OD’ing on overwhelm (and how to stop that ish NOW!)

I'm so curious! Superwoman Syndrome… have you heard of it? It’s when ambitious women like you (and me included) try to do it all. You have to wear many hats, everything from writing, editing, and formatting newsletters and blog posts, to website design, to fixing technical issues and managing freelancers.

You can’t stop thinking about all the tasks you need to remember to do. Because there's just too much on your to do lists (yes, you know you have more than one!)

You’re overwhelmed and overworked.

You don't feel like you can move on to your next project until you have your systems and team in place. You know that you need to pause and hire help, but you don't have time to pause, so you’re literally on a treadmill!

Can you relate?

You know you need to focus on one thing at a time and get it done, but there's just SO MUCH to do. Something has to change. Pssst… if you keep on reading, I have a simple strategy, along with an email template that I personally use to help with this.

As a #girlboss, momma + wife, my days are pretty packed. Then tack on the traveling + speaking, mentoring and coaching, self-care and oh yeah, eating and sleeping, it can be super easy to get in over my head.

So here’s the thing, I get requests CONSTANTLY. To be a part of a summit, to join this business venture, to speak at this event, to be on this podcast, to read over a client’s sales page copy.

And I genuinely care about each and every person that takes time out of their day to contact me. I really do. So I try to show up as much as possible. Because my heart is to be of service, I normally wind up saying YES a whole lot more than I should. So today, I want to share my secret on…

How to Get More Done by Gracefully Saying NO ❤

There is no way we can say yes to every offer, every business opportunity, every event. So I’ve come up with a way to intentionally create space in my schedule.

This idea of saying no with love came up with one of the woman in my Mentorship Lab™. I’m sharing the advice I gave to her with you, to help you create that much needed space in your business and your life.

1) Create a “Now Page”

On my contact page, I link to my “now page” to show people what are my current priorities and work projects. You can use it to email people when you’re saying no, and also remind you what’s most important to you. I recommend setting an alert in your calendar to remind you to update it at the top of every quarter when you may have newer goals, priorities and events.

Here is my now page and the inspiration where it came from here and here.

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2) Write a “thanks, but no thanks” email template

Here is an email template my amazing right hand, Michele, and I came up with. She uses this as a standard framework and tweaks each email based on the ask.

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Hi Name,

My name’s Michele and I’m a part of Jadah’s team; it’s great to meet you! Jadah is committed to some pretty big projects right now, so I am personally following-up because she cares so much about the people who take the time to reach out to her.

Thanks so much for inviting Jadah to be a guest on your podcast. Jadah is presently focusing on Build Your Challenge, an online course in community building, traveling + speaking at conferences and events all over the world, mentoring clients in her private and group programs and being an available and present wife and mother. When her schedule frees up, we can follow-up with you for an interview.

We really appreciate you contacting us and wish you the best of luck with your work.

Warm hugs,
Michele
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We have to start saying “no” to inbound projects and requests that don't move our own goals and projects forward. If things don't line up with your priorities in the next 3 months, it's a “no” for now.

Here are some other inspiring articles to help you create loving boundaries for your great work in the world:

• Greg McKeown author of Essentialism –– talks about how to go “monk mode”
• My good friend Clay Hebert “I'm in my creation cave”
• Alexandra Franzen “How to say no…”

By saying no, you’re honoring what’s most important now. Do you struggle with saying, “no” –– why or why not?

Warm hugs,