8 ways to deal with overwhelm

Having built multiple businesses from scratch, including a restaurant businesses and food manufacturing company, I know exactly how it feels when overwhelm hits.

That mammoth to-do list sitting in front of you can trigger anxiety, mental fog and that horrible feeling of drowning under pressure. And now, as a business coach working with female founders, I see this same pattern playing out with my clients every single day.

Let's be honest - it's truly un-fucking-helpful when our brains do this to us.

But rather than trying to avoid overwhelm (because let's face it, as ambitious founders, we're always going to push boundaries), we need practical tools to handle it when it shows up.

After helping countless founders through this exact challenge, I'm sharing the strategies that actually work.

Why Founder Overwhelm Happens

When you're running a business, wearing multiple hats and trying to scale past that revenue plateau, overwhelm is almost inevitable. You're juggling team management, cash flow, strategic planning and probably a family life too. It's completely normal to feel stretched - but you don't have to stay stuck there.

8 Proven Tools to Move Past Overwhelm

1. Surrender to What Is

I know this sounds mad (I thought so too at first). But, this isn't about accepting defeat - it's about stopping the energy-draining fight against your current reality. When you acknowledge where you are, you can actually start taking steps forward.

2. Breathe Into It

Here's a game-changing perspective: fear is excitement without breath. The same goes for anxiety and overwhelm. Try taking deep breaths and notice how those "overwhelming" feelings start to feel more like excitement about possibilities.

3. Move Your Body

Overwhelm lives in your brain - trying to think your way out often makes it worse. Physical movement can reset your mental state:

• Go for a run

• Do some gentle yoga

• Take a walk

• Dance it out Whatever gets you out of your head and into your body.

4. Zoom Out

What we all need when overwhelm hits is perspective, but that can be bloody hard to find when you're stuck in your own head. Here's an exercise that's helped me through some of my toughest moments as a founder (including when I had a brain haemorrhage and lost my food business - talk about perspective).

I imagine myself looking down on my tiny little body in my tiny little house, just a dot in this epically massive universe. In every tiny dot of a house around me, there are millions of other people going about their mission too. Some are facing challenges far bigger than mine, others are celebrating wins and most are somewhere in between - just like me.

This zoomed-out view reminds me that:

• My challenges aren't as all-encompassing as they feel in the moment

• Everything is temporary - both the hard bits and the good bits

• We're all just humans doing our best

• In the grand scheme of things, taking a pause to reset isn't going to tank my business

Whatever's overwhelming you right now - that difficult team member, the cash flow squeeze, the endless to-do list - it's all manageable when you zoom out far enough.

5. Practise Meditation

If you're rolling your eyes right now thinking "oh great, another woo-woo suggestion," stick with me. Before I discovered meditation, I was that super-practical CFO who thought this stuff was a waste of time.

But here's the truth: meditation is just a tool for powering down your overactive mind - and as entrepreneurs, we desperately need that.

When you're running a business, your conscious mind is constantly racing: strategising, solving problems, putting out fires. Meditation helps you step out of that mental chaos and tap into your subconscious mind - where all your best ideas and clearest decisions actually come from.

Here's how to get started without the spiritual overwhelm:

• Find a quiet spot (yes, your bathroom counts if that's the only peaceful place)

• Set a timer for 2 minutes (that's all you need to start)

• Close your eyes and focus on your breath

• When your mind wanders off to that urgent email or team issue (it will), just notice it and bring your attention back to your breath

• Try doing this first thing, before your brain starts its usual entrepreneurial gymnastics

Trust me, if this former spreadsheet-obsessed CFO can embrace meditation, anyone can. Your business (and your mental state) will thank you for it.

6. Journal It Out

When I was running my food business through Brexit, Covid and the Ukraine war (aka seriously challenging times), journalling became my secret weapon for dealing with overwhelm. When you don't have someone to talk to at 3am about your latest cash flow worries, a blank page becomes your best friend.

Here's the thing about overwhelm - it loves to swirl around in your head getting bigger and scarier by the minute. But something almost magical happens when you start writing it down. Those huge, terrifying thoughts often look a bit silly on paper, and patterns start emerging that you can actually do something about.

Here's my no-nonsense approach:

• Grab any paper (your fancy business planner, the back of an envelope - doesn't matter)

• Write everything that's spinning in your head - no filtering, no editing

• Keep going until you feel the mental pressure ease

• Then either tear it up (surprisingly therapeutic) or look for patterns and action points

• Bonus points: note what triggered the overwhelm for future reference

Sometimes you'll find solutions you couldn't see before. Other times you'll just feel lighter for getting it out of your system. Either way, it beats staring at the ceiling letting your mind run riot.

7. Take One Action

When you're ready to tackle that to-do list, don't waste energy trying to prioritise perfectly. Pick one task - any task - and start. Progress breeds progress, and momentum is your friend.

8. Reflect and Learn

Take time afterwards to identify your overwhelm triggers. Common ones I see with founders include:

• Cash flow concerns

• Team management challenges

• Quality control issues

• Growth plateaus

Understanding your triggers helps you to mitigate against experiencing overwhelm as frequently.

A Note About "Not Having Time"

I often hear founders say they're too busy to step back and use these tools. But here's the truth: trying to push through overwhelm is like driving with a flat tyre. You'll either move painfully slowly or not at all.

Give yourself permission to stop and reset. As a founder scaling a business, you deserve support - and taking care of your mental state is a crucial business investment.

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If you're a solo founder feeling stuck in overwhelm whilst trying to scale your business, you're not alone. Book a discovery call to discuss how we can work together to scale your business sustainably →]