When I first met with my health coach, I wanted to load up on every habit I had ever thought about. 12k steps a day, journal nightly, meditate for 15 minutes, stretch before bed. I set the bar at the finish line.
Luckily, my coach knew better than to start there. Progress over perfection. She scaled me back to four habits that matched my current focus, and set the bar low enough that I could guarantee compliance for the week.
After that first week, my completion rate and the motivation that came with it told me what she already knew. Nobody wants to fill out a form for more than thirty seconds before bed. Nobody wants to stare at an empty checkbox under an expectation that feels impossible. Not your client, not you, not the version of you who keeps a journal in a drawer. The fix isn’t a better form. The fix is fewer questions, and the right ones.
That’s why we encourage coaches to set focused, doable habits tied to what matters right now, and why Grove’s default weekly reflection asks six questions, no more. They are written to take a few minutes, not a journaling session, and to give you a real read before you walk into the next call.
1. What felt easier this week compared to last? Start with movement, not measurement. A client who notices something got easier is a client building momentum, even if the numbers haven’t caught up yet.
2. Where did you show consistency, even if it felt small? Consistency is the work. This question gives the client permission to count the small wins, and gives you something concrete to reinforce.
3. Were there any shifts in mindset around your goals this week? If so, explain. This is the question that catches the change before the data does. A client who is reframing how they think about a goal is usually about to act on it.
4. Where did things feel harder than expected? Name the friction. Not blame, just friction. A coach who hears “I was tired” enough weeks running stops asking and starts noticing the pattern underneath.
5. What’s one thing you’d like to approach differently next week? This is the bridge. The client commits to a single, small change, and you walk into the session with a starting line already drawn.
6. Is there anything you need more help or clarity with? This is the question that earns the session. It’s also the one most check-ins forget to ask. When you ask a client what they want their coach to know, they tell you the thing they would have buried otherwise.
Six questions. A few minutes. A session that opens with the truth instead of small talk.
There’s a longer essay in here about why structure earns honesty more than freedom does, and I’ll write it when I’m ready. For now, try the six. Then tell me what your clients write in the last one. That’s where the work lives.
Founder of Grove. Twenty years building software for skilled professionals. Currently writes mostly on Tuesdays from a small studio in Austin.