3 Signs of Small Business Overwhelm + 3 Ways to Manage it

If you've been in business as an entrepreneur or small business owner for a while, chances are you've felt overwhelmed at times - so many things happening at once you don't know where to place your focus. It could be decisions that urgently have to be made, people clamouring for your time or just a background feeling that things aren't going all that well.

Here are some signs you can tell you're approaching overwhelm before it all turns to custard. And some ways you can deal with it. (And hopefully retain some of your sanity!)

Signs of Overwhelm

Credit: Nubelson Fernandes on Unsplash

1. You're ignoring financial admin - leaving receipts, GST returns or invoicing till the last minute

Do you remember what it felt like when you first opened your business bank account, or registered for tax? Pouring carefully over the paperwork, ensuring everything was done correctly. Perhaps feeling a sense of pride at a small yet significant step - one that many people balk at, keeping their business ideas as dreams instead of turning them into reality.

But now you find similar admin to be tedious and unimportant - until it's almost due. Then there's a mad scramble to get everything in order. You can't seem to find the time to keep on top of it. Sometimes you make mistakes - invoicing the wrong amount, or missing a large expense on your GST return. That was me last year - I filed a GST return incorrectly, then kept procrastinating dealing with it for many months!

You might feel that these are manageable for the most part, but they take a hidden toll on your energy every time you procrastinate or see that pile of paperwork (or list of emails) that haven't been attended to. If the admin keeps piling up, eventually it might demand your attention at the same time as another crisis - forcing you to choose between the lesser of two evils, to yet more stress and late nights.

2. You flip-flop on decisions often

Have you found yourself agonising over a particularly difficult decision, unsure what's the right choice? You eventually choose a path - but find yourself choosing again a few days or weeks later, unsatisfied with the outcome. You may even make and remake a decision several times!

This often happens when you're already stressed, bordering on overwhelm. You haven't been able to sit with a decision and see the path clearly, before choosing a direction. That niggling feeling that you haven't made the right choice could be your intuition or subconscious mind, ignored in your rush to make a decision from a place of stress or fear. Or it could also be a lack of confidence or determination - wavering in the face of an uncertain situation.

Some time ago I worked with a client who asked me to review their project management system, to streamline and simplify it. I looked at what worked and what didn't, and crafted a new system that incorporated the best of the old with a few new ideas. I was a matter of days from delivering a training course on the new system to the company's project managers - only to be told that priorities had shifted and I was urgently needed to work on a different initiative.

In hindsight, management was borderline overwhelmed from many different pressures. They had the right projects underway to improve things, but lacked the clarity to see these initiatives through and create lasting improvements.

3. You struggle to learn new skills or technologies

Learning something new is something we all need to face often. Technology changes, business processes change, markets and suppliers change - and adapting to these changes is part of the joy of being in business.

But sometimes that sheer amount of change gets too much. Learning a new process becomes a struggle. You need to take copious notes to remember the steps. Or you find yourself forgetting how to use a piece of software, and stare at the strange icons and shapes in confusion for a moment before asking someone for help or trying to google an answer.

If you find learning is more difficult than usual, this is another sign you're approaching overwhelm. It's like a blocked shower or sink. When things are fine, the water should drain easily and quickly. When there's a blockage, the water still drains but very slowly. Similarly if you're finding it hard to learn new things, it's likely you're heavily stressed and getting close to being overwhelmed with all the change happening around you.

Dealing with Overwhelm

Credit: Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

1. Delegate or automate the admin

Let other people and systems take care of the more tedious aspects of work for you. This sounds obvious, and you've probably heard it before. But when done well it really does help bring more time and peace to your day.

When I first started out I was operating as a sole trader and didn't have much money for an accountant or complex systems. So I tracked everything in a spreadsheet, and individually saved my receipts in either a physical envelope or as PDFs on my computer.

Moving to scanning everything digitally helped a bit, but I also had so many receipts coming in via email that it cluttered things up and I sometimes missed emails from humans. And I still put off filing tax/GST returns as late as possible. However a few months ago I moved from spreadsheets to an online accounting software, and set in place automation to save my email receipts directly to the software. Those two steps literally remove hours of admin a month, and help quieten that voice in the back of my head telling me I have admin to finish!

2. Write a strategy plan

The word 'strategy' can be a little scary. And 'strategy plan' even more so. But a plan is simply an intention with several steps. You can write one in a few minutes. I've found it's vital that you do this at a time when you're feeling at peace, relaxed and with a clear mind. This not only allows you to think a few weeks or months ahead, but it removes the influence of other thoughts or feelings from the plan. A bit like how washing your hands before cooking avoids bacteria getting into the food.

Many people will tell you to refer back to your plan every so often, and that's certainly helpful but not even necessary. I've found the process alone of clearing my mind and writing a plan brings me a lot of clarity about what I need to do next, and the confidence to stick with a chosen direction - since I know that the direction aligns with where I would like to be in a few months.

In the words of WWII General Dwight D. Eisenhower: “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.”

3. Slow down the change

If change is happening too quickly, slow it down. Postpone changing your software, rewriting a business process, or launching a new product. If change overwhelms you, this is actually a useful sign to double down on your existing processes and systems. Make sure they're stable. Make choices that bring you comfort and peace. Eventually, your capacity for change will increase - then you can roll out the new products, revamp processes and buy new software.

When I was building this website I was familiar with one web design tool, but wanted to learn another. I started the training, but realised not only was I procrastinating on the actual web design and development but I was starting to feel overwhelmed with the amount of new things to learn.

So I went back to my original tool and developed the site with the tools and skills I knew. Ironically, because I was feeling more relaxed I was able to learn a lot more about the existing tool and make a much better website!