We’re often taught that by giving more of ourselves to others we can achieve what we want out of life. We’re told we must make sacrifices and put others first to become better people.
But have you ever considered the possibility that not putting yourself first is holding you back and preventing you from reaching your goals?
Picture this. You work hard all day to reach your goals. When you’re attempting to focus, other people keep asking for your time, and other things inevitably demand your time too. You start off with a to-do list, but by the end of your day, you’ve not done what you hoped to, chiefly because of the constant distractions. I bet you’ve been in a similar situation many times before, right?
In truth, by giving more of yourself to other people, you are sometimes devoting less of yourself to your goals and what you wish your future to look like. Whether you realise it or not, your goals have taken a back seat.
In the rest of this article, I’ll go through six important reasons why putting yourself is important and how doing so can boost your productivity.
Let’s dive right in.
1. If You Put Yourself First, You’ll Have the Wherewithal to Focus on Your Goals
It’s obvious that you need energy, a clear head, and emotional bandwidth to work hard every day.
When you put yourself first, you can see a clear path to your goals. That way, your goals won’t get lost because of busyness and helping other people.
Life seldom turns out as expected, and as you’re working on your goals, you’re going to experience unexpected setbacks. You need mental strength to withstand those frustrating moments and still be motivated to reach your goals.
To work towards your goals, you must put yourself first because that’s how you’ll be able to stay focused on what it takes to achieve what you want. Learning to say no can help free up time to work on the things that matter to you the most.
2. More Focus Equals Improved Productivity
When you’re disorganised, you’re not as productive. You find yourself being pulled in some many different directions you can’t focus properly, and thus have a tough time reaching your goals. You can find out more about why we struggle to focus by reading our piece on the subject.
When we set goals, we need to plan around whatever it is we wish to achieve. When we make ourselves a priority, we’re able to make an effective plan that will help us stay focused so we can achieve our goals.
When you act in accordance with a plan and can stay organised and focused, your productivity will improve. You’ll have the energy and focus needed to get more done.
3. Prioritising Yourself Helps You Set Boundaries
In both our working and personal lives there will be various demands on our time and attention, but agreeing to too many requests from others or becoming distracted too often can cause us to lose focus and thereby make us less productive.
As you begin to get more done and achieve what you set out to do, people will notice and start to demand more of you as a result. Every request you say yes to will cost you a portion of your energy and focus, and if you agree to too many of them, you won’t have the bandwidth you need to successfully meet your own goals on a consistent basis.
Therefore, you must set boundaries. Be firm about what you allow and what you will not permit. Remember, most of us tend to be people-pleasers, but when we focus on pleasing others, we don’t please ourselves.
Use self-prioritisation to clarify what boundaries need to be set and make sure you hold to that if you want to succeed at what you do.
4. You Can Sustain Productivity When You’re Excited About Your Work
One reason we don’t achieve our goals is because of a lack of excitement, but it’s often disregarded. Nevertheless, when you spend all your time working on things that drain you, your productivity is bound to diminish.
Letting outside influences dictate your goals can result in a lack of excitement. By not making yourself a priority, you’re not creating an environment that will make you happy to work toward your goals. It will take lots of hard work over a sustained period to accomplish your goals and be productive. You’re going to need to stay motivated, focused, engaged, and productive.
When you put yourself first, you can challenge yourself so you can be excited about the outcome. If you’re not excited about your work, you won’t be able to sustain a good level of productivity because you’ll be unmotivated.
There must be a balance between work and play, even though we must accept that there will be some aspects of what we work on which aren’t exciting. You can create and maintain a healthy work life balance, by putting yourself first.
5. Focusing on Yourself Allows You to Improve Every Area of Your Life
You’re most likely working toward your goals because you want to become a better version of yourself and create a life that affords you more free time to spend as you wish. This will happen through a productive life.
If you start making yourself a priority, you’ll have the energy and mental capacity you need to push yourself harder for longer. As you consequently become more productive, you’ll be able to improve many different areas of your life.
Your mind might be demanding that you help others and give them a share of your time and energy, but if you instead focus on what you want for yourself first, you’ll have more time and energy to share with them later.
6. Letting Go of the Expectations of Other People Can be Mentally Freeing
We’re taught that to be a good human being, we should take on a share of other people’s troubles. By prioritising yourself, you’ll come to learn you’re responsible for your life, and that encompasses your mental well-being.
Prioritising yourself helps you see that you must let go of the expectations of others. This is your life, and you must live it as you see fit. It’s important for you to spend your precious time working on your goals and things that can help improve your life.
When you disregard the expectations others have surrounding what you do, it creates mental clarity and allows you to be productive. No longer are you weighed down by the burden of what others expect of you. Instead, you can spend your time the way you’d like to.
Focus on setting the goals that help you live and spend your time exactly how you’d like to, without worrying about what others think. Let go of outside expectations and focus on yourself.
Wrapping Up
What you’d like to accomplish and how you go about getting there must be a priority before you think of others.
The demands of others can knock you off course if you let it. Putting yourself first means your boundaries will be firmly set wherever you decide, and you will not allow other people to impinge upon them. You’ve no doubt spent a lot of your time up to this point focused on others and the world around you, at a cost to yourself. Take dedicated time to put yourself first. Remember, you deserve a productive life, and as we’ve seen throughout this piece, deciding to make yourself a priority can both sharpen your focus and boost your productivity.
There’s nothing wrong with putting yourself first and making your goals your number one priority. You can always help others and make yourself a priority too. All you need is an effective strategy and good boundaries. It’s not an either-or situation — you can in fact do both if you plan well.
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