Overwhelm Archives - Dr Tess Crawley

When you feel like setting goals is putting too much pressure on yourself to “achieve”, it tells me you’re already overwhelmed by all that you have to do in your business.

You feel pressured from all sides.

You feel there are a thousand decisions (big and small) to be made.

You feel isolated within your own team, because no one else quite “gets” the pressure you’re under.

You feel like you’re always chasing your tail.

You feel hamstrung financially, trying to be wise for the future while knowing you need to meet the needs of today.

You feel guilty because you want to offer more to your team, but you just can’t.

You feel guilty because you want to offer more time to your family.

But here’s the thing. Taking time to nut out a bit of a forward plan will help you with the overwhelm. It will help you become more strategic in a number of ways.

Know the difference between what is your role and what to delegate.

Know what can wait.

Know what is strategically aligned to your goals.

Know how to recognise someone else’s distracting priority (so you can say no).

Know in advance the general structure for your days, weeks, and months.

Know you can take time out for your family.

Know your business will survive if you turn your phone off while you do strategic planning.

Know your inbox can wait.

Treat goal-setting as a navigational mission. Your big picture goal is your ultimate destination. Your medium and shorter-term goals are your navigational aids.

Take an hour with a coffee to set yourself some goals that can act as your guide, your scaffolding, your structure to help you reach you bigger picture vision.

And if goal setting seems too big a task, start with a simple ‘brain dump’ to declutter your mind. You can always come back to your notes later and sort them into something tangible.

Much love,

Tess

Starting a Business

When you are thinking about starting a business, the choices can be overwhelming.

Do I go it alone or bring in a partner?

Should I start as a company or a sole trader?

You’re so scared to get it wrong that you hesitate starting. You’re so worried about making the wrong choice that you do nothing. Or you lie awake at night losing sleep over what might happen in the future. Stop it!

There is no set structure to how a business startup looks.

Sole trader. Solopreneur. Small group business. Partnership. Co-operative. World-dominating conglomerate

The choice is yours. And that feels overwhelming, I know. But the good news is what you choose today doesn’t have to be your choice forever. Go with what feels right for you right now.

Ask yourself this ... How do I feel about the idea of managing other people? This is one simple way of choosing your starting point.

Here’s another question ... What can I delegate? Get the stuff you hate off your plate so you can focus on the bits you love. This will help you maintain your energy, avoid burnout, and let you focus on the right kind of growth.

You can start your business in one guise and grow into another. You can start as a sole trader and then become a company (that’s what I did). You can do everything yourself or you can hire team. Or you can start with team and then decide to go it alone.

No one is going to take your first born child if you change your mind!

This is my point about business growth ... Growth is not just about how big your business gets, it’s also how you grow as a business owner. How you learn what works best for you.

It takes time to grow into your business ownership role. It takes time to learn what works for you and what doesn’t.

It takes time to try things out, make mistakes, learn from those, incorporate that learning, and try something else.

Above all, there is no one-size-fits-all perfect model of business. It doesn’t exist. So stop looking for it and get out there and just try.

Much love,

Tess x

Dr Tess Crawley

Tess is an Australian clinical and forensic psychologist with over 20 years' experience in such diverse areas as community mental health, the prison system, perinatal mental health, university lecturing, and private practice.

Tess has a PhD in clinical psychology, has published one business-related book and is in the midst of writing a second. She is also a former actor, which some say explains a lot! In fact, she met her husband of 30+ years while they were involved in a Melbourne stage production of Macbeth (also explains a lot!).