Managing Yourself and Your Business – Are You Hearing More Noise Than Music?

Last week I was meeting with a client, who was feeling very overwhelmed, overscheduled and confused. I understood exactly how she felt, because I had been there once or twice myself. I could have told her a million different things to keep her on track, focused and accountable, but I felt this overwhelming intuition that what she needed most was a break from the noise.

So I told her to reschedule all of her commitments, unplug from the social media routine, not attend any of the classes she had signed up for, stop reading ezines, and take a proverbial “who cares?” approach to anything she felt like she really should be doing. She was surprised, I think, at my laissez-faire suggestion, since I am usually very practical and a step-by-step, work the plan, kind of advisor.

I found out from her later that it did her a world of good, and that it helped her settle some questions that she had been grappling with for a while now.

The ironic thing is that a week later, I found myself in the same place. Although the specifics and variables were different, the net result was the same. All of the things that usually jazzed me up, felt more like noise than music.

So, I took my own advice and gave myself permission to do absolutely, positively, nothing productive. I spent time outside in the sun, had an afternoon nap and put the word out that I was not cooking dinner.

And guess what? My husband shopped for ingredients and actually tried a new recipe, it turned out great (he is not a cook, so this was a stretching experience for him), and I woke up the next day feeling wonderfully. I also received three opportunities before noon. What a difference a day can make.

The reason I’m sharing this with you is that I know that many of you are way too hard on yourselves. Combined with the conditioning we carry from education and employment, we keep pushing through and find it very difficult to deviate from our plan or what we think we should do.

I’m not advocating to unplug from your business forever, throw up your hands and wait for things to happen, but rather to listen to yourself when you’re feeling overwhelmed and confused. When this happens, you might ask yourself:

• Am I feeling overwhelmed because I don’t know how to do something?
• Am I feeling overwhelmed because I’m not sure if this is right for me?
• Am  I feeling this way because I am not confident, or afraid it will not work?
• Or am I so overwhelmed, I have no idea what I’m feeling or why?

If it’s one of the first three, if you can identify it, you can solve it. If it’s the last one, give yourself the permission to unplug. You might find the answers are clear when you power up again!

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System™  for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.