To the entrepreneur who’s craving work-life “balance”, you don’t need balance, you need boundaries for your business.
“There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices and you make them, and they have consequences.” – Jack Welch
Jack hit the nail on the hit with that one ☝️
There isn’t a magic formula or secret schedule for work-life balance, but rather choices to make. And since each has consequences, that’s why boundaries are so important for us to have because they:
- boost our confidence and assertiveness when we stand for our own ground rules,
- draw the line for what’s acceptable and what’s not,
- they communicate to others how we want to be treated,
- allow for our needs to be met,
- and give us time and energy to do more of what we love.
So because I think each of you deserves all of the above, I whipped up 7 healthy boundaries for your business for you to swipe:
1. Work hours
Set them and stick to them. If you don’t want to work Friday’s, don’t answer emails. If you want to be more present for your kids in the afternoons after work, don’t even check emails on your phone. Work hours are single-handedly the one boundary that will give you that “When I’m done with work, I’m done with work” feeling at the end of the day so you can be fully present.
2. Designated lunch break
You must take breaks. And feeding off the above “work hours” boundary– don’t work during this designated break time; completely unplug and refuel so you can pour from a full cup. Oh, and actually eat, ok? I’m sure I’m not the only one who survives off coffee until 2 pm to plow through work then scarfs down randomness more frequently than I care to admit, or am I? 🙈
3. Social media and/or screen time
Let me say this one a little louder for the back: SET YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA BOUNDARIES. If FOMO has you glued to your screen and nothing but comparison and anxiety is coming out of it, use the screen time limit feature in your social media account to force yourself to spend less time on social.
4. Client expectations
Wanna know the quickest way to alleviate awkward conversations or millions of requests that you “feel bad” for not having time to do? Set your client expectations up front. For example, I send each client a welcome magazine that outlines the way I communicate (so I don’t get tons of DM’s or screenshots coming across my email…and definitely not texts!), let them know how to share feedback, and even provided tutorials for how to use my preferred client communication system, Honeybook. You can also set client expectations up front during consult calls to make sure you’re a good fit and don’t be afraid to turn them down if they AREN’T a good fit!
Learn to just say no.
5. Self-care
Because yes you need this boundary for your business too! Be intentional about self-care in your business, schedule 5-minute breaks as you would get up and walk around the office or make a cup of coffee like people in the corporate world do to avoid burnout. Whip up a gratitude list from the day so far or throw on a good worship song on for a hot second to get your mind right. And if you’re into oils like me, drop some new orange drops in the diffuser and reenergize. 🍊
6. What you create and sell
From your marketing messages to your actual products, set boundaries for what’s important to you. Don’t use a marketing strategy that feels sleezy to you. Don’t talk like someone else or water down your personality to cater to the masses. Trust that instinctual feeling of alignment and honor the way you do business by keeping it authentic to YOU. If you missed step 1 from ” How to create an authentic brand”, make sure you check out this post.
7. Time for business development
Lastly, make sure you set a boundary to invest time into your business development. You can’t stay resentful for not growing your business when you don’t prioritize strategizing. Use the boundary of time to make sure you are making the things you say are priority an actual priority and get them on your to-do list.
Like this blog post graphic says, a lack of boundaries, invites a lack of respect. More importantly, this goes for respecting yourself. Respect yourself enough to set the boundaries that will give you the peace of mind and work-life you deserve.
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