Ep 26 - How To Shift Your Mindset And Break Free from Overwhelm

Episode Show Notes

Hello and welcome to episode 26 of Beyond the Clinic! I’m Sarah Almond Bushell, and today we’re tackling something many of you have shared, feeling overwhelmed by everything you juggle in business and life. Back in September, I hosted a three-day event in the Beyond the Clinic Business Facebook group about working smarter, not harder. Today, we’re diving deeper into why overwhelm happens and how to shift your mindset to break free from it for good.

In this episode, Sarah discusses the common issue of overwhelm for business owners. While strategies like time tracking and delegation help, many are still stuck in a cycle of busyness. Sarah shares her personal experience of balancing work and family life and how the pressure to do it all can lead to burnout. She provides actionable steps to regain control, prioritise tasks, and protect your well-being.

• Prioritise tasks that move your business forward, like client acquisition or revenue generation.
• Schedule breaks and practice self-discipline to avoid burnout and improve productivity.
• Let go of guilt. You don’t have to do it all, and balance is key.
• Acknowledge your wins to stay motivated.
• Set boundaries and learn to say "no" to tasks that don’t align with your goals.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode helpful, please leave a review, share it, or join the conversation in the Beyond the Clinic Business Facebook group. 

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Episode transcription:

Beyond the Clinic EP26

[00:00:00] Sarah Almond Bushell: Hello, and welcome along to episode number 26, how to shift your mindset and break free from overwhelm. Back in September, I hosted a three day event in my Beyond the Clinic Business Facebook group. It was called Smart Strategies, and it was all about working smarter and not harder, because I was hearing a lot of people saying that they felt swamped in their businesses with too much to do.

[00:00:28] Sarah Almond Bushell: Feeling overwhelmed with the endless. Business building tasks and generally struggling to juggle family life, work, business, and God forbid if you wanted to take some time for yourself. And then, after the event, despite my colleagues coming along, engaging with the content, saying they'd actioned what I'd taught them, I continued to hear that same old complaint.

[00:00:53] Sarah Almond Bushell: That the number one thing that many of you are dealing with right now Is feeling too busy. And so that left me pondering for a while, how can I further help you with this? And I realised I need to go deeper than the tangible. We need to dive into our mindset and why these feelings of busyness persist.

[00:01:16] Sarah Almond Bushell: And so that's what we're doing in today's episode. We're going to talk through what might be going on if you feel overwhelmed with business and life all of the time and, of course, how we can change this for the better.

[00:01:30] Sarah Almond Bushell: So let's talk about this constant feeling of being busy. I hear it all the time. There's just too much to do. It's something I've actually struggled with myself. And I know it's a shared experience for so many of us running our own businesses. But let's be honest about what's actually going on here. You are probably juggling an endless to do list.

[00:01:54] Sarah Almond Bushell: You probably have client sessions. You'll have clinical admin work. You'll be trying to keep up with social media, writing emails. Even blog posts, spending time in your inbox, managing your business finances. You get the picture. When you're a one woman band or a one man band, you have to do all of the things.

[00:02:15] Sarah Almond Bushell: And that's just in business. Outside of that, you might even have family commitments like school runs or perhaps you've got older parents that you're caring for. Plus, of course, all the other day to day responsibilities that just come with life, like food shopping and cooking and housework. Even saying all this feels quite exhausting, doesn't it?

[00:02:37] Sarah Almond Bushell: It feels like you're busy putting out fires, that you never truly make the progress on the big goals that you have for your business, the things that actually matter the most. Sure, you're getting stuff done. But it's perhaps not the right stuff and you'll know this if you're still in the same place as you were six months ago and not moving your business forwards.

[00:03:03] Sarah Almond Bushell: Because when you're so bogged down in the day to day grind, you don't have the time or the energy to focus on the strategy. You can't take a step back and see the bigger picture or make decisions that will move your business forwards. And so what ends up happening is You stay stuck. And the worst part is, you know the tangibles.

[00:03:26] Sarah Almond Bushell: You know what you need to do to make things smoother. Tracking your time, delegating more, planning effectively, and actually even say no to some of those things that come in. But you know what? Sometimes you can do all of that and it still doesn't feel lighter. In fact, you can start to feel like you're just constantly spinning your wheels and actually what you're doing is you're trying to keep everything from falling apart.

[00:03:55] Sarah Almond Bushell: But here's the thing, this isn't just about now and how busy you are today. It's not just about having a busy week or even a busy month because if this continues unchecked it can become your normal. And that's a dangerous thing, because when that happens, it's not just your business growth that suffers, your health can start to take a hit as well.

[00:04:19] Sarah Almond Bushell: You can become surfing on an underlying level of stress all the time. You might not be sleeping well, you might not be eating as well as you'd like to be eating, and any ideas of self care or time for yourself get shelved, because You just don't have the time. Some people tell me that their relationships might even feel the strain because when you're this busy you don't have time for the things and the people that matter the most to you and you'll start saying no to invitations and if like me you're a parent You will also feel guilt.

[00:04:56] Sarah Almond Bushell: Guilty for not being there or being as present with your children because you're mentally thinking about those other things on your to do list. And when you are working, you then feel guilty for not being with the children. After all, if you're like me, you probably started this business so you could have the flexibility and be there when your children needed you.

[00:05:18] Sarah Almond Bushell: And what all of this amounts to, if it carries on, is burnout. And actually, you end up wondering whether this business malarkey is really worth it, because it's a whole lot easier just to go back to the nine to five of the NHS. Now I say all of this with conviction and that's because I've experienced this as well.

[00:05:40] Sarah Almond Bushell: So I have a confession for you and here it is. I love my work. I am someone who finds it really hard to switch off because work to me is like my hobby. It's what I would spend my spare time doing. Because my work doesn't feel like work. Some of you might know I'm not a morning person, but I am someone who will happily get up at 5am to meet a deadline, if it's related to my work.

[00:06:08] Sarah Almond Bushell: One of my mentors is based in Brisbane, Australia, and we meet online on Thursday mornings, every single week, at 6am. And I just love it. I will happily fill in evenings. I will happily fill in weekends doing this stuff. And you know what? That was absolutely fine when it was just me and I didn't have any other commitments.

[00:06:31] Sarah Almond Bushell: I remember when I was on maternity leave with my first baby, my son Charlie. Now he's almost 18, but at the time I had a full year of maternity leave and confession time again, I was so bored. Now at the start, it was great. I had this lovely bunch of NCT mummy friends, but there's only so many baby signing classes and coffee mornings that this mummy could take.

[00:06:59] Sarah Almond Bushell: And I found myself starting a business and actually that was the first iteration of the Children's Nutritionist. Back then it was just called Children's Nutrition and they used to do project work. But as my children grew up and my career took me back into the NHS, I actually wanted to Have my work fit around my family because I really wanted to be the kind of mum who could take my children to school and then be there again at the school gates at 3.

[00:07:29] Sarah Almond Bushell: 15 to take them home. And so it made sense for me to do less NHS hours and more freelance work. And when they were little, It was easier, because you couldn't really leave them alone, you couldn't let them out of your sight at all. But as they got older, and they didn't need me around as much, I started to get back to what I enjoy most, which of course was my work.

[00:07:53] Sarah Almond Bushell: And what would happen was, I would develop these feelings of resentment because my job was always being the compromise. I had to stop mid flow when someone needed a snack or they wanted a lift into town to meet their friends. And then I'd feel guilty for feeling resentful because I was actually doing this in the first place to be there for my family.

[00:08:18] Sarah Almond Bushell: And then that actually escalated into these feelings of failure towards myself for not being able to do it all. And I actually think that is a really dangerous place to be, because when that happens, that's when you start to lose the passion and the joy, and you do start to think about throwing in the towel and going back to paid employment.

[00:08:40] Sarah Almond Bushell: Now you know my experiences, I wanted to share with you three things that helped me, and the reason why I'm sharing this is I hope that they'll help you as well. The very first thing is acknowledging how much Or how little, I should say, time you actually have and thinking about what makes you feel like you're moving your business forwards in that time.

[00:09:03] Sarah Almond Bushell: So what gives you a sense of accomplishment? It's really easy to get caught up in all the moving parts of business. There's always another email to answer in your inbox. There's always going to be a comment to respond to on Instagram. There's always another blog post to write, another meeting to schedule.

[00:09:24] Sarah Almond Bushell: But here's the thing, not all the work you do is equal. This work absolutely will make you feel busy, but is it really growing your business? You need to identify the tasks that genuinely make you feel accomplished in business, and this might actually be different for all of us. So for me and for my current stage in business, that feeling of accomplishment is tied directly to either bringing a new client or generating more revenue via one of my programs because I know that is what fuels the growth of my business.

[00:10:04] Sarah Almond Bushell: For you, it might be something else. It might be creating a course so that you can move away from the one to one work. It might be building a new partnership business model, or it might be writing blogs that resonate with your audience because you're aiming to earn through ad revenue. But I know that if I host a live masterclass or a training of some kind, and I invite people to work with me at the end of that training, I will get new clients.

[00:10:30] Sarah Almond Bushell: And so I'll earn the money that I need to feel like the business is growing. And so that's always going to be my priority above and beyond anything else that I do. And I might actually do one of these every single month and let everything else go, if I haven't got the time. And you know what? I won't beat myself up for not posting every single day on social media or spending time creating beautiful graphics and reels, because That kind of work doesn't directly bring me clients, and I've stopped caring so much about what I thought I should be doing in my business.

[00:11:07] Sarah Almond Bushell: So I'm not going to worry that I haven't written and published a blog for the whole of 2024, which is true by the way, because those don't get me immediate results. And especially now, because everything we knew about SEO has been turned on its head this year and nobody really has the answers. And sometimes I don't even open my email inbox.

[00:11:30] Sarah Almond Bushell: If it's urgent, people will phone me or they'll email me again tomorrow. So whatever it is for you, you've got to prioritise that work, the work that brings the results. When you're time poor, everything else can wait. I know that sounds scary, but trust me, it is worth it. And when you start focusing on what makes the biggest impact, you will start to feel a sense of progress.

[00:11:57] Sarah Almond Bushell: And you know what? That is incredibly motivating. Now, the key to this, Is allowing yourself to enjoy that feeling of accomplishment. So don't immediately rush off to the next task that's on your list. Take a moment just to acknowledge what you've achieved. It sounds really simple. Recognising your wins is so, so important.

[00:12:21] Sarah Almond Bushell: It's highly motivating. It helps you stay connected to why you're doing this business thing in the first place. Now, the second piece of advice that I want to share with you is especially for you if, like me, you love your work. Now, I am someone who could sit at my desk for hours on end, completely engrossed, losing track of time, working away without a care in the world.

[00:12:48] Sarah Almond Bushell: And when I'm in that flow state, it feels great. I lose track of everything. I forget to eat. I forget to take breaks. And before I know it, I'm done. Hours and hours have flown by. And of course, if your work is at a computer screen, there's something else at play here as well, and that is dopamine.

[00:13:07] Sarah Almond Bushell: So when we're working in front of a screen, whether it's answering emails, checking social media, it's Just ticking off tasks on your to do list, our brain is constantly being rewarded with small doses of dopamine. It's a feel good chemical that keeps us hooked and it makes it actually even harder to step away.

[00:13:28] Sarah Almond Bushell: And this is especially true when we're using phones or laptops or tablets. Because those little rewards, like the likes and the notifications or finishing a task, they make us want to keep going and do more and more of that. So it's actually no wonder that we lose track of time and find it quite difficult to stop.

[00:13:51] Sarah Almond Bushell: This is why discipline is my number two, and being disciplined about taking breaks, it's really crucial. When you don't discipline yourself to take breaks, to move your body, to hydrate, to rest, just go to the loo, you're setting yourself up for burnout, whether you love your work or you don't.

[00:14:11] Sarah Almond Bushell: I like to think of this as the analogy of being in a car and going on a long journey. When you're driving, especially on a motorway, it's really easy to zone out and just keep going, isn't it? But if you don't stop for fuel, eventually your car's going to run out of petrol and you will be stuck wherever you are in the middle of nowhere.

[00:14:31] Sarah Almond Bushell: And it's exactly the same with us and our work. You might feel like you can keep going for hours, but if you don't stop for rest breaks, if you don't recharge, you will eventually burn out. Taking breaks is like refuelling your car. It might feel counter intuitive because it slows you down in the short term it's actually what keeps you going for the long haul.

[00:14:56] Sarah Almond Bushell: I actually get a bit of an early warning sign. So just before I'm about to hit the wall, I get really tired eyes. I get blurry vision. Sometimes my eyes actually water. And actually, sometimes this can happen after just half an hour or a couple of hours. of sitting at my desk. For me, it's like an inbuilt alarm clock and it's a sign that I need to get up, move away from my computer and get on with something else.

[00:15:26] Sarah Almond Bushell: But I don't want you to get to the point of hitting a wall or even having these early warning signals. Instead, this is where that self discipline comes in. Set alarms. If you have to schedule your breaks into your calendar like you would a client appointment, step away from your desk, stretch, go for a walk, do a five minute yoga class.

[00:15:49] Sarah Almond Bushell: I live just minutes from the beach, and so I've got no excuse really. Or you know what? Just simply go to another room and make yourself a cup of tea and drink it over there. Just allow yourself to switch off for a moment. It does feel counterintuitive, like I've just said, but these breaks actually help you stay more productive in the long run, because when you come back to your work, you come back feeling refreshed and ready to dive back in, and you'll have a new, renewed energy and a better sense of focus.

[00:16:23] Sarah Almond Bushell: Number three, the last one, this is a big one, and this is personal. And it's all about letting go of the guilt. Again, if you're anything like me, you might find yourself feeling really guilty for loving your work, more than you love some of the day to day tasks of being a wife and a mother and keeping a home.

[00:16:42] Sarah Almond Bushell: And I think that there is this huge misconception going round that to be successful, you have to be able to do it all. Perfect mother, successful business owner, Pinterest worthy, beautiful home. And when we don't, it can make us feel like we haven't quite made it. But here's the truth. It's totally okay for you to love your work.

[00:17:07] Sarah Almond Bushell: It's okay to feel more fulfilled by your professional accomplishments than by keeping on top of the laundry or cooking a dinner from scratch every single night. We are highly skilled, intelligent professionals who need to use our brains. And as health professionals, we're driven by making an impact, by solving problems for people, by creating something incredibly meaningful.

[00:17:38] Sarah Almond Bushell: Let go of that guilt. You don't have to choose between being a good mother and being passionate about your work. You can do both, In fact, by embracing what you love, you're setting a powerful example for your children because you're showing them that it's possible to pursue a career that you are highly passionate about, and that it's okay to have huge ambition, and that balance Between work and life is going to look very different for all of us.

[00:18:10] Sarah Almond Bushell: We need to give ourselves permission to embrace our professional passions without feelings of guilt. And when you do, you'll find that it frees up so much headspace. Instead of battling with yourself, you can find acceptance and you know what? Fully enjoy both your family and your work without feeling like you're constantly compromising one for the other.

[00:18:35] Sarah Almond Bushell: So let's recap what we've talked about today. First of all, we've discussed the importance of no longer caring so much about what you think you should be doing, and instead just focusing on the work that matters, the work that makes you feel accomplished, and truly moves your business forward. That sense of accomplishment Whether it's signing new clients, generating revenue, achieving a personal goal even, that is what will keep you motivated and help you make real progress.

[00:19:06] Sarah Almond Bushell: Secondly, we explored the need for self discipline, especially for those of us who love our work because it's so easy to lose track of time and get caught up in the dopamine loop of screen based tasks. And being so in the zone that we just forget to take breaks. But as much as you might enjoy this flow state, taking time out and stepping away from your desk is essential for long term productivity and actually well being.

[00:19:34] Sarah Almond Bushell: So schedule those pauses, move your body, Come back to your work feeling refreshed. And then finally, my third piece of advice is all about letting go of guilt. It's okay to love your work, and it's okay if that passion sometimes feels more fulfilling than the day to day responsibilities of your home life.

[00:19:54] Sarah Almond Bushell: You don't have to do it all of the time, and you certainly do not have to feel guilty for pursuing what you love. You're not only building a business that you love, but you're also setting a really strong example for your family. At the end of the day, all of this is about finding balance, your balance, and it's about giving yourself permission to focus on what matters most in your business.

[00:20:19] Sarah Almond Bushell: Staying disciplined with your time and your energy and letting go of the guilt that holds you back, because when you do that, you'll find that you thrive and you'll no longer feel so busy that you're drowning in overwhelm. So I hope these insights help you reflect on your own experiences, and more importantly, I hope they inspire you to make some changes that will help you create the headspace and the energy that you need in order to move your business forward whilst also taking care of yourself.

[00:20:53] Sarah Almond Bushell: Finally, my action step for you today is just a simple one. Take 15 minutes today and write down the top 3 tasks that make you feel the most accomplished in your business. These are the tasks that move the needle. The ones that help you grow. Make you more money or bring in that sense of satisfaction.

[00:21:15] Sarah Almond Bushell: And if you're not sure what these tasks are, let's discuss this further in our Beyond the Clinic Business Facebook group. So before you go, I have a question for you. I'm planning our podcast episodes for 2025 and I want to know what you would like to hear from me next. Drop me a message in the Beyond the Clinic Business Facebook group or you can DM me on Instagram at dietitians in business. I'd love to hear about the number one thing that keeps you feeling stuck so that I can help you out. Bye for now.