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If you’re an entrepreneur blazing your own trail, it can be a difficult path – especially if you deal with entrepreneur overwhelm and burn out.

I’ve been there – and I knew there had to be a better way. 

I got to sit down with Andrew McLindon on The NXT Entrepreneur Podcast to tell the story of how I dug myself out of the depths of entrepreneur overwhelm and burnout, became a Time Management Coach (because people used to tell me “That’s not a thing!”), and discovered what it takes to find calm and balance. Listen to the full episode here.

My Story: Overwhelm to Balance

Once upon a time, I managed the super hectic schedules of the most in-demand elected schedules of the most in-demand elected officials in the country. I worked with the first Vietnamese Congressman in the history of Congress – so he was very in demand locally, nationally, and internationally. 

There were reception invitations, committee meetings, votes, fundraisers, calls. My job was to plan his day from the moment he woke up until the moment he went to sleep on the sofa in his office. 

I did this for 6 months until I started to miss home. Back to Louisiana I went, into the world of Crisis Communications… which is just as relaxing as it sounds.

Crisis Communications is oil spills, droughts, and floods. It was a 24/7 world of international news, during which I walked with people during the darkest times of their lives. The role made me an expert at creating order out of chaos.

You can probably guess what happened next… I burnt out. Hard.

So I left the job to manage a marketing firm museum, but the bad habits from my last job followed me. I had no boundaries and no work/life balance. And yep, you guessed it — I was still constantly working, overwhelmed, and burnt out. 

I knew something needed to change. The entrepreneur overwhelm was real. Without a plan or an idea of what I wanted to do, I created ADK Strategies, LLC, and left that job. I had no idea what I was going to do with this LLC… but I knew I’d figure it out!

People told me a Time Management Coach wasn’t a thing, and I listened… for a while. I’ll never forget the day I decided to stop. I was a Leadership Coach for about a year, and then, on May 22, 2019, I decided that I was a Time Management Coach. I was MAKING it a thing. The rest is history!

Branding

Once I decided to go all-in on Time Management Coaching, I knew I had to create a brand for my business. My concept of branding came from one thing: listening. 

I have always been someone who loves to ask questions. When I thought I was going to be a Leadership Coach, I created a survey and sent it to my friends. I asked questions like:

• How would you describe what I do?
• What kind of accounts do you follow on social media?
• Where do you like to shop?
• If I gave you $1000 to spend on professional or personal development, how would you spend it?

I knew those friends were the people who were struggling. They were trying to figure out how to develop time management skills – and their answers formed my early branding. 

One of the best decisions I made early on was working with a brand designer. She helped me create a cohesive brand package – the colors, the fonts, the hex codes. I knew I needed to have consistency so I wasn’t trying to constantly recreate the wheel. Consistency builds trust – and one of the best elements of time management is feeling consistent and calm. 

Growing a Family and Business Through the Entrepreneur Overwhelm

Growing a business, raising a family, and everything life throws at you can be overwhelming. If you’re an entrepreneur who is also a parent trying to raise your family, my best advice for managing it all is to get clear on your vision for your life. 

Once you’re clear on what you’re working towards, you can make day-to-day decisions about the best and highest use of your time. 

For instance, I post regularly on LinkedIn and social media – but I’m not the one who’s scheduling the posts, because that’s not the best and highest use of my time. I outsource that. Creating themed content and writing podcast episodes, on the other hand, IS the best use of my time – and it’s something only I can do.

Time Management Approach for Entrepreneur Overwhelm

I look at time management using 3 different milestones:

1. Vision and Values
2. Plan Your Path 
3. The HEART Method (Habits, Energy, Attention, Recharge, and Time)

You can categorize any time management struggle into one of those milestones – across all walks of life and all generations. 

Feeling stuck and hating your job? Let’s get clear on your vision and values. Floundering and don’t know how to get where you want to be? Let’s get clear on your priorities and goals. Know your goals but can’t follow through? Let’s build good habits and make sure you have good strategies in place. 

These are things I talk through with clients in 1:1 coaching sessions as well as in the It’s About Time Academy group coaching… and in my book, coming out in June 2023!

Want more? Listen to the full episode here, or find out more about The NXT Entrepreneur Podcast here.