What’s keeping you up at night?

26 Oct

Most of us, the businessowners, the self-employed, the Directors, CEOs - whatever the name, we all have this one fact in common - we’ve lost sleep over our business.

BUT WHY? And, more importantly, can we do anything about it?

Here’s some good news for you - YES, we can do something about it.

First, let’s look at the stats and the the reasons behind them:

According to studies by Mind Your Business and the NHS, A third of small business owners are operating on less than five hours sleep a night, which is significantly less than the amount needed for a healthy lifestyle. Financial worries and concerns about the future of their business are highlighted as the main reasons for keeping them awake.

Now, safeguarding your business’ financial future is undoubtedly Job One. Top priority at all times. But it can also feel overwhelming, while you juggle the hundreds of tasks that together form the puzzle that is lead generation.

It comes as no surprise then, that overwhelm, in its many forms, is oft quoted as the reason we can’t peacefully drift off into a full-night’s sleep.

Let’s break it down - what is overwhelm?

You know that feeling when you’re too stressed to think straight, perhaps staring blankly at a wall? (Or crying at frozen chips on my kitchen floor… hello, me in a rather toxic work environment). Overwhelm can be equalled to stress (the bad type, not the light pressure that helps you get sh*t done), but it’s much more than that - it’s the feeling of being overpowered, overcome. Also swamped, overloaded, inundated - in short, the moment and feeling of defeat, or the famous ‘I need more hours in the day’, as you’ve already identified whatever tasks you’re trying to accomplish, are simply not doable.

Not great, is it?… It’s a foul feeling of powerlessness and in my personal experience, it feels very uncomfortable under my skin. I’m very solutions-forward (shocking, I know, for a Business Solutions Specialist…), so I don’t take very kindly to anything that can result in me feeling too frozen, or overpowered, to take action.

Now, you’ll be interested to hear that overwhelm can build slowly and can have warning signs - can you recognise them in yourself and intervene?

Here’s some examples of what early overwhelm may feel like - and what to look out for:

short-term thinking

poor prioritisation, working on the wrong things
crushed creativity
micromanagement/perfectionism - it feels like you have greater control
procrastination in decision-making and taking action
forgetfulness & worrying

Now, why bother breaking all this down, tuning in to some early signs, looking for trouble one might say? Well, let’s take it back to the lack of sleep I mentioned at the start…

It’s simple science that on inadequate amounts of sleep, we very quickly become emotionally dysregulated (short-tempered, irritable, impatient), our memory suffers, our logical thinking suffers, and so does our creativity and productivity; On less sleep, we’re far more likely to get stressed and overwhelmed. And if we’re chronically stressed and overwhelmed… we won’t get restful sleep. The loop closes, and we’re the biggest loser, even if all we are guilty of, is doing our best in an incredibly challenging system, environment, or economic climate.

So what can we do to manage overwhelm?

REFLECT - Identify the cause
Does your marketing drain your creativity and fuel your inner imposter? Lead generation and funnels give you nightmares (those times that you can sleep, anyway), or perhaps looking at your income forecasting has you deep-cleaning your oven in straight-up avoidance?
Enough.
This is your sign to get your head out of the sand, grab a notebook, and take time to reflect. Write down the elements of your business you currently handle and rate them in order of your favourites, or maybe what you feel most competent at - whatever system, the idea is to reflect on what you can handle happily, and what sends you running for the hills, no matter how much you self-educate.

REACT - Take thoughtful action
Time to outsource. If you can’t currently afford long-term help, can you at least get one-off support? (Like my 60 mins Clarity Call or the Online Presence Audit - standalone services with no ongoing contract). If you don’t currently have it in your budget, I recommend adding to your financial goals - you can’t be an expert at everything after all!
And for the time being, reach out to a fellow entrepreneur for a skillswap - what can you do for their business, in exchange for help on yours? Work smarter, future you will thank you.
I also recommend giving thought to your schedule - are you mindful about when you do particular tasks? Can challenging aspects of your business become marginally easier if you did them first thing, while you still have the energy and patience? Or do you thrive in the evening, get your second wind sometime around 5pm and suddenly creativity flows? Lean in to your natural rhythms and rejig your day ahead of time, whenever you can.

REST - More than sleeping
Resting isn’t just being still - there are in fact 7 types of rest (read all about them HERE, a great summary by Founder of Wild Coworking, Jess) and the key is being able to tune in to yourself and read the signs of which rest you need. For example, I now know that after a day of working within the marketing space and coming up with snazzy, shiny solutions, I most often need sensory and creative rest.
But back to our precious sleep…
I want you to make a promise to yourself to fall back in love with your wind-down routine. Don’t have one? Get one! I can’t recommend it enough. 20 minutes of reading, low, warm light in your bedroom, no social media at least an hour before bed! That’s just my way, you need to find what makes your nervous system find its balance again. Maybe yoga and meditation are your thing, maybe earplugs, eye mask and total silence, to break away from the constant noise of the household. Whatever floats your sleepy boat - give yourself a week, or two, and be really strict with your new routine.

Break the cycle of overwhelm, and the true pathway to levelling up your business will reveal itself. But stay on the hamster wheel of “do -> stress -> barely sleep -> repeat” is serving no one.

Least of all you, the caring, passionate business genius you are.

Do you have good ways of tackling overwhelm? Or perhaps you’ve tried mine? Let me know on my socials!