Ep 156: Struggling with analysis paralysis? Here's what to do.

Welcome to Unfrazzle, a podcast for solo business owners with a big vision who are ready for a kinder, more sustainable approach to productivity.

I'm Louise Miller and each week I share bite size insights to help you step away from the hustle, stop faffing and stay focused so you can make your brilliant ideas happen and make a bigger impact in the world.

Before we dive into today's episode, if you enjoy what I'm sharing here on Unfrazzle and you'd like to support the podcast, you can buy me a cuppa by going to buymeacoffee.com louisemiller and making a one off donation. I'll pop a link to that in the show notes. Okay, grab yourself a cuppa and let's get started.

I have so much to do, I just don't know where to start.

Does that sound familiar? It is very common to feel that way when you're drowning under the weight of your to do list.

And when looking at your list makes your brain hurt because everything is important and everything needed to happen yesterday, it's very easy to slide into analysis paralysis. If you're anything like me.

The longer you sit there trying to decide where to start and what to do first, the more muddled and overwhelmed you become. And from there it could go a few different ways.

Maybe your focus turns to the things that are shouting the loudest just because you want to get them out of the way, and that might feel productive. But if we only ever focus on what's urgent, then then when do you deal with what's most important?

Or it could be that you are so befuddled and overwhelmed and exasperated that you decide that as you can't do it all, you may as well do nothing and retreat to the safety of the sofa and Netflix. And that might easily overwhelm in the moment, but it's really not going to help you get stuff done.

Now, both of these responses to analysis paralysis are very common, but they're not very helpful in the long term, are they?

Because not only are we prevented from getting our amazing workout into the world when all we're doing is busy work, or when we run away and hide, we also end up feeling like a failure and our lack of progress can lead to feelings of frustration and anxiety. Our self esteem takes a hit as we question our abilities and we start to wonder if there's something wrong with us.

So if you can relate to any of this, there is nothing wrong with you and you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of because high achieving, intelligent folk like us are way more susceptible to analysis paralysis as we are brilliant at concocting an impressive range of best and worst case scenarios around what might happen if we choose this thing instead of that thing, right?

Our creative problem solving clever, clever brains are desperate to find the perfect solution, only often there isn't one and that is where we come unstuck.

And so not knowing where to start, feeling stuck, feeling overwhelmed, that has nothing to do with your abilities or your worth and everything to do with finding strategies to help you move forward. And as with so many things in life, taking a moment to find some clarity can make all the difference.

You can't see the best way through the forest when you are in the forest, right, you need to climb up to the treehouse and get a bird's eye view.

So the next time you find yourself looking at your to do list and you're getting into a bit of a tailspin, stop for breath, give yourself permission to take a break, go for a walk, sit quietly with a cuppa, just allow your brain some space because it's impossible to untangle a knot if you're holding on to the rope too tightly, right?

So loosen your grip, cut yourself some slack, and then once you've taken a step back, let go of the need to find the perfect solution when you don't know where to start. Fixating on the right thing to focus on is counterproductive if it stops you from doing anything at all. So there's no right or wrong choice.

In fact, the only wrong choice is no choice, because that's what keeps you in paralysis and stops you from moving forward. So just pick something and start and you'll feel so much better for it. The momentum will build and before you know it you'll be flying.

So as always, I hope that this helps and I look forward to seeing you again soon. Thank you for listening to Unfrazzle.

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You'll find that@louisemiller.uk quiz and there's a link for that in the show notes. So thank you so much for being here, and I look forward to seeing you next time.