Business consultant Phil Jackson from Build Your Salon, offers these tips for avoiding being overwhelmed.
We all know that business can be brutal, life can be challenging, and being overwhelmed can be a frequent struggle for salon owners. But many salon owners are making things worse for themselves. That’s because, on the surface, their overwhelm looks like procrastination.
Perhaps your goals are a little woolly. Maybe you’re inattentive or you seek distraction when you should be working. Or it could be that you find you are constantly inventing excuses not to do something. If that sounds at all familiar, you’re procrastinating and a stern talking to might well be what is needed. Eliminate distractions, switch off your notifications and find the best time of day to focus on your work. Rekindle the passion for the task by reconnecting with the reason behind it. Getting more organised can help with procrastination too. Schedule your tasks and break them down into smaller chunks.
But trying to deal with overwhelm the same way is a recipe for disaster. Imagine you have a friend who feels small and alone. They appear teary or irritable. They might even have physical symptoms of overwhelm. Anxiety makes their heart race or they feel short of breath. How would you treat that person? With a stern talking to? With a kick in the butt to get things moving? With scheduling and discipline? Of course not, yet we treat ourselves this way all the time.
So many of us are over critical. The way we repeatedly speak to ourselves, in our heads is beyond anything we would dare say to someone else. Yet this continual chipping away of your own self-esteem has long-term effects. In fact, it can be devastating if you are feeling overwhelmed.
The better approach is to increase the time and effort you put into self-care to reduce your anxiety. Take out your journal and try to identify what is at the root of those feelings of fear. Break overwhelming tasks down into tiny chunks. Celebrate each time you make progress. Delegate as much as you can to your team, to outsourcers, even to your children! But most importantly, be kind to yourself.