Keep Calm & Carry On

I live on the third floor of a beautiful 100-year-old Victorian building in Boston. Four months ago our condo association started a construction project that included a two-story high jack hammering machine that sat right outside our kitchen window. 

Not only was it pounding away all day, every day, and making a horrible sound, but it was creating so much dust that the inside of our condo became covered with a thick gray film.

At first I thought, “I can handle cleaning this up, it’s not that much dust.”  But one day in mid-January, as I looked across our foyer and could actually see the dust in the air, I realized that it was on every wall, every inch of the floor, and every single thing we owned.  In a single moment this problem went from something that I thought I could handle to such a big job that I could hardly speak rationally about it.

Although I consider myself a great house cleaner, this was all new to me.  I’d never had to deal with the extreme amount of dirt and dust that covered my home.  It was clear that I didn’t know how to tackle this by myself. Thankfully, the air cleaning professionals from EnviroTech came to my rescue.  One of their clean-up specialists, Randall, assessed the situation and explained that his team would partition the condo into sections in order to contain the dust and remove it systematically from every surface while cleaning the air.  

I felt so relieved that I found myself laughing out loud when I realized how overwhelmed I’d become by the prospect of cleaning the house myself.   

I was instantly reminded of the meetings that I have with small business owners week after week. When we sit down to talk, they start off excited and animated.  As the meeting progresses, I see it happen - they get overwhelmed - just as I did when surveying the film of dust covering my home.   

First let me say that these are smart business people, and many are experts in their fields.  But being an expert and doing work that you love doesn’t always prepare you for running a successful business.   If you’re like me, you’ve learned this the hard way and probably more than once.

The important thing to remember when facing a new situation is this:  break it down into bite-sized pieces. Here’s what I do when I get overwhelmed about what to do, how to do it, and what to do first.

• Identify it.  Spend time figuring out where you want to go first.  I often hear clients say “I need this or that” and usually it’s really a solution (a website, a brochure, a fill-in the-blank).  Instead, identify the result you’re looking for-whether it’s more customers or a better organized workspace-and then brainstorm some ways to get there.
• Map it.  Literally.  I use Post-it notes.  Capture every idea you have about how to achieve the results you want, no matter how big, small or crazy.  Write just one idea per Post-it and stick it on the wall. 

• Organize it.  Group the Post-it notes into discrete projects that break down into tasks.  If there are some outliers, hold on to them.  When you get clearer about the projects they’ll either make sense or you can toss them.  

• Do it. I recently heard someone say, “Just get one done,” and that really resonated with me.  As business owners, if we can just get a little momentum going, feel some progress, and have a plan, it’s much easier to stay calm and in action.  So pick one project and get started!

When I think of Randall, who transforms houses and manages cleaning crews every day, I realize that there was nothing overwhelming to him about my home.  In fact, it was probably pretty easy for him to see how to logically section off the house for cleaning because he’s had so much experience with this exact situation.

So remember this when you’re facing an unfamiliar situation:  chances are, it’s only daunting because it’s the first time you’re seeing it.  So keep calm, get in gear, and carry on.

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A business workflow and logistics expert with 25 years of experience, RocketGirl Solutions Founder Belinda Wasser is hired by small businesses on a contract basis to act as their part-time "business manager." To subscribe to Belinda’s free, twice-monthly newsletter for solos and small business owners, "Rocket Fuel", visit www.rocketgirlsolutions.com