How to set effective boundaries in your business
Determine what your needs are first. You may know exactly what it is that you need more of (or less of) within your business. But sometimes there are clues that you may not have the full picture and some needs might get overlooked. There are a few ways to suss out needs you may not be giving your full attention to. Check in with your body. Do you feel flushed, tense, exhausted, sleepy? Now write these feelings down and see what it is your body might be asking for.
Another key tool is your anger. What really gets your goat? When you find yourself getting really annoyed or mad (at a client, a situation, or partner), this is a good indication that you had a need that wasn’t being met. This is a surefire place that is asking for a boundary to be put up to prevent feeling angry again.
Create rules around your needs. If one of your needs is having time for a long morning routine that eats into typical office hours, create a rule around that need. This might look like setting your working hours from 10:00am-6:00pm. Don’t check email or even come near your to-do list until that time. Stick to these rules and create a practice around them. Eventually, they will become patterns that feel second nature and you’ll find yourself wondering why you ever worried about starting your work day so “late”.
Communicate them confidently. When you are sure of yourself, your clients will naturally accept your rules and choices. I learned (and am still learning) this one through parenting a toddler. If I set the limit with ease and confidence, my two year old is way less likely to throw a tantrum. But the other key to this formula is to accept that they may not like your limits, and that’s okay. Your client is allowed to feel miffed that you didn’t respond to their email right away. My toddler is allowed to be mad that his TV show has a time limit. That’s okay. Feel free to feel your feelings, bud. But dems the breaks.
