Reducing Overwhelm in Business

It seems everyone these days has an incredibly busy life, juggling many things at the same time. There is more pressure than ever to be successful and to “do it all”.  Have a successful career, relationships and family, achieve more than ever. The access to information on how to live our best life is unprecedented and yet stress, overwhelm and poor mental health is an epidemic in NZ society.

Technology has incredible value but can add to the overwhelm with an avalanche of messages received, viewed and responded to every day from many sources. The statistics on how many hours we spend on our devices every day are simply scary, the time spent is huge. And how much of that time is building your business? Is it simply wasting your precious time?

All of us have the same amount of time every day, what do we do with that time? If you know where you are headed that is the first step. If you have a plan and break it down you are on the right track.

Here a few keys to reducing overwhelm:

• Read about the habits of really successful people – who is someone you admire? What do they do to stay focused? How have they achieved their success? Often from humble beginnings their story will inspire you.
• Plan – whichever system you use, paper/electronic, keep it simple and keep everything in one place. Lots of notebooks and post-it notes can add to the overwhelm of daily life.
• Write it down – clear your mind of all the distractions so you can focus on the right things that will move you and your business forward.
• Reduce time-wasters – do an audit of your week and become aware of habits that sabotage your time. For example, looking at devices catching up on messages just before you go to sleep affects your sleep patterns massively. Lack of sleep impacts on your self-awareness and productivity.
• Do you procrastinate? This is a habit that has been described as a “disease” and can creep into every area of life and reduce your confidence and self-esteem. Taking any action on what you are procrastinating on will change your life!

The most important key is to have people around you that support you and challenge you. The difference is the human factor. Find a business coach, an accountability mentor, a business partner, a best friend, someone who has your back through the good and the bad. Someone who will say it as it is, with kindness and your best interests at heart. It is absolutely invaluable to have that person in your life.