By Shannon Peel
I have been connecting with lots of people on social media, listening to podcasts, participating in virtual events, and creating content for clients. I feel like I’m always behind, having to up my game, and it’s exhausting.
I’m a one woman show. I have a number of platforms and projects going at anyone time, which means I’m always working and I do get overwhelmed by it all. Not because there is too much work, I love the work. It’s the little things, the details, which take so much time and I am prone to avoid, which isn’t a good habit. It would be nice to have someone I could count on to take some of the workload and finish the details which take too much time to complete. One day, I’ll have cashflow and enough to add a kickass detail person to the team.
I need some ideas to help me beat this feeling, so I asked people, “What do you do when you feel overwhelmed?” They shared so many great ideas. I know I’m not the only entrepreneur to bite off more than she could chew and ended up overwhelmed by all the work.
Here are some of their tips and I encourage you to click their names to discover more about these amazing business women in Vancouver and how they can help you.
Overwhelm has been described as simply not choosing to prioritize. Step back, take a breath and start identifying the deadlines, order and importance of each task, and who you can delegate items to, or get assistance from to make it happen. I am mindful that people run countries and billion-dollar businesses; anything is possible with structure and support!
Typically, the reason we get overwhelmed is because we've taken on too much. Learn to say no. Make it a bi-weekly habit to say no to multiple opportunities that you're currently involved in or that come your way.
Step away for about an hour or longer perhaps a whole day. Spend time with family and go golfing, singing or just to a late night movie. Don’t lose all focus with the job, but understand balance is mostly what we all need to get perfected. Both are important and both can be lost so balancing the two will help you/everyone achieve greatness they desire.
Breath, sit still, mediate, listen to your body rest and fuel up. I find scheduled time is successful including scheduling your breaks prevents poor practices for being productive.
The most important thing I do to stay productive and avoid burnout is to focus on what is really necessary for me on that particular day or week. Instead of trying to get everything done, I look at my non-negotiables first to make sure those are complete. If so, then I can move on to other tasks that may not be as high of a priority. That allows me to focus on the things that will have the most impact.
My husband got cancer and went through treatment this year, during COVID. I had one of my busiest years, carrying 28 properties in my inventory. It was non-stop between clients and the hospital. This is a great question.
Make sure you like your job, get enough sleep, vet your clients thoroughly for potential energy stealers, be vigilant about staying away from negative people and situations, eat properly and write daily to-do lists to yourself to stay focused. Sometimes, being overwhelmed is unavoidable. However, we have strength we didn't realize we have and keeping positive and grateful really helps. And I know it sounds counter-intuitive but not being busy is worse because you think too much about the small stuff, which I believes contributes to burn out.
Theodora Teddy Lind
Take a break.
Karolina-Anna Hajna
Take a step away from what i’m doing and go for a walk to clear my head. that and a cup of tea and chocolate.
Karen Woodruff
Feed my brain with an all natural mood, focus and clarity drink 10 min I am back to being meeee
Lilian Sue
Watch something mindless
Magda Garbacz
I’m making masks one women show styles and it’s been intense to say the least. I just take wine breaks
Annett Forcier
Exercise, tire myself out so I get a good night sleep.
Amy Remark
Step away and outsource. There’s always a few things you can pay someone else to do without breaking the bank. And probably end up growing the bank as a result!
Sandra Wong
Find someone to rant to that knows how to listen, shopping therapy and masturbation... I’d say hugs but very inappropriate during these times.
Ashley Slade
Cry. Not even joking. Once I have a good cry, I get myself a good ol cup of coffee and then I feel pretty solid
Billie Sinclair
I love working with my Virtual Assistants. They’re such an important part of my team.
Judy Csatho-Drummond
I listen to spiritual experts on YouTube. It absolutely helps me put all the chaos into perspective and recharges me.
Coo Kie Selena
GOAL SETTING!! Deconstruct the BIG DREAM into ACTIONABLE STEPS. Then take it one day at a time with a clear vision in mind.
Wai-Kay Ho-Ching
I’m not a one woman show but whenever I feel overwhelmed I would hang out with my kids and get down to their level. Always calms me down.
Gemma D Wilson
You track your time for a week and determine what is worth your time and what you can delegate or hire out.
Ashley Anjlien Kumar
Stop. Breathe. Make a list of my top 3 priority tasks.
Izabella Garcia
You can try the pomodoro technique. Focus for 25 minutes and have a 5 minutes break to do whatever- go to the washroom, water, social media.. I find it helps me stay productive when I know it’s just for 25 minutes
Julia Cha
Stop doing things that you don’t need to do. Cooking. Cleaning. Accounting/bookkeeping. Outsource, delegate.
Karolina Ticha McMurray
Deep breath and energy healing (regularly)
Yvonne Connor
Sit with myself and reset.
Helen CarpeDiem-Stepchuk
Pray and know that God has a plan for you. He has put you in that position for such a time as this. You can do anything through Him. All the best!
Angelia Darnbrough
So been there .. I prioritize what I really need to get done vs things that can wait. I keep a list so they don’t get forgotten.I do eventually get to everything that I need to do. I also don’t wait for things to be perfect. Sometimes it’s better to get things done in phases and accept phase 1 is good enough.
Trina Wray Waller
I’ve been a one-woman show for 10 years. I feel this SOOOO freaking hard. In the past, I’ve worked my ass off until I reached my breaking point, then would take a few days off to rest and recoup, then do it all over again. Wash, rinse, repeat. I got tired of it, but mostly, I got tired of never finishing MY stuff because I was always working on client stuff. I hired Theodora Teddy Lind earlier this year and she was an INTEGRAL part in getting some of my stuff off the ground and into the spaces I wanted/needed it to be. Sadly, I had to let her go when my entire business ground to a halt, but I cannot wait to get started again and bring her back on board. But for now, I’m using this downtime to actually take a guilt-free break.
Melissa Danielle
Write down all my todos in order of most important/urgent to least. Focus on the top three.
For large projects, I break them down into 5 pieces and focus on step one.
I also found having my to do list due by the end of the week instead and just evaluating it daily takes the pressure off.
Joslynn Beach
Take a 5 minute decompression break. When I’m recomposed, I make a list of the first 1-3 doable tasks that come to mind that I MUST do NOW to relieve any anxiety at the end of the day from not accomplishing those things. Ask for help with any parts I can outsource.
Sandra Nomoto
Rest. I meditate and do EFT every day. My one-week social media detox last week was HUGE (even though I still had to go on for one client). If you need bodies to help, find student interns or people looking for things to do and who want to volunteer their time.
Laura Kassama
I’ve been a virtual assistant since 1995 and have managed teams of virtual assistants since 2002. It surprises me to hear that entrepreneurs still try to wear all the hats for their businesses. It so often leads to burn out or lack of motivation.
By utilizing targeted support services for their businesses, owners can focus on what they love to do and are good at. This increases productivity and morale, and collaborating brings new ideas and perspectives. Virtual assistants can help in so many ways, from handling daily operations to specific, specialized project work (both long and short term).
There are lots of great ideas in here for overwhelmed business owners. My problem is I want everything yesterday, especially when I think about how old I am and how many years I have left. I wish I’d created the magazine 15 years ago when I started blogging or even 10 years ago when I started writing novels. Maybe even 5 years ago when I started writing my second novel and actively building on my digital personal brand to find a job.
Thing is, I can’t change the past, I can’t roll back time, and I did what I did. All I can do is work hard today and get as much done as I possibly can to grow the readership of APeeling, to consistently post episodes to UnPeeled and continue to grow the MarketAPeel digital platform. I have a list, deadlines, and a vision.
Do you have tips and tricks for the overwhelmed businessperson? Let us know how you combat stress by leaving a comment. Thank you for your contribution.
What is holding you back?
Visit Shannon Peel’s Personal website to view her portfolio of work.
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