The greatest challenge that most small business owners and entrepreneurs I meet and work with struggle with is the sheer feeling of overwhelm. It never stops – it’s relentless. Being your own boss being a business owner is fantastic and horrendous in equal measures. Yes, you have flexibility, no more 9-5 for you! No more long daily commute. You really can create your ideal job. Yes you can manage your work around your life (theoretically) but the reality is, most small business owners are shattered and the constant list of “things to do” and think about is huge! Couple this with constantly being available through your endless list of communication media means you’re always available (god forbid you’d miss a random customer enquiry at 10:33pm on a Saturday night!)
I have masses of time saving / priority supporting processes and methodologies I could talk to you about but basically there are 3 simple things you need to do straight away. Don’t think about it – just do it…
- CHANGE YOUR THINKING AND PERSPECTIVE. REFRAME YOUR THINKING. Realise that it’s a good thing that you feel overwhelmed. It means that you are actually trying to do something beyond your comfort zone . You’re growing your self to the next level as an entrepreneur and business owner.
- BRAIN DUMP. Get a huge piece of paper and write down everything you have going on in your head. Don’t overthink its classic brain storm rules – nothing is wrong or a bad idea. They are your thoughts and it’s you stuff. What are all the tasks and projects that you have got on and need to do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis? Get it all out of your head and onto paper.
- GET A HELICOPTER VIEW. What projects do you have going on? What are the steps that you need to take to complete them? What is the level of priority for each project? Get everything prioritised clearly and unemotionally It is what is it is.
I love this simple 2 x 2 matrix to help prioritise what to do first:
Finally to help you with the overwhelm, think about it this way – effectiveness is built on 4 simple steps.
① Think quarterly, be clear on your goals and high impact activities
② Plan weekly: make these a must do!
③ Act daily: take action – no matter what!
④ Review and change if necessary.
Simple right? Don’t overthink it – I told you it was simple didn’t I?
Hugs…
Originally published at www.themasterfixer.com. For more from Linda, visit https://www.themasterfixer.com/blog/ Follow her on Twitter @lindadaviescarr