5 Antidotes to Overwhelm In Your Life And Business Overwhelm is part fact and part perception. You can change both.
By Safiyah Satterwhite Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
If I could sum up every day of the first year of building and running my start-up, I would condense the feeling into one single word -- overwhelmed. I am sure you can relate. Some women experience frequent chest pains, nausea, hair loss, dizziness and other symptoms from being engaged in stressful work.
Leaving an old job for a new career building a thriving business and transitioning into leadership for the first time can lead to high anxiety and overwhelm, especially if you are the perfectionist type. So, I am here to tell you, from one ambitious person to another, that there are ways to eliminate this feeling from your life so that you can lead from a place of peace, joy and calm in every area of your life.
I mean, we all know that, if you are not well taken care of... there is no way that you can take care of anyone else -- clients, students, family, friends and customers. Right?
Are you wondering what you have to do to get through the storm?
1. Delegate yourself out of the weeds.
The art of delegation is a necessary trait for every kind of leader on every level. You cannot do it all. Quite frankly, when done right "leading" is a job unto itself. Assign small, tedious tasks that take up massive amounts to your support team so you can focus on high level partnerships, organizational growth, leadership and strategy.
Getting caught in the details when you have a capable team is not the best use of your time. Make a list of everything for the day that needs to get done and highlight the things that your team can take care of. (If you don't have a team yet... this is the perfect time to bring on an hourly Virtual Assistant (VA) to lend a helping hand).
Examine your list and ask yourself, "What are the key decisions that I can make today that will either make everything on this list irrelevant or no longer my immediate concern?"
A high level analysis of your to-do's will keep you focused on looking at the bigger strategic picture, making your life much easier and your organization a well-oiled machine.
Related: 4 Ways for Control Freaks to Get Comfortable Delegating Tasks
2. Build your support team.
Having a coach or mentor is part of your own self care. We all need human connection. Having someone who is there just for us makes ordinary leaders into phenomenal and highly effective leaders. Start to grow your support system and use a part of your coaching sessions for a clearing -- a time for you to really get some things off of your chest. It works wonders!
3. Exercise daily.
There is something about moving that just makes everything better. Don't believe me -- do some research. It has now been proven that exercise is a natural stress reliever. The blood pumping quickly through your body in a workout can increase your clarity, help you let off some necessary "steam" and improves your breathing.
Related: Why Exercising Is a Higher Priority Than My Business
4. Meditate, reflect and/or pray daily.
The power of journaling, reflecting, strengthening your spirituality and meditating on a daily basis cannot be understated. This work helps you to become more self aware of your actions resulting in greater opportunities to generate positive relationships with those that you interact with in your daily work. It is not easy to get into this routine and stick with it, but scheduling it first thing in the morning or right before bed will ensure that you start your day strong and in a positive light.
5. Change your mindset.
Look for the positive in what you are faced with on a daily basis. If your website crashed, look at it as an opportunity to redesign better. If you lost your job, look at it as an opportunity to finally build your business.
When you believe things will work out for your best interest, positivity and joy will follow.
Related: Entrepreneurs: Your Irrational Optimism Is Necessary
