Chapter 17 begins the final part of Extraordinary Badass Agile Coaching which focuses on continuous learning. The chapter “The Badass Agile Coach’s Guide to Starting Your Day” provides a structure or ritual for beginning each coaching day. I almost see this as a macro planning arc that Bob has recommended for all coaching sessions.

When I was five years old, I plotted out a book that detailed how I would organize my day to pursue my hobbies and other things five-year-olds do. Sometime in mid-high school, I found pages of nearly undecipherable scratching and drawings and then updated them. Most of the detail of these exercises were overtaken by life; however, the daily structure of organizing and preparing for the day based on a plan became a lifelong habit. When I read and then re-read Monotasking by Staffan Nöteberg I recognized that every day (heck every 25 minutes) requires answering what the most important thing you should be doing NOW is and THEN DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Every author on productivity at any level extols the need to start the day with a structured ritual. Kevin Kruse, New York Time Best Selling author of 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management (he also appeared on SPaMCAST 398), states that most high achievers practice a consistent morning ritual. Bob suggests a very coaching-focused ritual to put you in the right place to be able to serve your stakeholders and those you are coaching. 

While the chapter is a gold mine of ideas to prompt reflection and introspection as you start the day, the set on strategy hit me the hardest during this read of the book. The strategy prompts start by asking you to think through the progress you are making with the people you are coaching over the last month, then whether they are progressing toward their goals, and finally how you are showing up as a coach. I have started walking through the strategy questions as I walk the dog each weekday morning. More than once this week I have decided to change stances or rearrange my discretionary time based on reflection. 

As a coach, I control the path I take based on the decisions I make. There is always an amount of complexity when interacting with people. Preparing for the day helps me to minimize the degree of randomness that complexity generates. Stephen Covey, in 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, stated “act or be acted upon” – action needs to start when you open your eyes every day.