You are a busy person. Everything in your life seems to need attention and often at the same time. Even if you have a business plan, you feel like things are starting to get out of control. Your business now seems to be taking over more and more of your time.
And because it has become so demanding, you find yourself feeling like you are neglecting other areas of your life. The feeling becomes overwhelming. And you feel like shutting down.
Any of this sound familiar?
Probably a few parts of it do, at the very least. We can all feel overwhelmed, especially with the added pressures over the past couple of years.
Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes to magically getting rid of those feelings of being swamped. But don’t despair, because there are steps you can take to motivate yourself when you are overwhelmed with your business.
One of the reasons you may feel overwhelmed is that you’ve become disorganized, or maybe the plan that you started off with isn’t the most efficient anymore. Consider reorganizing your tasks in the following ways.
I’m not talking about scaling down your entire business. But take a look at the tasks in front of you. Is there any way you can break those down into smaller, more easily achievable tasks?
One of the biggest reasons we can become overwhelmed is that everything seems to be of gigantic proportion. Taking the time to really dissect a task can show us where there are easy steps – and may even show some areas that can be eliminated, thereby reducing the size of the overall task. Winning!
This can be done both before you scale down or after you have broken tasks into smaller pieces. Once you can see what is left to do, you can determine which tasks need immediate attention and which ones can be temporarily put to the side.
As you do this, you can also decide if there are any that would be easier to accomplish if they are combined. For example, Task A and Task B might seem like they don’t go together. But if they take similar time commitments or other resources, it might be advantageous to tackle them at the same time.
If you’re spending so much time on your business, you may be neglecting yourself. That will not work out well in the long run…in any way, shape, or form. You need to make sure that you are taking care of your personal needs. This is vital to keep you going while you face everything else.
This is an obvious one. You should be watching your nutrition and ensuring that you are getting enough sleep. If you can’t seem to get a grasp on what works for you, talk with your doctor for recommendations on diet and what sleep options might be best.
No machine that runs continuously will run forever. Eventually, it will break down and give out. You should think of yourself as a machine that needs regular breaks and rest to keep going. Remember, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. You need to pace yourself.
I’m not just talking about five or ten minutes here or there. Just as your body needs proper sleep and nutrition, it needs to be fed spiritually and emotionally as well.
Pick up a hobby that gives you peace or at least calms you down, preferably something the complete opposite of the tasks you need to achieve for your business. A simple break doing something else can reboot your brain, allowing you to return to your tasks with a fresh perspective.
Embrace your inner kid
I had to throw this example in because I know several people who swear by it. Remember how much you loved a new coloring book when you were a kid? It seemed to be the most exciting thing, opening a book with fresh pages and having all of those brand-new crayons to choose from?
If you have the time, there are several adult coloring books on the market now (see, they figured it out!), so get some colored pencils and get coloring. If you are pressed for time, there are even coloring apps (yes, for adults) that are very soothing. Some are even color by numbers, so you don’t even have to choose your colors. Less pressure, more fun.
If these things only get you part of the way to breaking up that overwhelming feeling, you may need a bigger kick. Figure out what motivates you and apply it when and where necessary.
Do motivational quotes inspire you? Find a quote of the day app that will deliver them to you every morning. Does music move you? Create a playlist in Spotify (or whatever you use) that will keep you going and boost you when you’re down.
Maybe you are simply a carrot and stick person, and you need to have an immediate reward that you can work towards. Aside from the tasks themselves being accomplished, set goals that will trigger personal rewards.
This could be as simple as treating yourself to a usually forbidden food or buying that new book or sunglasses or lipstick (whatever you collect or makes you happy) when major goals are achieved.
Do you know what’s great about all of these? They don’t only apply to business. You can try many of the above actions whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed by just about anything.
Regardless of where the feeling is coming from, the keys are simple: slow down, take a breath, look at where you can break tasks into smaller, easier pieces, and take care of yourself.
You don’t have to do it all at once. You just have to keep moving forward.
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