Let’s talk boundaries!
Boundaries are healthy. They help you stay in control, protect your energy & keep you focused on the important parts of growing your business.
But let’s face it, working with both clients & team members can seriously test your boundaries.
If you don’t define your boundaries, you might unintentionally condition clients and team members to expect things you won’t always be willing to give (i.e. immediate answers, replies on weekends).
Creating boundaries from the start makes ongoing communication and managing expectations much easier.
So, in this video I share some of my favorite ways to establish boundaries in my business.
1 | Learn to Say No
Say no to clients who aren’t ideal, say no to projects that creep outside of the scope of work you originally agreed on in your contract, say no to things that distract you from your bigger goals! Remember what Warren Buffet said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is the really successful people say no more often”…
2 | Establish One Channel for Communication
I use Slack for all communication with my clients & my team— no texts, no emails, etc. Once you’ve established the way you’d like to be contacted by clients and team members, when/if someone contacts you outside of that channel, reply to them via the original one you established.
For example, I once had a client who would casually slide into my personal IG DMs & I would NEVER respond there. I’d go to Slack and say, “hey I saw your DM but I want to keep all convos here so the team can see & we can reference if needed” — always redirect & finish the conversation in the appropriate place.
3 | Set Clear Office Hours & Protect Your Calendar
Since I work from home & have the Slack app on all of my computers and phone, it can feel like I’m “on call” 24 /7. So I have established “office hours” or times when I will or won’t reply to Slack messages and emails.
If I happen to be catching up on work on a weekend (because lets be honest, sometimes I skip out in the middle of a weekday) I will use Boomerang on Gmail to schedule the response to send during a weekday at normal hours. I don’t want folks thinking I’m “always available” or reachable on weekends!
I also block out every Tuesday on my calendar just for me. I can use Tuesday however I want, and no one can book a call with me. This gives me peace of mind knowing I won’t have calls everyday & feel like my time is being spent running from appointment to appointment.
Those are just some of the ways that I’ve created boundaries in my business! I’m always trying to be conscious of how I can create more freedom in my week & more structure around our services to ensure everyone is taken care of and I don’t go crazy!
Where in your life or business are you currently being reactive?
What sort of daily interruptions trigger you?
What makes you lose focus on your work or distracts you from completing what you originally set out to accomplish?
Consider if these interruptions are generally “emergencies.” Knowing what interruptions pop up throughout your workday, think about how you can create boundaries.
What simple steps can you take to ensure that the hours you want to focus on your work are protected?
