The life and schedule of a personal trainer are a little different than the average working person. He does not work Monday through Friday at regular hours. Sometimes personal trainers who own or are in the process of building their own business work almost 24/7. Regardless of the form of coaching, in person or online, managing your time can be a problem.
Building a business or managing a successful business requires a lot of sacrifice and hard work. Although most coaches who choose this career path are ready and motivated, finding a work-life balance is still very important.
If your goal is to work less while earning more, here are five time management strategies you can implement. These are tried and tested principles that will not only make you more effective at your job, but will also help you achieve balance in all areas of your life.
1. Create a schedule
A well-planned week is a must. This is the foundation that you need to manage your time and schedule effectively. Designing the perfect template is easy; just be upfront about how you want to spend your time during the week. This way, instead of looking at your calendar every day and scheduling client meetings on a daily basis, you'll have designated days and times to workout, write programs, put together diets and, most importantly, spend time with friends and family. Structuring your time will give you more freedom and peace of mind. Meeting with clients only when you want to meet with them and leaving yourself time to relax with family and friends will help you do both without guilt.
Here’s an example of a perfect schedule:
This way we know exactly how many workouts we have on any given day and at what times. We can choose to work at hours that suit us and leave ourselves free time to meet friends or simply have a lunch.
2. The right rate is key - know your value
It's important to make sure you're pricing your services for what you're worth! In the long run, it's better to have a smaller set of clients willing to pay the right price for your time than a mass of people who pay next to nothing. This is especially true for online workouts. Finding the perfect price point can take a bit of trial and error. It is important to determine early on how much work a particular client will require and price your time accordingly.
Additionally, clients willing to pay more for your services will be more serious about their training, and since you're not training hundreds of other clients, you'll be able to give them more attention.
3. Be disciplined and focused
To be the best at something, you have to be disciplined. As a personal trainer, you surely know that the gym is one place where being disciplined and regular often directly translates into results and is very important for health and fitness. Some people find it easier to think about creating new habits than discipline. Discipline and focus, in relation to time management, simply means that if you have planned to work on something "x" amount of time, work exactly "x" amount of time and nothing else, but with full focus and commitment. Set an end goal for the amount of time you plan to spend on a task and focus solely on that
4. Make use of current technology
Using online applications and programs will help you gain an edge over your competition. Mobile apps for trainers will not only improve your business, but most importantly they will save you a lot of time. This way, you'll be able to use the extra time you gain to increase your charges or just spend it with friends and family
Fitsy is a great app that can help you manage your time. It has many features that will enhance your work as a personal trainer. Among others;
- Built-in calendar with two possible views - daily and events, which makes it very clear and intuitive. This is a very simple and effective way to increase control and save your time. Additionally, it has a feature to send notifications to your clients and receive them before scheduled events,
- Quickly add and group clients manually or from a contact list. Each client has a profile with basic contact information and detailed information like weight, height, girth, and current training and diet plan,
- Goal progress tracking and fitness charts will help your clients stay motivated, which will help with client retention. You can share them via social media,
- A huge database of exercises with descriptions, demonstration videos and detailed information on the muscles used, equipment or movement pattern,
- A list of products from which we can build meals and calculate the number of calories and macronutrients,
- Many more tools to help you save time and automate your work. And all this in one centralized location!
5. Marketing is the key to acquiring customers
Marketing is very important and does not have to be expensive. Try to maintain a friendly relationship with your clients, by which they will become your loyal customers. If someone is happy with your services, it might be a good idea to ask for recommendations among friends or feedback that you could post on your site. You can also try writing articles for local magazines or fitness websites. Connecting with customers via Facebook and Instagram is also a great way to do this. Adding posts and photos of your workouts and your before and after transformation results should help you gain popularity.
17.08.2021 
