In this engaging discussion, Erin Perry, Chief Experience Officer at Full Focus, shares five practical strategies to conquer year-end overwhelm. Shannon Litton, CEO of Five by Five, dives into leading teams through the chaotic December landscape while maintaining clarity in objectives. Tricia Sciortino, CEO of BELAY Solutions, emphasizes the importance of planning and work-life balance as the year wraps up. The trio highlights effective delegation, reevaluating deadlines, and fostering team engagement to ensure a strong finish.
Effective planning and prioritization are essential for managing overwhelming year-end commitments while maintaining focus on organizational goals.
Renegotiating deadlines fosters a collaborative atmosphere and helps alleviate pressure without compromising relationships with clients or team members.
Delegating tasks to trusted team members enables leaders to concentrate on high-priority items, enhancing overall productivity and reducing overwhelm.
Deep dives
Navigating Overwhelm in December
December is a particularly overwhelming month for business owners, juggling year-end tasks alongside holiday commitments. The feeling of being overwhelmed can seep into both work and home life, making it essential for business owners to find effective strategies to manage their time and responsibilities. Acknowledging this challenge, effective planning and clear prioritization become crucial to navigate through the buzz of holiday activities. Emphasizing a balanced approach is vital to ensure that personal and professional commitments are met without succumbing to stress.
Triage Your Calendar for Effectiveness
Triage your calendar involves assessing your commitments to distinguish essential tasks from non-essential ones, enabling you to allocate your time effectively. Utilizing an outside perspective, such as that of a chief of staff or an executive assistant, can help identify meetings or projects that can be postponed or eliminated without significant repercussions. This process also involves recognizing the importance of focusing only on tasks that truly require your direct involvement, allowing you to prioritize what benefits your business most in the short term. The goal is to clear out the clutter to create space for focused, impactful work.
The Art of Renegotiating Deadlines
Renegotiating deadlines is a vital strategy that allows business owners to maintain control over their workload during busy periods without jeopardizing relationships with clients or team members. By proactively communicating the need for adjusted deadlines, you create a collaborative atmosphere that often results in mutual agreement. This practice not only alleviates immediate pressure but also fosters trust among colleagues and clients. Transparent communication is key, ensuring that everyone is kept in the loop while creating space to manage your tasks effectively.
Leverage Others for Heavy Lifting
Delegating tasks effectively is a cornerstone of mitigating overwhelm by allowing others to share the workload. By assigning research or decision-making tasks to trustworthy team members, leaders can focus on high-priority items that require their specific expertise. Training supportive staff to understand the criteria for decision-making fosters efficiency, enabling them to provide recommendations that simplify the process for leaders. Whether sending someone to a meeting or having them gather vital information, leveraging your team’s strengths is essential for successful management.
The Power of Taking Time Off
Taking intentional breaks, even during busy times, can significantly improve decision-making and productivity levels. When overwhelmed, counterintuitively stepping away from work for a day or two can refresh your mindset and provide a necessary reset. This practice not only enhances clarity and focus upon return but also helps prevent burnout. Additionally, changing your environment— working from inspiring locations or taking walking meetings—can stimulate creativity and problem-solving, effectively alleviating feelings of overwhelm.
There's one month left to close out the year. That's the good news. The bad news is that December is perhaps the most overwhelming month of the year. It is simply stuffed with commitments that need your attention. With all of the parties, holidays, and year-end festivities, how do you steer your organization towards its end of year goals while also maintaining sanity in your life?
That's the question we answer in this episode. First, Megan Hyatt Miller speaks with Erin Perry about five strategies that you can use immediately to banish overwhelm and still keep your eye on your organizational goals. After that, Megan speaks with fellow CEOs Tricia Sciortino (BELAY) and Shannon Litton (5by5) about how their organizations close out the year.
The Business Accelerator podcast is a reflection of the values and processes inside the BusinessAccelerator coaching program. If you want a free Business Growth Coaching Call, visit www.businessaccelerator.com/coach.
