Create a system for mastering consumption during your season

Hey Coach! 

I hope you are having a great weekend.  For those of you starting up your seasons tomorrow or in the next few weeks, good luck!!!! 

Because fall seasons are starting, I thought I would share this email I got from a coach and the advice I gave because I think it could help you reduce some of the overwhelm you might feel during your season.  

This is the email I just got recently: 

“I feel so overwhelmed by the amount of information that is thrown at me.  I just can’t keep up with it all.  Between my emails, the head coach asking for things, texts from the team, social media, the news, etc. I feel very overwhelmed and can’t seem to keep up with it all.  What’s even worse, is that I feel like all of this is taking me away from all the other work that I have to do so I don’t feel very productive. Do you have any tips for managing and getting all of this information under control?” 

Here was the answer that I gave this assistant coach: 

In my 23 years’ experience as a college soccer coach, I realize that there are millions of sources of information and things for you to consume as a coach. It’s important to figure out a way to control these streams so you have more time to do things that matter. 

1^st, I wanted to share with you a definition of Productivity that I found in businessdictionary.com; 

“Productivity is the measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into a USEFUL output’s.”  

I put in all caps and underlined the word “useful”.

I think a lot of coaches forget the word “useful”. 

It is possible to produce a lot of outputs as a coach, and it’s possible to produce a lot of inputs, but we want to make sure that they are useful.

Think about it this way: if we aren’t producing results, then we are wasting time and effort paying attention to and working on things that don’t matter to our goals. 

The way that I have tried to explain it to coaches when I’m working with them on their productivity is like this: things are coming at you like on a conveyor belt, and as stuff is coming at you, especially if it is too much stuff, you might feel overwhelmed. 

Instead, I want you to think about it more in terms of a linear conveyor belt, where are you are in control of the speed of the conveyor belt, and you are in control of how fast things come your way.  

When a new input comes your way, a new project, or new recruit, a piece of mail, a new camp opportunity, or whatever it is that comes your way as a coach, do you have control over your inputs: the speed at which they come, the amount that comes, and what comes your way? 

And when it does come at you, do you have a way to properly filter it, manage it, distribute it, and disseminate it to get the work done? 

If not, here are a few ideas today to get you started on creating systems to manage the information that comes towards you.  

First, I want you to start to set rules for the way you receive inputs, how they come to you, and when. Maybe you say, I only want an input once a week, and here are the things that I want in that particular input.  

A great example of this would be a weekly recruiting report.  Maybe you don’t want a daily or monthly recruiting report, maybe it is weekly.  Once you have decided how often you want it, be specific as to what things should be on that report, who should see it on your staff, be clear as to why you need it, and determine the mode that it will be sent to you (email, in a meeting, etc). This is how you set your rules for how you get input’s.   

Just by doing this this one thing, you will increase your productivity because you are taking control over the frequency and amount of information that comes at you.   

Other examples of inputs you could set rules for so you are better managing the amount of information that is coming at you all day:

• When you send a text to your whole team. I advise that you don’t send it until later in the day, so you have a good chunk of time to work in the morning.  When you send it first thing in the morning, you will be distracted all day long by incoming texts.  
•  What times recruits can call you.   
• Set a timer for when email will be delivered to you.  
•  You could direct all newsletter type emails into one specific folder instead of going directly into your inbox.   
• You could have 1 meeting with staff at the beginning of the day, delegate all tasks and then not meet again for a few hours to reduce input coming at you.   
• Weekly recruiting meetings instead of daily or monthly. 
• Set a limit for how many people you follow on social media, how many books you buy, or how many apps you own.  

There will always be more information available than you can consume so set limits so you’re no longer simply trying to just get through it all but rather enjoying more of what you consume. 

Hope that helps as you are about to have your athletes back on campus soon.  If you want to talk more about your specific situation, just hit reply to this email.  

To your success,  

Mandy Green