Surrender, Dorthy!

Do you
ever have those times when you’re neck deep in personal things and business
commitments that you feel like you’re sinking in quicksand?

Despite my best efforts, that’s where I have been the last couple of weeks.

I probably shouldn’t share that with you because I know that some of you
tell me that you are “in awe” at how much I get done and still
keep a level head. But as a friend said to me this week as I found myself
lamenting to her: “So you mean you’re human?”

Human indeed.

The truth is that when we’re so overwhelmed with things, our energy is not
clear for us to do our best work or to show up authentically with our
families, friends and clients. I have a lot of strategies I use to get out
of overwhelm including meditating, exercising, sleeping and so forth.

Another part of my strategy is finding people who can help me with my list
of things to do when I know that I need help to clear the decks and reclaim
my sanity. If you do not have a list, I hope this will provide you with
inspiration to go out there and create one!

Spouse

My husband is very detail oriented. He gets to handle the accounting and
some technical aspects of my business. However, because he works a
full-time job, I’m careful not to over task him since we really strive to
have as much family time as possible. But again, he enjoys being involved
in my business so it’s a win-win situation. If your spouse has a skill that
you can tap into, it may be worth doing so, if only for a short stint.

Parent

I am very lucky to have my mother living close to me. She helps me in my
business every week. And she doesn’t charge me! Big bonus! I’ve tapped into
her administrative skills more times than I can count. If your parents live
close to you and are retired and willing to do a bit of work, why not ask?
I find that many parents are willing to do things to help their children
succeed when they can.

Friend

While I don’t call on friends to help me with my business, I do call on
them for other things. One example is that I find it difficult to find time
to exercise. While this may not seem like a business goal, I know that I
need physical exercise to stay clear headed. I have a friend who comes to
my house once a week and we walk for 45 minutes before our kids get up.
Yes, these are very early mornings and it’s not fun to be outside when it’s
5 degrees, but it helps both of us maintain our energy and focus.

Virtual Assistant
(VA)

I have VA team that helps me with everything from administrative and
personal assistance to social media and beyond. Having people on my team is
essential to staying afloat. If you could offload just one task to someone
on a regular basis, what would it be? Common answers I hear are accounting,
marketing and returning routine calls.

Neighbor

My first experience with outsourcing any work happened to be with a
neighbor. She is a stay at home mom with three young children. We were
talking one day and she mentioned that she would like to get her feet wet
again in the business world but couldn’t commit to a lot of time. My ear
perked up when she said this because I was getting ready to send out a
large mailing. I didn’t want to do the mail merge, print the letters,
address and stuff the envelopes and take them to the post office. On a
whim, I asked her if she would be interested. Much to my amazement, she
jumped at the opportunity! It was a win-win. I have hooked on outsourcing
since that day. Don’t forget the resources in your ‘hood!

Students

I have hired high school and college students to do work for me around the
house as well as project work for my business. I’ve outsourced everything
from yard work and cleaning the garage to creating spreadsheets, pie carts
and library research. Who do you know who could help run errands or do some
simple work that will give you some breathing room?

Your Children

If you have children who can help you do things like filing, stapling,
sorting, and so forth, then take advantage of it! I remember doing a lot of
this kind of work for my mother when I was in high school. I enjoyed it and
even put it on my first resume and it helped me land my first office job.

When all of this fails and we just can’t seem to get ahead, it’s up to us
to either continue deal with it, or decide to release it. “Surrender
Dorothy” from The Wizard of Oz is a phrase I hear in my head
frequently when I just can’t seem to pull something together. Surrendering
a particular task or even an entire to do list is just what needs to happen
sometimes. I have come to the grand conclusion that truly, the world will
go on just fine if I surrender, even if only for one day.