Man, change is hard. We almost always push against change when it presents itself. Have you ever thought about why?
Are we really so afraid of change? Is there some ambiguous thing out there that just makes some people okay with change and others not ok with it?
I don’t think so. I believe in my gut that the fear of change comes down to one thing – not knowing how to deal with the feeling of overwhelm.
Do you resonate with any of these experiences?
- The heartburn that just won’t go away.
- The gut-ache that never seems to end.
- Laying in your bed every morning, willing your legs to move.
- That 10 a.m. brain fog… then again at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
- Sitting at your desk, staring… literally having no clue where to start.
- Tight muscles in your neck, back, and shoulders.
That, my friend, is the feeling of overwhelm. And change is an overwhelm catalyst.
So instead of being afraid of change, which we now know leads to overwhelm, let’s put some tools in your box that enable you to handle overwhelm.
But first, let me be honest… I am not a natural master at this. Just like I learned everything that I teach in my Adore Your Business Avenues training, I learned how to overcome overwhelm because I had to get myself out of it.
Here are three simple steps to overcome your overwhelm…
- Brain Dump Get all of your cards out on the table. Write anything and everything that’s on your mind on a piece of paper. Once it’s out of your head and onto the paper, keep it there until it’s the right time to focus on it.
- Categorize the Dump Take all those things that you wrote down and categorize them. Which matters are so important that your business would be incredibly harmed if you didn’t handle them? Which ones are tasks – just things that need to be checked off a list? What are your next big ideas – the things that you want to do in your business but just don’t seem to have time for? Make sure everything you brain dumped is categorized into one of those three areas.
- Prioritize Those things that could bring great harm to your business? Well, we’ve gotta start there. And all those tasks that just need to be checked off the list? Give them due dates and then work on them as they come due. And those big ideas? Well, they are out of your head and on paper and that’s probably where they need to sit for awhile. That’s okay!
Piece of cake, right? It really is, but it’s sticking with it that gets to be a little tricky.
We usually get a little hung up on step three, so let’s give that step a little more love.
1 Start with the Tasks
Tasks are the least time consuming and the most specific. Sit down with a calendar and mark off time to accomplish each one. Checking things off your list will give you the energy to complete the long-term tasks!
2 Next, Tackle the Do-Or-Die
I know these things are keeping you up at night, so let’s fix that. Take some time to analyze each situation and figure out what a solution would look like – this is no time for a band-aid. We are so quick to start “flailing”, which only puts the problem off for 4 months. No more of that.
These do-or-die problems are going to take more time than anything else because they deserve it. Invest in finding out the root of the problem and then go after it like your store depends on it (because it might).
3 The Big Ideas
We love dreaming up our big picture ideas, don’t we? I know I have quite the pile of big ideas, but I’m good with that because I have a plan. All of my big ideas have been prioritized and dated accordingly. I try to tackle one big goal every quarter, and I know well in advance which ones are on the horizon.
This process allows me to focus entirely on the big idea that’s up because I know when I’m going to address the others. At this point, I can start assigning smaller tasks to the big idea at hand.
I hope this is helpful to you, but I know you might still be experiencing some pretty intense overwhelm. Why don’t you hop on into my FREE Four Foundations to Profitability and Sustainability training? This week I am walking you through the journey of how I broke things down into a step by step process to turn my business around. I was on the brink of bankruptcy, but I’m proud to say that I am now running a highly profitable and sustainable business. In the Adore Your Business Hub, we are spending each day on one of the four foundations that turned my business around. Come on over and see what it’s all about – sign up HERE.