Coaching for File Management

Maria had one more big project on her list for organizing.  She told her coach Susan now that her house, closets, and office were organized, she wanted to organize the files on her computer.   Susan asked Maria how she wanted to approach it.  Maria said one option was to outline what she had and where she wanted things, and another possibility was for her to do it while they talked it through.  Maria decided she wanted to complete it during the coaching session.  Susan asked Maria if sharing the screen on the computer was helpful.  Maria said yes, she liked that idea.

With both Maria and Susan looking at Maria’s computer screen, Susan asked Maria to explain the different files and documents.  Susan also reflected back some of what Maria had shared about her work flow when they discussed organizing her office.  For Maria this was a light-bulb moment.  She realized she wanted to arrange her files to support her work flow and that gave her insight on file folders to create.  Susan asked questions and gave Maria the space so she talked through the main file folders and then the file folders within each of those.  With her list ready, Maria quickly created her file folders.  Once she created the file folders, Maria moved documents into the appropriate folders.  As she worked, Susan continued asking her clarifying questions so that Maria thought through how she was organizing everything.  By the end of the session Maria’s files were organized and she was excited.

Throughout the process of achieving her goals, Susan supported Maria by asking questions, creating awareness, and co-creating process, techniques, and tools.