4 Simple Steps to Putting YOU First

Have you ever noticed how when you get busy in your business or your job, the first thing that gets dropped out is YOU!

I’m the first to say that I’m one of those people who has good intentions when it comes to taking care of me. I’m committed to living a ‘stress-free’ life so I like to work out 3 times a week. My plan is to get to the health club early 3 times a week, work out, and then back to work.

But when I get up, it’s as if a magnet is pulling me to my computer. I tell myself it will only take me a few minutes to check my emails and then off I’ll go to the health club. Yeah…right!

I open up my computer, read several emails that require a quick response, and then another and another. Before I know it, it’s already late morning or even afternoon before I get to work out. I may or may not make it to the health club. Once again taking care of me has dropped out. Sound familiar to you?

Often people are so immersed in growing their businesses; they put their personal needs on the back burner. It’s no surprise business owners get stressed out, worry about their future, and are exhausted at the end of the day. Although they may reach their goals, there’s a cost. Over time it takes a huge toll on their emotional and physical health.

One of the things Timothy Ferriss mentions in The 4-Hour Workweek is checking email twice per day, once at noon and 4 pm. He says to never check email first thing in the morning (I absolutely agree with him on this!). Instead, complete your most important task before 11 am. The most important task could be doing something for you. Because when you’re taken care of, you have more to give to your business and others. You can start making changes now by evaluating your lifestyle and deciding what you can do differently.

To get you started on the pathway to taking care of yourself, here are 4 steps to follow:

Step 1: Define what’s important to you...and WHY!

One major issue people experience is they don’t take time to determine what’s important to them and WHY. Many of us get caught in the reactive cycle of doing so many little things that seem critical, we lose sight of what we’re really trying to accomplish.

Simply setting aside an hour of uninterrupted time to truly define what you want for yourself can get you off to the right start.

Many of us already have loose conceptions of what we’d like to do: “I’d like to travel more” or “I want to make more money this year than I did last year.” But you need to more tightly define what you really want to accomplish and more importantly, why. It’s easy to lose sight of why we wanted to do it in the first place.

Step 2: List the activities you really want to do.

Are you filling up your calendar with work, organization, commitments and activities that don’t bring you joy? What about scheduling the activities you would love to do, but don’t think you have time to do?

Put activities that relax and energize you like exercise, reading, meeting a friend at Starbucks or having a manicure (yes, guys included too!) on your calendar first. Activities that nurture you are just as important as your business commitments.

Block out a few hours a week for you. Put yourself first as a priority. As the boss, we get to design our work schedule. I always take off Fridays, and to make sure I don’t forget, I type in bold letters on my Outlook calendar “Rochelle’s Day!” I get to do whatever I want to do on my day.

Every day when I open up my weekly calendar, I have Fridays to look forward to because it’s my special day. When you take time for yourself, you have more to give back to your business and the people in your life.

Step 3: Unclutter your life.

Look around your office. Is your desk covered with papers? Do you have sticky notes of things to do scattered everywhere? Do you have stacks of unread articles and magazines?
You can start taking care of yourself by uncluttering your life. Clutter can easily take over your life and drain you of energy.

Every time you look at a messy desk or stacks of papers, it’s draining your energy. Begin to open up your space, by organizing your physical space.

When I work with a client, one of the first things I request is that they clean off the top of their desk. Start to unclutter your space by setting aside a block of time on a weekly basis. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to do it all at one time.

Set aside 30 minutes each week to clean off your desk, or discard those papers that have been sitting on your table for several weeks, or throw out those magazines stacked up on the floor.

When you open up a clean space, you’re allowing new opportunities to come to you.

Step 4: Acknowledge yourself.

It's important to acknowledge yourself for every accomplishment and victory, whether it's large or small. Too often we rush through life, thinking about the next thing to do rather than relishing in the glory of our achievements.

Each day, preferably at the beginning of the day, spend a few quiet minutes either writing down or reflecting on what you have accomplished. As a business owner, you’re accountable for everything that happens in your business—good and bad. Usually we’re quick to dwell in the failures and not acknowledge the successes.

A simple way to acknowledge you is to keep a journal and write down your accomplishments and successes. This way you'll get a real sense of how far you've come. Imagine how great you'll feel knowing you did this yourself!

Now that you know the steps to putting YOU first, you may be ready to get out there and start closing more sales. Some of the steps include moving through your fears, overcoming the money issue once and for all, getting paid what you’re worth, asking the right questions, handling objections, asking for the business, and closing the sale.

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