BNI 854: Business Matters 132 - When Things Get Crazy

Summary

Podcast Summary: BNI & The Power of One – BNI 854: Business Matters 132 – When Things Get Crazy

Host: Tim Roberts
Guest: Michael Martin
Date: September 17, 2025

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Overview & Main Theme

This episode of Business Matters, part of the BNI & The Power of One podcast, deals with the realities of balancing priorities, time management, burnout, and the importance of recharging—especially when business and life become overwhelming. Host Tim Roberts and recurring guest Michael Martin speak candidly about recent challenges in managing their professional and personal commitments, and share practical advice for listeners facing similar situations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

When Commitments Pile Up: Balancing "Wants" vs. "Needs"

• Tim and Michael discuss how, during especially busy seasons, it’s normal to let non-essential activities (like their podcast) take a backseat.
  • Tim admits: “I think part of our topic [today]... everybody hits certain seasons and different things that go on, and where do you invest your time and decisions you have to make?” [01:09]
  • They emphasize that, as business owners, it’s sometimes necessary to say no to things you enjoy in favor of critical work tasks.
  • Michael frames the dilemma: “Sometimes the things you kind of like to do have to take a backseat to the things you need to do and need to focus on 100%.... I gotta get this done now. I would like to get this done… even if I like doing it, [but] I’ve got to… push it off to the wayside.” [01:50]

The Guilt and Weight of Expectations

• The hosts discuss feeling an obligation to continue podcasting because listeners send in questions and rely on their insights, which adds an extra layer of pressure.
  • Tim: “You start to feel a little bit obligated to do it because thankfully we do have people who send in questions each week… But that kind of gets hard because then it’s like, oh, these people are now expecting it or waiting for it.” [02:38]
  • Despite challenges, they are committed to resuming regular episodes.

Recent Life Events

• Tim has been immersed in leadership training, with over 2,000 participants in his region, family milestones like kids starting new schools and activities, and other professional obligations.
  • “We’re in deep into leadership training for our organization right now. We’ve had over 2,000 people go through our leadership training.” [03:01]
  • “It’s been busy with that... It’s been a whirlwind.” [03:19, 03:59]
  • Personal note: Tim is about to celebrate his 17th wedding anniversary, and shares the importance of taking time to recharge personally with his wife. [06:00]

Importance of Prioritizing and Recharging

• Planning and routines: The discussion turns to the importance of regularly reviewing and prioritizing tasks, especially for high achievers who have a tendency to overload their schedules.

  • Michael: “You got to spend a little time taking that whole list of things you want to accomplish and prioritizing them to get to your end goal.” [05:07]

• Both stress the importance of stepping back to recharge before burnout sets in.

  • Tim: “We talked a lot about this in other podcasts—taking time to recharge. I’m definitely there. So we’re leaving Thursday, Lindsay and I, just for a couple days… which I love.” [05:39]

Addressing Burnout and Mental Ruts

• Recognizing burnout:

  • Tim shares that when he feels like everything is bad news or he lacks motivation for usually enjoyable tasks, that’s his “trigger” to step back and take a break.
    • “That’s usually my signal… you need a day somewhere just to back off from everything.” [10:08, 10:26]
  • Michael describes his coping mechanism of unplugging and doing “mindless” tasks like gardening to clear his mind and reset.

• Don't force productivity:

  • Michael warns against forcing yourself to produce content or attend meetings when your heart isn’t in it, as people will sense it and the results will suffer.
    • "If you feel like your heart’s not in it, don’t force yourself to do it, because anybody in earshot will know you’re forcing it. Right?” [10:56]

Strategies to Break the Cycle

• Simple breaks matter:

  • Even short breaks (a walk, ice cream, outside time) can help.
    • “You can go for a walk, you can do something.... Just don’t be looking down at your phone...” [13:28–13:39]

• Be wary of emotional decisions:

  • Michael cautions, “If you use your emotions to dictate action, you will make things worse.... Reacting emotionally to things that are emotional in nature, especially as a business owner or a leader, you’ve got to rise above it.” [13:45, 14:09]

The Role of Support and Accountability

• Both speakers highlight the value of supportive partners—whether in business (as colleagues or mentors) or personal life—to help process and overcome periods of struggle.
  • “We’ve got each other to rely on, which is also kind of fun.... Accountability partners, mentors, just brothers in arms, sisters in arms. That’s kind of what you got to find for yourself.” [16:29–16:39]
  • Tim encourages BNI members to seek out someone within their network for support: “...There’s got to be somebody that you can connect with and be able to be that for.” [16:57]

Embracing Reality vs. the "Perfection" Perception

• Tim addresses a common misconception:
  • “Sometimes when I listen to podcasts… you get the sense of, like, oh, they’ve had it all figured out, or everything works perfect for them. It’s like, that’s not reality. It’s not reality for all of us.” [06:35]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Prioritizing (Michael):
  “You gotta focus on what’s important in an order of hierarchy of needs.” [04:07]

• On Recharging (Tim):
  “We always took one weekend, at least, where it was just us… Ever since we had kids, but also just to step back and recharge because it has been so active.” [06:11]

• On Burnout (Michael):
  “Listen to yourself… If you feel like your heart’s not in it, don’t force yourself to do it, because anybody in earshot will know you’re forcing it.” [10:56]

• On Support (Tim):
  “Having somebody that you can, like, for lack of a better term, vent to… Sometimes it’s just a matter of dumping it off and then like, okay, now it’s off and I’m good.” [16:48]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:55–01:47: Setting the theme: Too busy for the podcast, struggle with time and motivation
• 02:38–03:22: Listener expectations and obligation to continue
• 03:01–04:02: Leadership training commitment and personal busy-ness
• 05:06–05:39: The necessity of prioritizing and getting into productive routines
• 06:00–06:20: The value of personal time and anniversary tradition
• 07:15–09:39: Ongoing need for practice, learning, and staying sharp via podcasting
• 10:08–10:56: How ruts manifest and the signals to take a break
• 12:52–14:09: Specific advice for breaking negative cycles and unplugging
• 16:29–16:57: The importance of accountability and having a support network

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Summary Takeaways

• Periods of overwhelming busyness and lack of motivation are normal—even for leaders and “high-achievers.”
• Prioritization, stepping back to recharge, and practicing effective time management are essential for long-term success.
• Don’t be ashamed to take breaks, step away, or ask for help. Doing so keeps you sharp and ultimately benefits both you and your business.
• Building a reliable support system—professionally and personally—makes a real difference.
• Embrace the reality that even professionals with public platforms face the same challenges as everyone else.

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Listeners are encouraged to accept their own periods of overload with self-compassion, to take regular steps to recharge, and to use their business network for genuine support—just as Tim and Michael do themselves.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome back to the Business Matters podcast, part of BNI Power of One, Tim Roberts. And with me live and in studio, Michael Martin.

[B]

Good morning.

[A]

How you doing?

[B]

Doing well. We haven't chatted in a bit. We've both been busy doing things.

[A]

That is very true and I think part of our topic. But we do have a golf tournament today which is always fun. I like the charity golf tournaments.

[B]

So our annual in in person recording is always the day of our golf tournament.

[A]

Yeah, it's been a minute. It's actually been. I think we were going to talk about been a minute even for the podcast. It's been a few weeks since I've even been able to do one. Slash, I, to be honest, even wanted to do one.

[B]

You've been pretty busy.

[A]

Yeah, we've got a few things going on y. So I figured, yeah, that would be a good topic for us to discuss. Joe. Just about, I guess, two things. One is obviously time management. When things, you know, everybody hits certain seasons and different things that go on and where do you invest your time and decisions you have to make? And then two is also you get kind of stuck in a rut, which I think I have been a little bit with the. When it comes to the podcast because there's so many things going on that there would have been time, I could have made time and I chose not to, I think in a little bit of ways. And that happens to all of us too. Especially since this is, I remind everybody, a free thing that we do. We're not making any money, we don't have any advertising.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

It's not a. This isn't our business or job.

[B]

So, yeah, I guess, you know, it comes down to when things get busy. Sometimes the things you kind of like to do have to take a backseat to the things you need to do and need to focus on 100%. And when we've talked in the past about managing time correctly, a lot of that is really boiling down. I gotta get this done now. I would like to get this done and this I don't really need to get done, even if I like doing it. And I've got to kind of push it off to the wayside because you have to focus on your business business. And you focus on your business so you get strong enough results where you can do the things you like to do without worrying about the rest.

[A]

So that is the ideal situation.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. The funny thing with the podcast though is it starts to you. You start to feel a little bit obligated to do it because thankfully we do have people who send in questions each week and we've got weekly presentation coaching people sending in. So. And I ask people don't stop doing that. Definitely don't. But that kind of gets hard because then it's like, oh, well, these people are now expecting it or waiting for it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Makes a challenge. But it has been. We've had a great couple weeks. So during that time period, since the last one even starting a little bit before that, we're in deep into leadership training for our organization right now. We've had over 2,000 people go through our leadership training.

[B]

That's awesome.

[A]

So it's been busy with that nationally.

[B]

Or just in your chapter?

[A]

Just in our regions. Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

That's a pretty big percentage of your overall membership, isn't it?

[A]

It is, yeah. And I was led by our north. I got to do the math and pull it out. Okay. Our northeast Florida, northeast region was the biggest percentage. We had like 86% of the members go through.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Which was crazy. Yeah. New records on size and everything and. And kudos to. You know, that's takes a village thing. That's not me necessarily. We've got a lot of team members who put in a ton of time, but we've had that going on and it's been with that and with, you know, Lindsay's dry bar stuff and.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Everything else, it's been a whirlwind.

[B]

You know, we used to have a saying, it's like, don't eat the chicken whole.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It tastes good. Going in, doesn't necessarily feel good, you know, like coming out. And the whole thing about that is you gotta focus on what's important in an order of hierarchy of needs.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So it's not like you and I think this podcast that we do and the other ones you do are important. They're important pieces of what you're doing to grow the culture of BNI on the one hand, but also provide general knowledge about business based on my experience and your experience on the other hand. But there's a day to day that needs to get done for your organization, not just in bni, but now your other organization that you're helping to manage for your wife's business and her partner's business. So, you know, it's understandable. And I think every business owner really does need. We keep saying you need to kind of take some time, carve it out so you can focus on how you spend your time.

[A]

Yes. Proper planning.

[B]

Proper planning and getting into a routine, making sure you're Focusing on the things that need to be focused on and pushing off the rest. Because all of us, I think, as people like, especially people who are high achievers, like to just keep going. They don't like to say no. They want to get all these different things done. And I want to do this. I want to do this. I want to do this. I want to do this. I want to do this. All we're saying is you got to spend a little time taking that whole list of things you want to accomplish and prioritizing them to get to your end goal.

[A]

100 we. I mean, I'm that brain mind because I think of, like, I have every excuse of why I didn't do it. But actually funny enough, too. We talked a lot about this in other podcasts. Taking time to recharge. I'm definitely there. So we're leaving Thursday, Lindsay and I, just for a couple days, which we do every time this year, which I love.

[B]

Happy anniversary.

[A]

Yeah. Thank you. Seventeen years, man.

[B]

Unbelievable. As long as I've been in my house, that's how I do it. Years in my house is years of your marriage. I mean, it's perfect.

[A]

17 years. But more than one. Like, we. Like, we've always done that, and I encourage people to do it. If you have kids. We always took one weekend, at least where it was just us.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Ever since we had kids, but also just to step back and recharge because it has been so active. We had. Madison started high school, which was crazy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Jake started a new middle school. We have hockey and dance have started back up. It's like, everything piled on.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

End of August, early September. And so, long story short, these will be back. I think this one will drop this week, and then next Monday, I'll be back at it. Like, back at a better place and ready to rock with them again. But I think it's. I think part of this is helpful for people to understand that, like, you're not alone. I think sometimes when I listen to podcasts, which I do, you always. Sometimes you get the sense of, like, oh, they've had it all figured out, or everything works perfect for them. It's like, that's not reality. It's not reality for all of us. Like, we all have these things, these challenges, which is why one of the reasons I do the podcast, too. I don't know if it's true for you, too, is to stay sharp with this stuff. You know what I mean?

[B]

Yes. We've said in the past that the reason why professional teams have Practice and training all the time is so that people don't Forget the basic ABCs in football, the basic blocking and tackling skills, because we all tend to drift. So to be able to continue to talk about it, you know, lets me keep fresh in my mind the things that I've learned that my mentors have told me, things I picked up along the way so that I can be in a position to help other people succeed. You know, that's how I look at doing this podcast to the point where, you know, like, if I don't hear from you, I'm like, hey, man, when are we doing the podcast? Like, because I enjoy. I enjoy connecting with you as much as we do, but I know it keeps me in the game. And I know that we're going to get some interesting questions that make me think about, oh, where did they come across that in my past, or have I come across it in my past? What would I do if I was in that position? And those type of games in my mind, you know, are really helpful to me and thinking about business. And sometimes I hear things on here that make. Or we talk about it, and I'll go home after and I'll either look something up online, like, you know, is there something new I should be paying attention to? Or I'll go back to some of my books that I've had in the past. And, like, I wonder if that chapter is something I should read again, you know, and. Because it makes me recall certain things. So, yeah, it's definitely to stay sharp. And, you know, we're doing it in kind of in podcast form, but again, organizing your time as a leader in a business, whether you're a solopreneur and you've got to really manage your time well to be successful, or if you have an organization where you're dealing with. With a lot of moving parts, you're doing the same thing. You're getting yourself into a routine. You get to keep people focused on what's important. You know, those top two or three things that will help your business be successful. And as a manager, a leader, an owner, you know, having that well defined as part of your story that your people have to know so that they can kind of pick that up and do it again with the end game of you get to spend time doing things you like.

[A]

Yeah, I think that part about, you know, looking at what's going to move forward is what's been happening. It's the prioritization of, like, all right, what's actually going to progress? US vs not that this is an important. It is to me, and I hope people are finding value out of it, but sometimes those have to take a backseat. Then it gets into the rut factor. Then it gets into the, like, everything's been going on so long that there have been a couple days where I'm like, I should do it. And I just was like, I never really want to do that. Right. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Which, you know, I think everybody. I go through it probably twice a year, I think, where I'll hit a time where I'm like. And it's usually my signal of, like, you need a day somewhere just to, like, back off from everything. And usually after a day, I'm pretty good. Or a weekend.

[B]

Not talk to anybody other than your family. Like, just like, yeah, you know, I don't really want to.

[A]

Yeah, it's just been super crazy busy. I mean, we, like, we had a great trip, but it was. That was a crazy busy trip. And, like, it just has been boom, boom, boom, boom. That when those things happen to me, like, I know I'll get in a rut where I just, like, I don't want to do these things that usually I do want to do. And that's usually my trigger. And that. That's definitely come up the last week or so when it. Especially with the podcast. It's been a couple times I was like, I should do a podcast. And I was like, yeah. And I came up with any excuse, so.

[B]

But I think it's for the people listening. I think it's important to kind of. You don't want to be in the rut too long where you feel that way, because then you got things that are probably a lot deeper than this one thing or that one thing that you've got to address. However, the really important piece is to listen to yourself so that if you feel like your heart's not in it, don't force yourself to do it, because anybody in earshot will know you're forcing it. Right. It's kind of like when we've talked about this in the past from a networking perspective, if you go there kind of unprepared, in a bad mood, whatever, you're not going to do well.

[A]

Right. The perception, everybody's going to pick up on it.

[B]

And, you know, that is something in business, too. You have to take a step back every once in a while. Like, if you're not feeling it, take a step back. It's not the end of the world, you know, get whatever is. Sometimes I'll feel like the way I do. It is I get up in the morning, and I might kind of start catastrophizing about the way things are going in my life, you know, business this, that, and the other thing. And then I'm like, ah, man. I start talking to myself and have these whole mental conversations, and I know I'm literally circling the drain, and I know it. But a lot of times, all I really need is just a couple hours of being unplugged. And for me, when I get in that rut, I like to go outside and do weeding in my garden. I leave the phone in the house or I'll put some music on. I'll do weeding. I'll do things like that are kind of, like, mindless. But then I find myself, after doing that for a couple hours, I find myself thinking very strategically about the things that were bothering me. And then I'm done. I feel a little bit better. And then I'll start making my calls. I'll start prioritizing my lists. And, you know, within a few hours, I'm like, yeah, it wasn't so bad, but I woke up this morning and I'm like, everything is.

[A]

The worst that I think is. That's. That's my trigger, too, is when I start feeling like everything I hear is bad news. Yeah, I know. It's like kind of my own mental thing. It's like everything's going wrong or this problem so just escalating. And a lot of times they're just not that big of a deal or they're not as big of a deal as they're. They're seeming because of everything else.

[B]

Right, Right.

[A]

Yeah, that definitely has been happening a little bit. And I. I think we, again, we all go through that. I think that's good advice where you can just, like, you. You may not be able to go away for a weekend. I'm very fortunate to be able to go for a weekend when this is happening and the timing of it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Being the case. But, yeah, a couple hours.

[B]

But you can go for a walk, Right.

[A]

You can do something.

[B]

You can do something. You can go for a drive. You can go grab an ice cream. You can do, like, things that just, like, don't have to do it work. It's also really important to disconnect when you do it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Don't be looking down at your phone and don't be, you know, like, taking calls when you're trying to decompress because it doesn't work.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like, you're literally staying in it. So just Turn the damn thing off. You know, because it's. It's equally important not to escalate like, or kind of make it worse. And if it is a bad situation, you know, the odds are if you. If you use your emotions to dictate action, you will make things worse. We see a lot of that happening right now.

[A]

That's definitely true.

[B]

A lot of people reacted emotionally to something very recently in the news. It's not going well for them. And just think, you know, try and step back. No matter what side you think you're on or are on, you know, reacting emotionally to things that are emotional in nature, you know, especially as a business owner or a leader, you've got to rise above it. So it's a perfect time to step back.

[A]

Yeah, it becomes, you know, as you build. One of the things I've learned is as you build organizations, too, and you build teams and you got great people in place. One thing I have to remind myself all the time is my role is to be the person who puts out the biggest fires. Right. Like, if it's coming to me, it's above somebody's. So it's. I always get the worst of the problems. And so. And most times that's okay because you can realize, and that's your role, and you're in place to do it. Or my job is to tell them, like, this isn't as big of a deal as you're thinking it is, and here's why. But sometimes those all of a sudden seem worse because you're just mentally exhausted from it, whatever. Physically exhausted from it. And so, yeah, that's where we've been. And it's kind of why the podcast. I think you were like, you haven't done a podcast since August 20th. I was like, no, it's been sooner than that, but it has been August.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The first September. Which hurts the cause in chasing down.

[B]

I was going to say, you know.

[A]

I'm still going to catch him.

[B]

But here's the nice thing. Six months ago, a year ago, that was pretty high on your personal achievement list.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Your goals have changed. You've got other things you got going on, so we'll try and get there.

[A]

It's still a goal, but it's not.

[B]

As important as maybe getting your businesses like. Like, you know what I mean?

[A]

It never was. It was always a fun. It was like a fun, motivating goal to. To chase.

[B]

Still have a chance.

[A]

Oh, no, we're gonna catch him next year. I think I've done the math. I think it's still next year.

[B]

Well, now that you're out of your rut and you're doing the math again, see, everything's great.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And we're back. We record five episodes today. I'm not. We have a golf tournament, but. Yeah, I don't know. I just thought it would be good to talk about because I think sometimes, like I said, you might hear these things or hear us and think like, oh, these guys got it all figured out. It's like, nope, we're all going through the same.

[B]

Just as human as the next person.

[A]

Sharing the same experiences.

[B]

And we've got each other to rely on, which is also kind of fun. We've been talking to each other about this type of stuff for a lot longer than this podcast.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So, you know, accountability, partners, mentors, just brothers in arms, sisters in arms. That's kind of what you got to find for yourself.

[A]

Well, and having somebody that you can, like, for lack of a better term, vent to when you're in that stuff.

[B]

Yeah. Definitely helps the email to nowhere but in person.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Right. I mean, sometimes it's just a matter of dumping it off and then like, okay, I'm carrying all this. Now it's off and I'm good. I can now put it down and look at it and go, okay, this is how I'm going to attack these things. Yes, that definitely helps. In again, with bni, you have all your members around. There's got to be somebody that you can connect with and be able to be that for.

[B]

So do yourself and your business a favor and take a step back every once in a while and just kind of realign yourself if it's for 15 minutes or 15 hours or a long weekend away with someone you care about.

[A]

Yep. And we're gonna go do that at a charity golf tournament.

[B]

Yes, we.

[A]

Somebody. All right. Good to see you. We'll be back. See y.