Why most entrepreneurs are overwhelmed
Life doesn’t prepare us to be entrepreneurs. In school, we have a limited number of subjects to study, and each subject has a clear objective. Learn the material, and pass the exam.
In entrepreneurship, most have a clear objective: to succeed. But there is little instruction on how to get there.
Starting out, there are many hats to wear. You have to be the product developer, the salesperson, the finance master, and the go-to person for customer complaints. This complexity is overwhelming.
Many entrepreneurs wake up to a to-do list spanning every department of their company. Respond to customer e-mails in the morning, then switch to designing a new product/feature, then jump into bookkeeping, and then focus on social media marketing.
This constant context switching can reduce productivity by up to 40%.
What doesn’t work
Two go-to solutions that don’t work:
Multitasking - You might think that doing many things at once means you are being super productive. But research shows the opposite. Doing several tasks simultaneously tends to reduce efficiency and even causes a drop in your creativity and the quality of your work
Working more hours - I know many who compensate by working more hours. In turn, their quality of life suffers because there’s no work-life balance. Don’t forget: there’s only one life, and how you feel at work will carry over into your free time.
One hat at a time: The power of focus
The solution that works is to wear all hats, but not at the same time.
Embracing this single-tasking lets you dive deeper and finish faster. You will be able to produce better work and likely get it done in less time.
This doesn’t mean you ignore parts of the business, but you divide and conquer your roles through time management.
Think of your day or week in chunks, each dedicated to a particular hat, but keep the chunks as limited as possible; otherwise, you’ll be back to square one. A great example would be:
8 am to 9 am - I am answering e-mails
9 am to 2 pm - I am focusing on a new feature, with lunch as a break
2 pm to 4 pm - I am focused on marketing
Then, protect these time blocks.
Use the Pomodoro technique to stay focused
One popular technique that I’ve used in the past is the Pomodoro technique.
You can customize the length of your work sessions and breaks to match your energy.
Here’s what it might look like:
Each pomodoro (working) session: 55 minutes
Short break: 5 minutes
Long break: 30 minutes (after four pomodoro sessions).
Here’s a free website that you can use: https://pomofocus.io/
Plan your day the night before
Many people struggle to fall asleep because their minds are racing with unfinished tasks and unanswered questions. The truth is, thinking about this when it’s time for your brain to rest isn’t optimal. It is unlikely to make significant progress, and you will end up tired the next day.
If something’s bothering you and feels urgent, assign it to a time block tomorrow. This will give you peace of mind for the night, knowing you have set aside time to figure it out tomorrow.
BUT, what about those of us with kids?
Planning is hard. Planning with kids is impossible.
They don’t really care about your time blocks (and they shouldn’t). So, what’s the solution? There’s a quote I like: A marathon is just one step in front of the other.
If you focus on the length of the marathon, it’s overwhelming. If you focus on taking just one more step, it feels doable. Focus on the next step.
Instead of focusing on the next day or week, make a list of all the tasks that you need to get done, and focus on the first one. It might take you 1 hour, it might take you 4. Once you have that done, focus on the next one.
Delegating
I put this one last, because most starting out cannot afford to delegate, and that’s completely normal.
But over time, it becomes an option. And when it does, start with the hats you don’t need to wear, such as bookkeeping, admin, scheduling, etc. Even a few hours a month of support (from a freelancer or VA) can free you up to focus on what matters most.
Today is the best time to be an entrepreneur.
You don’t have to do it all, all the time. Just the next thing, with intention. If you are stuck, overwhelmed, or need help with brainstorming, reach out to kosta@ristovskiconsulting.com to explore what’s possible.