Winner’s Circle Coach - Writing Blog of Joan Clout-Kruse

I’m in a state of overwhelm. You know, where so much information is coming in and lots of things to accomplish that I don’t know where to start.

Thank goodness I’ve invested in my training over the years from learning Internet marketing (a big overwhelm) to discovering “me” through all the wonderful success-oriented educational events I attended starting way back in the ’70s.

What I learned about overwhelm is how to control it. As America’s Book Coach I help my clients write a biz book to attract more clients and get recognized as an expert. Writing a book can be overwhelming; where to start, how to say it, what to include, fear of the unknown, and so on.

After we have set up a roadmap for their book that includes the table of contents or an outline of the book I then have them set time aside in their day planner each week to create/write their book. The goal is to complete one chapter a week, or half-a-chapter a week. I call that a segment. In goal setting we call it a task.

Rather than just set time aside to do some work or accomplish some task on your to do list, identify the task you want to do during the time you have set aside. Now you have a visual. You can “see” the task you will do. You will know when it’s done.

That is what I do with my writers. If they agreed to finish one chapter a week, they set aside the time they think it will take to finish that chapter. It may be at more than one sitting: a half-an-hour today and an hour the next day. Whatever it is, the writer will know when it is done.

Overwhelm is good when you know how to handle it. Identify all the tasks at hand that you need to accomplish. Prioritize them. Now take #1 Priority and begin working on it. Do not get distracted. Stay with this task until you finish it.

Whatever you do, don’t read your e-mails. This causes more stress as you discover MORE things you have to respond to.

Now I’m back to my own overwhelm. I started with Priority #1 (which was writing this blog), and now I’ll begin working on Priority #2 that kept me awake off and on during the night because I knew I had to finish it today.

It will get done because I can visualize my task or segment and know what the end result. will look like. How about you? Are you ready to knockdown “overwhelm” and begin your day one task at a time? Soon you will discover that overwhelm is good too when you know how to handle it.

Joan Clout-Kruse

America’s Book Coach

www.WriteMyBizBook.com

www.BizBookBreakthrough.com

P.S. Did you see THE SIMPSONS movie this weekend? Fun time. Check out the credits and watch for my daughter’s name: NANCY KRUSE. Yes, I’m a proud, bragging mom. 8>)