Let’s talk about overthinking and how it’s slowing your business down. Today, Joanna explores one of the most common growth blockers she sees in coaching businesses and shares a practical framework to help you make clearer decisions and move forward with confidence.

Timestamps

00:00 – The exhaustion of choice

01:00 – Why clarity-seeking stalls growth

02:10 – The Decide Once Method explained

03:20 – Thinking week vs execution weeks

04:30 – Why content doesn’t replace contact

05:40 – Consistency, metrics and momentum

07:10 – Confidence comes after action

This episode is for coaches who feel busy but stuck, and want a clear way to focus their energy on the actions that actually generate clients.

When you stop reopening decisions and start repeating simple actions, your business moves from optional to inevitable.

Decide once what matters this month, then show up and do the work without renegotiating it every day.

Useful Links

Learn about The Business of Coaching programme

Signature Solution Course

Download the Free Digital version of Coaches' Planner (NEW edition 2026)

Free Essential AI Toolkit – 2 Must-Have Prompts for Coaches

How to secure more coaching clients' free training

Download the 12 ways to get clients now

Connect with Jo on LinkedIn

Rate and Review the Podcast

If you found this episode of Women in the Coaching Arena helpful, please do rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you’re kind enough to leave a review, please do let Jo know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: joanna@joannalottcoaching.com

Enjoyed This Episode?

Don’t Miss the Next One! Hit subscribe on your favourite podcast app to be notified each time a new episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

Today we are getting super practical

and talking about the exhaustion of

2

having choice and overthinking so you

can learn this new method and start

3

implementing it in your business today.

4

If you sit at your desk each day

thinking, what should I do today?

5

What should I post today?

6

Maybe I should write a book.

7

Should I go to this webinar about

creating a course and getting distracted

8

by all sorts of shiny objects that

leave you confused about what your

9

most important tasks are for the day,

then this is the episode for you.

10

I'm Jo Lott, the host of Women

in the Coaching Arena, and I'm so

11

glad you are here and listening.

12

This constant clarity seeking is exactly

what can kill your business growth.

13

After working with hundreds of coaches

now I know that this is super dangerous.

14

You think you are being productive

by refining your website, tweaking

15

your wording, creating a great offer,

thinking about a new niche statement.

16

But in reality, you are just avoiding the

work that actually will bring in clients.

17

Today I'm introducing you to a

framework that I'm working with

18

my clients on this month, which

is called the Decide Once Method.

19

Decide once and execute repeatedly.

20

The decide once method is built on a

really simple, yet brutal structure.

21

You divide your month

into two distinct phases.

22

The first week is the only week you

are thinking, deciding, and creating.

23

Those first seven days, you are making

all of the strategic decisions that

24

you need to make in the month ahead.

25

Maybe that's defining your offer,

getting clear on your niche, your

26

pricing, the problem that you solve,

and the result that your offer delivers.

27

You work hard this first week

and get all of the thinking done.

28

As much content as you can

scheduled if you're using

29

social media for your business.

30

And crucially, you just get everything

out of the way, scheduled, decisions made.

31

So you do not need to think about

this for the rest of the month.

32

Take a sigh of relief and imagine

three full weeks with no content

33

to think about, no overthinking on

your niche, offer, website, whatever

34

it might be, you are overthinking.

35

You have made a decision upfront

that all of those decisions are

36

done in week one and weeks two,

three and four are for executing.

37

So strict, I know, but after

day seven, the thinking part of

38

your brain is officially fired.

39

And then we will move

into our execution loop.

40

This is the part that I know through

working with hundreds of coaches

41

that is really neglected, especially

in terms of the volume required.

42

You've made your decisions in week

one, and so now you move into a

43

different zone and you just execute

on those decisions that you made.

44

Obviously things are more nuanced than

I'm describing here, but as much as

45

possible, I would highly recommend

that you prioritize these weeks,

46

two, three, and four, to do the work.

47

Most of the time businesses fail because

they just haven't done the volume required

48

of the important work of lead generation.

49

So let's move on to talking

about lead generation.

50

Many people think lead generation

is about posting on LinkedIn or

51

Instagram and hoping for the best.

52

In this decide once method I'm

working with on clients at the moment,

53

content will support your visibility,

but it does not replace contact.

54

The amount of time I know it takes people

to write content can easily replace all

55

of the really important work you need

to do, which is why when creating this

56

sales sprint this month, I decided to be

super clear that the content is not the

57

thing that we are prioritizing this month.

58

In these weeks, two to four,

we use a very simple rhythm.

59

We have organized ourselves, so there

is absolutely no decisions to make.

60

Each day, we have removed choice,

creativity and overthinking from

61

this 60 to 90 minutes per day

62

Most people fail because they

keep reopening decisions.

63

Second guessing the name of your offer,

the angle, the price, the message, and

64

that constant reopening kills momentum.

65

In this latter phase of the

month, our only job becomes this.

66

Show up.

67

Follow the plan and repeat.

68

I was at a party on Saturday and a

client of mine was there as well.

69

And she said to me that she had had a

call with another client of mine who'd

70

said, I just don't understand this

overwhelm people feel about getting

71

leads and growing their business.

72

And she said, wow, really?

73

How is that?

74

And she said, yeah, I just know

if I do these actions each Monday.

75

My business will grow and

I will generate leads.

76

And she has done amazing in my

business of coaching program

77

because she has done exactly that.

78

She has repeated the somewhat boring

actions, but she started to see the

79

results and she didn't give up right away.

80

She has executed consistently

and now can really know exactly

81

what action she needs to take.

82

Measure them with numbers.

83

And know what sort of outcome

those numbers will generate.

84

That also allows you to know that if you

want more clients, then all I need to

85

do is double the amount of that activity

to get double the amount of clients.

86

So there is so much power when you can

become a real metric driven person and

87

understand what your core actions are

to generate leads in your business.

88

In the sprint, I have provided every

single template that everybody would

89

need to actually implement this

because I know that that is where

90

the system falls down and you're

not exactly sure how to say things,

91

exactly how many things to do each day.

92

So it's really deliberate.

93

Yes, it's a bit uncomfortable, but I know

that it works and I am really, really

94

excited to see the results that my clients

are going to get by the end of this month.

95

So think about your own

lead generation activities.

96

What does your lead

generation strategy look like?

97

Map that out.

98

Commit to doing those actions

in that volume each day.

99

We also have a manifesto for

our 'Decide Once' sprint.

100

I know that we are human, and this is

easier said than done, but what a sales or

101

lead generation, sprint, or actually any

lead generation you do in your business

102

is about, is talking to real people,

having real conversations, getting real

103

feedback, and creating real momentum.

104

These activities are not branding

work, website refinement,

105

endless clarity seeking or

waiting until you feel confident.

106

The key is that confidence is built

through action, not before it.

107

So have a think about what proportion

of your day is spent on repeated simple

108

activities that are going to generate

leads in your business versus the

109

branding work, the website refinement,

and the endless clarity seeking.

110

This will be your indicator as to

how well your business is doing.

111

The only rule in our sprint

is when in doubt, take action.

112

If you find yourself rewriting

messages, tweaking wording, questioning

113

whether you're ready or waiting for

certainty that this is gonna work,

114

the instruction is always the same.

115

Send the message, have the conversation,

take the action, and then your confidence

116

and your creativity and your certainty

will come the other side of that action.

117

The progress you want is usually sitting

inside the work that you have been

118

avoiding, not because it's complicated,

but because it's uncomfortable.

119

So the key message today

is to do the work anyway.

120

This is how your business will stop being

optional and start becoming inevitable.

121

I hope this has helped you to think about

what your baseline activities you are

122

committing to are and ways of executing

that mean you are in execution mode,

123

not in deciding mode all of the time.

124

I am excited to share the results of

the sprint with you in a few weeks

125

and even if you join the business

of coaching in future months, don't

126

worry, the sprint will still be

available and you can make huge, huge

127

traction in your business quickly.

128

So like I always say, trust yourself,

believe in yourself and be the wise

129

gardener who keeps on watering the seed.

130

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

Thank you so much for listening to this

131

episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

132

I have a mess of free resources on

my website joannalottcoaching.com.

133

That's Joanna with an A

and Lott with two T's.

134

joannalottcoaching.com.

135

And I'll also put links in the show notes.

136

Let me know if you found

this episode useful.

137

Share it with a friend and

leave me a review, and I will

138

personally thank you for that.

139

Remember to trust yourself, believe

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

140

who keeps on watering the seed.

141

Get into the arena dare, greatly and try.