Setting Boundaries In Your Business

Aug 13, 2019 | Business Skills

Being self-employed is great – all that freedom!  If you have your own business, you know that right!  But if I asked you for one area where you struggle, I’m gonna bet you a fancy-pants-coffee that setting yourself some boundaries is a struggle… it’s all too easy to forget where ‘you’ end and your biz starts.

No-one is a 24/7 machine.  Lots of us are in the habit of expecting instant answers.  So in your business, you need to take control and set realistic expectations early – I know from experience it all takes practice and life means it often needs to change… your biz should be flexible after all.  But there are simple things you can do and you can stick to!

Often as you get busier and your business changes, you muddy your own boundaries.  After a particularly busy May (GDPR!) I’ve been getting myself back in the flow with my own business boundaries lately.

Firstly – there will always be something needing done, you will never finish your list no matter how long you work.

So be smart and be in it for the long-haul.

Set boundaries where you can sustain yourself, your enthusiasm and your love for your business.

Working all the time just won’t deliver long-term good results or a happy you… take it from everyone who has been where you are and who has burnt out as a result.

With a few simple and practical boundaries you can EASILY stick to, you can get what YOU want from self-employment!

FILL YOUR CALENDAR

Possibly the most underused tool in your self-employed weaponry.  Block off your time – client time, business development time, free time and MOST IMPORTANTLY a bit of extra space – for all those things you just CAN’T plan for.   Be specific enough to get things done but flexible enough to allow for change.  The essentials in every day should be emails/messages and breaks – especially lunch and time to ‘just come up for air’ between tasks.  For me, these should be non-negotiable.   It doesn’t mean you have to stick to 9-5 doing this, work as early or as late as suits YOU but don’t be a slave to getting everything done right now.  By using your calendar you are working with time, and it does not stop for anyone, so you’re gonna have to work to make the most of your time.  Using a calendar means you are realistic (not every piece of work can be done tomorrow) and just as importantly, you are making your work sustainable.  And that means you can keep going and start afresh, every day, without burning yourself out.

If you’ve tried this before and broke your own rules you might need an incentive.  Set yourself a prize for sticking with the calendar plan for a day.  Pick whatever reward works for you – money in a jar towards a bigger treat is my fave!  I sometimes set myself a punishment if I don’t too!  Always helps me to remember that if I find myself drifting in to work when I’m supposed to be switched off, there will be no latte/mocha-choca-whotsit for the rest of the week, or I’ll be committing to an 15 extra minutes on my workout plan, or it will be £5 out of my money treats jar going into the kids piggy bank (that’s £5 less towards that handbag!)

MAKE YOUR HOURS CLEAR

Tell your clients your working hours – sounds obvious but it surprises me how often this becomes an issue because it’s never been discussed.  I set out my working hours in a ‘how it works’ doc when I am first in contact with a potential client.  Then they know at an early stage whether our working hours are going to be compatible.   I’ve had many an email or message out of hours, and in the early days I answered every one – not now.  My hours are clear, so (after some bumps and some practice!) I don’t feel guilty at leaving a message till I’m next working.  It’s perfectly fine for a client to message me when it works for them, but they know I’ll pick it up when I’m next working.  Making this clear in advance means we all know what the working time boundaries are.

MAKE YOUR TERMS CLEAR

I set out in my contracts that if I’m asked to work out of hours, I charge extra.  Sometimes I work evenings by choice (if I am having some time off during ‘work time’ that week), but setting this out in my contract is a wonderful tool to have…   If I am asked to specifically work outside my normal hours (and I am happy/free to do it), my client knows it’s charged extra.  They can then decide to wait until the next space in my calendar or pay the out of hours rate.  A simple boundary that gets GREAT results – lots of things can wait if all of a sudden they are going to cost 50% extra (or double, or more!).  If you’re asked to work out of hours, refer back to what your terms are, then everyone knows what’s expected AND you’re respecting how much your boundaries mean to you too.

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR WORK TIME

Don’t get distracted – set times that you check your emails AND social media (whatever works for you, but try not to make it the first thing you do when you wake up. Start YOUR day properly and then start work.  Also, switch your phone to aeroplane mode, or switch it off altogether.  Set times in the day that suit you best for calls and emails – I prefer either when I first start work or in the last hour of the day. Then spend the rest of that time on productive work… it’s my easy way to not fall down any social media rabbit holes!  With no pinging notifications, you can focus focus focus.

USE YOUR TOOLS

Set up out of office replies on your email so that anyone who emails has a timescale for a reply.  Same with your Facebook page, and anywhere else that people make contact, set up an auto reply to go out on a schedule for the times you are not working.  Then it’s clear you won’t be popping on to reply instantly. Do the same when you’re taking holidays too – people mind a silence in return, but they don’t mind an out of office reply.

REMOVE YOUR WORK EMAILS FROM YOUR PHONE

Now, this is a simple one but a biggy for so many people.  Do you really need to see work emails  WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING!?  Probably not. You might feel you need to have them ‘just in case’ but I’m going to bet most of the time you don’t. Having them on your phone is keeping your head in work mode when it doesn’t need to be. You also save so much time… you might check your phone for emails 10 times a day without thinking (count it, you’ll be surprised!).  That is all time and brain space that doesn’t need to be in your head.  You will deal with the emails in no time from your laptop once you’re working again, so checking in more often than you need to is a false economy.  If there’s an emergency, your clients will know how to contact you.

YOUR WORK SPACE IS YOUR WORK SPACE

If you’re working from home like me, then I bet you’ve had the family pop in and out all day long with ‘something important’.  I made a Do You Need To Disturb Mum chart for fun after a chat with some lovely biz friends struggling with distractions that were really not necessary!  You know the kind – ‘Mum, where’s my shoes?’, yeah, someone else can pick that one up!

But there’s a serious point in here too… sometimes the fam-a-lam need to be taught to respect your working time boundaries too!  Headphones are a simple and very effective tool for this, I keep mine in and plead deaf ignorance – helps you avoid being drawn into any child-related dramas from the next room and also makes any adults think twice before disturbing you 😉

MAKE PROPER APPOINTMENTS

If you’re full of great intentions to go to the gym of an evening, but then decide you’ll just work on instead, try making some proper appointments… plan to meet someone, book a class, make a commitment that means you stick to it.  It’s all too easy to forego your own plans or sacrifice them for the sake of your business, so make sure you plan ways that force you to switch off.  (The only time I try not to do this is if I’m really in the flow and another 30 minutes will see something finished – that’s when you need to find your own compromise between being efficient and prioritising yourself!)

AT THE END OF WORK TIME SWITCH OFF – PROPERLY

For me, this means shutting down my computer, tidying up my desk, switching off my lamp, my light and purposefully closing the office door.  A few simple steps that are a way to commute from ‘the office’ to ‘home’!   If you’re working from a laptop on the kitchen table, you can do the same – shut down, tidy up your notebook, pens, pack it all away.  Just create a simple and deliberate process that means you shut down work, and make this the routine so that it is something you always do.

DO IT WITH CONFIDENCE –  AND KNOW THIS SETS A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE! 

I respect an out of office reply, it tells me that a business owner takes their business and their life seriously – I like to see one, I am happy to see one!  I also know that when I’ve set my boundaries with clients, those who struggle to switch off say they need to do the same for themselves.  Setting boundaries is a positive and a good example to set – for everyone.  It tells clients you are confident in your own ability, you are a professional business owner, and you are not afraid to set some non-negotiables for your business.  It also tells the family that they are important and they can have your undivided attention in non-working time… it makes it easier for them to accept you need privacy when you are working too.

I’d love to know what you think.  Have you got this one nailed?  Or if you struggle, where does that struggle show up for you?

Allison x

Setting boundaries in your business – Allison Christie