I heard it from my clients today.
“Help! I’m feeling overwhelmed.”
We have just started the process of building their personal brands. Key to that process is publishing their thought leadership.
Everyone’s “stuff” is starting to come up.
That is totally okay.
I get it.
I’m overwhelmed right now.
I’m currently in the process of taking out a life insurance policy.
As someone born to immigrants, it bothers me that I don’t have generational wealth to pass on after my death.
However, I DO have a partner.
Matt jokingly asked me the other day, “If something ever happened to you, would I have to like, teach your Mastermind?”
I am recording all my Standard Operating Procedures (or SOPs) in my Notion.so. As I grow in my leadership, I am documenting this so I can delegate more things.
But in all seriousness, his question also prompted me to approach a financial advisor to buy a policy.
If nothing else, I leave him with something.
But the paperwork! My god. It’s a mountain and I would rather lust after curtains and carpets to decorate my home right now.
But there are a few steps before that.
Here is the 5C framework.
1️⃣ Catch – Notice the overwhelm before it spirals. What are the signs?
I’m a product of Asian tiger parents, so when I USED to feel overwhelmed, I would automatically default to this script: “You’re a failure.”
That statement is absolutely not true and I’ve done enough inner work, that voice and statement no longer haunts me. (THANK GOD)
I also, ask myself, “Where in my body am I feeling this overwhelm?”
Is it in my stomach? Is it because my heart is racing? Are my ears hot?
Identifying, where, also helps me.
2️⃣ Clarify – What exactly is causing the overwhelm? List it out. Is it too many tasks? Unclear priorities? A feeling of incompetence? Naming it reduces its power.
For me, I dump everything I have to do onto a 11x17 sketch pad.
I say a sketch pad because it has enough surface area for me to write as much as I want.
It used to be, the genesis of the overwhelm was looking at that monster list and not knowing where to start.
So now, I take a tiny post-it note the night before, and list 3 things that HAVE to get done the next day.
The night before, I’m in a different mind frame, so I have more clarity on the “must have’s” that move the needle on my bigger goals vs the “nice to have’s.”
I stick that post it note on my computer and it’s my ‘north star’ for the day.
3️⃣ Chunk – Break it down into smaller, manageable pieces. Focus on just the next step. Instead of "I have too much to do," shift to "What’s the one thing I can do right now?"
What I do instead is chunk the big task of filing all the paperwork for life insurance, down into little ones, that are achievable.
I’ll project manage it out on paper (maybe on my sketch pad). I’ll do one thing each day, say, over the course of this week, versus one day.
That helps cut down on the overwhelm.
4️⃣ Cut – Remove or defer anything nonessential. Can something wait? Can you delegate? Often, overwhelm isn’t about the amount of work but the lack of discernment about what truly matters.
The example I often cite is Michelangelo when he was carving the statue of David.
The marble that would eventually become “David” lay fallow in the monastery yard for years. Michelangelo lobbied to turn that slab into something.
The church obliged. Michelangelo knew that if he completed this project, it would be his 10x quantum leap. He would get much bigger commissions if he knocked this out of the park.
In the process of creating greatness, he removed anything from the slab of marble that ‘wasn’t David.”
This is where quiet time becomes really important. What is the bigger thing you are after? What do you need to remove that isn’t ‘David?’
In fact, once the statue was unveiled in Florence, was when the big commissions, including the Sistine Chapel came in for Michelangelo.
One more point I will make here: As a business owner, energy management is my top job. I won’t have bandwidth to handle the major crises otherwise.
On my Calendly link for sales calls, I have a deal breaker question: Mine happens to inquire about a person’s ability to work with and pay for my services.
If the person answers ‘no,’ or doesn’t book on the link, that is information and I can decide to take the call or not, based on the answer.
Energy management.
5️⃣ Calibrate – Regulate your nervous system. Breathe deeply.
I’ll leave you with what my Israeli yoga teacher who did privates with me through the entire pandemic would say, “BREATHE!”
I didn’t know how much I was holding my breath until I had a militant yoga teacher like him. Now I have returned to a mainstream studio and don’t work with him anymore, but I still hear his voice:
“BREATHE!”
Instead of "I can’t do this," I say "I am doing the best I can, with what I’ve got."
I find myself at a funny crossroads. What is my next chapter? I can't figure it out
Sure, we have all been there. I was there when I was working on my business the entire time in between my shots on television. When my final station was undergoing a merger, that was my sign to go full time on my business and put TV on the side burner.
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