I’m busy. You’re busy. We are all busy! You can get overwhelmed with all of this busy-ness! My clients bring up this common topic as they are working to advance their business or career. There is just so much to do and so little time! Because this is generally a hectic month, and many people can feel overwhelmed, I thought I’d share with you a few strategies for dealing with a feeling of being overwhelmed!

I’m Overwhelmed

We’ve all felt overwhelmed. We look at our calendars, or our to-do lists and wonder how in the world we’ll get all this work done! It’s hard to know where to start when you are deciding to embark on a new project with so many things to be done. When that feeling is upon us it is easy to retreat, to allow ourselves to procrastinate, or even avoid it all together. Some people won’t even start because the task will look too daunting. When you are looking at a mountain of work, it is important to take that first step and tackle the challenge before you. Whether it is a project, your business, life, or a personal challenge, if it is worth doing, it is worth doing now. Here are some strategies for getting started!

Relax

The first thing I advise clients to do is relax! Being stressed is NOT going to help. This doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a sense of importance or urgency to get started. It means don’t add to the stress by procrastinating or avoiding doing the work needed. I have seen enough people get worked up about all the things they do, they forget to get started! It is almost paralysis by analysis. The other symptom is they want to get so much work done that they will do anything to look busy, but they aren’t always productive! Your time is money, so spend it wisely!

Organize

Create a plan for what you must do. Identify all the pieces and figure out how they will fit together. There is a reason why successful businesses spend an enormous amount of time planning. I recently read The Great Game of Business and they have a six month process for planning. That means their strategic plan for 2019 started in the summer of 2018! Planning helps you identify all the pieces needed to accomplish your objective.

Execute

Now go do! Even if the first step is the wrong step, it gets you moving! The hardest step is the first step. Once you get started executing the plan the best you can, realize that there will have to be adjustments to the plan. Make sure to avoid the trap of continuously adjusting the plan, after all you spent a considerable amount of time putting it together. Your plan should have identified all the pieces needed to accomplish your objective. Often in our haste to get things done, we avoid, skip, or completely ignore the plan. The plan is to help you stay focused on the objective and allow you to measure your progress towards the goal.

This Week’s Challenge

Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed thinking of all the things you want to accomplish in 2019. Set yourself up for success! Begin by identifying your objectives, and in all the craziness that happens this time of year create the plan you need to be successful.

If you would like to discuss more ways to help your business grow or if you feel you have a specific problem that needs to be addressed, please reach out to me.