Do you ever have those times when you’re neck deep in personal things and business commitments that you feel like you’re sinking in quicksand?

Despite my best efforts, that’s where I have been the last couple of weeks.

I probably shouldn’t share that with you because I know that some of you tell me that you are “in awe” at how much I get done and still keep a level head. But as a friend said to me this week as I found myself lamenting to her: “So you mean you’re human?”

Human indeed.

The truth is that when we’re so overwhelmed with things, our energy is not clear for us to do our best work or to show up authentically with our families, friends and clients. I have a lot of strategies I use to get out of overwhelm including meditating, exercising, sleeping and so forth.

Another part of my strategy is finding people who can help me with my list of things to do when I know that I need help to clear the decks and reclaim my sanity. If you do not have a list, I hope this will provide you with inspiration to go out there and create one!

Spouse

My husband is very detail oriented. He gets to handle the accounting and some technical aspects of my business. However, because he works a full-time job, I’m careful not to over task him since we really strive to have as much family time as possible. But again, he enjoys being involved in my business so it’s a win-win situation. If your spouse has a skill that you can tap into, it may be worth doing so, if only for a short stint.

Parent

I am very lucky to have my mother living close to me. She helps me in my business every week. And she doesn’t charge me! Big bonus! I’ve tapped into her administrative skills more times than I can count. If your parents live close to you and are retired and willing to do a bit of work, why not ask? I find that many parents are willing to do things to help their children succeed when they can.

Friend

While I don’t call on friends to help me with my business, I do call on them for other things. One example is that I find it difficult to find time to exercise. While this may not seem like a business goal, I know that I need physical exercise to stay clear headed. I have a friend who comes to my house once a week and we walk for 45 minutes before our kids get up. Yes, these are very early mornings and it’s not fun to be outside when it’s 5 degrees, but it helps both of us maintain our energy and focus.

Virtual Assistant (VA)

I have VA team that helps me with everything from administrative and personal assistance to social media and beyond. Having people on my team is essential to staying afloat. If you could offload just one task to someone on a regular basis, what would it be? Common answers I hear are accounting, marketing and returning routine calls.

Neighbor

My first experience with outsourcing any work happened to be with a neighbor. She is a stay at home mom with three young children. We were talking one day and she mentioned that she would like to get her feet wet again in the business world but couldn’t commit to a lot of time. My ear perked up when she said this because I was getting ready to send out a large mailing. I didn’t want to do the mail merge, print the letters, address and stuff the envelopes and take them to the post office. On a whim, I asked her if she would be interested. Much to my amazement, she jumped at the opportunity! It was a win-win. I have hooked on outsourcing since that day. Don’t forget the resources in your ‘hood!

Students

I have hired high school and college students to do work for me around the house as well as project work for my business. I’ve outsourced everything from yard work and cleaning the garage to creating spreadsheets, pie carts and library research. Who do you know who could help run errands or do some simple work that will give you some breathing room?

Your Children

If you have children who can help you do things like filing, stapling, sorting, and so forth, then take advantage of it! I remember doing a lot of this kind of work for my mother when I was in high school. I enjoyed it and even put it on my first resume and it helped me land my first office job.

When all of this fails and we just can’t seem to get ahead, it’s up to us to either continue deal with it, or decide to release it. “Surrender Dorothy” from The Wizard of Oz is a phrase I hear in my head frequently when I just can’t seem to pull something together. Surrendering a particular task or even an entire to do list is just what needs to happen sometimes. I have come to the grand conclusion that truly, the world will go on just fine if I surrender, even if only for one day.

© 2009 Meredith Liepelt, Rich Life Marketing

Meredith Liepelt, President of Rich Life Marketing, publishes Smart Marketing, a free bi-weekly ezine featuring marketing tools and resources designed to help the busy entrepreneur attract more clients. Subscribe today at www.richlifemarketing.com.

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