Have you noticed that most entrepreneurs and business owners seem to be struggling with the thing we call overwhelm? When the overwhelm buttons are pushed, it seems that madness takes over and clear thinking goes out the window!
The feeling of overwhelm takes on many forms. For instance, it can be an excuse for not taking action. Or it can be the easy position to take when asked how things are going and we don’t want to engage. Or perhaps it’s just a chronic and pervasive feeling in the non-stop environment we live in.
This overwhelm pattern hardly serves our best interests, so let’s take a moment to think about ways to minimize it. One way is to get very clear on what you really need to do. You and everyone else on the planet have 24 hours in a day, neither more nor less, and just a few of those hours can be devoted to tasks that demand your full focus and attention. Overwhelm can distract you, leaving you spending time on odd jobs that aren’t important, or that others could, and maybe should be doing. That feeling of overwhelm recedes when you sort out what must be done, and just do it!
Another important way to get control is to set and honor boundaries. Boundaries are your friend. You reserve time on your schedule for self-care and for doing those mundane but important tasks like invoicing or bookkeeping. Yes, I know some of those tasks are hardly fun, but if you defer them, the overwhelm only gets worse.
And you make time too for the important revenue generating activities which, after all, are what keep your business alive and healthy.
You are clear about who is running your show and it isn’t the chaos of the moment or the incoming call. You maintain a strict schedule about when you read and answer e-mail and social media – and when you don’t.
You are in control of your calendar and your time. Letting other people’s agenda run you and your business are the biggest factors contributing to an entrepreneur and business owner’s overwhelm.