10 Tips to Reduce Work at Home Overwhelm

Work at home overwhelm can take the fun out of things. It can make your home business feel like a J.O.B.

There are a few things that you can do to reduce overwhelm right now.

1. Get Clear: Get rid of anything and everything that you don’t have to do or that you don’t have to have in your business and personal life. This includes the smaller things like clutter, larger things like projects and entire divisions of your business that are not showing a return.

2. Get Organized: Take what’s left and find a home for it. Then be sure that everything from that point forward goes home by the end of each working day. This will free up space, create a much more productive way to work and increase your success in finding things that you need when you need them.

3. Be Disciplined: Pretend that you are working for yourself. Oh yeah, you are! Take your business seriously and do what you need to do to keep it running smoothly. Everything starts with self discipline. Without it, the rest is just words.

4. Get Help: There is a lot to having a business of your own and working it from home. Get help in any way that you can in any area that you can. Every little bit adds up to more free time and less stress for you.

5. Create Systems: Systems make it easy. I like to call it plug and play. The less thinking and the easier it is to do things, the more likely they will get done. Systems achieve this.

6. Have a Daily Routine: Everything above is accomplished by having a daily routine. A daily routine is what will keep those leaks from springing and becoming raging rivers that threaten to wipe out all of your hard work. Begin the day, every day, with your daily routine.

7. Plan Ahead: Planning ahead will become your road map. It will tell you what to do when you otherwise may not be sure. It will keep the important things in sight and allow the unimportant to fall by the wayside. It will assure that you do the important things and don’t waste your time on the things that cause you to fall behind.

8. Block Your Day: Create blocks of time for working on various projects and tasks within your business. This will reduce aimless working and the tendency to fill time with what ever happens to be handy, which often turns out to be surfing the internet and reading newsletters in our email.

9. Have a Good Personal Routine: Do what you need to do to take care of yourself. Morning time is usually the best time because you reap the benefits all day long. Or you can break it up to do the necessities like exercise in the morning, and a regular reading or journal time at night.

HINT: The cleaner the better. I find that when I include a morning facial steam and a completely thorough brushing of my teeth, including flossing and all of the handy tools that come with my toothbrush, I feel a million times more inclined to be on top of things through out the day. It only takes 10 minutes to do both. It may be the best 10 minutes I spend all day. It helps keep the dentist bills down too.

10. Allow plenty of white space throughout your day: These spaces will make room for better thinking and a chance to look at what you are doing with your time and your business. Think about the big picture, your vision for your business and your life. Are you heading in the right direction? If not, you will feel overwhelm as you struggle to get there and see yourself falling farther away. The first step is to know where you are going. You will get there much faster.

Work these tips into your day, and before long that nagging ball of panic will be gone, you will feel more relaxed and look forward to your day ahead.

10 Signs of Work at Home Overwhelm

Often when we start our home business we have visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.

Or at least visions of happy days working at our own pace and being our own boss in a relaxed and creative atmosphere. I know I did.

Work at home overwhelm can make your work at home dream seem just like that… a dream.

Or even worse, a nightmare.

ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM WORK AT HOME OVERWHELM?

Here are 10 signs.

1. You get a tingle of unease when you think of all of the things you should be doing today and of all the things left undone.

2. You can’t find things when you need them. You do however find them weeks later under a pile of something else that was missing when you needed it.

3. Your business is starting to look more like a ball and chain. A bottomless pit of obligations and duties that are never done.

4. You are losing your spark. For your business, your family and your life in general. You are just too tired to have one.

5. You avoid working at any opportunity. Any excuse is a good one not to have to deal with the piles, the emails, the reminders.

6. You are working almost every waking hour. Your family has come to know you as the coat rack in front of the computer. You just know that someday you will get everything done and the real fun will start.

7. You no longer feel a sense of accomplishment. Of moving forward. You feel instead a sense of futility. Of wishing you were working at McDonald’s so that you can relax.

8. The idea of taking a day off, a weekend off or going on holiday is ludicrous. There is just too much to do. Things could topple in a few hours of leisure, never mind a week. Impossible.

9. You are losing good income opportunities and connections because you are not prepared or because you simply don’t have time to follow up on them.

10. In short you are tired, uninspired and wondering what you were thinking when you decided to take the route of self fulfillment by working at home.

If you are showing signs of work at home overwhelm, it doesn’t mean that you have to give up.

These signs are showing you that you do need to make some changes.

Take some time to examine your business, your methods and your resources.

Sometimes one small change can make all of the difference.

Sometimes you need to work them in, one by one.

The important thing is that you take the time to make them if you want long term success.

Put on your thinking cap and do a little brainstorming.

What can you do today if you are feeling overwhelmed with your work at home business?

Share your ideas here, we’d love to hear them!

Got the Productivity Blues? It All Starts With One Habit

Having the edge, or being on top of what you should be doing, when you should be doing it can be a lot like weight loss or keeping a clean house.

You have to develop good habits. One day you wake up and find that all of your habits have come together to bring you success in what ever it is you are applying them to.

IT ALL STARTS WITH ONE HABIT

As that habit becomes part of your routine and lifestyle, you can add another. As you become able to add each new one, your success climbs, but it’s important not to rush it.

Trying to make too many new changes at one time will probably spell disaster long term.

A GREAT HABIT TO START WITH

One of the best habits to work on developing and expanding is working with focus on a preplanned task.

It’s hard to maintain this all day, especially for those of us with no boss except for ourselves. It’s easy to get distracted or sidetracked since we are accountable to ourselves and the nature of working at home includes plenty of distractions!

An easy way to develop focus and preplanning skills is to start with your first work period of the day.

JUMP RIGHT IN

You can save a lot of time and set yourself up for the day by jumping right in.

Try starting out without checking your email or browsing your favourite social networks first.

Use your first time pocket for output while your are fresh. Sometimes the act of opening the programs you will be working with and getting started is all that it takes to turn you into a productivity machine.

That is what you will eventually be aiming for throughout the day.

I like to use my first time pocket for content. Since I started doing this, my productivity in this area has probably tripled, maybe quadrupled.

IT GETS DONE

Part of the reason for this is that it becomes a non negotiable. So it gets done.

You can either use the time to do the same task to stack and grow your results in one area, the progress you see will help to keep you going, or you can rotate various areas that you would like to work on if that works better for you.

The main thing is to develop the habit of doing a focused task that counts as soon as you start your working day.

After you find it becoming the natural thing to do, add another non negotiable time pocket to your day.

Work on developing that habit until it also becomes ‘what you do’.

Then work on the next.

Soon you will be amazing colleagues, friends and family!

And you will be getting things done.

Give it a try.

What’s the worst that can happen.

What’s the best?

Working Tired. Are You?

After a few days of too little sleep and too many working hours, this concept really hit home for me.

It brought me back to the old days when I was first starting out, when I worked this way all the time.

When I thought that ‘pushing through’ a few more hours was going to get me somewhere.

GOING NO WHERE - SLOW

The majority of the time it got me no where for a few reasons.

• The work I was doing wasn’t that great. Working at approximately the level of a 2 year old has that effect.

• I was so tired that even cleaning up simple things was taking 2 or more times longer than usual. Many times I messed it up and had to spend more time cleaning it up when I could think better.

• I spent a day or two recouporating. That meant another day or two of doing things at half speed or less. And not doing some at all.

• I didn’t enjoy the day. Or anything. Like many people, when I’m tired, I’m grouchy. That is no fun. And it’s not productive either. Ever thought about how much energy it takes to be grouchy on top of everything else?

THE RULE

We are only human. With only so much energy and hours in the day, no matter how hard we try to stretch them.

The rule is…

If you take it from somewhere, you’ll have to give it somewhere else.

That somewhere else isn’t usually somewhere that you especially had in mind. And many times you won’t even be able to pick and choose. You’ll find yourself in a sudden energy slump when you need it the most.

PLANNED CONTROLS

There are a few things that you can do to smooth things out if you find yourself in the position of having to burn the candle at both ends for one reason or the other.

Doing these every day can even buy you more time over the long run.

NAPTIME - It’s not just for kids! This doesn’t mean an afternoon spent lounging in bed.

A quick 10 - 20 minute nap can buy you those few extra hours at night. Or a few in the morning. They can help you to work more effeciently with a well rested mind in the afternoon when you may normally go into a slump for a few hours or the rest of the day.

I don’t use an alarm. I almost always wake up at exactly 20 minutes. Since I’m tired when I lay down, it takes seconds to drift off usually. If I sleep longer, it’s always because I needed it and I get it back in spades later.

If you have small kids, unless you have another alternative, nap when they are napping. Just be sure to get up before them! One of my grandmother’s favourite stories was of an uncle who went to put my sister down for a nap during a family get together. She got back up to join the party since he wasn’t much fun… he was sleeping!

FRESH AIR TIME - Getting out for a walk for 10 - 20 minutes will do wonders. It’s like having a shower for your brain. Clean it out and many times you will even find some fresh ideas to bring home with you.

EXERCISE - Blood pumping through your body not only will make you stronger, more flexible and feel great, but it also feeds your brain and keeps your emotions calm.

That’s a key to productivity.

Being stressed can take the energy of a full time job for your body and your brain. A good workout helps to relieve the physical effects of stress giving us a clean slate to work with. Blood pumping through our cells, all over our body, brings oxygen and energy.

Just think what you can do with it.

TIME TO SAY AHHHH - A few times a week be sure to take some time to center yourself. You can do this a few times a day by simply stopping what you are doing, taking a deep breath and becoming aware of your surroundings, and all of the things that you are grateful for.

Expand on that theme a few times per week with a spa bath, a good book in your favourite chair - or in bed, or by getting out to do something that you love to do - as long as it’s relaxing. Maybe a massage or a swim. Even a workout at a gym can be relaxing if the atmosphere calms you and you enjoy it.

GOOD FOOD - I’ve recently started ‘eating clean’. I built up over time by reducing the processed and ‘dead foods’ in my diet and have progressed to more things like green smoothies and raw foods.

I can’t believe the difference. It’s like I’ve turned on a switch to better creativity and motivation. My mind is clearer than it’s been in a long time, I’m calmer and just feel good.

Every day is a possibility, a chance to move ahead. That’s a productive mindset at it’s best.

BOTTOM LINE?

You just can’t work at your best if you are tired. It isn’t productive or a positive way to live.

And over time it will even wreck your health and cause wrinkles. Can’t have that!

Dealing With Overwhelm

If you are like me you have a ‘few’ ongoing projects on your plate.

Things that would fall under the ‘contributing to bottom line’ category and vision for business if you were to complete them.

Carrying those projects around on our shoulders, or in our mind, weighs a ton!

Enough to bloat our perception of our daily workload, to dilute our focus and contribute to a vague sense of dissatisfaction or even feeling of failure to achieve.

What’s the answer?

TAKE A LOAD OFF

By that, I don’t mean what you may think.

Well, not exactly.

The first thing you are probably waiting for me to say is get rid of some projects.

So I will.

Get rid of some projects :0)

Of course it only makes sense to cull the projects that no longer are of interest or that you have decided are not in the best interest of your business.

Sometimes time has a way of making our decisions for us.

You can either dump them, give them away or get some help with them.

WHAT ABOUT AFTER THAT?

Do you still have a list of projects that you really want to finish but don’t know where to start?

Feel guilty because you can’t possibly get them all finished ‘fast enough’?

What could be the answer?

Take a load off of the pressure you are putting on yourself to get it all done, this minute.

In other words…

SLOW DOWN

Sometimes the answer is exactly what you don’t think it is.

I have wrestled with this feeling myself.

It makes me want to rush and hurry to get ALL of them finished right away.

So guess what happens. I make small headway with some of them, something else comes up and I never finish any of them.

So I have a new plan that I think you can benefit from.

1- Don’t feel that you need to finish them all NOW.

The catch 22 is that by starting one only we know we have no chance of finishing the rest of them soon. We have to sacrifice all but one of them for now.

That can be hard to do.

But in doing that, we are raising the chance of actually getting even one of them finished and into our income funnel.

And then we can go onto the next.

2 - Make a plan and set an end date.

This is extremely important. With no end date, there usually is just that, no end date.

Outline when you want to have each project finished, what steps you need to do to get it done and when you need to do them. I found that when I did this, the weight lifted off of my shoulders and my focus increased 100%.

3 - Don’t get discouraged if your plans go awry.

But do stick to a plan. Even if it means shifting gears a little.

I made my plan in the beginning of the year and was going gangbusters on getting a project finished that I am very excited about doing. I was making real progress with a focus I had not worked with in a long time when I got not one, but 2 emails within days from some people that I had been waiting on for months to help me get a major project finished that really HAS to be done asap.

Talk about bursting your bubble!

Not wanting to lose them again, I had to put project #1 to the side for a bit. Doesn’t seem like a great start out of the gate but I am at the point of being able to move on the original while they do the majority of the work on project #2.

The main thing is, keep your eyes on the prize. No matter what. Even if it means coming back to it.

Especially if it means coming back to it.

I hate to admit it, but in the old days I may have been onto project #3 and have already forgotten about project #1, leaving it unfinished in the wake of distraction.

ALWAYS TAKE THE STRAIGHT ROAD

A wise person once told me that it is better to take the straight road.

It gets you there faster.

Take a Load Off

One of the biggest challenges in working at home is overload.

So much to do. Where to start. Where does it end?

It can be a heavy load.

Why not lighten it up?

Does that sound funny to you?

I know that would have been my first reaction a few years ago.

But over time I have found that much of the load is not necessary, and it certainly isn’t needed or wanted.

What kind of things am I talking about?

CLUTTER OF COURSE

Clutter of course, is the number one offender.

It weighs us down like nothing else.

If you can do one thing, make a point of moving it out.

Little by little or a few hours at a time. The trick is to make it your focus and don’t stop until you have a clear space exactly where you need one or two.

UNFINISHED PROJECTS

There are two things to do with unfinished projects.

Finish them or dump them.

If you have more than one and you want to finish them, schedule your time to complete one and then move to the next.

There are a few reasons that this works better than working on them all at once.

1 - You will have better concentration and focus therefore the odds are you will have a better quality outcome.

2 - You will get the first one finished twice as fast that way, giving you a sense of accomplishment and confidence to do the next.

3- You’ll also added revenue from having the first project up and running sooner.

4 - You will also learn from any mistakes if they projects are similar, and be able to apply your knowledge sooner.

Unfinished projects weigh on your mind and clutter up your work stations.

If you have some waiting for you, get tough and decide.

Stay or go.

Then take action.

FILE SYSTEM GOT ONE?

One of the problems with a cluttered workspace is that we have no place to put things. So it gets piled until we figure something out. Why not take a minute to create a file system.

I divide my folders by active files which include my tickle files and ‘to file’ folder and non active files such as storage files. I have another small file station for projects files and binders.

I also use binders to store things that I will need access to for a year or less, they go in a few milk carton crates in my office closet (which by the way make great storage shelf units stacked on their side for easy access) and plastic totes for long term storage.

These are better than cardboard because they can’t get wet. I used to store tax records in fold out office cardboard boxes. They got wet when our pump backed up in the basement. Good thing the bottom boxes were quite a few years old and won’t likely be needed.

COMPUTER OVERLOAD

It’s easy to let our computers get out of hand, it is almost like a continual stream of things coming in and so easy to file away for later out of sight out of mind.

The problem is that all this stuff makes it harder to find things when we need them, slows down our operating system and also clutters our brains. Even though we don’t even know what it is we KNOW that there are things we should be paying attention to in there.

Email is another topic on it’s own.

A good rule. Be very careful about what you allow onto your computer.

This includes downloads, subscriptions, products and software.

Commit today to reversing the flow.

Delete, unsubscribe and clean up anything you don’t use.

Be sure to have an updated antivirus program and back up your computer.

This will also take a load off of your mind.

FEELING FRESH?

Taking care of all of these things will give you a much fresher outlook and a cleaner base to work from.

There is one more thing that will really help you to have a clean start every morning.

It’s you.

Starting your day out right with exercise, water, a healthy breakfast and some ‘you time’ will give you a clean start from the inside out. I wake up early and read a book that I can learn from first thing for 30 minutes every morning with my morning coffee and a glass of lemon water. Then I go on to the other things that I include in my morning routine.

I can’t tell you how much better I feel going into the day.

CLEAR MIND

One last thing.

You can start with this one right away. It is the easiest to work on, hardest to do and will give you the best results.

Clear you mind by thinking for yourself. Your morning routine will help you with this.

If you’ve been working online for any amount of time now you will probably find that you have gone in many directions with a lot of noise going on in your head.

You may have even lost your direction while working hard to find it.

Turns out it was something that you already had inside of you.

Shut off the noise and listen to yourself for awhile.

What do you want to do?

What feels right to you?

One of the reasons that unloading the burdens in your environment is so effective is that it makes it that much easier to hear your own voice, and to notice when you are tuning it out.

Find the station called ‘My Own Voice’ and listen to it regularly.

You will amaze yourself with your own ideas and your new found sense of clarity and vision.

WOW, ALL OF THESE THINGS SEEM LIKE ANOTHER BURDEN!

You won’t be able to do all of these things over night.

Schedule a time every day to take a bite out of them, one at a time.

Don’t get frustrated, you won’t feel much difference over night, but it will happen faster than you think.

Just keep on and in no time you will find a large part of your overwhelm slipping away into creative productivity.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

What’s your biggest challenge when dealing with overwhelm?

Got the Christmas Rush?

Depending on what kind of business you’re in, you may be finding the weeks leading up to Christmas to be a little full.

That leads to… you guessed it… stress.

The big problem with that is that stress saps our energy.

So just when we need it more, we have less.

There’s a reason that being stressed doesn’t feel good.

It’s like being on a slow poison drip to our systems.

Stress kills.

Did you know that a large part of the reason that seniors have a mortality rate from things that are not fatal to younger people is because their bodies have lost the ability to recover from stress. Deepak Chopra talks about it in his book ‘Ageless Body Timeless Mind’, a very good read by the way for anyone who is getting older.

The more stress you have, the faster your body will find itself unable to recover.

Every major stress period wears you down a little more.

WHAT TO DO WHEN CHRISTMAS IS CAUSING YOU STRESS.

As much as Christmas is the ‘merry season’, there is no denying that it is busier… there’s more to do with less time to do it.

Just thinking about it makes my heart rate go up.

There are a few things that I’ve found help me to create a smoother season, and to even enjoy all the peace and good will amongst the coming and going.

1 - Prepare, prepare, prepare. You knew I was going to say that, didn’t you :0) If you are just starting it might take you by surprise, but if you’ve been in your business for a few years, you know when to expect your busy times to hit. Be ready well in advance, and always be looking at ways to improve your systems - in the busy times and not.

2 - Get help. You knew I was going to say that too I bet. If you can’t hire someone as an employee or even freelance, you may be surprised to find cheap help at home. Your kids! It may take awhile to train them, have patience and start early in the season. Pay them well. You could be amazed at how motivated they are. Especially since they will be wanting to earn some Christmas money too.

3 - THE BIG ONE. Don’t shirk on your base systems. The ones that keep you going. The ones that cause you the most stress if they fall by the wayside sooner or later. At times like these it seems like an impossibility, but let your systems go and you will know the meaning of STRESS! You may not be able to maintain them every day, but make it your goal and you will be able to stay somewhat steady. It will make all the difference.

4 - Step it up. I don’t mean to increase production. I mean to create a revolving schedule so that you can keep all the balls in the air. Take your important base routines and do one or two every other day for now if you are finding it hard to maintain them daily. What ever it takes to keep you afloat until you can catch up. It’s better to make the effort now than to drown later. If you’re having a problem getting motivated, just picture the pain and misery later. That usually helps.

5 - Examine your systems. The best time to do this is before hand, but you can do it on the fly as well. Never say never! Batch processing is always a time saver. Working at your most productive time when there is no one else around is another. This could mean getting up earlier, cutting out tv time and going to bed earlier for awhile. It can take some adjusting but you can do it. If you have a supportive spouse willing to help out at night, this is were he or she can really be a life saver. If not, consider hiring someone to help out for a few hours with your children’s morning or bedtime routine if you need to. If you can get someone to help out with the household chores too, all the better.

6 - Organize and Declutter. This can make life so much easier and something you would do well to do ahead of time. Anytime is a good time to declutter and organize but when things get busy you will wish you had. Nothing worse than looking for things when you can hear the clock ticking. Take a day or two and spend it getting things in order, it will pay off throughout the season. If you are unable to do anything else right now, be sure to spend a few minutes at the end of every day putting things away. Starting fresh is the best way to start the day.

7 - Maintain a good attitude. Sometimes you will get tired. Sometimes you will feel like everyone is on your last nerve. Sometimes you will wonder at how everything can conspire against you. It always seems to happen when time is sparse. But remember. It’s a good thing to be busy. You are blessed to have the business and it means that you have been doing something right. If you stay positive and continue on this way, you may be getting a chance to create some lifelong customers. Smile. It’s show time :0)

8 - Stay hydrated, well rested, well fed and exercised. It is soooooo tempting to let this stuff go when things start piling up, but it is the worst thing to do. These things are the fuel that keep you going, that keep you fresh and strong to be able to work through the season, and to even enjoy it. Coffee doesn’t cut it. Keep at water bottle by your desk and take a walk or exercise break once a day. You will be amazed at how much better you feel.

9 - Create a schedule. You may already have one. If not, this is not the ideal time to start one, but you will feel the benefits right away. Start before the busy season if possible. A lot of our stress comes from the feeling of lack of control. A schedule and the steady resolve to stick to it gives benefits far beyond the physical. The mental benefits will surprise you. Even if it’s as small as keeping your desk clean at quitting time and working on one top priority daily.

10 - Get away. Once in awhile, even if it means letting something slide, just shut down and get away. It’s the best way to rid your mind of all the things floating in it, and you may be surprised to find that you’ve come up with a few solutions to things that were vexing you. At the very least, you will feel renewed and ready to jump back with vigour. And that’s the best way to be - stress free.

Is Your System a Dinosaur?

It occurred to me not long ago as I was doing a few things around the house that my base of thinking could be updated.

After working at home in one capacity or the other for about a decade now, I realized that I was still in the mind that I was tied at home with the kids.

My kids are 18, 15 and 11.

I think it’s time for a change.

The truth is that I may not change much because I was lucky enough to engineer my work to be exacty what I enjoy doing.

But it hadn’t really occurred to me that I could.

All of the systems that I use are running on the premise that my presence is needed here on an ongoing basis.

While being around for older kids is an entirely different topic, the truth is that there is no longer anyone crying outside of the shower while I finish up in 3 minutes flat, and no one expecting grill cheese with ketchup at 12:00 sharp.

SO WHAT OTHER SYSTEMS COULD BE OUTDATED?

It got me to thinking that a lot of the systems we use, if we use any at all, are based on assumptions and situations based on years, and even decades past.

Eben Pagan gives a good example of this when he tells us that the streets of Boston (which apparently aren’t known for their organization or structure) were originally buffalo paths that were paved over.

Talk about being in a rut!

Or you’ve probably all heard of how they train elephants by chaining them as babies and after a time as they grow, even when they no longer wear chains, they don’t realize that they can run free if they wish.

A FEW QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF TODAY

• Is there anything that I am doing right now that I don’t need to be, that is no longer serving me or that is geared to a circumstance long gone?

• Is there something that I can be doing instead that is better, more productive or more enjoyable?

• Is it time to switch up the template that I’ve been using to engineer my business and/or my life?

SHAKE THE FOUNDATION

For me, a few ways that I could materialize some major change would be…

1 - I have an online natural skin care ingredients business that I’ve been operating from my home for 7 years. I could move to a store in town and expand the whole thing completely.

2 - I could relocate my office to a place in town where they have ‘high speed’ (yes, I really am a dinosaur. High speed is something that I got to use - once - and still dream about daily).

3 - On a smaller scale, they have high speed at the library (I come from such a small town, this is big news. Last week’s headline in the paper was “Bingo closed during investigation”.)

I could take my laptop and go to work a few afternoons at the library if I choose. For that matter, I could go somewhere else to work when ever I want. Such as the beach or a park when it’s nice out or I could get hip and go to a Starbucks (we don’t have one somewhere within 2 hours driving distance, but I could if I wanted to :0)

4 - I could set an example and help my son redecorate his room. For some reason, at 18 he thinks he’s outgrown the Mighty Ducks.

How about you?

What have you always done because you’ve always done it?

And remember, if you’re over 40, you can always claim midlife crisis.

Hmmmm.

Tawanda!

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