Tackling Procrastination and Overwhelm.

By Kym Krey

We’ve all been there. That ‘thing’ you know you should be doing just sits on your To Do list or rolling around in your mind for months, but you’ve somehow managed to find hours to scroll through socials!

Or you’ve been telling yourself for a year now that you really need to create a Policies and Procedures manual or an Induction program….but you never seem to get it done.

To be fair, with the realities of running any business today, the battle against procrastination and overwhelm is real! As Salon Owners, we wear so many hats: juggling clients, handling stock orders, meeting with reps, handling admin tasks and client messages, managing teams and finances, and navigating constantly changing client behaviour.

It’s relentless and crazily fast-paced, so it’s easy to find ourselves sliding into deep procrastination and overwhelm, but that’s not a fun place to hang out, so we must equip ourselves to better manage them by understanding the causes and triggers.

What triggers procrastination?

Some of the most common causes of procrastination are:

Fear of Failure: We become paralyzed by our fear of getting it wrong, stuffing up, or looking silly … so we do nothing at all as this feels like the safer bet. Humans are naturally wired to stay comfortable & avoid distress, but as we know, it’s on the other side of this that all the magic happens.

Perfectionism: (Overthinking it). This is a big one. Striving for excellence is one thing and attention to detail in business is essential, but perfectionism is our greatest saboteur, causing us to never feel ready; never feel good enough.

Just like the apprentice who never wants to do that first paying client despite countless perfectly completed models, business owners also fall prey to this, avoiding staff appraisals and accountability conversations, correcting pricing, or creating onboarding processes, in case they get it ‘wrong’. Psychologists tell us that the underlying cause is a lack of confidence, self-esteem, or a feeling of not being ‘enough’ as we doubt our ability to do it well.

A healthier approach might be, “It doesn’t need to be perfect; I’m just going to give it a go and it’s OK if I make a mistake. I’ve made mistakes before and been able to fix them and I always learn something. I can do this”

Perfectionism also leads to ‘all or nothing thinking’, like “If I can’t do the whole thing, what’s the point in starting?” A great example of this is when we think we can’t find an hour in our day to hit the gym, so we do nothing at all, whereas even a 10-minute walk around the block would have been better than nothing.

Sometimes ‘Half arsed is better than no arsed! Something is always better than nothing. If you can’t find a day to write that manual, what you can do is make a list of headings to be covered and allocate just 10 minutes each day to write one dot point. Or you can record a voice memo with your phone on the way to work to get the words out of your head and tidy them up later (or have someone else tidy them up later!)

We’ve created entire video training libraries by making 1 x 10-minute video each week for 3 months.

Large projects can be overwhelming. Breaking them down into smaller, more digestible tasks makes them less intimidating. And celebrate small victories by rewarding yourself along the way, as this builds momentum and motivation.

One of my favourite quotes is: “You don’t need to see the whole staircase; just take the first step”

Lack of Clarity: When we’re unclear on exactly what we’re meant to be doing or trying to achieve, we certainly won’t have a clear plan of how to get there, so we get stuck in overwhelm… and find ourselves scrolling through cat videos on insta! (Anyone?? Nope, just me?) Without a clear plan, everything becomes a distraction, killing our focus and productivity.

What’s the outcome I need? What are the main points or categories I need to cover? Now, what are the steps to achieve the first one?

Decision Fatigue: Post-Covid brain fog, anyone? Business owners have soldiered on through so much in the last few years, so it’s no wonder we’re feeling a little flat. Making countless decisions every day whilst being continually interrupted can deplete our mental resources, making it harder to stay focused and productive. As decision fatigue sets in, we become more prone to procrastination.

Here’s how to overcome it:

1. Get it all out of your head and write it down. Make a list of everything you have to do or whatever is on your mind. Once you see it, you can deal with it.

2. Prioritise: Not all tasks are created equal. Identify what will really move your business forward today & what can wait. Identify what needs you (that no one else can do) and what can be delegated to someone else. This not only lightens your load but also empowers your team giving them opportunities to grow & shine.

3. Set realistic limits: Limit your To Do list to only 3 major things for the day (or 1 each for the morning and afternoon). This ensures you’re getting the right things done and not getting buried in minor details. No one gets through a 30-point To Do List in a day!

4. Empower others (and create systems). Are you a bottleneck in your business because you won’t let go and have to do everything yourself? That’s just your ego talking. If you do anything more than twice, it’s time to create a process for it so someone else can do it for you.

5. Practice self-care: No one does their best work sleep-deprived. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, healthy eating (meal prepping will change your life!) and taking blocks of time out for you to recharge & do fun things is essential! There are no medals for toughing it out. You get one body and you’ll want it to be still going for you at 80, so be smart with these decisions now.

Information Overload: Anyone with a smartphone is bombarded with constant information, notifications, and alerts from multiple apps these days. Everything and everyone demands our attention and demands it NOW! But there’s only so much to go around!. No wonder our brain feels like it’s ‘not responding’ and needs a reboot! Turn it off! Set boundaries. Give yourself blocks of time when you don’t touch that device (e.g. Sundays) and make a habit of turning off after 8pm at night (that blue light really messes with your sleep!).

In summary:

• Progress is often achieved through small, consistent steps rather than giant leaps.

• It’s normal to procrastinate from time to time. First, ask yourself if you genuinely need a break and if so, give yourself guilt-free permission to relax.

• Burnout can lead to a lack of motivation or energy and can make it difficult to start or finish tasks and rest is an important element of productivity in order to do our best work.

• Starting is usually the hardest part and any task begins to feel more manageable once we’ve taken that first bite.

• Embrace Imperfection: Instead of striving for perfection, aim for progress. Imperfect action beats no action so accept that mistakes are part of the learning process and focus on continuous improvement rather than flawless execution.

• Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself, especially during challenging times. Acknowledge your efforts and accomplishments, and focus on what you’ve done not what you didn’t get done. Recognise that you’re doing the best you can under the circumstances and that’s enough.

You are the most important resource in your business, and you are no good to anyone tired, stressed, and cranky! Embrace imperfection, prioritize self-care, and celebrate progress over perfection. Any project starts with just one step and you can always find time for just one step! The longer I’ve been in business, the more I’ve realised that our mindset really does make the difference and our self-talk becomes our programming. Be kind to yourself. This is big and you’re doing great.

Kym Krey is a highly experienced and trusted salon industry business coach and leadership mentor. She’s been where you are and has the runs on the board to help you get real results. If you’re ready to turn your business around, become a better leader, take that next big leap, or scale to a million-dollar turnover and beyond, get in touch: kym@kymkrey.com.au; @kymkrey or www.kymkrey.com.au