builder there are 4 quarterly planners built into the guide. You will want to make sure that you review the monthly stock taking pages and carry your major learning over so you have a cumulative summary in one place.

Quarterly reviews are also an opportunity to look ahead. What do you notice about:

• Your annual goals and milestones for this quarter?
• The key activities you have earmarked?
• The one-off activities and tasks you have – i.e. renewals etc?
• Relationships which need attention?

The activities you want to do on a consistent basis (Note: One of my favorite quarterly events which got me into the flow of posting on Instagram was a 90-day commitment around daily posts). What are the tasks and activities you want to focus on, on a daily basis this quarter? Have you got your trackers ready? Now’s the time to pull them out.

I hope that you’ll take 10 – 15 minutes today to get yourself organized for the new quarter. Is there anything you want to keep visible -i.e. writing out your goals and commitments in a place that is visible so you can review it. Perhaps you put it on your phone or on a whiteboard or on a list by your computer. Remember the old project management adage: 15 minutes of planning saves up to 60 minutes of unfocused effort.

Enjoy your reflection and planning!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized 
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join us for an upcoming ICF-CCE approved program including Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs), or the PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training (24 CCEs). 
What's possible if you take daily steps on your business for 60 Days? Join our 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator program here!
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: [email protected]
​

As we go to wind-down 2019 I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU for joining us here at the Coaching Business Builder. As I think back to this year it's been amazing to serve so many of you through individual coaching, the PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreats, group coaching at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab and also via the 52 Weeks of Planning, Doing and Tracking .  I also hosted monthly calls related to the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack many of which you can find at my YouTube channel - check out the Coaching Business Builder and  PlanDoTrack Playlists.
I'm also excited for what is just around the corner. January 1st I get to kick off the NEW 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator program. for the first 60 days of the year you'll be supported through group calls, some 1-1 time with me weekly, and also lots of peer support. I hope that you'll consider joining us for this once-in-a-lifetime decade kick-er-off-er! Learn more and grab your spot. Spaces are limited.

It's been quite a year here at the blog as well! I shared weekly posts every Monday with posts covering a range of topics critical for coaching business success from:

Creating a Free Giveaway - Check out May's posts
Habits in Your Coaching Business - Check out these posts
The Monthly 1 Biz Step a Day - 12 separate monthly posts
A focus on project management
An exploration during July and August around the 9 Marketing and Promotional Strategies covered in Coaching Business Builder Section 3
Solopreneur Myths
and Preparation for Year-end planning

As I have been sharing in the FAcilitator Training I have been doing with those who will be taking PlanDoTrack out as one of their offerings, I've got another set of 52 weeks of blog posts planned in 2020, which will support continued dialogue around business development topics over at the Conversation Sparker Zone - the social community I started earlier this year. Join us for some community building and sharing. I'd also love to hear what topics you are eager to explore during 2020 here at the blog. Please take a few minutes and let us know!

Once again, it's been a pleasure serving you this year - I look forward to bringing you more useful and practical posts during 2020.

Hope you are enjoying some down-time this season and time with loved ones,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Coaching Business Builder | Group Coaching Essentials
Supporting coaches to grow their business and skills in the areas of group coaching
If you want more like this post, join us starting January 1st for the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator OR throughout 2020 at the CoachingBizGrowthLab in 2020.
Contact Jennifer to set up a call to see how her 1-1 coaching or group coaching support can help you move towards your 2020 goals.
Phone: (416)996-8326

Earlier this week I held my annual year-end planning hack, a 45-minute series of reflective prompts to quickly zoom into your vision for next year. While a 45-minute working session may not be the full amount of time you may dedicate to vision work, it often is enough to create a high-level overview, from which annual, quarterly and monthly plans can flow.

If you have a copy of either of my workbook planners, Coaching Business Builder, or PlanDoTrack, check out the Vision Questions which are found in both Sections 2 and 5. (Note there’s lots of repetition between the different sections to help you keep unlayering your vision and insights).

Several years ago, I also recorded a short 15-minute annual vision audio as part of the Inner Biz Leader Virtual Business Planning Retreat. Even though it is a few years old now, I wanted to share it with you here. Please grab a pen and listen in...noting what you want to create in your work 3-5 years from now. It will take you 10-15 minutes to listen to.

Grab a pen and listen in here:

​Want something shorter? Check out this 2 minute vision video here at my YouTube channel. 

​Questions you may want to consider are:

• As you step into 2020, what’s important to start a new chapter around?
• By the end of 2020, what do you want to have accomplished?
• What are the things you want to be known for?
• What are the relationships you want to invest in?
• What do you want people to reach out to you for?

All the best,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Coaching Business Builder | Group Coaching Essentials
Supporting coaches to grow their business and skills in the areas of group coaching
If you want more like this post, join us at the CoachingBizGrowthLab in 2020 OR participate in the Inner Biz Leader Virtual Retreat.
Contact Jennifer to set up a call to see how her 1-1 coaching or group coaching support can help you move towards your 2020 goals.
Phone: (416)996-8326

This week marks what is often known as the Second New Year. It’s back to work and back to school for many of us.
​
With a new year mindset, it’s a great time to pause and take stock of where you are at, what’s working, and what’s not.

Here are a few ideas of things you might want to do this week (or today if you are enjoying the holiday):
1. Set or review your goals for the next 4 months to the end of the year.

2. Make your goals visible – where can you view or review these?

3. Spend a few minutes going through a guided session -you can use the quarterly prompts I included in the Q1 reflection session. Grab a pen and your journal and earmark 30 minutes to go thorough this 30 minute quarterly planning session.

4. If you do consider September to be the start of your new year, check out the post on Creating an Annual To Do List .

5. Review your schedule for the fall. Have you included:

• Time to focus on the high impact, high importance projects?
• Time for renewal?
• Time for action/execution?
• Time for learning?
• Time for relationships?
• Time to TRACK your results? Consider joining me for the Month End Reflection Sessions.

6. Consider what habits are going to help you do the things you want. Habits allow us to do things consistently and efficiently, often without as much thought.

7. Consider what you want to say YES to this fall AND consider what you want to let go of and NOT do.  
​
What are your goals this fall? What do you want to focus on?

Enjoy your first Monday of September AND some Labor Day magic!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010)
Potentials Realized
Phone: 416-996-8326
Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on  Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder.

One of my favorite activities over the last few years has been to create a summer project list of small, and larger tasks, to complete in what some find to be a quieter time. There always are lots of project possibilities in the summer months. Have you considered:

• Updating your website
• Incorporating a new system
• Catching up on the reading you have piled around your office (or bed)
• Taking time to plan for a new program
• Writing some blog posts (and getting ahead of the curve)
• Creating a content calendar for your business
• Writing your newsletters for the next few months
• Starting a new series on Instagram

Some useful questions to consider as you go to decide what projects you want to put attention around:

• What have your clients been asking for?
• What are your key goals this year?
• What new activities would support your action and achievement of these?
• What projects would you like to move off of your “TO DO” List?
• What milestones would you create for yourself so that this is completed before the end of the month, or the end of the summer?
• What resources do you need in order to be successful with this?

For some more inspiration around this topic, listen into this 20 minute video I did last year on 2018 project ideas – check it out on my YouTube channel.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Building in regular pause points is invaluable in supporting focus, action and reflection. Kolb’s cycle of learning is commonly referred to as a four-step process known as ERGA – Experience, Reflection, Generalization and Application.
​
Key to learning, according to this model, is that we take a “pause” to build in reflection after having an experience. It is this pause that allows us to cull learning and insights which we can then apply to other areas of our life and work.
There are many different ways to reflect including:

• Retreat programs
• Short writing activities – 2-5 minutes where people MindMap or note their learning
• Mid-point evaluations with clients
• Quarterly Reviews (see the article below)

 
Last month at the Learning Lab and Design Studio I was reminded of a great book called the Women’s Retreat Book by Jennifer Louden which is chock-full of great resources for creating and leading your own retreats. You’ll want to check it out.

Other resources you might want to explore:
Create a Pause Via Quarterly Retreats Using these questions (Coaching Tools Company Article)

Undertake a quarterly review process with me (30 minutes - VIDEO). Be sure to grab your pen and journal for this one!

Wishing you all the best,
​Jennifer

PS - For those of you who want to bring some of this into your work, consider joining me on July 9th for the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training. I'll be leading a group of professionals through 6 x 3 hour facilitator virtual training sessions in July so you can lead this work with your own clients. More here.

​Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010)
Potentials Realized
Phone: 416-996-8326
Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on  Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder.

In today’s VUCA world, disruption is more the norm that the exception.  This often means that what worked last time, will not work this time. Experimentation can therefore become a useful philosophy and habit. With the rapid pace of change, new industries, new jobs and new approaches are springing up on a regular basis. What have you tried lately? Are all your old approaches working as they used to?

How to practice it:
On a regular basis (i.e. each quarter), consider what would be useful to learn and/or experiment with (tools, processes, practices, skills etc).

An experiment could involve trying something new out, tweaking an approach you have been using for a while (i.e. instead of doing a Facebook Live in the morning, what about trying it in the evening?).

Why it can be valuable:
There are many applications for experimentation in business. It can help us get into a pattern of trial and error, helping with diversification. Given that things are changing so quickly it may mean that we are better positioned for new, and unseen, options.
​
A and B testing, where you pilot two approaches at once, has become a popular approach for many marketing initiatives, to see which one gets more engagement and traction.

Questions to consider:

• What do you want to experiment with?
• What is needed?
• Where could experimentation benefit your work?

Resources:
Carol Dweck: Growth Mindset (check out her concept of Not Yet)

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

In both the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack, I include four business philosophies which are critical to all types of virtual and remote professionals, and business owners today – Focus, Experimentation, Momentum and Reflective Pause.

In my work with teams, and individuals, over the last fifteen years in my business I’ve seen that these make the difference between good and exceptional.

With this in mind, over the next few weeks I’ll be taking a deeper dive into the realm of these four areas looking at:

• What it means in today’s business context
• Why it’s important
• Ideas for putting it into practice
• And resources you may want to follow up around

​A reminder that if you like these topics you may want to check out my weekly Facebook Live, where I put into voice quick planning ideas and activities. You will find it over at the PlanDoTrack Facebook page.

Let’s turn our attention to the first topic of FOCUS.

We live and operate today in what is often considered an era of distraction. Our ability to focus and keep our eye on what is important to us, and to our work, is key.
Did you know that:

• The average worker receives 90 emails in the span of a day?
• It takes 22 minutes to get back on track after an interruption?

It’s not uncommon for workers (not just managers) to be spending 5-10 hours a week in meetings? I’ve met managers who wear the badge of
Focused work and attention are critical, and essential in order to create foundations, and grow a business.

How To- Creating Focus:

• Consider building in focused blocks of work – turn off email, move into a conference room, or take your work mobile. What will give you the space and time to do the focused work you need in your job/business?
• Leverage the circadian rhythm. Science continues to show that we have different times of day when we are at our best. What are those times for you? What can you do to ensure you have focused work times within those blocks.
• Create your to-do list of Top 5. With change being the norm for many workplaces, having a top five list each day is important. It’s interesting as the writing of James Clear has pointed to the early 1900s productivity hack from Ivy who asserted that a focus on a top 6 list every day would lead to productivity advances. Whether it’s five or six, being able to check core items off the list can help with efficiency and also motivation.
• Know your priorities – and your teams. Priorities also keep us grounded. They will help us shape our top five as well as discern where our time needs to go. What are your priorities for the week? The month? The quarter?

 
Refer To - Focus
When: The Science of Perfect Timing – Daniel Pink
Atomic Habits – James Clear
Outer Order and Inner Calm – Gretchen Rubin
Deep Work and Digital Minimalism – Cal Newport

Check out my April 3, 2019 Facebook Live 

Wishing you all the best,
Jennifer

It’s officially the end of Q1 of the year, and yet another reason to pause and take stock of your successes from the last quarter and some planning for the month ahead.
​
Looking backwards to the last quarter:

• What successes did you have over the last quarter?
• ​What major accomplishments did you have?
• ​What were key lessons learned?
• ​What habits or practices helped you?

• What role did planning play?
• What forms/templates and practices supported your focus and planning?
• What got in the way?
• What do you want to make sure you don't carry forward into this season?

Now turning to the next quarter’s planning:

• What are your goals for April, May and June?

• ​Narrowing it down, what are your top 3- 5 priorities? (Think - by June 21st I hope to have achieved)
• What time are you earmarking for planning?
• What time is earmarked for projects?
• What new habits and practices do you want to put into place?
• What relationships do you want to put more focus around?
• ​What is one thing you could do on a daily basis each day of spring to move your goals forward?
• What relationships do you want to put attention around?
• ​What do you need to, and want to take action on?
• What needs clearing up?
• What else is significant for you this quarter?

Finally...
​What pauses and renewal periods do you want to build in? Grab a calendar and schedule that now.

​What else will help you remain at your peak?
​
Enjoy your reflection and be sure to update your Monthly Tracking Forms in the Coaching Business Builder/PlanDoTrack.

You will also want to fill out some new Quarterly To-Dos and do a weekly breakdown (check out pages 140 and 141 of the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner and Coaching Business Builder).

Enjoy the planning and celebrations!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010)
Potentials Realized
Phone: 416-996-8326
Looking to grow your coaching business this year? Check out the Coaching BizGrowth Lab. We meet the 1st and 3rd weeks of the month for 1 hour group coaching conversations. Focus this month is on collaboration and building community. In addition to the group calls you have access to a growing resource library of monthly articles, templates and recordings. Join us this quarter or for the rest of the year!