Just imagine – if you were to spend some time over the next couple of weeks brainstorming and drafting, your May newsletters and/or blog posts could be a real breeze! Here are some potential topic ideas for your May articles: 

• Life coaches: Happy Mother's Day! 10 Ways to Celebrate Being a Mother
• Parenting coaches: May is Family Wellness Month – 10 ways that wellness can bring your family together
• Marketing coaches: The Tweet-Up – Take your online networking offline in the warmer months
• Money coaches: Were Taxes a Pain? Take action now to create an easier tax season for next year
• Career coaches: The Spring Job Fair: Plan ahead to stand out from the crowd

Writing prompt: Use these sample titles as a starting point for topics that are relevant for your clients, prospective clients and readers.

Earth Hour is coming up fast, scheduled this year for Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 8:30-9:30 p.m. I haven't made my plans yet, but I'm looking forward to a quiet, simple evening when I can reflect on the spirit of the event.

I feel proud that some of the pledges I've made in previous years are now second-nature – things like washing my clothes in cold water and bringing reusable bags when I go shopping. I'm not perfect (who is?) but I'm trying.

Here are some environmentally-inspired themes for your March articles and blog posts:

• Life coaches: Taking a stand for the planet
• Money coaches: 5 ways that recycling will save you money
• Parenting coaches: Family-friendly Earth Hour activities
• Business coaches: Green your office: 5 sustainable business practices 
• Career coaches: Choosing a job that fits your values

Writing prompt: Please join me in darkness, quiet and simplicity for an hour on March 27th. And in the meantime, inspire your readers with one of these earth-friendly themes.

While experts say that this cold snap doesn't disprove the theory of global warming, all I keep hearing about is how frosty everyone is feeling. So here are some January article topics inspired by the weather:

• Life coaches: Top 5 ways to make your own sunshine
• Parenting coaches: How to keep your kids active in the winter months
• Business coaches: Are your clients hibernating? Make the best of it!
• Relationship coaches: 10 ways to heat up your relationship
• Career coaches: Top 5 winter jobs

Writing prompt: What issues might be coming up for your target audience in this cold weather? Or are there some unique New Year themes you could explore?

[Update December 29, 2012 – The original article is no longer available, but I did find this similar story about the cold snap in January 2012.]

Last week, Toronto’s public transit system started cracking down on rude riders. That got me thinking about the many ways that coaches can help us in our encounters with rude people.

• Career coaches: Are you the victim of workplace bullying?
• Life coaches: Five important lessons that rude people are here to teach you
• Parenting coaches: How to deal with the rude behavior of other people’s children
• Business coaches: Are rude customers still always right?
• Spiritual coaches: How to lovingly detach from the rudeness of others

Writing prompt: Use one of these article titles as a springboard to a topic that is custom-made for your own audience. I’d love to hear your take on it – you can post a link to your article as a comment below. Please, and thank you.