CEO SOS: How Not To Overload Yourself

Small businesses often throw in the towel even when things are going great because they worked themselves into the ground. Most of these business owners probably worked for someone else their whole life but one day made the plunge to be the boss. Little did they realize that being a CEO of a company is fraught with all kinds of challenges. It’s is like jumping into the deep end, only to find out that they needed extra swimming lessons.

Nevertheless, there’s no need to panic. Negative thoughts of not being good enough or not having the skills to run your business will only make things worse. Don’t open the door to them and you will find a way to survive. The key for business owners who have no prior business experience is to not overload yourself.

Cognitive overload

Thankfully we do live in a wonderful age of technology. However, this does mean that we’re using different devices and equipment as well as software to do multiple tasks in a very short span of time. Cognitive overload can occur to any CEO that has to juggle his or her tasks on multiple platforms and technologies at once. Tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktop computers, as well as industry devices such as inventory management terminals, are all part of the modern web of technologies CEOs use. Taking a break from using gadgets and just sticking to face-to-face conversations for one week would do your mind a lot of good. It’s healthy to put down devices and clear your mind when things get really busy.

Make a clean stop

CEOs need holidays just as much as employees do. So many CEOs that are new to business, will work themselves into the ground. Some think it’s just the way things are and always will be, but others do it just because they love their job so much. The bottom line is you need to make sure you’re using your holiday wisely. When you take time off work, make sure you make a clean stop. Don’t carry on working on your phone, or communicating with employees via emails. Don’t even pay attention to the markets and industry news. Give your brain a much-needed rest from everything. Totally switch off and come back to work stronger than ever.

Don’t juggle so much

Greenhorn CEOs will not feel so comfortable with delegating their responsibilities to others. However, if you’re in a very important company meeting, you cannot continue to juggle sales inquiries from B2B clients. So using professional answering services will take that small but important responsibility off your hands while you’re unable to fulfill it. They are always available 24/7 and will take down any messages your clients wish to give you. They have both 1300 and 1800 numbers so you can remain flexible.

The SOS of an overloaded CEO is rarely heard by anyone else. You have to take more care of mental capacity and endurance so you can remain as effective a leader as possible.