My COOL Method for Overcoming Overwhelm
Keeping yourself COOL this summer? Are you overwhelmed or are you just busy?
I often hear entrepreneurs saying that they are overwhelmed – but what’s interesting is that I don’t often hear this statement from advanced entrepreneurs.
Advanced entrepreneurs say that they’re busy.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with saying that you’re overwhelmed.
Typically when you’re overwhelmed, it means that you have so many different items on your plate that you don’t even know where to start.
But the truth is, as an entrepreneur, you want to have a lot of items on your plate. You want to be busy. Your goal is learning how to prioritize the items on your plate so that you can work through them.
Sometimes, though, when we see that to-do list in front of us, we freeze, and then in that freezing we procrastinate. We don’t get things done, we don’t know how to prioritize, and then time goes by and we’re left wondering why we haven’t made much progress towards our goals.
So how do you get out of that frozen state, that procrastination state?
One of the acronyms I like to use here is my COOL method for overcoming overwhelm.
C stands for choice. A lot of times when we’re overwhelmed or super busy, we enter victim mode.
We think, Why is this happening to me? Why do I have to do this?
In times like these, we have to remember that we chose the situation that we’re in. You chose to be in business.
When I get overwhelmed with events, one of the first things I say to myself is, Monica, you chose to do this event. No one told you that you have to do it.
In fact, you’re reaping all of the benefits of being in front of these amazing people, sharing your wisdom, and getting to do the thing you love.
You chose this, and the minute you are truly unhappy, you can un-choose it.
This thinking immediately gets me out of the victim state and into a powerful state.
Remember – you choose what you’re doing every day, and if you don’t want to do it, you can make a different choice.
O stands for organize. Take some time to organize your to-do list, even if it takes you a couple of hours.
If you’ve got a really long to-do list, start by organizing it into business and personal.
Organize the business tasks into the four D’s: what needs to be done now, what can be deferred until later, what can be delegated to someone else, and what can be deleted.
Once you start really organizing that list, it gives you a little bit more space to breathe.
The second O is for offload.
I teach that you should only pursue three goals per quarter.
Sometimes it’s important to offload – to decide to put a goal on hold until next quarter or even next year.
Letting things go creates space that helps you focus in on your three goals – and also helps you feel like you can breathe.
L stands for leaning in. Lean into one task at a time. It can be so easy to get really overwhelmed when you think of the fact that there are 15 tasks in front of you.
I remember when I was hiring a salesperson for the first time this year. I felt frozen looking at all of the 15-some steps I had to do to get this person on board.
I remember thinking, Okay, lean into the first step. Only think about the first step until that step is done, then think about the second step, then the third step.
Leaning into just one task – taking things step by step – makes life so much easier.
So this week, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, remember the COOL acronym: Choice, Organize, Offload, and Lean in.
Remember that you chose to do this. Organize the tasks on your to-do list into the four D’s. Offload the tasks that you don’t need to focus on right now. Lean in to the first step of the task that’s in front of you.
This strategy will make you feel a lot cooler in these upcoming months.
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