Working as a personal trainer is one of the most rewarding jobs a person can have. However, it’s also one of the most demanding in terms of time and energy. On any given day, you may be meeting with several clients while also trying to focus on your own professional development and fitness. It’s no surprise, then, that many personal trainers struggle with managing their time. If this applies to you, the good news is that there are some effective time management tips you an incorporate into your everyday routine to improve your life.
Learn How to Prioritize
Better time management begins with knowing how to take that huge to-do list and rank each item in terms of importance or urgency. By taking time to knock out the most important items with the closest deadlines, you can make the best use of your time and reduce your stress. Start each day by writing out a list of what needs to be done and in what specific order.
Stay Distraction-Free
A lot of personal trainers don’t realize how much time they waste each day checking their e-mail, responding to personal texts, and even browsing social media here and there. You can cut down on your distractions by checking your e-mail at a few designated points throughout the day, not responding to personal messages until after your work day is over, and refraining from checking social media. There are even browser plug-ins and apps that will block social media sites during set times each day.
Get (And Stay) Organized
Do you find that you’re constantly misplacing important documents or other things you need for work? You might not realize it, but those few minutes here and there that you spend looking for your client’s phone number or trying to find your workout schedule can really add up throughout the day. Take the time to set up a sustainable system of organization, if you don’t already have one in place. Whether this simply means de-cluttering your desk or investing in a filing cabinet, a little bit of organization goes a long way and saves you time.
{{cta(‘0da87957-461d-4dae-8be0-05fa338aa1ab’,’justifycenter’)}}
Consider Partnering Up
Sometimes, what you really need to better manage your time is a partner. If you’re working as a one-person team and feeling overwhelmed, then it might be time to bring in some help. Maybe this means hiring somebody to schedule your training appointments for you, or perhaps it means finding somebody to teach one of your fitness classes. Either way, having a partner can drastically cut down on your workload and free up more time for you to focus on growing your business.
Look at the Big Picture
As a personal trainer, it can be easy to focus too much on the day-to-day operations of your business: meeting with clients, teaching classes, and getting in your daily workouts. However, it’s also important to take a step back from time-to-time and look at the big picture. Doing so can often help you identify areas where you have some room for improvement. At least once a month, take the time to assess your business from a broader perspective and make sure you’re staying on-track with your goals.
Know When to Say No
There comes a point when you may simply need to learn to say “no,” especially when it comes to acquiring new clients. If you’re already overwhelmed by your workload with the clients you do have, it might be better to refer a prospective client to somebody else. It may seem counter intuitive, but when you take on more than you have time for, you have no choice but to sacrifice the quality of your work in other areas, and that’s unfair to your current clients. Going off that note, you need to make sure you have time for yourself, too; without a healthy work-life balance, the risk for burnout in the world of personal training is extremely high.
Learning how to better manage your time as a personal trainer isn’t easy, but it’s always worth it. Be sure to give some or all of these tips a try for yourself and you might just surprise yourself with how much you can accomplish.
{{cta(‘e31b1793-085e-4b69-b9cb-e83795b06f58′,’justifycenter’)}}
