Chunking time to be more effective

By Aaron Whear

One of the topics that generated the most discussion at a recent 6 figure trainer workshop in Melbourne was around the concept of chunking time. The reason that this topic was so interesting to so many people is that most trainers make exactly the same mistake when they first get started, i.e. they don’t chunk their time. The root cause of this problem is that trainers often don’t value their service as much as they should, they lack confidence in their ability to attract a client base and this leads to a scarcity mindset. See if you can relate to this scenario, you have just started work as a Personal Trainer and because you lack confidence in your ability to get clients you make yourself available to clients 24/7 and as a result your day ends up looking like this, 6am client, 1pm client, 5pm client and 8pm client! This is no way to live as you have only been paid for 3 hours work (based on 4 x 45 minute sessions) but you have done these 3 hours over the course of a much longer day where you have been mentally “on” for the whole day. This type of situation where trainers get their day totally out of proportion is one of the reasons that the average lifespan of a Personal Trainer is between 2-3 years and they end up burned out, buggered, and busted! However, it does not have to be this way.

Chunking time is not a new term, but for many people it is a new skill. Chunking involves focusing on completing one task at a time, or working on similar tasks together. In the Personal Training context for a trainer who wants to work with both morning and evening clients it may look like this. Monday, Wednesday and Friday being available between 4-8pm, and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday being available between 6am-10am. Throw in a mid morning or lunch time small group classes and this trainer is well on the way to a 6 figure income and beyond working “in” the business for a maximum of 6 hours per day and actually enjoying life outside of training because they have defined “chunked” periods of work time and play time.

Another chunk of time I would recommend is a minimum of 4 hours per week of “heads up” time for Personal Trainers earning up to $60,000 per year and at least 8 hours of “heads up” time for those working towards $100,000 and beyond. The chunking principle for this time would be doing things like writing all your proposals together, blocking out two hours to meet a potential referral partner, or blocking meetings back to back. When these tasks are chunked together and distractions like e-mail alerts and mobile phone interruptions eliminated it is amazing how productive you can be. Many people who implement these practices report that they get more done in a 4 hour block than they used to get done in a week!

The point of this article is that trainers have a lot more control over organising their day and precious time than they think. All that is required is a shift in mind set in terms of showing enough confidence in yourself and your services to let existing and potential clients know that you have set times when you are available to train rather than being available 24/7. Once you make this shift in the way you do business you will be amazed and how many clients will rearrange other commitments to make sure they can continue to train with you and once this occurs you are well on the way to longevity within this great industry. You will be working sustainable hours and really enjoying what you do rather than continually having to pace yourself through the day because you are never “off”. My challenge to you if you are not currently chunking your time is to take out your diary right now and start working on a plan for a more sustainable weekly schedule.