Many of my clients come to me with one overwhelming problem: they’re simply too busy.

• They’re working long hours, constantly putting out fires, and trying to keep everything running smoothly.
• They have to turn down new opportunities because there just isn’t enough time to take on more.
• Their team members are frustrated, and so are they.
• They feel tired, drained, and stuck because they can’t see a way out of the cycle.

But before you can make a change, it’s important to recognize one simple truth:

Being too busy is the result of your choices – it’s not the cause of your problems.

It’s easy to think that being busy is the problem, but in reality, it’s just a symptom of deeper, underlying issues that need to change.

The good news? It’s fixable!
The bad news? You’re the only one who can fix it.

The first step is understanding the top three reasons why business owners end up too busy.

1. Saying Yes More Than You Say No

The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that 20% of our efforts lead to 80% of our results. This also means that 80% of our efforts only produce 20% of our results.

In other words, you might be spending up to 80% of your time on things that don’t really matter—yikes!

This happens when you default to saying “yes” to everything: new projects, new clients, new ideas. Every time you say yes, there’s less of you and your team to go around. You end up making small progress in many areas rather than significant progress where it truly counts.

As Greg McKeown beautifully puts it in his book Essentialism:

“Once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone and everything, you can make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.”

2. Still Seeing Yourself as the Doer, Not the Leader

Every activity in business falls into one of three categories: Doing, Managing, or Leading. The more time and energy you spend on doing, the less time you have for managing and leading.

For many of my clients, doing is a habit. You’re used to being the one who “gets it done.” It’s part of your identity, and there’s a sense of pride in being able to handle it all. But if you continue to identify as the doer, you’ll always be too busy because you won’t be willing to let go.

When I step in to support a business, one of the most rewarding things I see is when everyone is working in their sweet spot:

• Leader: YOU
• Manager: Me (or another Certified OBM)
• Doer: Your team

By embracing your role as the leader, you can finally shift from being the one doing it all to guiding your business to greater growth.

3. Not Building a Strong Foundation of Team & Systems

Once you’re ready to let go of the doing, the next step is to build a solid foundation of team members and systems to support you.

Hiring a team, especially a manager, isn’t rocket science, but it’s often where many business owners get stuck. Why? Because they’ve never had to hire this level of support before.

Most business owners aren’t experts at finding, hiring, and leading a team, and that’s okay! It’s a learned skill. The key is to be willing to invest in great people who are experts at those things. This is what will take you from being too busy to operating at the next level.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your workload, I encourage you to explore these three areas and identify which one is your biggest pain point. Even small changes in any of these areas can lead to significant, measurable improvements in your business and your peace of mind.