Whether it’s tracking clients’ appointments, maintaining progress charts, or just remembering a client’s life story, coaches have a lot to manage, which means staying organized is more important than ever.
That’s where a coaching log helps. It lets you record clients’ sessions, adding details of their challenges, goals, and accomplishments.
Here’s everything you need to know about coaching logs.
What is a coaching log?
A coaching log is a tool that helps record the progress and goals of a client. This log can be as comprehensive as you need –– add a few short points to different topics discussed and the client’s progress or explain every detail to ensure it’s thorough. And maintain per your convenience –– if you think you can retain everything until the session’s end, fill in the log later. That said, we recommend recording details during the session to avoid missing essential information.
Coaching logs also help clients stay on track with their goals and work on areas of improvement. Clients can revisit old logs to keep a check on their action steps.
4 reasons you need a coaching log
Excellent coaches provide each client with careful, thoughtful plans and specific details. A coaching sheet helps keep track of the clients’ goals and progress and adds structure to sessions. Here are a few other benefits of a coaching log:
- Measures success: Logs let you objectively evaluate a client’s growth –– quickly look back several weeks, read goals, and assess how far the client has come. These documents also record clients’ action steps, which helps coaches identify strengths and weaknesses.
- Holds clients accountable: A log ensures clients are responsible for their goals. The document makes it easy for individuals to follow up on progress from coaches and see completed tasks.
- Helps celebrate accomplishments: With a log, clients see how far they’ve come since they started the coaching program, enabling them to feel empowered and acknowledge all their achievements.
- Records every minute detail: A log gives a clear account of the coaching session, making it easy to remember the coaching conversation and how the client wants to move forward. Coaches can review past logs before a new session to ensure they remember relevant information about the client’s progress.
How to maintain a log
Randomly scribbling information isn’t beneficial, as you might miss out on important points. Instead, have a logging strategy to enhance their functionality for your practice.
- Choose a cadence: Logs can be as frequent as necessary. Choose between a monthly, weekly, or daily log.
- Identify issues to solve: Focus on writing down specific issues and hurdles a client wants to overcome, helping you simplify and streamline the session.
- Action plans: Once you’ve identified what the client wants to change or the root issues, record actions they can take to progress in solving the problems.
- Review logs with clients: Once the coaching session is completed, encourage your client to go through the log and objectives, allowing them to focus on improvement areas, edit any goals, or follow up on a topic. Finally, ask them to sign the log, committing to their new goals.
Key elements of a coaching log
A coaching session notes template must include the following components:
- Check-in: First, discuss how the client feels and how it compares to the last session. Take note of their emotions and overall experience since the previous session.
- Desired outcome: Write down the client’s goals in every log to remind the client to work toward them.
- Timeline: Assign an end date for every task to ensure clients are constantly working on improving themselves. That said, make sure the deadline is reasonable for the client to complete. In case they feel stuck and unable to complete actionable steps, guide them every step of the way so they don’t feel demotivated.
- Structure: Create a log to mirror the structure of your sessions. This makes it easy to record information in an organized and relevant manner. Simply jotting down notes may cause confusion and detract from efficiency as compared with a clearly structured log.
- Model: If you’re unsure where to start, use a coaching model that helps enhance coaching sessions.
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How to create a coaching log
When recording information, use paper or your laptop –– whichever is comfortable. (A physical record can easily be transferred to a digital system for organizational purposes.)
The client log must include problems, action steps, and goals. Divide the log into sections that reflect the flow of coaching sessions. Be sure to add the client’s name and date on each log to track their progress.
Organize your business with Practice
Juggling between multiple clients means remembering every minute detail about each session, helping clients navigate complex challenges, and encouraging them to continuously work toward their goals and better themselves. But relying on your memory can risk information loss, which is why it’s important to supplement sessions with a coaching log. But that’s not all. Leverage a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to stay organized.
Practice’s Client Management Software, designed with coaches in mind, is the perfect way to enhance your coaching business and keep everything organized. It helps you track appointments, save important documents, and manage forms and contracts to make administrative duties a breeze so you can focus on clients. Try it today.
