How to Overcome Money Overwhelm
Money overwhelm is real and to be perfectly honest with you, everybody at some point in their life has dealt with money overwhelm. I know I sure have in different aspects of my life and different stages of business that I had been in. To this day, I'm not completely free of money overwhelm because the true story is that it's a lifelong process, right? I have developed some coping strategies that helped me to overcome these things and overcome these feelings when they do occur, because the truth is, just like emotion, it can hit you at different times. You could be having a really bad day, and then money overwhelm shows up out of nowhere.
I really want to go over the five-step process of dealing with money overwhelm. Most of you who are probably reading this are women, and we carry a lot of burdens with us - one of those things that we worry about a lot is money. So I want to help you with some of those feelings!
What the heck is money overwhelm anyway? Well, it's just a feeling that your money is so out of control. It's so huge. It's a really big deal and you get stuck in a place as if you're frozen, right? It's just this odd feeling and you think to yourself ‘Everything is out of control!’ You feel as if you don't have enough money, your bookkeeping might need to be done and everything is spiraling downward but you really don't know where to start.
It could also feel like there are just lots of things that are just stacked one on top of another. And when you add one more thing, all the plates are going to fall. I’ve used this analogy before, walking around feeling as if you’re spinning plates all the time. That is money overwhelm - you just have too much going on and if there is even one more thing added, everything's going to crumble.
Have you felt this way? Have you been kept up all night worrying about money? You can't focus, you can't sleep, and every little thing goes back to money. That is what I'm talking about when I talk about overwhelm. Regardless of how it shows up it always leaves that feeling. It's like you're up against this huge brick wall and you're really not sure which way to go. So I'm going to help you figure this out before it gets even worse!
There are crucial things that have to be done in your business to keep it running. Bills have to be paid, and your employees need to get their paycheck, right? Contractors need to be paid and you are responsible for showing up and doing all the things. You’re already focused on your household expenses and now you're having to add business expenses on top of things. It drains your energy sometimes, I get it, I've totally been there.
Most of these things, if you look at them, will backtrack to money overwhelm. It's really rooted there. It's rooted in money mindset and things of that nature, and it can create ripples in your business. It's something that we really need to take seriously because even if you know all the practical skills of money, you can still have overwhelm and then you're stuck and you're not really able to act.
Here's what I want you to do.
1 - Make a List
Make a list of everything that is overwhelming. Think of all those things that pop in your head in the middle of the night at 2 am. Those are the things I'm talking about. Write all of those things down. When you are out for a walk and these things just keep popping into your head? I want you to jot them down, get them out of your head, and put them down on a piece of paper. When you do that, you actually take it out of a place of unrest, and you’re able to refocus these things. You're bringing these areas of stress and parts of the money that really overwhelm you to life, you're making them visible. Now that they're real, they're visible. They're sitting on that piece of paper, and you can finally take some action against them because until they're real you’re just going to keep pushing them back and pushing them back a little further.
Think about it, the more we push things under the rug, what happens? When you push things under the rug the bubble just gets a little bigger and a little bigger and eventually, you're going to have to deal with that pile, right? You're going to have to deal with the overwhelm, the shame, and the powerlessness. You're going to have to deal with all those things. So I want you to get it all down on paper. Have a brain dump session, and it's going to make you feel so much more in control of your money. The truth is that whatever is in our little brain, what we put up there and what we make it out to be, it's probably worse than what it really is. So let's really get to the reality of it.
2 - Categorize Your Overwhelm
Just like in anything else, we have to prioritize things right? Now that you have something visible written out and it's not so overwhelming, I want you to assign each of those overwhelm items to one of three categories.
What is something you need to take action on?
These things are really going to require your time and focus and it's usually the actions that you've been putting off the most.
What do you have questions about?
Maybe it's something like your bookkeeping, maybe it's something about your insurance, right? Any of those types of things could be something that's holding you back from making the next step forward. When it comes to bookkeeping, I hear a lot of people say that the reason they don't do their bookkeeping is just that they don't know where to start. They don't know what kind of bookkeeping system to use, so they don't move forward. They're stuck. If this is you, check out my blog on that topic!
What can you hire out?
These are the parts of your money troubles that have really, really overwhelmed you. It's going to take a lot of time to fix things, and you just need to find the right person to help you. Maybe bookkeeping is on that list as well.
Categorize your overwhelm list into action, things you have questions about, and things that you may need to hire someone to help you. Keep in mind, these things may change. If you did a spring dump months ago, you may have put something in a different category. So these things will change over time, and it's important to brush up your overwhelm list at least once a quarter.
3 - Prioritize Your List Into Two Categories
Number one, what is crucial for your business right now? What does your business need right now? Are you needing to really set up your business properly? Maybe that's something that's been bothering you. Maybe it's time to file your taxes. Maybe it's time for you to really look at your numbers to see where you need to change things for the rest of the year. Those are crucial items that you need to be worried about right now. The other thing I want you to think about is what can you emotionally handle right now. Don't start with the hardest thing on your list first because what happens? You're never going to get to the next thing.
I want you to look at the little things. What are some little things that you can go ahead and get done with right now? If you're not ready to handle any of it, that's okay too. But we need to really prioritize the list and figure out exactly what you can handle right now.
4 - Start With Small Steps
Do you remember the saying ‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’ Well, the same thing comes with money overwhelm! The only way to tackle it is one little step at a time. Don't try to binge work on your money overwhelm, find a little something, do a little something, and get a little closer to your goals with your money. Don't get any more stressed out than you already are. Don't go spending 8-10 hours one day working on all your money stuff and then you get such burnout that you don't touch it again for another six days. That's only going to lead to more money overwhelm. Instead, after you've identified your priorities, I want you to only spend about 20-30 minutes a day taking action on these items. Break down these action items into those 20-30 little chunks that are on your schedule every day. Look at it on your calendar and have those money dates with yourself.
If I were you I would start at the beginning of the day or maybe in the middle of the day when you're working the best. Don't wait until five or six o'clock to start working on your money. You're you're already emotionally drained by that time! The last thing that you want to talk about or think about is your money. So, go ahead and schedule those money dates with yourself on the calendar during the time that you work best, you're most energized and excited to really focus on these money aspects that surround your business.
5 - Find a Support System
Find people that can help you! Read those stories of people who will tell you they've been there, not just all these posts on social media of people that tell you they have it all figured out. Most of the time what people put out there is not authentic. It's not real. Stop comparing yourself to these people. Look for the people who are going to tell you about their true experiences, they are going to tell you about when they were in the ditch, or when they had the money overwhelm. When they had money issues and how they were able to work through the process. Find that support system. It's so important dealing with this money overwhelm.
If you need someone on your corner, send me a message, reach out, email me or even join my Facebook group. I'm going to give it to you straight. I'm not going to lie about it. I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you because money overwhelm is real. I’m here for you!
