Yes running a business isn’t easy otherwise everyone would do it, but you don’t have to make it any harder that it needs to be

How many of these 5 ways are you guilty of – be honest!

Thinking about step 946

When you have so much to do, it can seem like there’s no end to the work – especially with your time limited as a busy mum!

One thing a lot of mums make the mistake of doing is thinking so far down the road with tasks that it actually stops you doing anything

You have to view what you do like a baby learning to walk …

They don’t get up one day and suddenly decide to run around the house. They take a relaxed approach that works for them

  • They learn to stand up
  • They start cruising round the furniture
  • They walk with you holding their hands to support them
  • They take a couple of tentative steps before dropping to the floor
  • They keep trying until they get it

What I love is that babies don’t read ‘the book’ so they don’t know that they’re supposed to be walking at a specific age. They do it in their own sweet time and only when THEY are ready. No two babies are the same (all mine walked at different ages)

You need to treat your business like you’re learning to walk – its all about ONE STEP AT A TIME!

Being too hard on yourself when things go wrong

I don’t care what anyone says, things don’t go to plan ALL the time! We all have bad days – technology not working, dodgy internet, sick kids (or you) as well as what seems like a million other things

However, you can’t be too hard on yourself, these things happen, you have no control over it and you deal with it the best way you can!

To flip it round, do you celebrate all the good things that happen, I bet you don’t! Just think about all the little wins that you do all the time that you could be celebrating instead …

  • Ticking off that task you’ve been putting off for far too long
  • Making a sale
  • Launching your new product or programme
  • Getting your newsletter out on time

There’s lots of things you can celebrate so start focusing your attention there and not on the negative

Letting overwhelm take over

Overwhelm can be such a paralysing feeling and can stop you in your tracks if you let it!

This is probably the most common issue busy mums have as there’s so much that needs to be done to run a successful business as well as the mum role.

Here’s 3 things to do to go from overwhelm to clarity …

Do a Brain Dump
Some people don’t like the term Brain Dump but I love it – just think of it like a download. This takes everything out of your head and on to a piece of paper. Every single task, every idea you have, write it down. Think about projects you want to do, what are the tasks involved.

What happens is you’re literally freeing up space in your head so you’re not feeling so stressed that things haven’t been done. You now have this master list which you can use to prioritise the work that will move you closer to your goals and bring money into the business – we all want that don’t we?

This isn’t a complicated task, literally write down what’s in your head. For example, if you have a new product, what work do you need to do to launch it etc?

Prioritise Work
Once you’ve done your Brain Dump, I tend to split mine into three categories that suit my life – personal / home, home education, business.

You then need to go through everything and prioritise the tasks that you need to be doing first. The key here is to ask yourself 2 questions:

  • Will this bring money into the business?
  • Will this move me closer to achieving my goal?

If the answer to either of those questions are no, then you don’t focus time at the moment for that task … or you delegate the work to get it done (or even delete it).

Congratulations, you’ve now created your to do list!

Break Your to Do List into Chunks of Time
Whether your children are at school, nursery, childminder or home, you only have a set amount of time each day to actually get stuff done!

One thing that my clients have found helped them so much is to break tasks down into small chunks that will take 5, 10 or 30 minutes to complete. They can then easily manage what work they can get done in the time they have available.

For example, writing this article could be a few 5 minute chunks of time by focusing on writing just a section at a time – as opposed to thinking it’s a huge job in my mind, I’m writing just one section which makes it so much easier to think about.

Thinking you have to do it on your own

A support team is something I recommend all my lovely mums build as it really does help you to build your thriving business

So who could be on your support team?

⭐️ Virtual Assistant ⭐️

A virtual assistant (VA) is a self employed professional providing administrative, secretarial and creative services on a remote basis. VA’s work with a variety of different clients helping them in their businesses on an ad hoc, regular or individual project basis.

Outsource your routine administration so that you can focus on product creation and marketing activities to build your business.

⭐️ Cleaner ⭐️

This doesn’t need much explanation!

As busy mums, we have so much ‘stuff’ to do for our family, never mind adding a business to the mix. Getting a cleaner may sound like a luxury but i say it is essential as it will free up a lot more time than you realise so you can get your business moving.

I have a 2 amazing ladies who come fortnightly and it’s always a favourite day after they’ve been as I have a shiny clean house 💟

⭐️ Childcare ⭐️

I always tell my clients that childcare must be the first type of support you need to bring on board as you need some dedicated no child zone time to work on your business. Even if it is only a few hours a week, it is something that you need to look at quickly.

Who are you going to get on your support team first?

Comparing yourself to others

I want to make some things crystal clear right from the off …

  • There is no shame in feeling overwhelmed
  • It doesn’t make you a failure
  • You can and will get through it!

I don’t know why, as mums, we put so much pressure on ourselves. With everything going on in our lives its no wonder there’s an epidemic of stressed out mums trying to be superwoman getting everything done.

But here’s the thing, you can’t balance everything (work, children, home, family, friends, taxi, hobbies all the time) and you shouldn’t even try as that just leads to feelings of failure which isn’t fair on you 😳

Instead, realise that there will be times when certain things have to take a back seat while you focus on other things but that is ok, it’s manageable and will reduce any stress levels amazingly well 💟

Here’s some simple things you can do today to help get rid of your overwhelm:

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

This is not a case of keeping up with the Jones’, you just need to keep up with you and your family.

You’ve also got to realise that what you see with other people isn’t the real truth – social media is just the highlights and not the tantrums, even your friends and family don’t have all their shit together all the time!

Find What Works for You

When it comes to you and your business, this is where you need to be selfish and make everything work for you. Remember that what works for one person, might not work for you!

How can you make things work for you:

  • Think about your workspace and what will help you be productive
  • What time of the day are you most productive so you can focus on this time to get your best work done
  • What can you delegate or delete from your plate right now, get others on board to help you and make sure you do actually ask for help!

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