How Reactive Mode is Costing You Time, Clients, and Sanity—and How to start to Shift into Proactive Mode

Are you stuck playing whack-a-mole in your business?

Do you feel like you’re solving problem after problem, but never have enough time to actually look at what’s causing it?

Do you feel like you are constantly in “catch-up” mode with your client tasks, internal projects, and life in general?

This is normal when you are living in reactive mode.

Reactive mode is when you’re constantly putting out fires, urgently responding to other the most pressing issues. You can’t plan very far ahead because everything needs to be handled immediately.

You might not even realise that this is what’s happening right now because it’s the only way you’ve known how to operate your business.

So today, let’s talk about how to know you’re in reactive mode, how it's wreaking havoc on your business, and what jumping into proactive mode would let you do.

First, what naturally happens when you’re always in a rush in your business? Well, Spoiler alert: you make sloppy mistakes.

Little accidents, missed reviews, and major slip-ups happen because you’re always zipping around.

If you’re in reactive mode, you might find yourself in really awkward moments, like sending emails to 7-figure CEOs and clients with major typos (oopsie), or like misspelling a client’s name (yikes!)

And you’re definitely in reactive mode if you find yourself missing calls and double-booking important meetings more times than you’d care to admit.

In proactive mode you’d be able to present to the world that you’re a details matter kind of business owner and position yourself as a trusted leader.

In proactive mode you’d have the opportunity to double-check the emails, the invites, and the time zones to avoid those embarrassing situations.

Speaking of annoying, if you’re in reactive mode, you might notice that short and snappy is taking on a whole new meaning when you’re actually snapping at your teammates or employees on Slack.

If you have found yourself jumping down a team member’s throat for a simple request, but don’t have a good reason for why, you can be pretty sure you’re in reactive mode.

Being in a constant rush cranks up your stress levels like nobody’s business. You’re basically living in a state of “go-go-go,” and that’ll wear you out fast. It’s not your team’s fault, but taking it out on them will cause big issues down the road.

If you could get into proactive mode, you’d have the space to breathe, think through the response, and handle the situation appropriately, because the whole to-do list doesn’t feel so urgent.

But how the heck do you get into proactive mode enough to stop making those mistakes?

You get support.

The thought of hiring someone has probably already crossed your mind, but you’ve been too hectic to figure out who and how.

A virtual assistant can be a great person to bring on to make room for you to focus on what really matters and get into proactive mode.

If you don’t know where to start, or don’t have time to search, you can simply reach out to someone like me - I’ll do all the searching, matching and set you up with the perfect VA to support you.

Then a VA will help you to create enough breathing room, to slow down. They’ll be just what you need to help you ditch the rush and make space in both your brain and business for what’s important.

Alright another thing you have to look out for is the huge frustration you feel daily which is coming from reaction mode. It’s coming from never being able to do the detailed work that would help in the long run, because what is right in front of you is always more important.

If you’re in reactive mode, you probably always feel like you’re behind, and those big, important projects just never get done.

Detailed orientated work usually goes out of the window too in reactive mode - like wanting to improve client delivery? Forget it—there’s no time to even think about it, let alone make it happen. So you haven’t twiddled or positively updated things like your enquiries or on-boarding process in so long.

Then there’s the long-term fallout: if you’re facing low client retention it could be because you’re constantly dropping the ball in reactive mode.

In proactive mode, you’re able to hold onto more clients. Of course, it’ll be because you’re great at what you do, and because you will have the time and space to actually make the improvements that can give them a rave-worthy experience. They’ll be singing your praises and even land you all those lovely word-of-mouth referrals. All thanks to actually having enough breathing room to implement what you know.

What’s also deeply frustrating about reactive mode is those wasted investments. I know this one too well myself…

You know where you’ve signed up for that mastermind or 1:1 Coach finally, to help you grow and expand both you and your business.

But you don’t have the time to make those calls, and you keep shuffling those 1:1 calls about, or not doing the work between sessions.

This is a sure sign that you are in reaction mode and need the support of someone like a Virtual assistant who can tackle the daily tasks that eat up your time so you can finally get back to the work that moves the needle.

With even a small amount of hours per week with a VA, you can shift into proactive mode, because they know exactly what to take off your plate straight away.

They’ll listen while you list everything on your plate, make a plan to tackle all the repetitive but needed tasks - like making sure your clients have everything they need.

With that head space and schedule looking less jammed, you have time to get into learning mode and show up for those coaching calls. So you can continue to improve you, your business and your client’s experience with you.

Another way to know you’re stuck in reactive mode, is when you notice that you are sacrificing those energising tasks or hobbies every time someone asks for “just one more thing.”

If you’re in reactive mode, everything feels urgent. Let’s say you get an email from a client, and suddenly there’s this pressure to get their deliverable done ASAP.

You know you had planned to go for a quick 20-minute walk at lunch to clear your head and get your steps in, or make that 45 min pilates class at the gym, but now that exercise? It’s out the window and it isn’t the first time, you’ve skipped the first thing in the morning walk too, so you can get ahead.

You’re so used to being reactive that you feel like if you don’t jump on that task right away, the rest of your day is going to get backed up, because - well, it’s already too stacked.

If you could get into proactive mode, you’d feel one step ahead and taking little or longer breaks feel super doable and help your brain to feel less fried and your body from feeling stiff and unloved.

One way to shift into that proactive mode is some clever support from a VA. You’d have them manning your inbox, sorting, prioritising and flagging only things that need your attention.

You could go a whole day without checking your inbox because you know your VA will tell you if something needs your attention, they’re busy taking care of it for you so you can breathe and hit the gym, or take a lunchtime walk and listen to a podcast again.

Reactive mode leads to so many mental and physical sacrifices with business owners and the negative effects of it compound on your health, your happiness and your sanity.

Running on empty doesn’t just affect you; it affects your business, your team, and even your clients. Exhausted, burnt-out and frazzled bosses aren’t exactly the best leaders.

Gaining support from someone like a VA is a complete game changer because you will have a skilled right hand on your back pocket who literally loves to take tasks off your plate and help you give your attention to your business or your life where it’s most needed, without all the distractions.

Finding the right VA is a surefire way to help you switch into proactive mode and stay there for the long haul.

If you’re ready to find out what a difference a Lifestyle or Business VA can make to you, book a chat today, the link is below.