Without boundaries, you’ll quickly become overwhelmed. Here’s how to set them without alienating people.

BY MAURA WALTERS, FOUNDER AND CEO, IGNITE STUDIO@MAURA_WALTERS

For Inc.

Illustration: Getty Images

There’s a reason I feel so strongly about professional boundaries, and why it’s the first thing I tackle with new mentoring clients.

I spent years having zero.

I worked in a cutthroat industry for more than a decade before going into business for myself. It was ingrained in me that a million other people would kill to have my job and that I had better take on everything that was thrown at me if I wanted to move up. I believed that the only way to become successful was to say yes to everything, long after I had become burned out and miserable.

When I started my own business, I had so much unlearning to do. I also knew that I had a real opportunity to do work I loved and to feel energized and excited about it at the same time.

Boundaries are the most important thing you can incorporate into your business. They are more important than clients. They are more important than money. The boundaries we put in place ultimately impact everything else. Healthy boundaries impact how we feel every day. They impact how we approach work. They impact the energy that we have for everything and everyone else around us.

Boundaries are necessary for any working professional, but they’re imperative for people who work for themselves. Because when you’re in business for yourself, you have to set the rules. It’s on you and you alone to stick to your boundaries–and once they start becoming unglued, it can be a very slippery slope. As those boundaries become eroded, you start feeling like you have to say yes to every client request. You feel like the only way to grow is to take on more. You feel like you’re doing something wrong when you’re not working.

First, let’s talk about your calendar

One of the best things about working for yourself is that YOU have control over your calendar and who has access to you. Something I remind the folks I mentor is that when you are in biz for yourself, you get to decide what your day looks like. You also get to decide if you work in pajamas–it’s pretty awesome.

I highly recommend implementing an automatic calendar system like Calendly or Acuity into your business, because it takes out all of the back-and-forth of scheduling so that you can focus on doing what you do best.

Once that’s in place, pick a CEO day that is free of calls or meetings. Use that day to send invoices, finalize contracts, and do the things that help keep your business running and growing. Pick a call-free day and block out your calendar accordingly.

Next, repeat after me: TIME BETWEEN MEETINGS. You need time between meetings so you can bring your best self to your next client call, and you also need time between meetings to allot for calls that go over. The quickest way to make a client feel like you’re not taking them seriously is to show up late for a call. Implement a buffer between meetings that’s somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes.

Lastly, decide when your day ends. I need time to shift modes from business owner to mom, which is why I don’t take calls past 4 p.m. I need that time to wrap up, to think about dinner, and to help my 7-year-old with homework. If I’m taking a call at 5 o’clock, I’m entering into the next phase of my day feeling frazzled and not present. Figure out when you want your day to end, and block your calendar accordingly. Remember, you work for yourself now. You get to build a schedule that supports you.

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