Four Steps to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed | Business

Today was just one of those days. I had a million and one things to do, and every time I mentally crossed one thing off my list, I remembered approximately three more. I was bouncing around from one task to another yet I continued to feel more and more overwhelmed as I went, because the things I had to do seemed endless and my time was not.

Since I'm a very task-oriented person, I'm not too easily overwhelmed but when I cross that line, it's hard to come back. Thankfully, I've learned a few techniques that help me take a step back and slowly work up to the finish line of getting everything done that I need to. So for all the overworked, over-busy, and simply overwhelmed...here are four easy things you can do!

1) Give yourself 2 minutes to breathe. Even if you have ten things to do, you can spare two minutes. Take that time and collect your thoughts. Don't think about what you have to do, just breathe and think about something positive - how great the weather is, the fun things you have planned for the weekend, or anything else. This will help re-center you and give you a minute to wind down instead of up. 
2) Make a list of everything you need to do. Just write it all down at once. At this point, you may start to feel overwhelmed again, but just push past that feeling and get all your thoughts down on paper. Your list may be shorter or longer than you thought, but at least it's all in one place. This way, you won't keep coming up with more and more things you have to do while you're working hard on other stuff - it's all out of your head and written down.
3) Prioritize. Easier said than done, right? Here is my simplest way to prioritize - after I make my entire list, I write "T" next to the items that need to get done today. Then just tell yourself, "This is all I have to get done today. Everything else can wait until tomorrow if it doesn't get done."
4) Start knocking out tasks one by one. Begin with the things you need to get done today, and start out with a task that will be quick and easy to cross off. Soon enough, you'll be on a roll. Once you've finished everything you need to do for the day, take a quick break to reward yourself, then get started on tomorrow's tasks. You're now in the 'bonus round' and everything you get done at this point will be exciting instead of draining!

Try it out and let me know if it works for you. And since I do still get overwhelmed from time to time, leave a comment if you have a different technique that may help me or someone else. Now get working on whatever it is you still have to do today!

Toggl Time Tracker // Business

Now that I'm (mostly) working from home during the week, a lot has changed in regards to my schedule. I'm still trying to figure out how to best use my time, what hours to work, and how to have freedom while still running my business effectively. I don't want to be so free with my schedule that I don't put in hard work every single day, but I need to remember that there ARE benefits to being your own boss, and working from home - and it's ok to take advantage of those once in awhile.

One thing I've wanted to do for awhile is track my time. I have rough estimates about how long I spend on my business, but I've never broken down before how many hours I put into social media, or blogging, or bookkeeping, vs shooting a wedding or family session and editing it. When I went part time, I looked for a way to not just keep track of how many hours I work, but what I do when I jump on the computer every day.

Enter: Toggl Time Tracker! This little tool is probably the biggest boost to my productivity out of anything else I'm doing. Not only is there an app, but there's a desktop version as well. I use this all day...so let me explain.

Each day as I begin work, I start the time tracking. Sometimes I don't even know what I'll be working on, but I just hit the little green button to go. Then, as I work on a project in particular, I'll add that to the description. At the end of the week (or month), I can pull up a report straight from the app showing how much time I spent on what task. It's given me a great picture of how to run my business, and has cut back on any wasted time. The desktop and app versions are completely synced, so whether I'm at home or on the road, I'll never lose a minute.

Not only that, but it's kept me on track. I'm a born multi-tasker, so it's easy for me to float from one task to the other. I hate tackling big projects that I know I can't get done in a day, so I'll often procrastinate and, when I do sit down to work on it, end up doing something entirely different. Having that little timer running keeps me on track, because if I end up working on something else, I have to categorize it as such. And if I'm spinning my wheels and not really getting work accomplished, I can just quickly move on.

If you are a small business owner, or if you work from home, or even if you just want to see how you spend your week, you should without a doubt start tracking your time. It'll surprise and amaze you to know what you're doing, and how much more work you could be getting done if you spend focused time working on things, instead of jumping from one task to the next.

I hope this helps your productivity and sanity as much as it has helped mine!

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Here's what it looks like on my Desktop!

If I'm running this on my desktop, the app will automatically pick up the timer where I left off, without any manual synching required

Just one of many reporting options for how much time you spend on what. It will also break down the report by project, client, etc.