An amazing question came up recently in the Natupreneur Hub where a lovely practitioner was seeking advice on strategies to manage overwhelm in business, and I want to address this because it’s a prominent issue in our profession.
Overwhelm is something I see all the time with the praccies I mentor who come through the Natupreneur Journey. And I have experienced it time and time again as a practitioner myself.
How do you do it all?
It’s really easy to run into overwhelm as a practitioner.
Here’s the question that came up in the Hub under our #askanyday hashtag (use #askanyday in the group to get your questions answered whenever you choose to ask!):
“I need to share my overwhelm in my business. How do you do it all? From being a successful multi-modality practitioner, skilled blog-post writer, an IT-savvy business builder on your website, updating plugins, creating SEO, managing company finances, taxes, recipes, claims, receipts, dealing with the ATO, people’s complaints, clinic management and mastering, and so much more!“
Wearing 10 hats on one head gives us a headache sometimes, right? I couldn’t agree more.
So I want to have the conversation. If you have a tip to share on this topic, pop it into the comments because I’d love to hear your strategies to manage overwhelm!
7 Strategies To Manage Overwhelm
I’ve got seven tips for you. I teach these in the Natupreneur Journey and at NatEx. I want to share them with you because they are game-changers as long as you do them with regularity.
Overwhelm can just creep up on you. It’s like this, this, THIS, THIS and all of a sudden – you’re completely overwhelmed!
Even if we try to bring it down a little bit, it’ll keep creeping up. So it’s really something that you’ve got to get right back down so you’ve got a bit of space and can avoid that overwhelm all the time.
So here are my seven tips.
Tip #1: Know your Zone of Genius and Stay In It.
Zone of Genius is a term that comes from the book, The Big Leap, by Gay Hendricks. This is an amazing game changer book that no entrepreneur should live without. It’s a really cool book to understand how our mindset works in the context of creating a business and life that we are really excited about.
Your Zone of Genius is the thing that you are amazing at, that nobody else can do just like you.
You might also have a Zone of Excellence, where everybody else thinks you’re really great at that thing. And other people can do it, but you feel like it’s just not your “one true thing.”
Then there is the Zone of Great and Good, which are things you are pretty good at or just good enough to get it done. These are your outer zones.
Identify your Zone of Genius
Let’s look at the list of things from the question. So you might be good at writing a blog post, and creating and putting that post up on your website.
But your Zone of Genius is where you are a genius at what you do and nobody does it quite the way you do.
I’ll use myself as an example. I used to have a zone of good for blog post writing. Writing isn’t really my thing. But I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I would of go over it and over and over it. I’m great at speaking. So I’m on here every week sharing my tips and tricks with you guys. And I’m great at that bit.
My zone of excellence comes in when I’m teaching something. So I can speak, but if I’m teaching something, I move from great to excellent.
But my true Zone of Genius is if I can get you into a different environment (not online, not in your normal home). If I can bring you overseas, or take you up to NatEx and take you out of your environment, then I can teach you and share with you all of this lovely juiciness in a completely different environment and totally immerse you in it. That’s my zone of genius.
Now, as a practitioner, my zone of genius was to be able to explain really complex things in an easy to understand way. My background is medical science. So whenever I had something that I could I show people a picture of (my tool of choice was a microscope), I could explain it in ways that they could understand. That was my zone of genius.
My zone of excellence as a naturopath was I could get the right remedies for the right people at the right time. But other people can do that. But the way that I used to describe things around cells, cell structure, systems, processes, biochemical pathways, was something very unique to me, that was my zone of genius.
You’ve got a zone of excellence. Other people can do it and you can do it as well. But it’s not your best, best stuff.
Another example is a practitioner I know who is an extraordinary lecturer. She’s also an amazing practitioner, particularly for women. So lecturer practitioner, particularly for women. But she’s got an absolute sign of genius when it comes to vaginal microbiome and anything vaginal related. That’s why she’s got the intimate ecology group and trainings to go with that, because that’s her zone of genius. Nobody else that I know does it like she does.
What is Your Zone of Genius?
So this is the thing you need to figure out. What, in your business and your practice, is your zone of genius?
Knowing your Zone of Genius is a game-changer for keeping you out of overwhelm. Because then your main priority is to do that thing. For those other things that you’re good or great at, you can pay someone else to do.
I know. You’re freaking out right now, especially if you’re at the beginning of their practice. “Oh, my goodness, I have to pay somebody.” Yes.
Tip #2: You’re Not an Island
So number two is knowing that you’re not an island. There can be a team around you. You don’t have to do this by yourself.
If you are in a team, staying in your zone of genius is going to make you the most amount of money, impact, and the most shift for the person that you’re helping. The other thing is, other people have their own zone of genius in those other things.
Your Zone of Genius also comes along with an element of time slipping away when you’re in it. When I’m explaining things, time slips away for me. When you’re doing your amazing healing talent or whatever happens to be your zone of genius, time will slip away. And it will happen so quickly, you just won’t even notice.
Blog posts, on the other hand, I would take all Sunday to do a blog post. And I would draw it out, be all angsty, and all of the things. But one of the praccies in the Entrepreneur Hub I know is not only a practitioner, but she is an excellent blog post writer. She’s actually extraordinary! She’s an incredible content producer. It’s one of her zones of genius and she just loves it.
What would take me an entire day of work to do when I could have been using my talents and gifts in another more profitable way, she could probably do in about 15 to 20 minutes. I could have been running a workshop, teaching somebody something all day and actually making money.
Earn money by spending money
So if I paid her a portion of what I could earn on that day living in my zone of genius, then you can see how you can actually earn money from spending money in your business.
The first time this happened for me, I brought on a receptionist. We were open on a Monday to Friday and I had the receptionist there Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during school hours because that’s who I could get at the time. At the time, I looked up all of the agreements and made sure I was doing my due diligence. I could pay that receptionist, at the time, $18 an hour.
During those hours, I could be seeing clients while she was making money. So she was calling other clients and booking them in. I couldn’t do that at the same time as seeing clients. So she would actually make me $120 for the $18 that I was spending on her. She would also sell products which I couldn’t do while I was in with a client. She could look after people coming in for their replacement products and things like that. So she was actually making money doing that. So for every $18 I spent, she was bringing in another $50.
That particular clinic was a walk-in so we could actually book people in while I was seeing a client. Before that, I had to lock the door. Nobody could come in. So I was spending $18, but what I was getting back was hundreds of dollars. This doesn’t happen straight away, but it definitely happens.
Leverage your zone of genius and that of others
My zone of genius is definitely not in reception (oh my goodness, no!). So I’ve always had somebody there to help with that in their zone of genius. And that person will actually make me money, while I don’t have to be there.
Yes, there’s a small expenditure to start with. But the reward in doing so is huge.
Tip #3: Pay A Little More To Earn Much More
So that’s number three, paying a little for somebody can earn you so much more.
The second person I took on board in my clinic was a bookkeeper.
Fun fact: we found from our data that about a quarter of our practitioners actually have a background in finance, accounting, or bookkeeping. But when they turn it around on themselves, it’s a whole different story.
Especially if that’s not in your zone of genius, then handing over bookkeeping is one of the best things you could do for your business.
Do the math
If you’re charging yourself out at $100 an hour (the minimum you should begin with, is my suggestion), and you spend five hours a month on bookkeeping, that’s $500. And a bookkeeper is a lot cheaper than that!
So if you are able to spend a little, you’ll make a lot more when it comes to the effort, energy, money, and time that you get back.
To avoid further overwhelm, bring in people who you can just afford.
When I first got that receptionist, I couldn’t afford to have her on all week. But I did whatever I could afford to do so that, at that period of time, I could make more money coming in. And I didn’t have to do it myself. I could hand over some of those things that feel so overwhelming on that never-ending to-do list.
Tip #4: Block Out Time
Blocking out time is hugely important. We have a whole module on this in the Natupreneur Journey, where you record your time in 15-minute increments. It’s amazing what we spend our time doing. It is literally spending it, you’re not going to get it back.
Instead, you need to invest your time by blocking out chunks of time to focus.
For instance, you could identify a chunk of time from the morning to lunchtime, and then another chunk of time in the afternoon. Or, you can chunk it down into 1-hour slots.
However you do it, prioritise the things that are valuable to you. Where your zone of genius lies is obviously the most value that you can create because other people can pay you for that amazing zone of genius that you have.
So very likely, it’s how much time you can spend as a healer doing the thing that you’re amazing at. It could be as a teacher or an educator and doing the thing you’re amazing at, there.
Tip #5: Take Your Own Medicine First
The second part of this, the second most important thing – is keeping you healthy. I would say that’s the first one, but because we were talking about right at the beginning of your business, you want to be getting money in to help keep you healthy and well. So the priority outside of what you want to create, the priority is you being healthy and well.
After mentor so many practitioners who have experienced burnout and also going through burnout myself multiple times (enough to write a book about it!), I know that you have to actually make at least an hour a week your priority, to begin with.
Many of you have prioritised yourself well and have truly recognised that you need more than one hour. But so many of you who are just at the beginning don’t realise that you’re not even giving yourself one hour a week.
Give yourself that one hour a week to look after yourself – in whatever that form that takes.
I know some of you are artists and you’ve put that to the back burner. Some of you love yoga and you’ve put that to the back burner and can’t even do one class a week. Maybe you love getting outdoors and going for a walk. It could be connecting with nature or doing some other form of creative outlet that you’ve let slide because you’ve made all of the work and all of the things a priority.
So bring that back in and slot it in. Scheduling it into your calendar like an appointment will help you avoid overwhelm in the end. Take your own medicine first. Physician, heal thyself!
So many people are in overwhelm, adrenal fatigue, and anxiety about their business and about being in practice. Yet, you’re not taking your herbs or your homeopaths. You’re not even sitting down and eating your lunch!
I know because I’ve been there. I’m not pointing the finger – I’ve totally been there.
You need to do this so you can make the best decisions for your business, show up without overwhelm, and choose the right person to do the right job for you. You have to look after yourself first.
So while you’re chunking downtime in your week and actually making those things a priority, make yourself a priority. Put those little slots in for you to do your exercise, get out in nature, take supplements, and do the thing that actually helps you thrive, rather than just strive.
Tip #6: Just Do One Thing
This one is the overwhelm extraordinary boss through – just do one thing.
Have you ever been in so much overwhelm that you literally procrastinate everything? If you find yourself doing all of the laundry, all of the other things, going into a tailspin on social media, and everything else – just do the one thing that you need to do today to move your business forward.
Whether that’s finishing up the newsletter you need to send or completing a treatment plan – great, do that. Don’t have 50 million tabs open on your computer and not complete one thing.
Just complete one thing.
Tip #7: Stay In Your Own Lane
Comparisonitis. When you get so overwhelmed that you end up going and looking on Instagram or Facebook or someone else’s thing. You’re checking out how they’re doing it, what their website looks like. And oh my goodness, their life looks amazing. How did they do all of the things? They’re clearly living the most spectacular life available to that superhuman that they are!
In actual fact, by doing that you’re not staying in your own lane. Staying in your lane means following your own particular journey when it comes to being a natupreneur. Your journey.
The journey you take isn’t meant to look like the other person’s or to do something that they’re doing. Your journey is to stay in your life, create what you want to create, and not get overwhelmed by some random idea that you have in your head.
You may think you need to be at some random place that you think you need to be at based on all of the people that you’ve looked at. Based on what Facebook’s been feeding you and that Instagram has been popping on your feed.
Don’t do that. Just stay in your own lane.
Overwhelm can be avoided – by a long shot! – if you just stay focused on what you need to be doing for yourself and your journey rather than everybody else’s.
Take Action
Hopefully, these strategies to manage overwhelm are beneficial to you or somebody else that you know.
Thank you so much for asking the questions in the Natupreneur Hub! It’s an amazing place and space to be able to have these conversations. Remember – you are not alone. I have been there. So many of us have been there. And hopefully, these tips and tricks are helpful.
But the way that they are most helpful is for you to take action on one of them.
So which one will it be?
Will you take action today?
Which one of them will help you shift the needle on where you are now to where you would like to be in the future?
My biggest wish is for practitioners everywhere not to feel overwhelmed, not to have burnout as our second nature as practitioners, and to be able to collaborate, connect, and continue these types of conversations. I hope one of these will help you move that needle forward.
If you’re over in the hub, awesome, I’ll see you in there. If you’re not – come join us!
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