Sage Grayson on her typical workday {that starts at 5am!}, productivity, and the importance of sleep

1. In a sentence or two, could you tell us what you do?

Hey there! My name is Sage Grayson, and I help busy women make their lives a little sweeter. I’m a life coach who writes about happiness, self-empowerment, and productivity.

Everyone goes through tough times. Eventually, we must choose to let go of our hurtful past and embrace a shining new future. If you’re ready to stop blaming others, being lazy, or playing the victim—then I’m your coach!

2. How did you get started?

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and I minored in Journalism. After graduation, I spent nearly 10 years in healthcare publishing as an editor of medical textbooks and websites.

I’ve always been the person my friends come to for advice, and I had an advice blog for a while where I offered solutions to life’s problems with a mix of goofiness and woo-woo spirituality. But under all the silliness was real passion for taking responsibility for your own happiness.

Eventually, I became burned out from corporate world, and I wanted a career that would allow me to help women finally put themselves first. With guidance from my coach and mentor, Christine Kane, I started my life coaching business, Sage Grayson Coaching.

Healthcare is still hugely important to me, and I often write about fitness, nutrition, and self-care. Whenever I start coaching a new client, one of the first things we work on is making sure she’s getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep affects every aspect of our lives, and my clients have seen huge changes in their productivity and energy by sleeping just a little longer at night.

In fact, I write about sleep so often that I’ve been told I should change my tagline from “It’s your life…make it sweet!” to “It’s your life…go to sleep!”

3. What three words best describe your personality?

Silly, systematic, sweet.

4. What character {from a book, movie or television} do you most relate to? Why?

The characters I relate to are ones who’ve experienced personal hardships but haven’t lost their hope and inner sweetness. One of my favorite characters is Elena Gilbert from The Vampire Diaries. That girl’s had to deal with all kinds of crazy situations! Thank goodness she’s got 2 hunky vampires boyfriends to keep her company.

I may not be fighting supernatural beings, but I’ve gone through many tough experiences including leaving an abusive family, surviving a suicide attempt, and overcoming bullying. One of the things I teach my clients is that you can’t let a negative past affect your future.

5. What’s your favorite part of your life coaching business?

The best part of being a life coach is when I can witness my clients go through a transformation into the type of women they’ve always dreamed of being.

Recently, one of my clients was hired for a fabulous job where she gets to manage others, be creative every day, and finally earn what she’s worth. It was so thrilling to watch her morph from a woe-is-me attitude to a self-assured, driven woman in just a few short weeks.

6. What’s a typical workday like for you?

I wake up between 5:00 and 5:30 am every day (I know, I’m a total morning person!). I live in San Francisco but most of my clients are on the East coast, and my schedule has gradually shifted earlier.

I’m a Buddhist, so I start my day with 5-10 minutes of quiet meditation. I share meditation tips and videos on my website, and I truly believe that everyone should meditate regardless of your spiritual beliefs.

My morning ritual also includes setting my intention for the day, studying my vision board, and writing in my aspiration journal where I write as if the things I want to happen in my life have already occurred. That might sound a little kooky to some of you, but I’ve seen the law of attraction bring amazing things into my life.

In the hours before lunch, I write my blog posts, take photos, and record videos. My energy dips in the afternoon, so I try to get all my high-priority work done early. Some of my best ideas come to me while I walk my boxer/pit bull, Skyla (she’s my furry coworker and frequent guest on my website). Our walks seem to dust off the cobwebs in my brain and give me a fresh perspective.

At night I conduct my client calls so I can get a recap of their progress from the day and have them set their goals for the rest of the week. I review their to-do lists, discuss their required homework, and give feedback.

My husband Chris and I like to watch movies or play board games to wind down at the end of the day. FYI, I’m the Queen of Trivial Pursuit. I dare you to challenge me to a game.

7. How do you stay productive working for yourself?

I’m a total Type A personality and I can get overwhelmed easily, so I take my big goals and break them down into bite-size daily and weekly tasks. My yearly and quarterly goals don’t mean much until I map out the all the mini steps that lead me there. And I know my clients love checklists and action plans too because my Ultimate To-Do List worksheet is the most-viewed content on my website.

Also, planning little rewards keeps me motivated when I’m feeling the urge to sit on the couch and watch Star Trek reruns all day. I have 32 magazine subscriptions (yes, really), but I save them until after I’ve completed my work for the day. Having a reward waiting for me helps me focus on completing my most important tasks.

8. What are your top tips for creative entrepreneurs struggling with staying focused and productive working from home?

Working from home can be challenging if you’re used to working in an office building with many other employees. One of the things I missed was all the background noise; heels clicking on the floors, people chatting at the copier, or the ding of the elevator.

Listening to ambient noise while I work makes me feel like I’m not alone all day, and it’s amped up my productivity. I listen to Coffitivity while I write my blog posts. I get the feeling of being surrounded by other people without having to pack up all my stuff and haul myself to the local Starbucks.

9. What advice would you give to someone who would love to build a life coaching business? What would you suggest they do first?

First things first, you must find a career coach, mentor, or other role model. There’s no need waste your time by struggling on your own.

I joined a coaching mastermind group (Uplevel Academy), but there’s no shortage of free resources out there to point you in the right direction. I gotta say, April’s Wednesday Wisdom videos prevented me from making a lot of rookie mistakes.

There was so much I didn’t know about starting a business, and I would have been lost without having other people guide me through the basics of creating a website, building my list, and coaching with integrity.

Take your business seriously. You’re changing people’s lives, and you must honor your clients and your work.

10. What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?

Make decisions from where you want to be. It’s similar to the idea that you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

I know where I want my business to be in 5 years and how I see my practice growing. Whenever I need to make a decision (such as a purchasing new software, hiring an assistant, or collaborating with other creative entrepreneurs) I focus on where I want to be professionally and proceed with that goal in mind. I’m constantly stretching myself just a little bit further, and I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I’m capable of.

11. How do you balance family and business?

I’m a big proponent of batching my time and assigning specific days in my week for work, family, and personal time. I always take Sundays off from business work, and Tuesdays and Thursdays are half days.

My office is a separate room in our apartment, and I’m not in there when I’m not working. Since I don’t work in an office building anymore, I needed to have clearly defined “work zones” and “family zones” in our home. I don’t want to be typing up an email when I should be bonding with my family.

Chris and I have weekly date nights, and we spend at least 10 minutes of quality time together every morning. It might seem silly that I need to block off family time, but I’ve found that when I don’t make time for something in my schedule (big or small), it never happens.

12. If you had to pinpoint one thing that has helped your business more than anything in the past year, what would it be?

Having an accountability partner. My friend Lisa and I talk a few days a week about our businesses and personal lives. She helps me see the big picture and reminds me how far I’ve come whenever I compare myself to the accomplishments of my peers.

I know what I have to do to serve my clients, but having someone in my corner cheering me on has been more valuable than anything else—including expensive training programs.

13. What books or magazines are you currently reading?

Real Simple. I adore everything about this magazine! The photos are so gorgeous that I even frame my favorite covers and hang them on the walls of my office.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I listen to the audiobook at least once a year, and it always reminds me that I have unlimited strength and courage inside me.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I’m an extrovert, but this book has made me a more compassionate coach by giving me insight into why some of my introverted clients think and act the way they do.

14. What are your top three favorite blogs?

The Happiness Project

Jess Lively

Nerd Fitness

15. What are you currently working on? Anything new coming up?

I just released my third ebook, How to Stay Sweet in a Sour World: Your Happiness Guidebook. This book is for you if you’ve ever struggled to find happiness in a world full of pain and misery. It’s not about ignoring the “sour” aspects of life. It’s about finding the sweetness that’s already there.

I show you how to claim your happiness in key areas of your life including spirit, body, work, and love. There are also interactive “Sweet Sheet” worksheets to get you clear on what makes you happy and create doable action steps to get you there.

Oh yeah, and I included more than a dozen pictures of me acting like a weirdo. What can I say? I feel strongly about not using stock photos in any of my content, and I love demonstrating that self-improvement is about finding your own sweetness.