Women in Business: Overwhelmed and Over Scheduled

The calendar still says summer, but that doesn't mean women entrepreneurs aren't working around the clock and still not finding the time to get everything done.

Who says the last two weeks of August is vacation time?

The truth is if your business is retail back to school shopping is frantic. Children go back to school earlier every year and making sure your customers can find exactly what they need at this busy shopping time is critical to your seasonal success.

If your business is in marketing, media, advertising, public relations, accounting, insurance and almost every other type of business service fourth quarter planning is here. Your clients have either spent it or have it left over and NOW is the time to get your share.

It is also time for 2013 budget planning for many businesses so if your business requires you to put in an RFP (request for proposal) you better get on it NOW!

But feeling stressed, overworked, overwhelmed and over scheduled will not help you build your business. Just because women are known to be better at multi-tasking than men doesn't mean that women must take on more than we can handle.

STOP what you are doing right NOW! (Yes, I know you are reading this blog - but STOP anyway)! Take a deep breath in and hold to the count of 10 - 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10 Now breath out as completely as possible to another count of 10 - until you feel like every muscle in your body has let go.

Now you are ready to organized, prioritize and manage the appropriate workload for today, tomorrow, the week and so on and so on.

As a business coach, I help my clients take an objective look at the business' real priorities. As you've read in this blog before -- you are not your business -- therefore, your priorities are not your business' priorities. Women, more often than men, have responsiblities that include home, family, community, friends and so much more that only tangentially has to do with the business. After listening to the long list of 'to dos' of my client, I often ask how important certain items on the list are to the business. Most of my women clients believe that each item on the list, whether or not it directly effects the business, as equal importance of getting accomplished. This is why the overwhelmed and over scheduled, stressed and out-of-control wantabe entrepreneur appears. No one -- not even a super woman -- can be everywhere at all times for all the people in her life.

Take a sheet of paper and draw a black line down the middle. On the left side write BUSINESS and on the right side write PERSONAL. Now categorize all the 'to dos' on your list.

Once you have all your 'to dos' listed it is time to prioritize them - 1 for the most important and on and on.

Since, I don't know what business you are in you'll have to write down the appropriate hours for each side of the prepared list. For example, if you are in a 9 to 5 business - you must do the items listed on the left side of the sheet during those hours. The PERSONAL business must be accomplished during off hours. Don't tell me that you have down time at work and can get your personal business done during that time. If you truly want to be a successful woman entrepreneur you DON't have down time. If you are not working ON your business, your business won't grow and that's how yoiu build a successful business.

We all get overwhelmed and over scheduled in life and business. But, we do have control and that control comes by making choices. It is never easy to say NO, but the most successful people in business learn very early on that NO is an important part of their vocabulary. The more in demand you and your business become the more the need to prioritize your time and your energy.

Stand up for yourself and your business....it's your turn.