Queen
We’re heading into our last week of this month’s theme, Prioritise Yourself, where you’re taking the first Action to set your life, as you want it, see it, and design it, into motion.
I had centered last week’s blog around the theme of guilt, that monster that feeds off of your energy and time, leaving you with little if any for you. Believing that you should pour all of yourself into something or someone else is a limiting belief that creates this guilt monster and that absolutely needs to be addressed. So, for the sake of your journey and your worth, be mindful of your guilt, and take the time to resolve it.
This week, I want to focus on the positive energy that you can bring into your life to maintain a lifestyle where you Prioritise Yourself. Now, Prioritising Yourself takes an initial investment, intentional action, care, and consideration. It is NOT a selfish act or something you do out of anger. You need to not only plan and organise your time in every aspect but also manage the demands and requests around you and decide what is in your control and what is not. You need to pour energy into saying 
‘no’, and stand in the power that your ‘no’, is as valuable as your ‘yes’. Sometimes your no may warrant an explanation, and other times, it won’t. You will also need to establish new patterns of behavior around you. So, you can see why you need to balance all of this by bringing in some positive energy to keep you going.
How? Well, you’re going to sit down and work out how to measure your progress, and how to celebrate the goals you’re hitting. Sound familiar? Well… IT SHOULD!!! We’ve already spoken about SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound), and you know I keep going on about the benefits of acknowledging and celebrating your achievements. We’re bringing those two things together.
Why? Ok, here’s the deal. If you’re committed to Prioritising Yourself, but you find that you’re actually getting nowhere doing it – nothing is progressing, you don’t feel different, you’re not getting any value out of the exercise – well, you’re not going to be doing it anymore. This is normal, it takes a special type of person to commit time, energy, and maybe money to doing something that has literally no pay-off 
If you’re Prioritising Yourself, that’s already an achievement, but it’s not enough in the long run. You need to establish a framework that will allow you to get some positive feedback to keep you on track. So, let’s create that framework!
1. Break it down. You know what you want to accomplish, you know where you’re going, and you’re busy getting there. Now, identify the concrete steps you need to take. Create a master list (your Master Plan if you will *cue your best I’m taking over the world laugh*) of what you’re going to accomplish, and break down the list into steps. Let’s say you’re starting a freelance
business, and you’ve identified that you need to set up a website and promote it. Break down the steps you’re taking, for example the steps for your website could look a bit like this: (1) Select a website provider, (2) Pay for subscription (if any), (3) Select layout, (4) Write business profile. Remember, your steps need to pass the SMART test, so if they don’t, take the time to figure out how to make them SMART
2. Time it. Each of the steps need time, whether it’s two minutes or a month (or more!). Figure out how much time each step needs, and make sure you’re taking appropriate notes. Pro tip: If you don’t have a time budget for a step, then the step isn’t SMART-aligned. Scrap it, and rethink the step in a way that makes it measurable specifically in time!
3. Plan it. Your week, that is. Take the Master Plan (MUAHAHAHAHA), with the timings you’ve determined for each step, and once a week, plan out the next 7 days around the Master Plan. Pick up a physical (or digital) calendar, put up a chalkboard – do whatever you need to do to have a weekly plan that’s accessible, easy to read, and tells you where you need to be and what you need to be doing. If you are inside of The Academy, you can literally write your steps and plan into the weekly accountability post that is sent out each Sunday
4. Check it. Make time at the end of every day (or the end of the working day) to check your Master Plan against your weekly calendar, and make sure you’re still on track. If you’re not, consider what’s been holding you back. Is it something beyond your control, and a one-off? Were you thrown off track by negative thoughts? Are there some habits that you dropped that have led you to stall some tasks? Take time to assess any problem areas that you were able to identify, and consider actions that you could take in the future to minimize or eliminate those problem areas.
5. List it. At the end of the week, create an Achievement List of all those steps that you did complete. Write EVERYTHING down, then cross-check that Achievement List against your Master Plan. Are things progressing? What’s stalling? Does your Master List need updating/rethinking?
6. Celebrate it. The Achievement List that you’ve made for yourself is your cause for celebration. It doesn’t matter if you’ve only got one item on the list, you’ve DONE IT. You HAVE Prioritised Yourself, and you’ve got the proof you need that your commitment to yourself was the best call you could make. So celebrate the achievements, celebrate your commitment, and celebrate you. Get creative. If you’re working with other people, get them together to toast the achievements, and take time to spread some praise around you as well. Bring your family together for a special meal or outing, let them know the good news, and thank them for their support and patience. For my solo Queens out there (I see you), mark the occasion with something that’s meaningful to you. Put money into a fund for a special vacation, take a hike in a beautiful place, treat yourself to something. You know what? The celebration can be as simple as sitting down to write a post on Facebook letting the world know that YOU DID IT.
Now, I have a very important point to make clear here Queen, this will help you to put into perspective why it is so important you create a plan and put Prioritising Yourself into action. 
You see, for those of you reading this who are members of The Confidence Queens Academy, we are about to start the programme that is going to set you up as a Freelancer or help you transition from an employee to a Consultant. Moving into this era of your life requires self-investment. The biggest investment is TIME! You cannot bring in additional income that will transform your life if you don’t make the time to do so. If you don’t start saying NO to other people’s priorities, you cannot focus on your own! So, if you want to change your financial prospects and begin increasing your earning potential, it’s time to Prioritise Yourself!
Start by creating your positive feedback framework, and putting it into Action.
All right Queen, over to you. It feels outdated to say you got this, we’re well past that point now. You’re DOING this, and well done! Be as proud of you as I am of you.
Fix your crown.
