Building Boundaries to Secure Your Sanity!

Among the struggles that female entrepreneurs face when starting a business, creating and maintaining a healthy work/life balance is certainly part of that list. And within each of the spheres of work and home, there must also be a balance. Staying sane at work and away from work is important, especially when the world wants to pull you in the opposite direction. 

How does this balance and sanity happen? In a word = Boundaries. Creating boundaries is probably one of the hardest things to do at work, especially for women; however,  it's also what solves many problems - at work and home. Boundaries are necessary for relationships (personal and professional), for growth (personal and professional), and for health (physical, mental, emotional). Not only do you “protect” yourself with your boundaries, but you also create  a reliable structure for work to build on.

Everything functions better with boundaries. For the most part, the world runs on boundaries – speed limits, traffic signs, business operating hours, visitor guidelines at parks. Imagine the madness that would ensue in the world without boundaries. Now think about your life at work and home - see any madness brewing? It’s likely from lack of established boundaries. 

 The crux of creating a good work/life balance is giving each sphere an appropriate  amount of time and focus. Giving too much attention to one over the other creates problems in both spheres because you are taxing your energy. So, how do you go about setting those perimeters?

To create boundaries at work, you should:

#1 - Determine your boundaries and what you want.

#2 - Communicate the new parameters you intend to set.

#3 - Manage your time more closely so you don’t violate your own boundaries.

#4 - Say “no” to anything that pushes on your boundaries.

#5 - Create alternative plans to help your employees with your structure.

Enacting boundaries for yourself also sets up structure for others - if you don’t answer/send work texts in the evenings, then your employees also don’t have to deal with work on their off times. If you have already built the expectation of the person who is always “on call,” the adjustment to your new parameters may be a bit shocking, but people will adjust and you might find work-time being more productive.

What are some examples of setting work boundaries to create balance?

#1 - Establish “no call zones” so that you are not interrupted when away from the office.

#2 - Create work hours for yourself AND stick to it. 

#3 - Don’t bring the work home with you - the end of the work day is when you stop giving your attention to work. It will be there tomorrow. 

#4 - ALWAYS take a lunch break. Try to take it away from work if possible. 

Your first big challenge in establishing boundaries is learning to say “no” - it is so freeing when you finally realize that you don’t have to please everyone and you don’t have to be the go-to person all the time. Standing up for yourself through that “no” and through your boundaries is a big step in reclaiming your sense of calm and confidence. You also take back those parts of your sanity that have slipped away over time. It’s time to own your space, set your boundaries, and create your ideal work/life balance!

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