What To Do When You Feel Behind & Overwhelmed

Published: Sat, 01/04/14


 
This time of year can be a bit stressful. I mentioned in a recent blog post how the year-end & New Year can feel a bit overwhelming and rushed. Feeling behind, or overwhelmed with everything you need to do, can happen any time of year of course. It happens to me all the time!

We discussed this on Facebook and Google+ and most people commented that they step away, then come back to their task list with a clear mind or fresh perspective.

That's a great idea, and something I do myself even, if I'm just not feeling inspired or motivated. But sometimes you ARE in work mode, you just get overwhelmed looking over your task list - or figuring out where to start and what to do first.

There's also the fact that creative inspiration and/or motivation aren't always there. You need to consistently grow your business though, so sometimes you just have to force a breakthrough. It takes a bit of self-discipline for sure, but that's what being an entrepreneur (a successful one!) is all about. ;-)

Here's what I do:

- Start every day with three priority tasks
- Get those three priority tasks done, before anything else
- One of those three tasks should be a "money task"

Obviously this requires having a task list, and having those tasks prioritized. I use Evernote because I can access it from any computer or device, and I can edit it (move/remove tasks, change the order of priority, etc) more easily than on paper.

A "money task" is something that results in immediate income, or that affects your revenue long term (such as list building, or improving the call-to-action on archived content that ranks well).

When I feel distracted or overwhelmed, I simply refer to Evernote, grab the next task on the list, then close out everything else and focus on the task at hand until it's done.

And speaking of, I find that MICRO-tasking works especially well. It's much less overwhelming when you break your projects down to a list of the smallest tasks - in order of importance, or in the order they should be done to get from point A to point B.

See: http://www.clicknewz.com/5888/micro-tasking/

Starting every day with three priority tasks will give you that sense of accomplishment that fuels your motivation, and it also ensures that you consistently grow your business and revenue.

I'm sharing these tips with you because I was feeling a bit behind and overwhelmed myself this week. In fact, I missed a deadline to update sales copy and pricing - which I was meant to do on January 2nd. Does that stress me out? Nah. I refuse to let it. I simply figure out what needs to be done, prioritize it on the task list, and get it done.

Sometimes things get overlooked or fall through the cracks. It happens. Obviously that's not ideal, but hey - we're all human right? My advice:

"Do what you can do, when you can do it, as well as you can do it. Focus on what you can do, and what you have done, instead of what you can't or haven't. Don't dwell. DO."

That's #9 on my Top 10 Take-Aways from 2013.
 
Always focus on moving forward, even if it's one small task at a time. Consider where you are, where you want to be, and take the steps to get from here to there.

Have a great weekend! :-)

Best,
Lynn Terry
ClickNewz.com

p.s. If you're having trouble figuring out the steps to start a successful business online, or get your business into profit, I have new step-by-step training modules called Niche Success Blueprint that will keep you moving forward consistently toward your goals:

http://www.clicknewz.com/9204/niche-success-blueprint/

The weekly training modules will give you specific action steps, keeping you on track and doing things in the right order to go from "start to profit" this year. Or to get IN profit this year, as quickly as possible. ;-)
 
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