Stress Management Worksheet (Free Template + Filled Example)

A stress management worksheet is a structured page a coaching client fills in to see where their stress comes from, what they can change, how they recover and what they will do differently next week. The free template below is written for stress management and burnout coaches. It has eight parts: a short scope check, a stress inventory, early warning signals, circles of control, a recovery menu, boundary scripts, a weekly stress plan and a review. Copy it, adjust the bracketed parts, and use it as a pre-session task or a weekly check-in.

We make Coachful, a coaching platform, so that is where we show it being sent, completed and stored: the worksheet goes to the client as a form or a pre-session task, their answers land on the client record next to their goals, habits and check-ins, and you read them before the call. You can also run it as a Word file or a Google Doc. Both routes are covered below, along with a filled example for a fictional client, the decisions to make before you send it, and the scope-of-practice lines this niche needs because coaching is not therapy.

What decisions should you make before you send a stress management worksheet?

Make six decisions first: what the worksheet is for, how often it repeats, which scales you use, how you handle a worrying answer, where the answers live, and how it feeds into the session. Coaches who skip these end up with a long form clients fill in once and never touch again.

The table below lists each decision, the usual options and a sensible default for a one-to-one stress or burnout coaching engagement.

If you are still shaping the wider offer around this tool, how stress management coaching works and what it costs covers session structure and pricing logic, and how to start a stress management coaching business walks through the setup.

What is in the stress management worksheet template?

The template has eight parts, written to be copied as is. Replace anything in [brackets] with your own wording, keep the 0 to 10 scales consistent, and remove any part your program does not use.

Stress management worksheet: [Client first name], week of [date]

Coach: [Your name], [credential if any]. This worksheet supports our coaching. It is not a medical or psychological assessment, and I will not use it to diagnose anything. Your answers are seen only by me and stored in [where you store them]. Expected time: about 20 minutes the first time, 10 minutes after that.

Part 1. Before you start (scope check)

1. In the last two weeks, have you had thoughts of harming yourself or of not wanting to be alive? [Yes / No]. If yes, please do not wait for our session: contact [local emergency number] or a crisis line such as [crisis line for the client's country, for example 988 in the United States], and tell me so we can talk about support.
2. Are you currently working with a doctor, therapist or psychiatrist for stress, anxiety, depression, sleep or substance use? [Yes / No / Prefer to tell you in person]
3. In the last two weeks, have you had physical symptoms you have not had checked, such as chest pain, fainting, a racing heart at rest, or several nights in a row with almost no sleep? [Yes / No]. If yes, please book a visit with your doctor; we will keep coaching alongside that.

Part 2. Stress inventory (last 7 days)

List up to five situations that raised your stress this week. For each one, write:

• Situation: [what happened, in one line, for example "Tuesday budget meeting moved up two days"]
• Area of life: [work / money / family / health / relationship / caring for someone / other]
• Intensity at its peak: [0 to 10]
• How often this kind of thing happened this week: [number of times]
• How long the stress stayed with you afterwards: [minutes / hours / the rest of the day / it is still here]

Then answer: which one of these, if it changed, would make next week noticeably easier? [one situation]

Part 3. Your early warning signals

Tick the signals you noticed this week and add your own. These are the signs that tell you your load is rising before you hit a wall.

• Body: [tight jaw or shoulders / headaches / stomach trouble / shallow breathing / tired but wired at night / other: ____]
• Thinking: [replaying conversations / dread on Sunday evening / harder to concentrate / snapping at small things / other: ____]
• Behaviour: [skipping lunch / working past [time] / more caffeine or alcohol than usual / cancelling plans / scrolling late / other: ____]
• Which signal usually shows up first for you? [one signal]
• Overall stress this week: [0 to 10]. Overall energy this week: [0 to 10].

Part 4. Circles of control

Take the situation you picked at the end of Part 2. Sort every piece of it into three lists.

• I control this: [my own actions, words, schedule choices, preparation, what I say yes to]
• I can influence this: [things I can ask for, negotiate, flag early or propose]
• I cannot control this: [other people's decisions, deadlines set above me, past events]
• One action from the "control" list I will take this week: [action, day, time]
• One request from the "influence" list I will make this week: [request, to whom, by when]
• For the "cannot control" list, what would accepting it look like in practice? [for example "stop rereading the email thread at night"]

Part 5. Recovery menu

Write activities that actually lower your stress, not the ones you think should. Aim for at least three in each size.

• Two-minute resets (between meetings, in the car, before opening email): [for example slow breathing with a longer exhale, stepping outside, washing your face, a stretch at the desk]
• Fifteen to thirty-minute recovery (once a day): [walk without your phone, cooking something simple, music, a call with a friend, a short nap]
• Half-day or longer (once a week): [time in nature, a hobby that absorbs you, a long meal with people you like, a day with no work email]
• Things that feel like recovery but leave you more drained: [for example late-night scrolling, a third coffee]
• Which recovery item did you actually use this week, and how much did it help? [item, 0 to 10]

Part 6. Boundary scripts

Pick one boundary that would reduce your stress next week. Draft the words now so you are not inventing them under pressure.

• The boundary: [for example "no meetings before 9:30", "I leave the office by 6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays", "I do not answer work messages on Saturday"]
• Who it affects: [manager / team / client / family member / friend]
• My script: "[I want to do this well, so I am going to / I can do X, but not Y / I will reply on [day] at [time]]"
• If they push back, I will say: "[short second sentence that repeats the boundary without a new excuse]"
• What I am afraid will happen if I hold this boundary: [fear]. What is most likely to happen: [realistic outcome]

Part 7. Weekly stress plan (next 7 days)

• The highest-pressure day next week will be: [day], because [reason]. Before it, I will: [one preparation step].
• Daily two-minute reset: [which one], at [trigger, for example "after I close my laptop"]
• Daily recovery block: [activity], [time], [how long]
• Weekly longer recovery: [activity], [day]
• Sleep target: in bed by [time] on at least [number] nights
• One thing I will drop, delegate or delay: [task]
• The boundary from Part 6, said by: [day]
• If my first warning signal shows up, I will: [specific response]
• Someone who knows about this plan: [name], so they can [remind me / join me / cover for me]

Part 8. Review before our next session

1. What did I actually do from last week's plan? [list]
2. What got in the way? [honest answer, no self-criticism needed]
3. Stress this week [0 to 10] compared with last week [0 to 10].
4. One thing I learned about how stress works for me: [sentence]
5. What I want to work on in our next session: [topic]

If at any point your stress feels unmanageable, your sleep or eating has changed sharply for more than two weeks, or you are relying on alcohol or other substances to get through the day, please tell me and speak to your doctor or a licensed mental health professional. I can keep coaching you alongside that support.

Why does each part of the worksheet matter, and what should you watch for?

Each part does a specific job in the session. The table shows what that job is and the answer patterns worth a closer look.

Parts 4 and 6 overlap with tools many coaches already use. If your clients need more depth there, the boundaries worksheet and the energy audit worksheet for coaches go further on each.

What does a filled stress management worksheet look like?

Below is an example for a fictional client, written to show the level of detail that makes a session useful. The person, numbers and situations are invented.

Example only. Client: Jordan, operations lead at a mid-sized logistics company, week 2 of a 12-week burnout coaching program.

Part 1. Q1: No. Q2: No, saw a GP for a check-up last month, bloods normal. Q3: No.

Part 2. Stress inventory.

• Peak-season shift rota changed twice by head office. Work. 8. Three times. Rest of the day.
• Two team members off sick, covering their dispatch calls. Work. 7. Daily. Hours.
• Partner asked again when we can book a holiday. Relationship. 6. Once. Still here.
• Late payment reminder for the car. Money. 5. Once. Minutes.
• Kept waking at 4:30 thinking about the rota. Health. 7. Four nights. Rest of the day.

Which one, if it changed, would help most? "Covering the dispatch calls. It eats the time I would use for the rota."

Part 3. Body: tight jaw, tired but wired. Thinking: replaying conversations, Sunday dread. Behaviour: skipping lunch, working past 7, a fourth coffee most days. First signal: "Jaw. I notice it in the car on the way in." Stress 8, energy 3.

Part 4. Circles of control (dispatch cover).

• Control: whether I take every call myself; my lunch; when I check the shared inbox.
• Influence: asking my manager for a temp; asking Sam on the evening shift to take two call blocks.
• Cannot control: the sick leave; head office's rota changes.
• Action: block 12:30 to 1:00 as "dispatch handover" and eat away from my desk, Mon to Fri.
• Request: ask my manager on Tuesday at our 1:1 for a two-week temp.
• Accepting: "Stop checking the rota portal after 8 pm. It will still be wrong in the morning."

Part 5. Recovery menu. Two-minute: three slow breaths in the car park before going in; cold water on face; one stretch at the dock door. Fifteen to thirty minutes: walk the dog without headphones; cooking dinner with my partner; ten minutes of guitar. Longer: Saturday morning hike; family lunch on Sunday. Drains me: news at bedtime, the fourth coffee. Used this week: dog walk, twice, helped 6.

Part 6. Boundary. "I take my lunch from 12:30 to 1:00." Affects: team and manager. Script: "I'm stepping away 12:30 to 1. Sam has the phones and I'll pick up anything urgent at 1." Pushback: "I'll be back at 1 and I'll call you first." Fear: "They'll think I'm not coping." Most likely: "Nobody notices."

Part 7. Weekly plan. Hardest day: Thursday, rota sign-off; prep on Wednesday by drafting the rota at 3 pm. Daily reset: three breaths after parking. Daily recovery: dog walk at 6:30, 25 minutes. Weekly: Saturday hike. Sleep: in bed by 10:45 on five nights. Delegate: the Friday stock report to Priya. Boundary said by: Monday morning huddle. Warning signal response: "When my jaw is tight in the car, I do the three breaths before I open Slack." Someone who knows: my partner, to ask me on Thursday night how the lunch break went.

Part 8. Review (filled the following week). Did: lunch break four of five days, asked for a temp (approved for one week), dog walks three times. Blocked by: a Thursday crisis. Stress 6 this week vs 8 last week. Learned: "The 4:30 wake-ups stop when I stop checking the portal at night." Next session: "How to talk to head office about rota changes before they land."

Notice what the example does well: specific situations, honest ratings, one action and one request rather than ten, and a review that sets the next agenda. Notice too what a coach would follow up: the early waking. Four nights in one week sits inside coaching territory when it improves with changes like these. If it persisted for several weeks, or came with low mood, it would be a reason to suggest a doctor's visit.

What must stress and burnout coaches add for scope, safety and privacy?

Add a scope statement, a referral plan, a privacy note and a check on local rules. Stress coaching sits close to mental health care, and a worksheet is where that line is easiest to blur.

• Scope of practice. Coaching helps a client plan, practise and reflect. It does not diagnose or treat anxiety, depression, burnout or any other condition. Use words like "stress", "load", "recovery" and "patterns" rather than "symptoms", "disorder" or "treatment plan". The World Health Organization describes burn-out in ICD-11 as an occupational phenomenon rather than a medical condition, which is useful framing, but it does not make you the person to assess it.
• Referral triggers. Decide in advance when you refer to a doctor or licensed mental health professional: any thought of self-harm, panic attacks, sleep or appetite changes lasting more than two weeks, heavy reliance on alcohol or other substances, physical symptoms that have not been checked, or no change after several weeks of real effort. The US National Institute of Mental Health's fact sheet on stress lists similar signs for seeking help and is a good plain-language handout.
• Crisis line. Put a real number in Part 1 for each client's country. In the US that is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988). Tell the client what you will do if they answer "yes" and how fast you will respond.
• Sensitive data. Answers often mention health, sleep, alcohol, family conflict and employers by name. Collect only what you use, limit who can see it, and say in the worksheet where it is stored. If you work in the EU or UK, health-related data falls into a special category under GDPR, so check your privacy notice covers it.
• Employer-sponsored coaching. If a company pays for the coaching, state in writing that worksheet answers are not shared with the employer. Clients will not be honest about a manager if they think the manager might read it.
• Local law. Rules on health information, coaching titles and record retention vary by country and state. Have a lawyer check your agreement and privacy notice once, and reuse the result.

The World Health Organization's questions and answers on stress is another neutral source you can share with clients who want to understand stress without a clinical label.

How should you send and store a stress management worksheet?

Send it through a tool that ties the answers to the client record, reminds the client before the session and keeps the data private. The table compares the common options. Prices for other tools are as listed on their pricing pages in October 2026.

A file or a Google Form is a fine way to test the worksheet with your first few clients. The cost shows up later, when you are cross-referencing a folder of documents, a calendar and your session notes to remember what a client said three weeks ago. Practice-management tools such as CoachAccountable, Practice Better and Paperbell each handle forms in their own way; check each vendor's current documentation for how worksheets repeat and where answers are stored. For the wider software question, see the best software for stress management coaches and the best app for stress management coaches.

How do you run the stress management worksheet in Coachful?

In Coachful you place the worksheet at the right moments of the client journey: intake questions at booking, a signed agreement before the first call, the full worksheet as a first pre-session task, then the weekly parts as check-ins and habits inside a program. The client sees one branded app; you see the answers on their record.

What Coachful is, in one paragraph. Coachful is a coaching platform that puts booking, payments, contracts, programs with habits and check-ins, courses, community, a website with funnels and email, and an AI assistant under one subscription, with one login for the coach and one branded app for the client. It suits coaches who deliver programs rather than single sessions, solo coaches growing into a small team, and anyone replacing four to six tools. It is not HIPAA-certified and is not meant for clinical records or insurance billing, so if you also work as a licensed clinician, keep clinical notes in a clinical system. You can start with a free trial (current plans: Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients; Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients; Pro: $99/month with unlimited clients; Studio: $199/month with unlimited clients).

Step 1: Ask the screening questions at booking

Add Part 1 and a shortened Part 2 as intake questions on your discovery or first-session booking page. Answers arrive with the booking and sit on the prospect's record, so you see a "yes" to a safety question before you ever meet. The Intakes page tracks those calls and conversions.

Step 2: Get the coaching agreement signed before the first call

Coaching agreements with e-signature are sent before the first call and stored on the client record. Put your scope statement and referral policy in the agreement as well as on the worksheet, so the client has read it twice. More on that in coaching contracts.

Step 3: Send the full worksheet as a pre-session task

Build the worksheet as a form (Forms & Worksheets is one of the resource types) and attach it to the first session so it shows as required pre-session work in the client's coaching hub. See coaching forms and questionnaires for how forms are set up.

Step 4: Turn Parts 3, 5 and 7 into check-ins and habits

The weekly parts work better as small daily prompts than as a long form. Use a morning check-in for stress and energy ratings, an evening check-in for "which recovery item did you use today", and habits for the daily two-minute reset and the recovery block. Clients see streaks and progress; you see completion and mood on their record. Here is a short walkthrough of check-ins:

Step 5: Put the worksheet inside a program or journey

For a 6 or 12-week burnout program, build it as a multi-week program with weekly goals and daily tasks: week one is the full worksheet, later weeks repeat Parts 6 to 8 and add topics such as sleep routines or a return-to-work conversation. Journey templates in the coaching flows library give you a starting structure.

Step 6: Read answers and patterns before each session

The client record holds goals, check-ins, habits, notes, intake answers, sessions and payments, with a status of thriving, active, quiet or at risk. Michelle, the built-in AI assistant, can brief you before a session from that live data, which helps you spot a client whose stress ratings have crept up for three weeks. Payments run through your own Stripe or Razorpay account with an invoice per transaction, so the business side sits in the same place. See coaching client management software for how the record is laid out.

When a client needs a nudge between sessions, the same record shows which check-ins they skipped, which is often the first sign their week has gone sideways. Coachful does not sync with Garmin, Fitbit, Whoop or Oura, so if a client tracks sleep on a wearable, ask them to type the number into the check-in.

Why Coachful stands out: a free white-glove service. If you would rather not build the form, check-ins and program yourself, go to Create, choose "We'll build it for you · FREE", paste this worksheet and describe how you want it delivered. The Coachful team builds it inside your own account, usually within about 24 hours, and leaves gaps for you to fill rather than inventing anything. Forms and worksheets, programs and coaching flows are all on the list of things they build. Read more about the free white-glove service.

Which coaching questions pair well with this worksheet in session?

Use open questions that move from the worksheet's facts to the client's choices. A few that work with each part:

• Stress inventory: "Which of these five would you be relieved to never write down again?"
• Warning signals: "What happens in the hour after you first notice your jaw?"
• Circles of control: "What would you try if you were 20% less responsible for this?"
• Recovery menu: "Which of these did you used to do and stopped?"
• Boundary scripts: "Say the script out loud to me. What did you notice?"
• Weekly plan: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to do this? What would make it a 9?"

For more, the coaching questions tool generates sets by topic, and stress resilience coaching interventions and mindfulness coaching exercises for stress give structured exercises to slot into Part 5.

What are the most common mistakes with a stress management worksheet?

The most common mistake is making the worksheet itself a source of stress. A long form, due at a bad time, with no follow-up, teaches the client to dread it.

1. Sending all eight parts every week. Use the full version once, then the short weekly parts. Burnout clients already have too much to fill in.
2. Clinical language. Words like "symptoms", "diagnosis" or "treatment" set expectations you cannot meet and blur your scope.
3. No plan for a safety "yes". Decide before the first client what you do, how fast, and who you refer to.
4. Too many actions in Part 7. One boundary, one daily reset and one recovery block beat a list of eight new habits.
5. Treating every stressor as a mindset problem. Some stress comes from a workload or workplace that is genuinely unreasonable. Circles of control should lead to requests and, sometimes, bigger decisions, not only acceptance.
6. Skipping the review in session. Open the call with Part 8. If you skip it twice, the client will stop filling it in.
7. Answers scattered across email, docs and notes. You will miss the pattern across weeks, which is the most useful thing the worksheet produces.
8. Sharing with a sponsor by default. In corporate coaching, worksheet answers stay between coach and client unless the client agrees otherwise in writing.

If clients get stuck on beliefs behind their stress ("if I say no, I'll be replaced"), the core beliefs worksheet and the cognitive reframing worksheet template are natural next steps. The values worksheet helps when the deeper question is whether the job fits at all.

Is this worksheet legal, medical or financial advice?

No. This template is a coaching tool, not legal, medical or financial advice, and it is not a diagnostic or screening instrument. It does not replace an assessment by a doctor or licensed mental health professional.

Have a lawyer in your country or state review your coaching agreement, privacy notice and the wording of Part 1 before you use it with clients, especially if you work with employer-sponsored clients or across borders. If you are building a program around clients with existing diagnoses, ask a licensed clinician to review the worksheet and your referral plan. When in doubt about a specific client, refer.

Frequently asked questions

What is a stress management worksheet used for in coaching?

It helps a client name the situations that raise their stress, notice early warning signs, separate what they control from what they do not, and commit to a small weekly plan. For the coach, it gives a consistent record across weeks and an agenda for each session. It is a planning and reflection tool, not an assessment.

How often should clients fill in a stress management worksheet?

Use the full version once at the start, then the shorter weekly parts (boundary, weekly plan and review) before each session. Daily items such as stress and energy ratings work better as a quick check-in than as a form. Revisit the full version every four to six weeks to see what has changed.

Can a coach use a stress worksheet with a client who has anxiety or depression?

Only alongside their treatment and within your scope. Ask whether they are working with a clinician, coordinate with the client's consent where appropriate, and avoid anything that looks like treatment. If symptoms are new, worsening or unmanaged, refer to a doctor or licensed mental health professional first.

What should I do if a client answers yes to the self-harm question?

Respond the same day, follow the plan you wrote before you started, and give them a crisis line for their country, such as 988 in the United States. Encourage them to contact a doctor or emergency services, and do not try to manage the risk yourself through coaching. Record what you did.

Is this stress management worksheet free to use?

Yes. The template on this page is free to copy and adapt for your own clients. You may add your branding and change the wording. Please do not resell it unchanged as your own product.

Where should I store completed stress worksheets?

Somewhere tied to the client record, with access limited to you and stated in your privacy notice. In Coachful, answers sit on the client record next to goals, habits and check-ins, and you can export full client data as a ZIP. Coachful is not HIPAA-certified, so clinical records belong in a clinical system.

What is the free white-glove service in Coachful?

It is a free white-glove build: Coachful's team builds things inside your account on every plan, including forms and worksheets, programs and coaching flows. You describe what you want, attach up to 10 files and up to 8 reference links, and it is usually done within about 24 hours. They leave gaps for you to fill rather than inventing content.

Can I turn this worksheet into a program for burnout clients?

Yes. Use week one for the full worksheet, then give each following week a theme (sleep, boundaries at work, recovery at home, a conversation with a manager) and repeat Parts 6 to 8. In Coachful that becomes a multi-week program with weekly goals, daily tasks, habits and check-ins. If you want to sell it on its own, turning a worksheet into a paid digital product covers that route.

How long should a stress management worksheet take to complete?

About 20 minutes for the full version and around 10 minutes for the weekly parts. If clients take much longer, cut questions rather than asking them to try harder. A short worksheet they finish beats a thorough one they abandon.