Life Contained's Personal Productivity Blog

Time Management Tip: Boundaries Set You Free

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A common behavior among those who live an organized life is having a set of evolving boundaries. You know from experience without proper boundaries, work can take over your life. You also know kept boundaries, strangely, manifest freedom.

Over the next week, determine what boundaries you need to establish in order to maintain a healthy blend of family, work and rest. When you notice your energy running low or you feel resentful, you likely need to erect a new boundary—or to respect an existing one.

• Identify. Spend time being more aware of your circumstances and emotions. When you feel frustrated, stop to determine if instituting an outward or inward boundary would prevent this situation from happening again.
• Create. Here’s where you have to draw a line. You don’t have to get it right the first time, but you need to define the limit in measurable terms and specify the consequences for adhering/disregarding the boundary.
• Inform. Alert all involved parties of the new boundary and the associated consequences. Clarity is key. If you’re setting a private boundary, make a plan to track your implementation of the new rule.
• Enforce. Enforcing is the difference between having boundaries and not. One or two uncomfortable public conversations enforcing the negative consequences of ignoring a new boundary typically ignites the social pressure system which takes over as boundary keeper from then on.
• Enjoy. Once you and others have embraced the boundary, there is much to enjoy. Create whatever you want on top of this steady foundation you have secured.
• Adapt. Evaluate boundaries from time to time. Stretch some. Change the ones no longer aligned with your life goals. As the anonymous quote says, “Your current safe boundaries were once unknown frontiers.”

Boundaries are an essential key separating the joyfully productive from the regretfully overloaded. Have fun with creating and honoring your own network of liberating limitations.

What defined boundaries do you reliably respect...or want to begin honoring?