“I Should Have This Figured Out by Now”
How Small Shifts Create Big Change for Overwhelmed Founders
As the year winds down, many of the founders and CEOs I work with find themselves sitting in a quiet tension. Yes — they’ve hit major milestones. Yes — the business grew this year. Yes — they’re proud of the work they delivered.
But also… they’re exhausted. Their calendars are still packed. Their inboxes still hold too much of their attention. Their time is constantly traded for tasks — not vision. And more than once, I’ve heard the same quiet confession:
“I should have this figured out by now.”
Let’s pause there — because that thought is quietly doing more damage than we realize. There’s a common myth in entrepreneurship that success will eventually bring ease. That once you hit a certain revenue mark or team size, things will magically “click.” That you’ll finally be able to step back and lead the way you envisioned when you started.
But the truth? What got you here won’t get you there. And the way you’ve been operating — even if it’s worked so far — may not be sustainable. In fact, the very structures that helped you grow may now be holding you back, especially if you’re still reviewing everything before it goes out, making every decision, acting as the “glue” for your team, or spending hours each week in admin mode, cleanup mode — or both. That’s not a sign you’ve failed. It’s a signal you’re ready for a more intelligent system.
There’s a metaphor I often share with clients — especially this time of year, when everything feels like it needs to change at once. If you navigated a boat from Newport, Rhode Island, to Bermuda, and your compass was just one degree off course, you’d miss the island entirely by more than 10 miles! A slight navigational error, repeated consistently over time, completely alters your destination. Now flip that concept. Imagine what becomes possible when you make a small, intentional one-degree shift in how you work, lead, or delegate. That single adjustment — done consistently — can change your business trajectory entirely.
I know how tempting it is in December to think, “In January, I’ll fix everything.” We assume the solution lies in a total reset. A new planner. A bold new initiative. A complete overhaul. But more often, what creates real change is something far more accessible — and sustainable.
When I work with founders in strategy sessions or ongoing consulting, I’m not walking in with a wrecking ball. We’re looking for friction points. Energy drains. Places where you’re still unnecessarily in the weeds. And then we ask: what’s the smallest possible shift that would make the biggest impact?
Sometimes that looks like fully delegating one category of tasks, rebuilding how communication flows between you and your team, cleaning up your calendar to create 5 hours of strategic white space, or bringing in the right executive-level support who doesn’t need hand-holding. These changes might sound small, but the ripple effect is massive.
One of my new clients, a brilliant founder running a growing consultancy firm, initially came to me on our initial discovery call completely underwater. She had tried hiring before. She’d delegated, built SOPs, and even brought in a part-time VA (more than once). After all of that, her days were still defined by decision fatigue, bottlenecks, and the sense that nothing could move without her.
In our initial session, we didn’t talk about adding more team members or launching a new system. We focused on one key area: how tasks moved through her team. Specifically, where ownership was breaking down — and why everything still flowed through her inbox. We made one shift: restructured her delegation flow and embedded one of my trusted and highly seasoned executive assistants into her systems in a very part-time capacity. That single move gave her back 10+ hours a week within the first month. She finally had time to think. To plan. To lead again. She didn’t need a whole new business; she just needed to adjust her trajectory.
December has a way of bringing all our doubts to the surface: “Why am I still doing this?” “Shouldn’t I have more freedom by now?” “Is this really sustainable?” Instead of rushing into reinvention mode or piling on goals — pause. This season isn’t about fixing yourself; it’s about choosing your next move with clarity. That’s how you avoid repeating the same patterns, just with a new project name.
Small hinges swing big doors. One-degree shifts — made with intention and strategy — can set your business and your leadership on an entirely new course by mid-year. Your business doesn’t need to rebuild the entire hull of your boat; it just needs a better compass heading.
So if you’re tired of patching holes and ready to create real operational freedom… this is the moment.
Let’s get you out of the weeds and back into your role as a strategic leader. Through my Banish Burnout Blueprint Session, we’ll audit your time, identify the hidden systems and habits keeping you stuck, the opportunities for smarter delegation and proactive support, and your first 1–2 operational shifts to create real traction in Q1. You don’t need another course or checklist; you need a clear, focused recalibration and someone who knows how to help you implement sustainable and lasting degrees of change, while removing the burden of monitoring it from your plate.
Start 2026 with traction, clarity, and the capacity to lead — not just survive.
