Creating Boundaries as a Teacher Entrepreneur

In the modern world, it's easy to get distracted. Email, social media, and other technologies can keep you from doing your best work. It can even be hard to focus on yourself as an entrepreneur when there are so many other things that you need to do. However, creating boundaries for yourself is crucial if you want to achieve success in school or in business. In this article we'll explore how creating boundaries can help you reach your goals as well as how to set and maintain them.

How to set boundaries as a teacher entrepreneur

• Create a schedule. Set your own contract hours that you can stick to.
• Define your priorities. What is most important to get done this week, this month, today?
• Set up a to-do list and calendar that you feel comfortable working with. This will allow you to see what are your priorities for each day. Remember to add both personal and business items to your priorities. You should have room every day to do something for you.
• To work more efficiently with the time you have, create a workspace free from distractions so that it's easy for you to focus on getting things done!
• Enforce boundaries with family members and friends who might try to interrupt or distract you when they don't understand why this is important for your business right now--you can explain later once the project is completed!
• In addition, you will want to make sure that you can tell friends and family what time you will spend with them as well as time you will spend with yourself. Time alone to recharge is one of the most important boundaries you can set to refill your cup.
• Maintaining boundaries can be a little more difficult. Find someone who can be understanding and help you work through holding your ground on the things that are important to you. This might be a counselor, a life coach, or even a family member or friend. Build that support system that will understand your boundaries and respect them.

What are the benefits of creating boundaries?

Creating boundaries on your time is one of the best ways to help you stay focused and productive. When you have clear boundaries, it's much easier to prioritize your tasks and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

On top of that, creating boundaries on when you work and when you devote time to yourself or your family is just as important as setting a specific time to work. These boundaries, in both spheres, help you create that work life balance you are trying to achieve. 

You may be thinking, "I don't have time for this!" But creating boundaries doesn't mean spending hours on them--it just means setting some respectful limits to prioritize your needs. 

Here are some ways in which setting boundaries will help:

• It allows you to focus on what matters most at any given time. By saying no when you need/want/should say yes (or vice versa), You're able to prioritize your tasks and yourself! 
• It also helps you avoid burnout by making sure that you're not overloading yourself with things that aren't important enough or urgent enough yet don't require immediate attention either (for example: sending out a certain email). 
• You are able to look deeper into your own needs and give yourself the space to grow and heal at your own pace. 
• Boundaries allow you to spend time doing the things you love and make you content in life, while also not feeling guilty about how productive you were in any day.

This way your energy levels stay high because they're being used wisely throughout the day instead of being drained away by unnecessary tasks like social media posts or answering questions in the dead of night.

How do limited teacher boundaries transfer to your business?

Boundary setting is an important part of the entrepreneurial journey. It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of a new business, but it's important to remember that you have control over your time, energy and resources. Time is limited and you deserve some of it for yourself. I promise you can have a work-life balance between your business and your personal life…There are just some systems we need to create to get there. 

Remember, how you used to spend time after school prepping for everything for the next day. You didn’t have time during the day because you were teaching, so now you have to do it after contract hours. Those stacks of papers that come home with you and back to school and back home, repeat, even though we all know that they should just stay at school for grading. The pressure that we feel from admin and parents and students to get ALL THE THINGS done instantaneously will deplete you and run you down. Then, when you finally do get home, and your decision fatigue is in full force so its hard to do anything for yourself like make a meal or read or move your body like you know you want to. Sound familiar?

You are not alone. I have been right there with you and that was just in the classroom. The downside is that these habits from the classroom can so sneakily enter our businesses. We overwork and pressure ourselves to do everything right now because it all seems so important to get done right now. I promise those tasks will be there tomorrow. Be intentional about your boundaries and reinforce them not just with others but also with yourself.

The following are some examples of boundary setting in a teacher seller's life:

• Closing the Office Door at the end of the day to signal the end of the work day
• Creating your own contract hours and days that you will work
• Using Asana or Trello to organize your tasks and learn to prioritize easier
• Get an accountability partner (or body-double for those ADHD edupreneurs) and set specific goals for a specific amount of time….and then stop working
• Set a goal for each day that is your most important and start with that first
• Schedule breaks into your day
• Use body check-ins to determine what your needs are during the day
• Tell people “No” more often.
• Focus on your ideal client and working with them instead of taking every opportunity
• Incorporate proactive self-care everyday

You can learn how to set and maintain boundaries for your business

You can learn how to set and maintain boundaries for your business.

• The benefits of creating boundaries are many: more sustainable work-life balance, more time with yourself and your people, more efficiency in your business, less stress
• You'll be able to manage your time better.
• You'll feel less overwhelmed when faced with a large workload or too much work at once, which can lead to stress and burnout.
• You'll feel more in control of the direction of your business, rather than feeling like it's out of control (which is often what happens when we don't set up proper systems).
• You’ll know that you are doing what is best for your body and your peace of mind. 
• Learn more about mental health for teacher sellers here. 

Wrap Up

Boundaries are essential to the success of any entrepreneur, but especially teacherpreneurs. They allow you to focus on not just your work, but also prioritize the things that matter most, like your own well-being. 

If you need help with boundary setting, check out the Teacher Life Balance Membership where we work together to support each other in our stress management journeys.