​Imagine you had a client who started the year full of excitement with a list of goals for 2020. You probably don't have to stretch your imagination too much to picture this. All entreprenuers want to make positive change in ​their business, especially this time of the year. ​Whether your business involves coaching others or not, we all share the same story at the start of the year. We​ set goals, make promises to ourselves that ​they will blog more, send out a weekly ezine, be active on social media, and more. And we've diligently (or with the help of a coach) set tasks to achieve those goals.

Does any of ​this sound familiar?

By the time you read this post, the excitement and freshness of the new year has worn off and old habits and excuses might start to creep back in. Let's put our imagination caps back on:

Imagine you had a coaching client who consistently failed to complete their tasks for the week.

​They couldn’t find the time to get ​their email opt-in page completed.

​They were too busy to write the next chapter of ​their book.

​They were working too hard and completely forgot to put together ​their webinar presentation.

It wouldn’t take long before you sat ​this client down for a serious talk about the future of your coaching relationship—and ​their business. A coaching client such as that is a frustrating waste of time.

Why, then, do you continue to accept these and other excuses from yourself? Why is your lack of business development allowed to continue, even when you know how important those tasks are to your future growth?

Now, before you go thinking I’m being way too hard on you, know this: we all struggle with this very issue... even me... even after almost 20 years of business. We all put our clients, our family, our friends, and even the neighbor we barely know before ourselves.

But I’m giving you permission right now to stop doing that, and start treating yourself as the VIP you really are.

It’s time to put your business growth ahead of that of your clients. Only by doing that will you be able to reach a larger audience, help more people, and achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself.

The simplest way to do this is to just make appointments with yourself. That hour or two you have free on Thursday afternoon? Don’t book a client call in that spot. Book yourself. Mark it on your calendar, and treat it as an unbreakable appointment, just as you would an appointment with a client or your doctor or your accountant.

​This is my #1 productivity hack that I revert to whenever I fall off track. Make an appointment with yourself and KEEP IT! Google calendar is great for this. So is your day planner. Consider it a Power Hour: an hour of focused productivity and attention on one aspect of your business. Don't try to do 10,000 things at once. Pick one task and focus on it for the hour.

When your alert goes off for your appointment time with yourself, don't hit the snooze button. Don't dismiss the alarm and keep doing what you were doing. Treat the appointment as if you were meeting with a client: except this time, the client is you. Not sure what to do? Spend the time working on the things that are important to the continued growth of your business.

  • Develop a new group coaching program
  • Write a chapter of your upcoming book
  • Write emails for your autoresponder
  • Reach out to JV partners
  • Write and schedule a week of posts

In short, do those things you tell your clients to do—the things your own coach is likely advising. Don’t push them aside for “later” or “after your client work is done.” Elevate yourself to VIP client status and start putting yourself first. Your business will thank you for it.