Got overwhelm? Me, too. I have been reading Glennon Doyle’s beautiful book “Love Warrior”, and this line stood out to me. When we have a lot on our plates, especially different categories of things, overwhelm can creep in get us stuck in a rut. We keep doing the necessary things, but not much more. I’ve been there: crunching numbers, ordering supplies, running errands; then trying to find somewhere in there to get to the good stuff, but coming up short. It’s frustrating. So, in those moments, try to take a deep breath and ask yourself: what is the next right thing? Here are some tips to figuring that out:
- Do you have a plan? If you’re flying by the seat of your pants in survival mode every day, and have days or even weeks where you don’t touch an important part of your business (like your social media, website, and marketing) because there are more immediate needs, it’s time to pull the emergency brake and make a new plan. Time block your days so that everything gets attention by the end of your week.
- Let it go. If you have a plan, and you’re still struggling, it may be time to think about delegating some tasks to other people. There are only so many hours in a day, and if you have more on your schedule than your waking…er…working hours will allow, you’ve got to let some stuff go. If you’re a one person show, it may be time to consider a freelancer (*CLEARS THROAT LOUDLY*) to handle things like beautiful branded graphics and content.
- Is your brand solid? Be honest: are you intentionally putting things off? No judgment. I’ve been there. If you’re putting off marketing tasks because you’re not sure what to DO, there is a good chance your brand needs attention. Creating a cohesive, solid brand identity with logos, color, type, graphics, and more will help eliminate the mental load of your marketing decisions. No more debating with that magazine about what colors should be used. No more scrolling through fonts for an hour to choose which one you’re most FEELING today. It’s all there in your brand guidelines. Then you can focus on what really matters: telling your people about your amazing shop and your amazing products.
Be on the lookout for another post soon about time blocking and how to balance the necessary with the important. If you are at the stage where you’re ready to work on your brand and/or outsource your design and content, shoot me a message. I’d love to chat.