How to Avoid Feeling Overwhelmed as a Business Owner
Are you feeling overwhelmed? Does it stop you in your tracks? 🖐🏼 Too often I have felt overwhelmed, then stuck in procrastination. My personality lends itself to being the jack of all trades, and when I was an in-house designer that was such a valued trait in an employee. I flourished in that environment and burned out too often.
After I left my day job, I thought things would get better, but I found that being a business owner can lead you down that same path. There’s so much to do! Starting with tracking your finances to marketing, business planning, and the actual day-to-day of servicing your clients. Wearing all of these different hats in my business makes me so happy because I’m living out my dream, but I know that if I’m not careful, it can quickly lead to becoming overwhelmed.
If you listen to the experts, they’ll tell you that you need to hire out. But what if you’re not in a stage in your business where hiring is a possibility? Or what if you're happy being a solopreneur and aren’t looking to scale your business?
I’d like to share with you some tips and tools that have helped me avoid burnout and becoming overwhelmed.
Get organized.
Grab a pen and paper. If you have a dedicated notebook, that’s even better. Make a list of your to-do’s, and eliminate anything that doesn’t move the needle. Next, sort your to-do’s (which we’ll call tasks) into categories.
Some categories that I sort my lists into are called Move the Needle (which are any tasks related to achieving my overall business goals), Marketing (social media and blogging), and Services (actual client projects). I begin my work-day by writing down the most important task from each category, and I work on those tasks. Then, I block time for each category, for example, the Move the Needle category gets the first two hours of my work-day, Marketing gets the next hour, and the rest of my work-day is filled with Services tasks. If I finish a task early within the allotted time, then I move on to the next thing on the list.
You can get fancy and add a really fun planner, and/or a project management system like Asana, but if you need a place to start, pen and paper will do just fine. 🙂
Take breaks!
Taking breaks not only serves your eyesight, but it also helps your production. Did you know that you are actually more productive if you take breaks throughout your day? Don’t take it from me either, learn from Brendon Burchard. If you don’t know who he is, please do yourself a favor and Google him. You’re bound to find insightful information for your business and life. Here’s a quote from his podcast, The Brendon Show:
“Most people don’t take breaks and that’s why they’re wiped out. We know from performance studies that you absolutely need one to two breaks per hour. The most productive people in the world take a break, on average, once every fifty minutes. By taking that break, We’re able to build stamina and keep working effectively.”
Guess what? I tried this, and it worked for me. After each category block, I take at least a 10-minute break. I grab lunch, get a quick workout in, or simply get up from my chair. Wow! Not only has that helped my productivity, but also my mindset. I’m more clear about what I need to do each day, and also where my business is headed. My mind is not constantly spinning on the next thing I need to do, and it’s not on its way to feeling overwhelmed. I feel calm and confident that I’m moving my business forward one step, one day at a time.
Automate
Set up a process that includes onboarding and offboarding your clients, streamline that process, and then set up systems to automate some of those functions. At Mpower Ideation, we use Honeybook to send contracts, invoices, responses, and email reminders for key dates within our processes.
We also use Tailwind to automate our social media. It has been life-changing to not have to think about manually posting on social media, and to view all of our posts across all platforms on one single calendar.
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Reset
I am a mom, and finding time to reset can be hard. Too often, I’m at the bottom of my own list. Although I'm still a work-in-progress in this department, I have added a time block for myself just after I get my kiddo to bed. I sit with a cup of hot tea (sometimes coffee), and I watch TV for a while. Sometimes it’s a TV show, other times it’s a game of basketball, soccer or tennis. I let myself forget about everything else for at least thirty minutes.
Another thing I find so relaxing is taking time to be creative. True, the work I do is usually creative, but if I’m honest there’s nothing better than being creative with my hands. I love to handletter, paint, and create papercrafts. I have added a block of time to do this with my family on the weekend. My daughter especially looks forward to it, and that makes my heart happy.
Journal and prayer.
For many years now, I have been journaling and praying at the start of my day. I take a minute to read a bible passage, and then I pray. That’s followed by a journal entry that consists of a list of five things that I am grateful for, and five things I wish for in my future.
This practice has allowed me to bring so much clarity and intention to my everyday life. It has helped me heal when I’ve needed it and helped me to recognize all of the things around me that truly matter. Brene Brown writes in her book, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead:
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.”
Play and be active.
Confession: I don’t love “working out”. I will do it because I know it’s important for my overall health, but it’s not my thing.
Instead, I love to play. I love a game of tennis, basketball or soccer. I love to toss the frisbee around or play catch with my daughter. We encourage her to go outside after school – at least for an hour – weather permitting, and my husband and I go with her. She usually plays with friends, but my husband and I will play our own game. We roller-blade, skateboard, bike ride, or play pickleball. The neighbors think we’re crazy, but we don’t care.
Play is so important to channel your inner child and feel the freedom that comes along with that. It keeps you active and exercises your brain. During play you release stress.
Lynn Barnett, a professor of recreation, sports, and tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says:
“At work, play has been found to speed up learning, enhance productivity and increase job satisfaction; and at home, playing together, like going to a movie or a concert, can enhance bonding and communication.”
Prioritize your sleep.
In the past, I would scoff at the idea of prioritizing more sleep. Why would I waste time sleeping when time is my most valuable resource!!?
Then my daughter came along. She had a difficult temperament and quickly taught me that I could not function with little sleep.
As she grew, I kept learning about sleep and how the lack of it can affect your mood. I read the book, Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids, by Dr. Laura Markham. In her book, she describes the need of all parents to regulate their emotions, which begins with the right amount of sleep.
Meaning that when you don’t get enough sleep, you become easily angered, irritable, frustrated, and overwhelmed. Lack of sleep can stop you from thinking clearly, and rob you of your peace.
Put these strategies in your toolbox.
These are strategies that have helped me to avoid burnout and feeling overwhelmed. I’ll be honest, I fall off the wagon from time to time, but having these strategies in my toolbox is helpful to get myself back on track.
Are you willing to try one of these strategies? If you do, will you let me know? I’d love to hear about it.
Hi, I’m Monica. I’m a brand and website designer with a background in graphic design. I am a mom, creative, and entrepreneur. I started my side hustle about 10 years ago. When I became a mom, I knew it was time to leave my day job and take on my business full-time. The last 5 years of my business have been full of growing pains, but also many wins. I’ve been blessed with wonderful clients that have helped me survive the pandemic, and in turn, I’m here spilling design and business knowledge on these pages. My goal is to help small creative businesses thrive and accomplish their biggest dreams. What’s your dream?
