Step 1: Write down what a normal week looks like
Before you call anyone, track one ordinary week. Note when you start, when you stop, how much of the day is meetings, how often you check messages at night and how many hours you spend driving. Leaders based in Alexandria often cover more ground than they realize: a meeting in Pineville, a site visit in another parish, a call on the drive home. Seeing it on paper is the first step.
Step 2: Name the drains and the anchors
Look over your week and circle the tasks that leave you most depleted. Then mark the parts that still feel worth doing. Bring both lists to your first coaching conversation. A coach can only help you protect the work you value if you can say what it is.
Step 3: Decide what kind of coach you need
Executive burnout coaching is non-clinical. It deals with workload, delegation, boundaries and recovery time, not health conditions. If you lead in higher education, such as at Louisiana State University of Alexandria, which its own page describes as offering more than 80 degree programs on campus and online, you may want someone who understands academic calendars. A leader at a utility, a school system or a parish agency may prefer a coach familiar with public-sector reporting lines.
Step 4: Interview two or three coaches
Ask each coach the same short set of questions:
- What kind of leaders do you usually work with?
- How often would we meet, and for how long?
- Do you meet in person in the Alexandria area, by video, or both?
- How do you handle a crisis week when I have to cancel?
- What will we look at to know whether the plan is working?
- What are the full fees and the cancellation policy?
Listen for clear, plain answers. Be cautious of anyone who promises a quick fix.
Step 5: Agree on one or two goals
Keep the first goals small and concrete. Examples: leave the office by six on three days a week; stop answering non-urgent messages after nine; hand one standing meeting to a deputy. Write them down and share them with your coach.
Step 6: Book a rest day on the calendar
Put a full day off on the calendar now, before the month fills. The Forest Service describes the Evangeline Unit of the Kisatchie National Forest as about 20 minutes west of Alexandria (its page says "just 20 minutes"), with day hikes along the Wild Azalea National Recreation Trail and picnicking and fishing at Valentine Lake. Another choice is Indian Creek Recreation Area in the Alexander State Forest between I-49 and US 165 near Woodworth, managed by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry; expect a drive of roughly half an hour from central Alexandria. Drive times here are approximate. Check each agency's page for current hours and closures before you leave.
Step 7: Protect the day
Tell your team in advance. Name a backup for decisions. Set an out-of-office reply. On the day, leave the laptop at home and keep the phone off except for a planned check-in, if you must have one. The goal is a full stretch of time when no one can reach you about work.
Step 8: Review with your coach
After the rest day, talk through what you noticed. Did the work survive without you? Which worries proved unfounded? Use that to adjust your goals. Many leaders find a single day out on a trail shows them how much they've been carrying.
Step 9: Make it a rhythm
One day off won't undo a long run of overwork. With your coach, plan a pattern you can keep, such as one outdoor morning a month, a quarterly team retreat day, or a standing early-morning block without meetings. Put the next date on the calendar before you leave each session.
Step 10: Revisit in three months
Set a check-in with yourself after a season. Compare your current week with the one you tracked in Step 1. If things have shifted, decide whether to keep meeting with your coach or taper off. This directory only introduces you to independent coaches; it doesn't run programs or vouch for anyone, so the choice to continue is yours.