Overwhelm, Consequences and (Improv) Cure!
- Victoria Hogg
- Aug 28, 2025
- 3 min read
Howdy, partners! |
Overwhelm, amirite? When you’re a solopreneur or you’re leading a micro-business, the sense of overwhelm and strain is inevitable. Today’s SMEs are expected to be visionary strategists, marketers, therapists, social media gurus, content machines, administrators, financial planners, and chief doers of Everything Else. In a single day, you might…
It’s not just hard. It’s unsustainable. It’s like you’re wearing every hat and have forgotten where you left your head. Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited, said: “Most entrepreneurs are merely technicians with an entrepreneurial seizure.” Meaning: they’re so busy doing the work, they forget to design the work. Strategy suffers. Positioning fades. Your niche blurs. The long-term intentions and shape of the business becomes: “When I have time.” Applied Improvisation helps overwhelmed SMEs rediscover:
Applied improv will help disentangle and give you a through-route to clarity. Worth a try! Amirite? |
TRY IT OUT: “I Hear You!”
This little phrase reminds us to pare away the complex and offer one thing at a time, reducing overwhelm and encouraging us to slow down. When you’re next speaking to a colleague or client, try saying: “I hear you!” and repeating their exact words before you add whatever you’re proposing or thinking.
This does three things:
1. slows you down.
2. makes you more considered in your response.
3. honours the person’s offer in a supportive and collaborative way.
eg. Person A: “I’d like to try switching up the logo next month…” You: “I hear you! You’d like to switch up the logo next month…”. Then add your response.
NB. Remember to say “I hear you!” first, with true meaningful connection.
“Do what you can with what you have, where you are” Theodore Roosevelt, US President
Something slow…
I (Vic), heard the phrase ‘slow dopamine’ the other day. Sounding like a club drug from the 90s, slow dopamine is produced from activities such as reading a book, taking a long walk or chatting with a friend on the phone.
Slow dopamine is the antidote to the more toxic, ever-present temptation of ‘fast dopamine’: the fix we crave that’s produced when on social media, doom-scrolling or eating fast food.
Slow it down and give your brain a rest.
Something simple…
A Columbia University study found that people make worse choices after too many decisions. As a business owner, you make hundreds of decisions per week. Should you post that reel? Launch that offer? Follow up with that prospect?
When overwhelmed, if we don’t take steps to step back, we tend to default to a shruggy, ‘meh’ state of diffidence. Or worse: we don’t decide at all, and find ourselves in a state of functional freeze or option paralysis.
Improv trains you to explore infinite choices one step at a time. You’re building from a fixed point; engaging with the next available stepping stone.
It’s perfectly zen, when you’re doing it right. And practice makes perfect!
“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realise this and you will find strength” Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor
Something satisfying…
Burnout isn’t just a work or lifestyle word. Burnout is also a fashion term. It means a slouchy, washed-out, comfy style of colour / cloth that traditionally comes from wearing a tee for 5+ years. Now they make it, ready-distressed, for you to buy in the boutique. Nothing like the comfort of a favourite soft garment to make you feel at home.
Burnout in work was a badge of honour (”busyness” as the goal, rather than a problem). But let’s be real: burnout is literally a serious risk for any SME / solopreneur and it comes directly from prolonged overwhelm.
Slow, deep, meaningful connection is better. It might take a little longer but you’re playing the long game, anyway. Improv creates better agile and resilience, which creates a steadier ship. Amirite?
All the best,
Vic (‘n’Paul)
