Before You Open Your Inbox Tomorrow Morning…

Hey Coach, 

Can I guess how your Monday usually starts? 

You pour a cup of coffee, sit down at your desk, and tell yourself, "I'm just going to check email real quick."

Thirty minutes later, you've answered a parent's question, responded to compliance, dealt with a scheduling issue, replied to two recruits, and accepted three meeting invitations.

You feel productive.

But let me ask you something.

Did you actually move your recruiting forward?

I used to think checking email first thing every morning was responsible. Looking back, I think it was one of the fastest ways to lose control of my day.

Here's why.

Every email is someone else's agenda.

Every text is someone else's priority.

Every notification is someone asking you to decide what's important before you've decided for yourself.

The problem isn't your inbox.

The problem is letting your inbox become your game plan.

Over the last 9 years that I have worked with Dan Tudor as his Executive VP, I've worked with thousands of coaching staffs across the country, and I've noticed something interesting.

The coaches who recruit the best aren't the ones who answer emails the fastest.

They're the ones who protect their attention the best.

Before they ever open Outlook, they already know what has to move that day.

Maybe it's calling the recruit who's gone quiet.

Maybe it's preparing for an important visit this weekend.

Maybe it's following up with a family that needs a little more confidence before making a decision.

Whatever it is, they've already decided what matters.

Then they let email fit around those priorities.

Notice the difference?

Most coaches start their day reacting.

The best recruiters start their day leading.

One small habit changed everything for me.

Before leaving the office each afternoon, I wrote one sentence on a sticky note:

Tomorrow will be successful if I...

Then I finished the sentence.

The next morning, before opening my inbox, I worked on that one thing first.

Sometimes it took twenty minutes.

Sometimes it took an hour.

Either way, I had already moved something important forward before the rest of the world had a chance to compete for my attention.

I'd encourage you to try it this week.

Before you leave your office today, write one sentence:

Tomorrow will be successful if I...

Stick it on your keyboard.

Tomorrow morning, don't open your inbox until you've made progress on that one commitment.

Your emails will still be there.

But so will your confidence.

Because you'll have started your day leading instead of reacting.

I've learned something after 24 years of coaching and nearly a decade of working with coaches around the country.

The best recruiters don't manage their inbox.

They manage their attention.

And attention may be the greatest competitive advantage you can develop as a recruiter.

That's one of the reasons Dan Tudor and I are hosting the August Pre-Season Recruiting Training on August 10-11. Before practices, games, and travel take over your schedule, we're going to spend two afternoons helping coaches build a clear recruiting plan for the fall, identify what deserves their attention, and create more meaningful recruiting conversations throughout the season.

Because once the season gets busy, it's much harder to stop reacting.

Right now, you still have time to decide what this recruiting season is going to look like.

If you'd like to join us, you can learn more here:

August Pre-Season Recruiting Training

One Last Thought

If you don't decide what deserves your attention...

Someone else will.

The coaches who build great recruiting classes aren't necessarily the busiest.

They're the ones who decide what matters before the world decides for them.

Have a great week.

Mandy Green

Built for Busy Coaches Ready to Create Better Systems & Bigger Results