I often feel anxious overwhelmed. My own personal circumstances may lead to this, because my family has  very little support and and  an overwhelming (there the word is again) amount of responsibilities. Added to this, from a purely business perspective, when you take into account that the self-employed are responsible for Absolutely Everything from accounting, advertising, filing, cleaning, making the coffee, marketing, planning, scheduling, subcontracting and supervision - (in alphabetical order!) before you even start doing the job, then it's no wonder that we feel broken a lot of the time.


The trick though is to learn comping mechanisms, and try, where you can, to build a support team. Nobody is an island who is supposed to cope alone. If you are fortunate enough to have family support from people who believe in you, then make the most of this. Maybe someone else can take over the school run? Or someone can help you with meal planning, or assist you with the many burdens you have on you. If you don't have family support, try to build a group of friends who are your 'lifers'. Lifers are people who you plan to be friends with forever, and not just for a season. People you can talk to on a day to day basis and who love you for you.

From a business perspective there are some things you can do too. Try to make sure you have the best equipment for your job, that won't let you don't, and won't frustrate you. Get the best service providers you can afford and live in the most supportive city you can. Get mentors who truly believe in you and can offer sage advice, and be prepared to do the same.

Perhaps the most important thing is to learn to plan. I'm not a natural planner - I leave things to chance by nature. But a planned day or week causes much less anxiety than an unplanned one. You don't have to plan absolutely everything - otherwise you get anxious feeling like you've let yourself down if a problem arises and you run behind. Plan achievable targets and try to be disciplined enough to stick to them. I find writing on a blackboard works for me - then I can rub out things as I've done them. Google Keep is also a good app to assist with this.

And lastly - remember to be nice to yourself!

Are there any subjects that are challenging for people in our position that you'd like to discuss?
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