Set Your Boundaries
The word ‘boundaries’ has come up in this blog a fair few times already, because it really is vital to taking care of yourself and your business.
One of the quickest ways to burnout is to not have proper boundaries in place or maintain them effectively. A recurring challenge of being a small business owner, is that it all comes back to YOU. That’s exciting, but also scary.
You make the decisions. You decide how your day looks… when to work, how much to work, what you work on. Freedom can be exciting but the next couple of chapters are going to explore the huge value in also setting boundaries for yourself. Having a structure to work from is a game changer when it comes to operating your business. There’s a balance to be struck between celebrating the fact that you get to call the shots and acknowledging that a business can’t operate within anarchy.
I spoke with Hannah Kear, founder of Blu:print Coaching, to get her take on how we can strike this balance… “To prioritise self-care in your business strategy will be the wisest thing you do – YOU are your business! As entrepreneurs, one of the attractive elements is working outside of the 9-5 trappings. But, without boundaries, this, and many other aspects of small business life, has the potential to trip you up.
So how do you run a small business without running on empty? One of my most valuable lessons as a small service-based business owner has been to understand myself and work in alignment with that. If I don’t know myself, I can’t help myself. So, my advice to you: Get to know yourself!
Here are some example questions:
· when am I most productive?
· when does my energy dip?
· what activities re-energise me?
· what are my tell-tale signs of feeling overwhelmed, stressed, run down?
· what tasks feel easy for me?
· what tasks drain my energy and time?
Look at how you are scheduling your days – does this work in sync with your natural energy rhythms, mealtimes, rest times etc? Schedule self-care activities into your week – be brave and book that slot out of your day. If you don’t know where to start, use your answers to the prompts above to come up with a list of things to try.”
So, what kind of boundaries do you need to set and with who to create a schedule that really works for you? In the next five posts, we’ll explore the tough choices you need to make when it comes to designing a working life that benefits you. This will require lots of personal choices (each business is as unique as the person running it!) and things may well change over time. Setting boundaries is rarely something that happens once and is then forgotten. It’s an ongoing process to try and find the right balance.
Remember, you’re now operating out of your dream work space and with a tribe of support around you. You’re not alone, so let’s dive in together…
