Business Owner Overwhelm

Living Magazines Business Owner Overwhelm

Feel like you need an extra pair of hands? You’re not alone – life has changed for everyone in the last year. Some have found we’ve more time on our hands as we’re not going out socialising as much; others have found there just aren’t enough hours in the day!

It maybe because of home-schooling and childcare or spending additional time helping others, or that you don’t have the support you would normally because of a change in circumstances. Many people have found themselves overwhelmed and struggling to get everything done.

If you run your own business there is a lot of pressure to stay on top, keeping customers and any staff happy. Many businesses have had to adapt and change the way they work and sadly some businesses won’t make it through the strain of Covid.

Many business owners are still scrambling to adjust and lots of people are finding themselves juggling, trying to do everything, regardless of whether it’s something they are skilled at, or knowledgeable about. We must recognise we can’t do it all. We are not superhuman.

‘No one can be good at all things and, therefore, not bad at all things as there are too many things and we all have our own unique values and purpose. There is a good case for focusing mostly on your strengths and outsourcing weaknesses to someone else, instead of spending much time and energy changing what can’t be changed.’  – Start now, Get perfect later by Rob Moore.

Tips not to feel overwhelmed

  • Make a plan – write down the things you need to get done. A to do list can be the first step to visualising the way forward.
  • Prioritise – rate each item so you can see what is urgent and what can wait. Using a red, amber, green colour code makes it easy to see the priority tasks.
  • Make a start – stop procrastinating. Even taking a small step will help you to feel that you are making progress.
  • Eat the frog – As Mark Twain said: ‘If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.’ After that, any task would be more pleasant!
  • Ask for help – don’t be afraid to get help.

If you find yourself needing a hand, don’t feel bad. Especially if it is something you are not great at. Ask a friend – get some support or just someone to listen to you. Ask your network – get some advice or an introduction to a new contact. Ask an expert – someone with more expertise or knowledge in the area is bound to do it faster and better than you could. Outsourcing work to another business can help free up time and remove the pressure.

10 things your business can outsource

  1. Answering phone calls and emails
  2. Diary management and appointment booking
  3. Data entry
  4. Research
  5. Invoicing and bookkeeping
  6. IT and systems management
  7. Social media management
  8. Blog writing and newsletter creation
  9. Marketing
  10. Creating/editing documents

Essentially, this can be anything that does not absolutely, positively have to be done by you!

‘Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.’ ― Harriet Braiker, author of The disease to please; Curing the people-pleasing syndrome.

Thank you to Dee Fagg of 3DVA for writing this interesting and useful article.

3DVA helps you to present your business in a consistent professional way with a range of bespoke documents, helping you to look good and save time. Contact Dee at hello@3dva.co.uk or visit www.3dva.co.uk.