Both, weekly check-ins and client journals allow you to communicate with your clients and track their progress. However, each one is designed for different purposes:
- Weekly check-in forms is an accountability feature. Your clients see the same questions every week and everyone in the group can see what everyone else is posting, so they can support each other and feel motivated by other group members' progress. You can also use weekly check-ins as coaching prep forms and ask your clients to complete them before each call to find out how they're doing, where they're feeling stuck, and what questions they have for your next call.
- Journals is a communication tool. You can use it for pure journaling (reflections) as well as for homework submission. They are open-ended, so there are no specific prompts or dates connected to journals - your clients use them as desired. Each journal entry can be set to private (for your eyes only) or public (for the whole group to see), and allows you to leave feedback. Clients can also upload any documents into the journal (signed contracts, images, PDFs, etc.). Your clients are notified via email when you post feedback, so it's a great way to keep all interactions between you and your clients in one place. If you don't intend to review your clients' journal entries, then you can simply invite them post their work inside the journal to keep all their work together.
You decide how to incorporate each of these features into your coaching in a way that adds value to your client experience.