Why being your own boss isn't always a good thing!

Back in the day, I managed five administrators in a frazzle-inducing environment. When the pressure was on and everything felt important, I'd help them prioritise. We’d look at their workload and figure it out together.

But when you run your own business and work by yourself, who on earth do you ask?Most of the time we have to figure it out by ourselves.

There's one big problem with that: when you’re feeling weighed down by your to-do list, you can’t think straight! Deciding where to start can be a Very Tricky Business. Making sure you take care of your clients, give your marketing the focus it needs, stay on top of your emails, and all the other things you need to do - whilst also dealing with the curveballs and distractions life throws at you - is really bloomin' hard!

In my experience of working with small business owners, things can go one of two ways.

First, there are those who look at their long list, pick the thing they feel like doing and get stuck in. “What’s wrong with that?” I hear you cry! Well, nothing in theory. Honouring your energy and your feels is important. I certainly don’t want to stop you from doing that.

The problems start, though, when it comes to doing those jobs that you’re never going to feel like doing. How many of us wake up excited about updating our expenses or booking a dentist appointment? So yes, it's important to find the fun and the flow as much as you can. But you also need a way to deal with the other, less exciting things (unless you’re lucky enough to be able to delegate all that stuff!).

And then there are those who feel paralysed by overwhelm the moment they look at their to-do list. Does this sound like you? You have so much to do, and it all feels important. You have no idea where to start, so you move things around your desk for a while. Or write another list in the hope that the new one will make things feel more organised. Or you go and do the dishes.

You throw yourself into busy work, feeling like you're cracking on. But those important tasks that would make the biggest impact on your business? They never quite make it to the top of your list.

When you figure out how to get your priorities straight, everything falls into place. You’re able to start the day on the right foot, getting stuck in with the tasks you know are going to propel you forward. You find a sweet balance between what feels like fun and what needs to get done.

You know how horrible it feels to have tedious tasks lurking on your list forever and a day? Wouldn’t it feel amazing to get them done and out of the way?

And just think! No more sinking feeling as it gets to bedtime and you realise you still haven't replied to Mabel's email from last week.

If the struggle is real for you, Productivity Made Simple is a-coming! This time around, I’ve included a bonus that will instantly get you from ‘where do I start?’ to ‘somebody stop me!’ Sign up below to find out more when the doors open.

If you have a friend who's drowning under their to-do list, please do share this with them and let them know they're not alone!