def: to cover or bury beneath a mass of something;  to be overcome completely in mind or feeling 

Reality Check 

Are you feeling overwhelmed?  I have never seen so many people overwhelmed, especially this time of year.  Most have recently come back from holidays, not that they actually took a lot of time off, but it was a break in schedule at the very least.  Yesterday it struck me that most of us are in positions of overwhelm and it’s something we have to look at and carefully.  If this is what’s happened just after holidays then what’s ahead? 

Just yesterday my son told me he had emails coming in from work all weekend.  Another friend / colleague told me that everyone seems to be working weekends, including us…coaches who are supposed to “know better”.  Weekends have become catch-up time.  Many of my clients go into the office to wade through old emails and paperwork that they just couldn’t get to during the week.  

We seem to dive into way too many projects and commitments this time of year as it’s a new start, right?  Nothing like taking on the world!  However for many it feels as if they’re wearing the weight of the world on their shoulders.  It’s time to redefine so we don’t reach the point of overwhelm. 

So what can you do? 

Well it all depends on your level of responsibility and extent of engagement.  For me, I do a great deal of my reading and writing over the weekend as it’s quiet and I can retain what I read.  I also have to check my emails otherwise when Monday morning comes along I’d have to take half the day just to catch up and that won’t serve me.  I do not answer my client emails over the weekend, but I will know how to hit the floor running on Monday morning.  If you feel you have to check your emails or BlackBerry, go for it,  but don’t answer them!  Same goes for late at night or in the middle of the night when you have insomnia.  Read them if you must but if you write back you will be expected to always answer at everyone else’s whim and 24/7.  Is that what you want?  Didn’t think so!  There’s way too much to cover for one newsletter, but let’s at least take a stab at it for now. 

Define and redefine: 

Redefine your work plan.  Figure out how you want to grow in your work, what you want to learn and how you want your business or career to evolve.  Don’t write it in stone. Use it as a guide, more for number of commitments than anything else as you will end up dropping something and replacing it with something that works better as your world morphs.  Just don’t jump in with both feet without analyzing time commitment and level of responsibility.  That’s where positive delay is invaluable, and setting personal boundaries. 

You’ll know if it’s an amazing opportunity that you can’t pass up, however ask yourself what you can drop or delegate to someone else (staff, virtual assistant, colleague etc) if you do take it on.  Also ask yourself what are the ramifications of taking something on?  I was asked to do a 10 minute professionally produced piece for American Airlines on coaching.  It would potentially reach 28,000 travelers.  Now if even 1% of those contacted me to hire me to coach there would be no way I could take them on.  A great honor to be asked but to what end?  If you can’t be your own reality-checker, then ask someone you trust implicitly to be one for you. 

Same goes for amount of work you take on in the office.  If it’s getting beyond do-able, then it’s time to have a conversation with the powers-that-be to see what can be parked for now.  You can only do what you can do.  If you burn out then you won’t be doing anything about anything.  Remember that. 

Last But Not Least: 

As always this newsletter will be posted on http://www.PerspectivesInBrief.com, though pricing specials and program launches will only be available through this newsletter subscription.  Please feel free to share your comments, insights and perhaps a subject or two you’d like to open for discussion and we’ll look at it for future a future newsletter or blog post.  Our blog can be found at http://betterperspective.blogspot.com  

To sign up for our Self-Coaching program It’s All About You…and Others, visit here:
http://www.itsallaboutyouandothers.com/intro.htm 

Our Time Mastery Program is almost ready to launch, so stay tuned.  And later this year my colleague Donna and I will be holding a Boot Camp for Coaches, Businesspreneurs and Solopreneurs.  Stay tuned for that as well! 

Time to run with life, not be run over by it. 

With deepest respect, 

Donna Karlin
Founder and Principal
A Better Perspective
http://www.abetterperspective.com 

ISSN 1913-6307