Overwhelm. It’s that stress and anxiety you feel because your ToDo list is so big and so deep and so tall….. it’s impossible to know how to even get started. But you’re afraid that if you take a break…even for a minute…this business where you’ve invested all your passion and love and energy might start to crumble around you. So you just. keep. going. Because what else are you going to do?
It’s my mission to help entrepreneurs like you knock back the overwhelm, get out from under and start feeling energized again. So I summarized more than 250 recommendations from successful entrepreneurs, coaches and other experts on the best ways to manage overwhelm. Here’s what I learned:
Skillset and Mindset Go Together
While 62% of the recommendations related to business management processes like planning and prioritization, 38% of them focused on managing mindset. What does that mean? I think it means that you can’t just improve your business practices or “believe and receive”. They are for sure interdependent and they both take work and investment to develop.
Skill Sets That Make A Difference
There are six skill sets that entrepreneurs and coaches recommend to help manage overwhelm.
Prioritization topped the list, but I like to think of Planning and Prioritization as a Dynamic Duo. They really work together to help people feel a better sense of control of where they want to go and how they’re going to get there.
Chaos to Calm: 3 Quick Actions You Can Take Right Now to Control Entrepreneur Overwhelm
Two Approaches to Mindset
The expert recommendations about Mindset fell into two buckets. First, Build Resilience so that long ToDo list doesn’t stop you in your tracks. Second, develop what I call SOS strategies to manage Overwhlem In the Moment. That’s when you flop down in your chair, open your laptop, and you don’t even know where to start.
Manage It In the Moment
When that “How am I ever going to get all of this done,” starts pounding in your head, the first step is to acknowledge the feeling. “Hey, I’m feeling overwhelmed.” The second is to take a break.
How much of a break you need likely depends on how depleted you are. Maybe it’s been a long day and you just need a few mindful breaths before you dive in. Maybe it’s the end of a long day, at the end of a long week, at the end of a long pandemic. Maybe you need some real time off. Try to tune into what your mind and body are asking for. Don’t steamroll them. They’ll keep finding ways to interrupt.
Build Resilience Over the Long Term
I think the real insight here is that by working to Build Resilience you can reduce the magnitude of Overwhelm In the Moment. The most mentioned way to build resilience was to “manage self-talk”, followed by “letting go of perfectionism” and “practicing mindfulness”.Clearly there are no quick fixes here. They take thoughtful introspection and perhaps the help of a trained therapist.
“Just what I don’t have time for,” I hear you saying. I get it, but let me plant a seed in your mind — building and growing a business is a long journey. Investing in your mindset can yield significant returns not only to your personal health to the health of your venture.
