5 Ways to Reduce Overwhelm

Running a business can be overwhelming. Here are 5 tips that can help:

1. Focus on accomplishing 3 things per day.  Trying to go in too many directions at once will leave you spinning in circles or frozen with uncertainty on what to do next. You end up not accomplishing anything. By choosing just a few tasks, you move closer to your goals in a calm orderly manner. Once you get these done, you can always choose three more to work on.

2. Focus on what is important. Eliminate anything from your life that doesn’t help you reach your big goals. Learn to say “no”, or at least, “I’ll think about it” before adding more to your plate. Everything you commit to should be in line with your values and help you reach your overall life goals.

3. Focus on what you’re good at. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. You should understand the many facets of your business, but you shouldn’t be doing them all. Delegate anything that you are not good at or that completely saps your energy. You will enjoy your business more and produce better work.

4. Focus on earning income.  Some business owners think if they do it all themselves, they are saving money.  In actuality, there are huge opportunity costs for time spent doing menial tasks. Delegate the $10 per hour tasks so you can work on the higher dollar per hour tasks.

5. Focus on the ‘big rocks’ first.  One of my favorite stories is ‘The Big Rocks of Life’. You can read it HERE, but the overall message is that to best manage your time, you need to give priority to your big goals. Schedule a block of time to get your important work done.  All the small tasks will get done in between these appointments. If you focus on accomplishing all the minutia first, it will eat up your day and you won’t have a block of time to do your important work.

For additional guidance, find out more about my business support group, Network Now®, or my coaching firm, NextSteps™ Consulting, by calling 215-534-7195.