Top 3 Ways to Implement Boundaries in Your Business

Today, I am sharing my advice on one of the most important topics when it comes to owning your own business. You need to prioritize rest for yourself. So, let’s take a look at the top 3 ways to implement boundaries in your business!

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Set Work Hours

Even though you probably aren’t working the typical 9-5 as a business owner, you have to set your work hours. Choose general times in the day that you would like to work and “clock out”. Of course, this is flexible. The most important thing is sticking to providing time off for yourself. That means during work weeks, you set aside time to take breaks. You also want to truly stop working when that end time arrives. 

Additionally, set at least one day off per week for yourself. Ideally, two days is best. You are going to need that time to rest and recharge. Your work will be even better with this! To make sure that you are staying on top of communication for your clients, utilize your email vacation responder. Not sure what to say? Check out these FREE vacation responder templates from Brand Speak Studio. Use these templates and schedule them to respond on the days/times you are off. 

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Your emails will be ready for you when you are back and your clients will understand when you will be responding to them. Nothing is worse than losing an email in the abyss that is the inbox. With this method, emails will essentially remain marked as unread until you are back in office. Your client will be informed how long you are off and when to expect and email back.

Set Clear Communication Boundaries

While we are on the topic, have you set clear communication boundaries for your clients and team? Make it super clear when texting, calling, and sending DMS is appropriate. For clients, I always recommend using an automation software like Honeybook or Dubsado. With these softwares, you can create communication workflows and even automatic invoice billing that will continue to send without any extra work on your end. So, even if you are off for the weekend, these important messages will still send. These are just a few of my favorite business tools that I use daily to increase productivity and prioritize my boundaries.

I haven’t forgotten about the arguably most used communication platform – email. Let your clients know this really is the best form of communication. You can link your email to your automation software this way. Important questions or information are less likely to get lost. As a bonus, your client will always receive that out-of-office responder that you created earlier. 

For your team, I recommend encouraging email as well. Set clear expectations when communication is permitted and when it is not. Try using a communication platform rather than texting or social media DMs for work times like Slack. 

Protect Your Time

Remember what your biggest “yes” is. Is it quality time with your family? Do you want to travel more? Maybe you simply want more time to take care of your body, prioritizing rest, exercise, and health. Whatever it is, you have to protect your time. Think about why you are choosing to own your own business and what freedoms this “why” allows you.

As a bonus, did you know that you can set social media limits on your phone? I know it is easy to scroll through Instagram, taking away from your time off. If you have an iPhone, you can access this through Settings > Screen Time > App Limits. Choose the app(s) that you would like to take more time off of. I recommend beginning with a 90 minute limit per day and then working towards a total of 60 minutes on all of your socials.

Once you begin setting these boundaries, your body might become a bit shocked. Especially if you are used to overworking yourself, it can take some time to adjust to prioritizing rest. That’s why I created a free masterclass guiding you from a lifestyle of burnout and overworking to setting healthy boundaries so you can breathe. Go sign up for the masterclass to become a pro at setting boundaries for yourself and your business!