Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 18: Dealing with Overwhelm

Dealing with Overwhelm by Rick White, President 180BIZ

It's really important to understand what people are dealing with at different times.  It’s OVERWHELM. Overwhelm happens regularly, especially in stressful situations. And overwhelm is going to come in two different ways.

1. You try to make something happen and it just won’t go right.  This causes you to get overwhelmed.  Let's deal with this situation first. There's a lot of people right applying for the SBA loans. And the overwhelm comes when they can't get everything they need together. They need financial information from their accountant who is bombarded with requests.  They can’t complete the SBA Loan application until the accountant gets back to them.  This is overwhelming. Here’s something that may help you to overcome that overwhelming feeling. 

1. Recognize it. Stand up. Breathe. Put your shoulders back and chin up. Don your SUPERHERO pose. I've talked about that before. Google Amy Cuddy’s Superhero Pose.  Take a couple of deep breaths just in for six seconds, hold it for six seconds, let it out for six seconds, and hold it for six seconds.  Repeat that a few times.  When we get overwhelmed, we tend to breathe erratically or sometimes even stop breathing. So, try it, it does make a difference.
2. Give yourself a hug on the inside. It might sound silly, but this helps.  Let yourself know that it will be okay.
3. Recognize what you can control and what you can’t control. For example, if you called your accountant and left a message. That might be all you can do right now.  It’s okay.  You can’t control when your accountant calls you back.  You can stress the urgency in your message, but you can’t control the accountant.  Recognize that there are other players involved.  Don’t set yourself up for failure by unreasonable expectations.  You may want it done today, but you can’t expect it done today.

1. The second type of overwhelm is when you can’t see the forest for the trees.  I see it all the time and honestly, I was 100% there this morning. I woke up this morning thinking people are asking me about the stimulus package, and I need to get more information about it. I need to work on growth strategies, and I must touch base with every one of my clients today. We’re starting a new Inner Circle coaching group because of this Coronavirus and there are lots of preliminary steps with that so that no shop gets left behind.  I woke up overwhelmed thinking about all the things that I had to do with so little time in the day.  It’s been nonstop lately.  I was trying to figure out how to eat the whole elephant instead of eating it one bite at a time.  The first two steps are the same as above.

1. Recognize it. Stand up. Breathe. Superhero pose.
2. Give yourself a hug.
3. Brain Dump. Write down all the things that are weighing on you, all the things that you have to do. Dump it out onto the paper.  Don’t overthink it, just write everything down.
4. Categorize by Role. Write what role you are playing when you do each thing.  For example, I am a business owner, a business coach, a husband, a father, and so on.  The group each item by role.
5. Identify which Role Needs Immediate Attention. Circle which of these roles needs your attention most right now. Pick that role and prioritize the items in that list.  Then just begin working on one thing at a time.  Before you know it, your list won’t be so big.
6. Create Your Plan for Tomorrow. Plan the next day before you go home today.  Don’t take the business home with you. You must give yourself a break.    Every problem that you have at the shop today, will be there tomorrow.  If you have a plan the night before, you can forget it until tomorrow. Then, tomorrow you can work the plan.  So, go home, recharge, heal.  Go home and fill up with the love of your family and pets.  Give yourself this gift so you can go to work tomorrow feeling refreshed, alive, and ready to go.

The Tip for the day is HIGHLIGHT.  What I mean by that is to highlight one small business every day. Make a video talking about your experience with that business, such as a store or restaurant.  Then post it to your Facebook page and tag that business.  Let people know where that business is located and ask them to like the Facebook page of that business. Be sure you like their page, as well.   So, every day give one small business a shout out.  Be sure to tag them and direct your followers to their page.  This will help support the businesses in your community.  People will appreciate it and you're going to be amazed.  

It’s a beautiful day here in Virginia, but you know something.  My weather comes from inside. It's always sunny and 70 degrees. Have a great day. God bless.