In short: Use time in the coaching session to do a small action that creates a domino effect.

In coaching sessions, people often bring problems they can't solve or tasks they know how to do but tend to procrastinate on. It's important to look for the barriers and resources that can help overcome these obstacles.

Setting the First Domino

When someone has a task they want to do but might procrastinate on, I love to use a part of the session to set a first action. This could be as simple as sending an email, drafting a message, or blocking time on a calendar. During this time, as the coach I don't do anything. Often I even say: let's meet back in 10 minutes to see how it went.

Observing the Loop of Action

Over the years, I've seen that initiating these small actions within the coaching session leads to a loop of action. The coachee has sent a request to someone, this person come back, and now it's simple to answer. It creates a sort of positive social pressure where others reach back and motivate you for the next action.

So, when dealing with procrastination linked to social interactions, I like to not just discuss it but use the coaching or mentoring session to push a first domino block.

Written with AI help
This article is based on an audio note I took while walking which was transcribed and cleaned using Audiopen and that I then reviewed and improved by hand.