Conquer Business Overwhelm With These 5 Essential Tips and Tools

A lot of business owners choose to hire me because they’re feeling overwhelmed, stuck or burnt-out in their business and they want my expertise to help them gain clarity, strategize and outline a step-by-step plan to move forward and achieve their goals.

The first thing I usually tell my overwhelmed clients is “it’s not your fault!”

Running a business involves wearing a lot of different hats and juggling various responsibilities, so it’s easy to sometimes slide into overwhelm and it can happen even with the best of intentions.

That being said, it’s a place that we don’t really want to visit - let alone live - so here are some practical tips to help you beat business overwhelm.

1. Take a break.

While this may seem obvious or perhaps even contradictory to some, don’t underestimate the power of taking a break.

Sometimes when we’re feeling overwhelmed our inclination is to push through and force the work, but it’s actually really hard for the brain to perform cognitive tasks under stress so working harder will usually just lead to more overwhelm and frustration.

Instead give yourself permission to take a break and do something completely unrelated to work (and ideally low-stimulation), such as going for a walk, meeting a friend for coffee or even just tidying up around the house.

You might need an hour, you might need an afternoon or you might even need a few days away from that particular task. By giving yourself and your brain some space to rest and recalibrate you can then return to what you’re doing with a fresh outlook and renewed sense of energy.

2. Brain dump it all out.

When we’ve got a million ideas and to-do’s rolling around in our head it’s easy to feel scattered and overwhelmed, jumping between one thing to the next and not knowing where to begin.

The best place to start is by getting all of the ideas and to-do’s out of your head and onto paper or a digital document (I love Google Docs) where you can clearly see them and sort through them, which I’m going to explain how to do next.

3. Use the Eisenhower Matrix.

The Eisenhower Matrix is a productivity tool that helps you prioritize tasks by urgency and importance into 4 categories: Do, Delay, Delegate, Delete.

• Do: these tasks are both urgent and important so work on completing them first.

• Delay (Schedule It): these tasks are important but not urgent so decide when you’re going to complete them by scheduling a time to get them done.

• Delegate: these tasks are urgent but not necessarily important so try to ask for help or outsource these.

• Delete: these tasks are neither urgent or important at this time so take them off your list altogether.

Check out the example below. (Note: the “Delete” section can also include tasks that don’t align with your goals, values or that you don’t have the capacity or resources to pursue at this time).

4. Incorporate a project management tool.

A project management tool is a type of software that helps you plan, track and manage various projects and tasks in your business.

My favourite PM tool is Click-Up because it’s easy to use, versatile and best of all - free!

I personally like to use Click-Up as a to-do list to stay on top of recurring tasks (such as bookkeeping, content creation, client on-boarding and off-boarding) and as a checklist for breaking down big projects down into manageable steps.

It’s also a fantastic tool to use with contractors (such as a virtual assistant) when outsourcing in your business.

5. Don’t be afraid to hire help.

One of my favourite quotes is “You can’t see the picture when you’re in the frame” by Les Brown, meaning that sometimes we are too close to our own stuff to be able to see it clearly and we all have blindspots.

Everyday that you stay stuck in overwhelm and overthinking is likely not only costing you money, but also your precious inner peace and mental health.

One of the many benefits of working with an experienced business mentor is having someone with an outside perspective to help you sort through the messy-middle, prioritize, strategize and create a simple and organized step-by-step plan to help you reach your goals.

If you’re curious how I can help you in your business, you can take a peek at my 1-1 Business Mentorship Packages here and book your Free Clarity Session here.

And if you’ve already got a plan but you’re finding it hard to execute and get the work done, I suggest hiring an experienced contractor such as a Virtual Assistant, Social Media Manager, Copywriter, Web Designer, etc. who can help take some of the work off your plate.

Not sure where to start? Send me a DM on Instagram, and I can share some of my favourite referrals with you!