Ditch the Feeling of Being Overwhelmed

As entrepreneurs, we can feel overwhelmed each day because we have a neverending to-do list. Learn these simple tips to ditch overwhelm once & for all

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Are you overwhelmed right now? It's kind of a silly question, right? As entrepreneurs and small business owners, when we wear all the hats or many hats in our business, it's easy to feel overwhelmed because we're doing all the things. What can we do to get rid of that feeling of being overwhelmed once and for all?

The first thing is to recognize that when you're feeling overwhelmed, it's because you are lacking priority. Said another way, you need to lay out and then prioritize the tasks that need to be done.

Prioritize

When it comes to being overwhelmed in your business, one of the quickest ways to get out of that feeling of being overwhelmed is to have a solid business strategy in place, starting with a business vision (or vision narrative) and goals.

When you create that vision, that becomes your destination of where you want to take your business over the next three years. Then, your goals are the roadmap each and every year that you use to guide yourself towards that destination.

Once you have a clear vision and clear business goals, you can actually then have to measure your daily tasks by to determine the priority order for your work. You can ask yourself at any given time, “Am I working on a task that achieves a goal or that moves my business forward?”

Let's face it, there are so many things vying for our attention in our business, so having a clear vision and goals to head toward really helps us prioritize those tasks, which then kind of eliminates the overwhelm.

Do a Brain Dump

There are usually a lot of tasks that swim around in our heads. Our brain is not intended to be a garbage dump of tasks and information. You need to get those things out of your head when they're swimming around. It's no doubt that we have a problem focusing when we're always thinking about, "oh, should I be doing this?"

"Am I supposed to be doing this other task instead?"

"Oh, I forgot Aunt Bertha's birthday this week."

The best way to clear our mind of overwhelm is to get everything we think we need to do out of our brain and get it onto paper or into an electronic document, like a spreadsheet or a Word document. When you list out your to-do’s, it is easier to organize and prioritize them.

I like to form two lists, a personal to-do list and a professional to-do list. On my professional to-do list then you can easily see what things I need to do each day that are aligned with those goals, so that we know if we're truly prioritizing the right things.

Put the Blinders On

Once you have a plan and you know where you're headed and you have a clear idea of what you have to do every day to get there, put the blinders on and only focus on the important tasks of the day. Ideally, you should have about three important business tasks each day and probably no more because if you're generating brain power to work on those things, our brain has limited productivity and creativity each and every day.

Keep Your Mind Clear

Another way to combat overwhelm is to clear your mind and your body through activities that help to keep you focused and keep your mind calm. Those things would be physical activity or movement every day, a walk in nature, meditation, journaling, or breathwork which is taking some time to mindfully breathe throughout the day. These activities can really keep our minds calm and focused, which again helps us move outside the overwhelm.

Utilize a Coach or Partner

Another tip that can help you is having a business coach, a business partner, or an outside person to review your priorities with. Sometimes an objective eye can really help you better prioritize what's important and may provide accountability to keep you on track.

Remove Distractions

Once you put the blinders on and you're ready to work, get the distractions out of your way and stay away from shiny object syndrome. One way you can do this is to make a commitment to yourself that you're not going to over-consume content or scroll social media. When it's time to work, turn off all your notifications. In fact, it’s best if you can keep your cell phone out of the room completely.

Go into an office or a room where you can be alone to truly focus, shut the door, and make a commitment or an agreement with your children and your spouse about the time that you need to work on your business.

Removing the distractions really will help you keep those blinders on and keep focused on what's most important.

Summary

So to recap, when you have a clear vision and roadmap for your business, you have priorities that you can measure all of your tasks against to see if it's truly important that you undertake that work.
When you're ready to work, put the blinders on, remove your distractions, and stop over-consuming content. In fact, stop consuming content altogether! If you already know what you need to work on and get to work, get it done.

For an objective look, an extra person, business partner, another leader in your business, or a business coach can help you perhaps get further faster.

Categories: : Focus, Habits, Leadership