Having just been through a particularly overwhelming time of dealing with a critical situation in my business, I feel like I’m writing this article for myself! But I am certain that there will be many of you feel the same way, either now, in the craziness of the season, or in the past or future.

Being responsible for the running of your business can at times be overwhelming. The very same advantages of being your own boss can also become sources of stress. Often it is financial issues, but in addition, every business owner is busy and generally stretched to capacity, which is why time constraints and deadlines can be a regular source of stress. Getting sick or dealing with an unscheduled interruption is really not an option and can be overwhelming.

Clutter and disorganisation can add to the feeling of being ‘out of control’ and definitely impacts on productivity and efficiency. In general, not knowing what to do next and having the constant pressure to make crucial decisions, can all add up to being overwhelmed.

So what’s the answer? At times, it will be a case of pushing through. As Dr Phil says “Anyone can do something when they want to do it. Really successful people do it when they don’t want to”.

But you also need to be sensible. If you feel overwhelmed more often than not, then you need to seriously take stock. Are you wearing too many hats? Do you need to make some hard decisions about where you spend your time and energy? Being overwhelmed to the point of inaction, or worse still, at the expense of your health, is not a viable or sensible long term solution.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

This morning on my Facebook newsfeed, the following sponsored post appeared: “Would you keep working if you won $15 Million?”. For many people in the workforce, I think the answer to this would be a resounding ‘yes’. But is that true for you as a business owner?

Your answer to that question comes back to the reasons why you are a business owner. If your reasons are purely to earn money or ‘get rich’, then I would imagine you would most likely quit working if you won $15 million. But many business owners established their businesses for reasons besides just making money – and I wonder if many of them would answer ‘no’ and want to continue working.

Personally, I would keep working – although the capacity of that work and what work I undertake would be likely to change dramatically! Winning a large sum of money would provide me with an enormous scope of choices around how I spend my time and the enterprises I could establish.

But as I thought about this question more, I realised that it is a great evaluative tool. If answering this question brings to light the things that you would REALLY rather be doing, perhaps it is time to challenge yourself as to why you are not aiming for more of those things now. As we hear time and again, life is short. So you need to ask yourself: am I focusing on the things that are important? Or am I waiting for the big lottery win before I change my focus and priorities?

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender