5 Strategies to help you OWN your life today (like a lady boss)
Have you ever seen ‘THAT GIRL’? You know the one, the one at work, at the party and family events who always looks like they just always ‘have it all together’?
Have you ever wondered what their secret is? Well, here’s the insider scoop – it’s not a secret – it’s a strategy. And not just one strategy, but a number of strategies that keep them looking they have always have a good hair day (dry shampoo anyone?).
I want to share with you 5 strategies that will help you OWN your life today so you can become more of the lady boss you are. These are very practical strategies I share with my clients and prevent: overwhelm and burnout.
Because here’s the truth: you ARE that girl – you just need to start acting like it and lining up your behavior and habits with who you know you desire to be.
Calendar EVERYTHING.
I used to think I was pretty good at this, but when I started my business, it revealed to me (depressingly) how much of my time I was not in charge of and actually giving away for free. My calendar owns my life (and my calendar is sacred). I know when I need to: eat dinner, go to sleep (after reading Arianna Huffington’s book Thrive, I made myself a 10 pm curfew) and even when to do personal admin. When you start to put a value on your time, you stop giving it away because you know where your time (read: ENERGY) is spent every day. It also makes me more realistic about how long something will take. Once you start putting a value on your time, you start getting it back (ps, I ditched the paper diary for an online calendar – it hurt, but it was a game-changer for me!). An organized woman is a FREE woman.
Review your priorities every 90 days:
Wanna know why new year resolutions don’t usually work? Because sustaining ANYTHING for a 12 month period is nearly impossible for most people. So every 90 days I sit down and look at: my money, relationships, business, health – if I haven’t checked in on these crucial areas in 90 days, things will start to slip – and NEGLECT starts to creep in and get bigger (you know that closet you have meant to get sorted?). It’s easier to review your life and career pieces when you break it down into chunks.
Don’t say Yes.
I hear people pleasers screaming at this statement. Here’s the thing – you ARE wonder woman. And you CAN do everything. But it doesn’t mean you should. Practice this phrase ‘I’ll get back to you.' And repeat. And then look back at your 90-day list and think like a business owner: ‘is this person, event, a project worth my time and money?’. YES, you need to be that scrupulous about how you spend your time and energy… because how you spend your time is how you spend your life. Overwhelm, frustration and resentment start to come in when YOU (yes you, not your partner, manager or family) say yes when really it’s a no for you. Get used to not reacting and agreeing when something is asked of you. Protect your time – and your peace will start to return, and you’ll be free to focus on what your REAL priorities are.
Create your MUST list and stick to it:
Your life represents your focus. So, what is your MUST? For me, a must is my husband, family, and business. So, I calendar and prioritize accordingly. Yes, it would be nice to do a road trip, run a marathon or start a cat charity, but it’s not my must right now. Forget what you feel you ‘should’ do – that’s a sign of people pleasing and fear that you are letting people down. Guess what? You are allowed to say no. And change plans if it’s taking you away from something really important to you. If you have real friends in your life, they won’t love you any less because you aren’t available to show up to every social event because you are launching a new project at work, or working on a course or starting that side hustle. Your must list has to be your focus – or it will just join in the heap of abandoned projects that you’ll get around to one (cough, never) day.
Invest in yourself (and your priorities).
Anyone you admire in your field – I can GUARANTEE- has invested in themselves with a coach or mentor who has more experience than they did and can zone in on their weaknesses. Yes, I said weaknesses. A coach can get you where you want to be quicker. Getting my own coach was a game changer for me and made it clear to me what was holding me back all the while giving me the tools and structure (and expertise) to get where I wanted to be quicker than I would have been able to by myself (I would have laughed if you had said I could leave my corporate job within a year of starting my business - but that freedom came to a LOT quicker when I invested in what I really wanted in my life)
So, there you have it. You ARE a lady boss – take these strategies and start implementing them – and trust me, you’ll be seen as ‘that girl’ you knew you always were (shiny hair and all).
Success Coach and PR Expert