A few weeks ago I got a request from one of the coaches on CoachAccountable:

I set myself up as a client and am essentially coaching myself.  I setup metrics to daily enter things from productivity level to weight lost.  I wondered if there was a way to have ourselves in the system but have it not count against our total clients?  It has helped me better understand how to use the tool with clients but as I get closer to ten clients I hate to have to pay for the higher tier.  Is there already a way to use the tool for ourselves or is this a possibility in the future?

At first I didn’t give this request much heed: doing extra coding and adding complexity to the system to have it track which client is technically the coach him or herself didn’t seem appealing, just to accommodate the (overall) rare event that a coach coaching themselves would push them over the threshold of the next subscription level.

But then I meditated on it, quite literally.

During some of my time in silence in a meditation course at the Kopan Monestary in Nepal I mused how good an idea it truly was, to encourage coaches to coach themselves within the system.  Even my biggest fan commented back in February how important doing this was for appreciating how useful the system is is from a client perspective.

Indeed, this freebie client would encourage something that is very much to be encouraged.  So after coming down from the mountain (again, quite literally), I added this as quickly as my travel schedule and Nepalese internet connections would allow.

Now when you add a new client whose email address matches your own, a quick little popup will give you the option to set that client as your “this is me coaching myself” client.  It’s your freebie client, and if you take CoachAccountable up on the offer, the system will offer to setup a few things to get you started, whichever bits you like.

A few quick steps give you the option to set up a few things, each of which are designed to help you get familiar with the system.

It’s a fine experience of the system early on, allowing a coach to see firsthand what it’s going to be like to work through actions, worksheet assignments, and tracking Metrics in CoachAccountable.  This is an important thing, considering that a coach trying CoachAccountable is, essentially, contemplating setting up his or her own clients for the very same experience.

My thanks go out to the coach whose inquiry sparked such inspired thought!