FROM FRANTIC TO FOCUSED – HOW TO QUICKLY REDUCE OVERWHELM

Most women I meet in this insanely noisy online business world are in a state of overwhelm – they’re trying to do too much too soon and in no particular order.

They’re distracted, unfocussed and have absolutely no clear direction.

It’s understandable, but also completely avoidable.

Business is quite simple really:

You need something to sell and a way to get your stuff to the people who want to buy.

So if you take a look at your business right now, is it clear exactly what you sell, who wants to buy it, and how you get it to them?

There’s loads of Fancy-Dan stuff you can add over time, but if you’re running around like a headless chicken and still not making a consistent income from your online business – it’s time to cut out the noise and get back to those basics.

Here’s what I suggest:

Take a Digital Detox Day, grab some paper and markers, brainstorm your:

» Mission, Vision, Values

» Coaching/Service Methodology

» Dream Client Niche

Then leave it all and go for a lovely long walk in nature On Your Own.

Let it all mull around. No judgement on any thoughts, feelings, ideas. Just let it flow.

Go back to your papers and outline:

» One Offer you know your dream clients NEED and will LOVE

» One Asset that will attract them to your offer (like some free training, a quiz, a challenge, a lead magnet)

» One Platform your clients enjoy and from where you can promote your Offer & Asset

Once you’ve got that, Congratulations – you’ve got the core foundations for a scalable online business.

I know I’m simplifying it here, but that’s because it can be quite simple really….

In this blog I’m sharing some of the ways heart-centred women are overcoming the overwhelm and moving from frantic to focussed:

STICK TO TELLING YOUR OWN STORY

Are you telling your own story or someone else’s?

It’s easy to spend so much time watching what someone else is doing that you begin to believe their way is the only way.

This is especially easy when that someone is a little way ahead of you on their journey, you really admire their brand and completely align with their overall ‘vibe’.

Seeking a bit of inspo here and there is a great strategy – it helps you keep moving forward and refining your offer, but it becomes destructive when you and your business become a pale imitation of someone else’s.

If you feel you’ve veered too far off track, if you sense you’re business has moved out of alignment with who YOU are, if you’ve changed stuff so many times even you don’t know what you offer anymore…

TAKE A BREATH.

Slow everything right down and go back to basics:

» Your mission, vision, and values

» Your gifts, expertise, skills, and passions

» Who you love working with and why

» What solutions you’re best qualified to offer

These are the core foundational pieces of your business that really need to come from you.

Only then will you be building a business that feels aligned and authentic to the rest of us…and trust me – we feel your energy.

If you’ve gone too far off the path to find your way back alone, consider joining me in Five Figure Foundations – it’s my wonderfully intimate and highly supported business-growth mentoring program where I guide purpose-driven women to build soul-lead, freedom filled online coaching businesses, and there are some fresh new places just opening up this March.

KNOW WHEN TO SWITCH-OFF

There are times I’m like a huge sponge and just want to soak up as much information and inspiration as I can get my hands on.

I gorge on ideas and insights, eagerly taking notes and thinking of ways I can apply stuff that excites me to my business or to help my clients.

At other times I’m Full.

The thought of even reading a social media post feels like too much. I delete unread emails. Unsubscribe from lists. And stay away from the socials.

I accept both of these times for what they are, and have learned to go with the flow.

I think this is an important lesson for us Soulpreneurs…

As natural ‘seekers’ we probably spend more time than most filling our knowledge cup and it’s one of our absolutely favourite things to do.

But because of this we also go to extremes – seeking is our comfort zone so we can find it hard to recognise when our cup is overflowing.

Keep going and we quickly fall into overwhelm and energetic depletion…and we begin to shut-down completely.

The secret, I’ve found, is to recognise when you’re full. When your cup is just at the brim. And to stop. To rest. To assimilate. To interpret what we’ve learned.

This time is precious – it’s when we make magic with what we’ve learned.

It’s when we turn it into something extraordinary.

It’s when our energy can expand further and we step deeper into our limitless potential.

If we keep letting our cup overflow, we keep shutting down, and each time it takes a little more energy to get fired back up again.

REPURPOSE ALL CONTENT (ACTUALLY, REPURPOSE EVERYTHING!)

Are you stuck on The Content-Creation Hamster-Wheel of Hell??? 👹 🐹

Sounds extreme…but if you’re on it, you’ll relate.

Eat Sleep Content Repeat

If you’re spending hours every day writing fresh content, creating graphics, sharing and scheduling across platforms – you’re well and truly On-The-Wheel 🎡

How tired are your little legs from all that running?

How much is your head spinning from watching that wheel go round?

Here’s your permission slip to Get Off The Damn Wheel!

So what now? Here’s what:

Decide on your Content Pillars – the themes you talk about all the time that relate to your offers

Brainstorm some topic ideas that fall under those Content Pillars and make a note of them (tip: type your pillar theme into Pinterest and use the headings that pop up as inspo!)

Pick a Pillar / Topic theme for each week of the month, then do this:

On Monday write & schedule 6 Social Media Posts about that theme; save text and images in a central place; cut and paste them all into one Blog; schedule to share the blog link next week; create a Pinterest Pin for blog; schedule to share your posts in relevant facebook groups over the coming months; share your Blog and overall thoughts in your weekly email.

In a few months time, when you’re sharing about this Pillar / Topic again, or when you’re giving some training, or writing a guest post, or being interviewed on a podcast…give your post a little refresh and repurpose them all.

Literally – that’s an entire Content Strategy in 4 lines. And it should only take you a couple of hours on Monday to set-it-and-forget-it.

How does that feel?

My 10 X Everything Philosophy is deeply embedded in my Content Strategy and it helped me break free of that damn content-wheel-nightmare For Good!

CHECK YOUR OVERWHELM AT THE DOOR WITH THIS LIST:

If you are in a state of overwhelm you need to act fast. Remaining in this state has no positive outcome.

Follow the below steps to quickly reduce your overwhelm and move into a different frame of mind for the week ahead:

I hope you’ve found these tips to move from frantic to focussed really helpful, and would love to hear which you’ll be putting into practice.

My inbox is always open, so let me know where you are and what you’ll be changing – sally@sallyoddy.com