Is your work-life balance teetering on the edge? isn’t it time to make changes before the problems overwhelm you? If you are trying to set up your business and working full time, it is so easy to get overwhelmed. If you are already running your business but have many projects to manage, this can also be the case.
Here are my secrets for dealing with overwhelm when trying to set up your own freelance business. These tips will help you whether you are launching into a new business or an existing business.
- Think everything is perfect. There is room for improvement and regaining work-life balance. It takes time and energy to resist reality. The foundation of managing to overwhelm is to accept what is and take it from there.
- Putter. Puttering orients you in time and space. It does this while making mental room for you to notice what wants to be the top priority.
- Take the attitude that you will, of course, do what is most important, even if you do not yet know what it is or how you will do it. Be curious about what you don’t know how to do rather than worrying about it. Tip: Set a time limit on puttering. If you are worrying that you will lose the entire working day to it, this will help.
- Clean house. When your insides are churning over many commitments, create order outside. Tip: This seems to work best if you clean with a light heart. Yet have worked through some problems while scrubbing the kitchen floor!
- Use every means available. Make plans and act without procrastinating. Make lists and do what you need to do to get out of the way, it does not matter if it is on the list or not. Managing overwhelm means mingling both direct and indirect ways of moving forward.
- But linear or spontaneous, ground your choices in your real life and work experience. It doesn’t make sense to ignore a deadline or to pretend that you can complete a complex piece of work in 10 minutes.
- Revise your commitments. Do not break Promises. You can revise them. Act to revise commitments that you cannot or will not keep.
- First things first. Take time for exercise, prayer, meditation, and “defragging” no matter how busy you are. Doing these things first each day enlivens you. It gives you the resilience and resourcefulness to do your best.
- Breathe. First, last, and always, let a rising bubble of anxiety be your reminder to breathe.
Whether you own your own business, life is often very rich. I wish you joy in the dance as you move with order and disorder, discipline, and insight. May you maintain your work-life balance with much grace.
In my ebook “How to Transition from Full- Time Employee to Being Your Own Boss“, I speak about how you can balance two worlds. Trying to work full time and setting up your business can be daunting. Check out the activities I suggest to help you balance both worlds. This will also help you to deal with stress overwhelm.
If you would like to find out more about what inspired me to start my own business, you can read about this here.
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