As an entrepreneur, life can get overwhelming pretty fast. Projects pile up, crucial staff members call in sick, clients impose unreasonable deadlines…and that is just on the work end. Somehow you also need to find time to do a grocery run, take the dog to the groomers, shuttle the kids to soccer practice, all while dealing with being sleep deprived, of course.
It is common to have periods of time of being utterly overwhelmed in your business and life. Heck, it is almost a rite of passage for entrepreneurs to face…again and again. When you feel the stress and tension headache bubbling up, get into action with these five things to do when you get overwhelmed.
- Get Rid of as Many Stressors as Possible
If you have too much on your plate right now, clear off the plate! As go-getter entrepreneurs, we can find ourselves overcommitted quickly. Maybe we hate saying no. Maybe we underestimated the time commitment when we said yes. Maybe when it rains it pours and you find yourself now drowning. Whatever the reason, you do not need to resign yourself to struggling to bear the weight of everything needing to get done.
Then look at what’s left and delegate everything you can. It can be tough to hand over the reins to someone else, but you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel once you do. It’s an immediate solution to getting more off your list. Sure, you may stress a bit wondering if the person will get everything done. But reassure yourself that they will (or worst case scenario someone else can pick up the slack).
- Sit Down and Write It Down
When life gets overwhelming, we often find ourselves scurrying about trying to get it done. We feel we have no time to waste, so we resist taking the time to pause and create an effective plan of attack. We launch ourselves into tasks immediately, failing to stop and prioritize. This results in us mismanaging our time and energy.
Once you make your list, prioritize tasks and attach deadlines to everything. It will help you feel less like things are hanging over your head, which helps reduce feeling overwhelmed.
- Get Up and Go Out
Now that you have eliminated everything possible from your list and articulated everything you need to do, step away from the chaos for a moment. But I don’t have the time you may think.
Here’s the thing. You do.
- Be Proactive in Managing Your Stress
It’s important to not wait until you feel overwhelmed to take a break. It will take longer to return to a state of calm than if you instead proactively take breaks before you feel overwhelmed. There are many break time strategies, with the Pomodoro method being a steady favorite. Work for 25 minutes. Take a 5-minute break. Repeat four times and then take a 30-minute break. Repeat until the work day is done. This proactive managing of your stress will help prevent future feelings of being overwhelmed.
- Practice Daily Self Care
Caring for yourself is one of the most important things you can do, both for yourself and your business! To perform at your best capacity, you need quality sleep, a balanced diet, regular exercise, and time for yourself. Journal your feelings. Get massages. Read in the backyard. Find one or two habits designed just for your self-care, not for being productive, and engage in them every day. It will help you feel better overall and fight those feelings of being overwhelmed.