Who owns your schedule?
Who Owns Your Schedule?
Let’s be real: saying yes to a client = getting paid. Even In the passionate service industry of fitness + wellness, an hour of work equals an hour of earned income.
However, as hybrid-work schedules hum along, we’ve seen firsthand the struggles that fitness + wellness professionals have with running an effective schedule. Saying yes to any Client’s schedule request for when they want to see you works well for them - and, potentially your wallet. With one major caveat: before you reflexively say yes to book the session, ask yourself if you’ve considered what that “yes” means in impact to your overall time? How do you build a workable schedule with Clients that works for both you and them - without being a major drag on your self-care or sustaining a life you want to live? We’ve seen too many Trainers/Therapists suffer by saying yes too much. The burnout is real.
If it feels that clients’ schedules rule the roost, there are a couple tactics we’ve learned over the years from smart independent Pros to empower owning your time. You can say yes with boundaries and results. Read on for more….
Here are the 4 tactics we’ve seen to improve schedules for hard-working FitPros:
Shift flexible clients to flexible times
Why allow Clients who are able to schedule whenever (independent/ freelance, or set their own hours, or don’t work, etc), clogging your in-demand hours - such as before and after work - thereby dragging your ability to grow? The easiest slots to fill come with a price. They’re popular for a reason and, when filled, also come with a cost by blocking your availabilty for new recurring clients. To shift current Clients around, use these tips from our ‘How to Get New Clients’ guide:
Ask a Current Client to Shift Times
Why: Open up easily-booked hours, and double your income. Example: a client moves standing sessions from 6:30pm to 1p, which frees easy-to-fill prime-time slots for others.
How:
1. Offer hours that work well for the client’s schedule AND yours.
2. Remind clients the benefit of shifting for them: ie IF: they can save time and not have to fit in one more thing after work; they prefer fewer people around, they get a refreshing break in their day, they commute less etc.
Script:
“It seems like making this time has been challenging. What if we move to X, which I can consistently do on ___days. Would doing that make it easier for you to get your session in? It’d also be less commute back and forth so you’d save time and feel better when you arrive.”
Tips: Focus on positive results for what works best to stack your schedule efficiently:
Early-morning sessions: get your workout out of the way so you can give it your all before the day drains you.
Lunch-time sessions: can help clients feel invigorated or relaxed for the rest of the day.
Evening sessions: can end a Clients day on a high-note.
Offer perks for consistency
Money talks! Have you tried any of these?
Offer Clients a discount to fill less-desired times.
Charge a premium for the most in-demand times.
Charge less for off-peak hours.
Ever tried to book a last-minute flight to a hot-spot? It’s possible, simply for a price!
Most clients work with you not only for your physical wizardry but also accountability and consistency. Aligning your pricing practice to boost consistency can be an easy-with that keeps clients financially happy + physically healthy.
Just say no….for now
It is really that simple. Protecting your time = protecting your self-care.
To work on improving your schedule you can guide clients to options that are a win-win without sliding accidentally into a schedule that makes you sour. Instead of an outright “no,” try redirecting conversations with questions that provide options.
Here’s an example: “I can’t do 8am this Tuesday, but would be able to 8am’s if we do every Friday starting on X date. Does that work for you?”
Time is precious, and yours matters. Now go block next weekend off and enjoy!
Weeding versus scorched earth
The frustration and fatigue of burn-out can make change feel impossible. We recommend making digestible small moves, rather than ripping the band-aid off. That said, if you’re gung-ho, go for it! Profound change can happen in small steps too. You may not even notice that something momentous has happened until you look back to see how far you’ve come!
Some ideas:
don’t teach on Sundays, or all weekend, redirect Clients to mid-week, Mon or Fri.
reduce Friday evening availability
stop teaching mornings or evenings on select ideas
reserve assigned chunks of time for remote and/or in-person sessions to batch similar types of work, or do remote sessions where you can ALSO do in-persons to improve efficiency and reduce commute time-loss.
To sum it up: it’s possible to make significant changes with simple questions and direct guidance. You can both maximize your free time + structure dedicated work time so that it is both profitable and generative.
BONUS: IF you’re nerding out on time management and want to save 5 hrs per week, check this out: https://arrivewellness.com/blog/how-to-save-5-hours-each-day