Practical Decision Making Tips to Reduce Overwhelm

May 19, 2023

Keep your light bright with these pro decision making tips.

If I had a quarter for every time I heard the word “overwhelmed” come out of my mouth over the past 18 years of running this business I’d be rich.

If you’re overwhelmed in your business., you don’t have enough time to serve all the people that you need to serve and do the things that you need to do…my friend, realize that this is happening in part because you’re amazing. Okay?

But you might not feel so amazing right now.

You may just feel plain old out of control.

And here’s the deal, that light is still inside of you. It’s just being dimmed by the decision making yesterday, last year or last decade you made. Or maybe the decisions weren’t made by you at all, they were made by the last person in your seat…but you’re in that seat now friend and you in all your amazing glory have the power to make a NEW decision. 

I know what you’re thinking, “Yeah, Monica. A new decision. Do you know how many decisions I already have to make? I am freakin decisioned out.”

And to that I say, “Friend then we just need tips to make different decisions.”

Decisions that make CHANGE. Not just decisions for the sake of making decisions.

So let’s talk about that for a minute.

In the last 18 years of running this business, because I started my business at age 25 and I have been through so many seasons of business. 

I’ve been through raising kids, getting married, recessions, hiring firing, employees, having babies, and my biggest clients quitting. And I feel like if there’s one thing that I’ve learned through all of this time, it’s that flexibility and creativity is power. Some advice when it it time to make decisions:

• There is no one right way to do something. 
• There’s not just one version of success.
• The decisions I made yesterday don’t have to be the decisions I make today.
• I can freakin’ change my mind when I need to. 

And you know what, you can too.

There’s one key factor in your pattern. And you do have control over it.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, and it’s consistent, there’s one key factor repeating in the pattern.  It’s not your clients. It’s not the projects. 

It’s you. 

Hate me all you want but you are the common denominator. And you know what you are? AMAZING!

And you know what else you are? Capable.

Capable of making a different decision. A decision to change.

But what needs to change?

Well first you’re going to have to do a bit of soul searching.

Yeah, you heard me. Soul searching. And answer the question, “What do you do best?”

We’ve tried different product lines. We’ve tried all kinds of things that we thought, “We should be offering this to people because people ask us to do it.” So over the past 18 years we’ve built apps, done social media management, email campaigns, online ad management and in the end…we reeeeaaaally didn’t like doing it. Sure we got paid. Even did a decent job but…we didn’t love it. Heck we didn’t even like it.

So we had to make a decision. To NOT do something. 

Whew!  It feels so good to make that decision.

You don’t have to keep these decisions forever, just because you made a decision seven years ago, because you knew it was the right decision at the time and it worked for three years. If it hasn’t worked for the last four. You need to be aware enough of the fact that you now need to stop making that decision and you need to move on to a new one. 

You are amazing. You are the common denominator and YOU have the control to change it. 

I know for some of you are shaking your head, like, “Nope, Monica. I don’t have the control. I’ve got this psycho board.” “This crazy boss. I have no control over that irrational human.” 

And do you know what? You’re right. 

You do not have control over them. The only thing that you have control over is yourself. If that boss is really a nut job then maybe it’s time for a new adventure for you friends. I just had this same conversation with my husband. If you’re not happy where you’re at, you can’t change a massive company. But you can change where you work. 

But that’s scary, right?

Yup. It is. But here’s a tip, you’re amazing and you’re capable and you can make the right decision for you.

If you have the power to recycle your entire board over the next year and fill it with people who are going to support you. Do it. 

If you have the power to find the right people to put on your team because you know that the ones that are on there don’t work. Do it. 

Use your BA power for change for good.

Find what lights you up.

Ok, back to that soul searching. What do you love about what you’re doing? What lights you up? 

Can you find success through that thing? Because that’s the next decision making tip. Ask the question. Can you find success – YOUR version of success, not your mom’s version or your neighbor’s version, but your version of success through that thing that lights you up?

If you can, that’s probably the thing you should be focusing on. Make the decision to do the thing that you found success through, and the thing that makes you happy. 

So for me it’s websites, right? It’s websites and teaching people. I don’t want to sell anything to anyone.

Find that thing lights you up, and then your next course is figuring out all the other things you’re doing that are getting in the way of that one thing.

What’s getting in your way of doing what lights you up?

How else could you get them done? And do you need to do them AT ALL?

It might mean that you let go of some of your clients because they’re not the right fit. 

It might mean that some of your employees may have to go too. And that SUCKS. But friends if mama ain’t happy nobody’s happy.

Most people are trying to HELP people in their businesses. And if you’re overwhelmed because you have 17 programs and your attention is divided 17 ways you’re really not helping anyone. 

Now here’s the deal.

When you let go of those programs and products that doesn’t mean all of your clients are going to stick around for what you still offer.  When we stopping doing ad management and social media we did have some clients leave and take their website with them to work with a company who could be a one stop shop. That was sad. 

But here’s the deal. It also opens up space for you to welcome someone new into your universe into your business in your organization and serve them doing the thing that you like best.

If you’re a nonprofit, ask yourself, what are the programs do we support that are not 100% in our strength zone?

• The things that you struggle with.
• The things that take up way more time.
• The things that don’t make the 100% biggest impact.
• The ones cushioning a person along the way on their journey.

What are those things? 

Is there someone else in your area who does those things that you could refer over for those services? 

Is there a different way you could do those things?

The next decision-making tip is to ask the question, “are we still doing what we do the best way possible?”

I remember getting started in my career I was on a board for the Chamber of Commerce. They said they wanted to revolutionize how to ran a certain program. I took that at face value. Consider all the ways we could adjust it. Presented it to my board members.  And you know what? They actually didn’t want to change. They just wanted to get different results doing the exact same thing.  That isn’t revolutionary. That’s the definition of insanity.

Don’t be that board.

What causes the most trouble in your day to day operations?

Even if it worked in the past, it might not be right anymore. And that’s OK. Because, here’s a tip, you get to make a new decision.

Where can you tweak it? 

After 18 years of building websites on a 3 month timeline and tweaking the process continually we had created a BILLION steps. And for a huge website they need every one of those billion steps. But those small sites…not so much. But we treated them all the same.

But 16 years of a successful process followed by 2 bumpy years of account service burn out made me think. We switched how we scheduled. Upgraded project management systems. Even restructured our team 3 different times. 

And 2 years later I realized…Damn. It might not be the account service people…it might not even be the clients…they’re different for every site but you know what’s not different. The process. 

Stacy and I started dreaming about the perfect website build and you know what we both said? Shorter. Focused. Not a three month timeline. We want to work on smaller projects for weeks. Not months. And now we’re doing it. Starting our first projects on an expedited service.  And we’re pumped. Working in our strengths zone.

Don’t be me. Don’t take two years. Utilize these decision making tips now!

Be the amazing capable person you are and embrace what you can control.

Lean into your own flexibility and creativity.  Be brave enough to make the big changes that will keep your light bright. And remember this tip, just because you made a decision 18 years ago that doesn’t mean you have to keep making that same decision day after day now.

I’ll keep you updated as our journey unfolds with all of these fun things that we’re working on. But in the meantime, if you’re feeling that way, I just want to let you know. I’ve been there too. You’re amazing and you’ve got this.