How To Be a Working Coach #41: Designing Rhythms That Respect Your Energy
Published 5 months ago • 9 min read
Hi Reader!!
Last week, I went to one of those gala parties that you often see on television. Everybody was in their best clothing, dressed to the nines. It was a beautiful event. Interesting people who are investing in the coaching world filled my table. The conversations challenged me to think bigger and work smarter. New ideas flowed like water under the proverbial bridge.
And it exhausted me.
GALA Lighting is a bit strange...but we looked GOOD!
I made the cardinal mistake that every working coach has to avoid: I did not respect my energy.
When I get into this zone, I get impatient. I'm hard to get along with, and I tend to make decisions without thorough processing. In short, nothing good comes from operating like this.
Welcome to "How to Be a Working Coach," this is issue number 41.
The Energy Paradox Every Coach Faces
Here's the irony: Coaches teach self-awareness. We help clients recognize their patterns, understand their triggers, and identify when they're at their best. But our calendars don't always show it.
We know better. We preach better. But do we practice better?
The event I attended was at the end of a two-day conference, which had been really great. I estimated that I had 30 interesting and engaging conversations each day, which, for a borderline introvert, is a lot.
Add in the fact that I was 5 hours off in time zone from where my body usually lives, and on the last night of basically 30 days of travel, and a crash loomed.
Fortunately, the evening ended well. I talked to everyone I wanted to see. But as I headed out into the London night to walk back to my hotel, I noticed I was moving pretty slowly. My tank was on fumes, and my hotel room bed was calling out to me.
The Reality of Working Coach Energy Management
Every working coach has been to this place where long hours, client visits, travel, and travel delays have made for too many long days in a row without enough rest.
Being prepared for this reality is one of the ongoing challenges of being a working coach.
But here's what most coaches miss: It's not just about avoiding exhaustion. It's about designing your practice around your natural energy rhythms so you can do your best work consistently.
The Framework That Changed Everything
One of my earliest mentors used to tell me, "Divert daily, withdraw weekly, escape quarterly, abandon annually."
That framework carries a lot of wisdom for working coaches. Let's look further.
Divert Daily: The 90-Minute Energy Rhythm
The Science Behind the Strategy: Our bodies don't operate on clock time - they operate on ultradian rhythms, roughly 90-minute cycles of high focus followed by natural recovery periods. You can feel this in your coaching sessions. The first 60-75 minutes are usually sharp and present. After that, both you and your client start to fade.
What "Divert Daily" Actually Means:
Find at least 15 minutes every day where your mind goes wherever it wants
Don't force it to be productive
In our tech-enabled age, we've lost the ability to sit and do nothing
This isn't about meditation or mindfulness apps - it's about bored, idle, unfocused time where your brain can wander
Practical Applications for Working Coaches:
Morning coffee without your phone (radical, I know)
Walking between client sessions without podcasts or music
Staring out the window for 10 minutes mid-afternoon
The drive home without the need to "maximize" the time
I like crossword puzzles, so every day on my lunch hour, I spend a few minutes working on one. I almost never finish them, but the diversion is very helpful
Withdraw Weekly: Protecting Your Recovery Time
The Weekly Reality: Withdraw weekly is key when you have busy days. "I have seven whole days to get this done." Except human bodies don't mix with always-on. I mess this one up most frequently. I fill every waking moment with what matters most to me.
And then I crash.
What "Withdraw Weekly" Looks Like:
A weekly break, even for just an hour or two
Time when you're not "on" for clients, family, or business building
A consistent rhythm that your body can count on
Actual rest, not just "different work"
For Working Coaches, This Means:
One full day per week without client sessions (yes, even when you're building your practice)
A weekly review practice where you assess energy expenditure, not just task completion
Protection of your calendar's white space as fiercely as you protect client time
Learning to say "no" to opportunities that would compromise your weekly withdrawal
The Hard Truth: Engines don’t run when the tank is empty. But more importantly, you can't coach presence when you're running on fumes. Your clients deserve you at your best, and your best requires weekly recovery.
I have set my calendar up so that I rarely coach on Friday afternoon because I just don't have the energy to show up the way I need to. This is my example of withdrawing on a predictable weekly schedule.
Escape Quarterly: The Strategic Pause
The Quarterly Reset: Every 90 days, you need a more significant break - a long weekend, a week away, or at minimum, several consecutive days without work demands.
Why Quarterly Matters:
Business cycles often run in quarters - you need recovery between cycles
Three months is about the limit before accumulated fatigue becomes chronic
Quarterly escapes allow for strategic thinking, not just tactical rest
This is when you can actually evaluate whether your practice is serving your vision
What This Looks Like in Practice:
Schedule these escapes at the beginning of the year, not as an afterthought
Make them non-negotiable in your calendar
Communicate them to clients well in advance
Use this time to reconnect with why you coach, not just rest from coaching
The Business Case: Some coaches worry: "I can't afford to take a week off every quarter." The better question: "Can you afford not to?" Burned-out coaches make poor decisions, lose clients, and often end up taking unplanned time off anyway - usually at the worst possible moments.
I like to marry a day of strategic planning with a long weekend where my wife and I can do some fun things. We'll head somewhere and sit by the pool, and I'll think about the big picture vision on Thursday. Then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we just relax. That's a plan that has worked really well for Joy and me.
Abandon Annually: The Complete Reset
The Annual Abandonment: At least once a year, you need to completely abandon your working coach identity for an extended period. Two weeks minimum. Three is better.
What "Abandon" Actually Means:
Not checking email "just once a day"
Not taking "emergency calls" from clients
Not thinking about your practice development
Not reading coaching books or listening to business podcasts
Actually disconnecting from your professional identity
Why This Is So Hard for Coaches: We build practices around being available, responsive, and present for our clients. The idea of being completely unreachable feels irresponsible.
But here's the truth: If your practice can't function without you for two weeks, you don't have a sustainable business. You have a high-paying job that owns you.
Building the Systems That Allow Annual Abandonment:
Client agreements that clearly state your vacation periods
Referral relationships for true emergencies
Systems that don't require your daily involvement
Boundaries that you maintain year-round, not just during vacation
I've considered doing a LinkedIn post or blog post about all the things I'm shutting down each year, but the contradiction is that it feels like that would be adding something to my calendar when the point is to take things off.
Designing Your Ideal Week Around Energy
Beyond the divert-withdraw-escape-abandon framework, working coaches need to think strategically about daily and weekly rhythms.
The Energy Audit Exercise
Before you can design better rhythms, you need to understand your current patterns.
Track These Elements for Two Weeks:
What time of day are you sharpest in coaching sessions?
When do you do your best creative thinking?
What activities drain you most?
What activities energize you?
How much recovery time do you need between coaching sessions?
What's your actual capacity for "people time" before you need solitude?
Common Patterns for Working Coaches:
Morning thinkers often do best with strategy and planning early, client sessions mid-morning through early afternoon
Evening people might prefer admin and prep work in the morning, coaching sessions afternoon and evening
Introverted coaches need buffer time between sessions; extroverted coaches might thrive with back-to-back client work
There's no right answer - only what's right for you.
Building Your Ideal Week Template
The 90-Minute Block Strategy: Structure your calendar in 90-minute energy segments:
90 minutes of focused work (coaching session, deep thinking, content creation)
15-30 minutes of transition and recovery
Repeat, but not more than 3-4 cycles per day
Sample Ideal Week Framework:
Monday: Deep Work Day
Morning: Strategic thinking and planning (90 min)
Late morning: Content creation or program development (90 min)
Afternoon: 1-2 coaching sessions maximum
Evening: Complete withdrawal from work
Tuesday & Wednesday: Client-Heavy Days
Morning: 2 coaching sessions with 30-min buffer between
Lunch: Actual lunch, away from desk
Afternoon: 2 more sessions with buffers
End by 5pm for recovery
Thursday: Hybrid Day
Morning: Administrative work and follow-ups
Afternoon: 1-2 coaching sessions
Time for professional development or peer coaching
Friday: Integration Day
Morning: Client session notes and planning
Midday: Weekly review and next week prep
Afternoon: End early for weekly withdrawal
Weekend: Complete Withdrawal
No client sessions
No business development activities
Actual rest and personal life
This is a template, not a prescription. Your ideal week might look completely different. The point is to design intentionally around your energy, not just fill available time slots.
My own calendar offers maximum flexibility in the morning, since that's when I'm at my best. But being on Eastern Time and working with clients in Europe means mornings are often the most mutually agreeable time we can find. I've had to learn that I have coaching weeks and non-coaching weeks. The mornings on a non-coaching week are my most productive times of the month.
The Permission You're Waiting For
Here's what I want you to hear: You're allowed to design a coaching practice that respects your humanity.
You don't have to be available 24/7. You don't have to say yes to every potential client. You don't have to schedule sessions during your worst energy hours just because a client requested them.
The coaches who build sustainable, thriving practices aren't the ones who work the hardest. They're the ones who work the smartest - in alignment with their natural rhythms and energy patterns.
Your clients don't benefit from having access to an exhausted, depleted version of you. They benefit from having access to you at your best. And your best requires rest, recovery, and rhythms that honor your human limitations.
This Week's Challenge: Design Your Energy-Aligned Practice
Part 1: The Two-Week Energy Audit (Ongoing) For the next two weeks, track:
Your energy levels throughout each day (1-10 scale)
When you feel sharpest vs. most depleted
How much recovery time you actually need between sessions
What activities energize vs. drain you
Keep a simple log - just notes in your phone or a notebook
Part 2: Analyze Your Current Calendar (45 minutes) Look at your calendar from the past month:
How many days went by without any diversion time?
Did you withdraw weekly, or did you work through?
When was your last quarterly escape?
When was your last true vacation?
What patterns do you notice about when you do your best coaching vs. when you're just getting through sessions?
Part 3: Draft Your Ideal Week Template (60 minutes) Using 90-minute energy blocks:
When would you schedule coaching sessions?
When would you do administrative work?
When would you do creative/strategic thinking?
Where are the buffers and recovery periods?
What boundaries would you need to establish?
Part 4: Implement One Change This Week (Action) Don't try to overhaul everything at once. Pick one practice:
Add 15 minutes of daily diversion
Protect one evening for weekly withdrawal
Schedule your next quarterly escape
Restructure one day around 90-minute energy blocks
Try it for a week. Notice what changes in your energy and coaching quality.
Part 5: Schedule Your Annual Abandonment (15 minutes) Right now, before you move on:
Open your calendar
Block 2-3 weeks sometime in the next 12 months
Mark it as non-negotiable vacation time
Email your current clients to let them know these dates
Start building the systems that will allow you to actually disconnect
Upcoming: Next week in "How to Be a Working Coach", we'll explore how to communicate boundaries to clients without losing opportunities—because respecting your energy means protecting your calendar.
The Thinkers50 gala party in London taught me something important: stimulation isn't the same as sustainability. Ideas and connections and possibilities are wonderful - but they're only sustainable when built on a foundation of rest and recovery.
Your coaching practice can be both excellent and sustainable. But only if you design it that way.
Now go build rhythms that respect your energy.
Jonathan Reitz & the Working Coach Labs Team
P.S. - If you're reading this and thinking, "I can't possibly take that much time off," that's exactly why you need to. The most resistant among us are usually the ones who need this most.
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