Setting Seasonal Boundaries in Your Business

This blog post is coming to you from the beach.

Well, sort of, as we just wrapped up our annual beach vacation. Going into 2022, we set a goal as a family to go on a vacation once a quarter. Even writing that sounds kind of crazy to me because in the corporate world I got four weeks of vacation each year. Two weeks were always saved for holidays which meant I normally had two weeks to go somewhere over the summer. Add in a few doctor's appointments and kids' stuff and our annual beach vacation was basically it. 

Setting Goals to Work Around Your Schedule

Scott and I LOVE to travel so the goal of creating this business around our schedule is to travel more. It is easier said than done, so we started with a simple goal: we will leave the house and go on some sort of trip at least once per quarter. It could be anything from camping (although that is probably not me unless it is glamping of some kind) to traveling to Europe (which we actually are this fall). 

I share this because I want to chat about setting seasonal boundaries and thinking about how to actually take time off from your business. 

Setting Seasonal Boundaries and How to Take Time off From Your Business

The first step is: what is the goal? 

Ours: 1) recognize the season that we are in and 2) travel four times a year (once a quarter). 

I use the word "season" a lot, but it is something I actually got from Jay Shetty. I did a whole blog post on it and we actually have a whole module in it in our mastermind. The goal is to recognize what else is going on in life besides business. Summer for most is a season where people take more vacations. They want to take a break from the busyness and maybe even step away from their normal schedule. Where fall, as an example, is a season where many crave schedules and structure and are ready to dig into finish strong before the end of the year. 

What season are you in?

Are you wanting to slow down?

Are you wanting to scale to the next level?

Are you craving more structure? Start here. And acknowledge where you are at. 

The second step in seasonal boundaries is to set some goals. 

Since we are in summer, what are you goals? 

Ours are:

• To take a vacation. 
• To launch our mastermind
• To re-do our backend systems (i.e. I have to keep up with the automation too!)
  
  And my big personal goal is to work 2-3 hours a day. Period. That is it. 

The reason for that is everyone is home this summer and Scott and I are balancing the girls being home with running a very full-time business, so our season is a mix of rest and scaling. With a side of summer travel. It is not a one size fits all model. 

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Use your Goals as Your Roadmap

Once you have those goals, whenever any activity, business or personal, comes up, you can use those goals as your roadmap. 

Does this activity support my goals?

Will this activity take away from our priorities this season? 

I can tell you as an example, that I have had a lot of people approach me to collaborate on various projects this summer. And I have said, "not no, but not right now" because they weren’t in alignment with our business and family goals. In the free time that I did have, I wanted to dig into travel and other projects. But this fall will be a better season for that. 

Do you see how combining your season with goals helps create boundaries that are easier to manage? 

According to Forbes, people with poor boundaries often feel exhausted, have trouble making decisions, feel guilty and anxious, and are irritable. It can lead to chaotic teams and unmanageable work environments. Entrepreneurs are infamous for having poor boundaries because we’re always pushing ourselves to the limit and our work is often mission-driven. Boundaries help give us the space and energy we need to show up as our very best. 

According to Brighid Ganon - There will likely be some pushback initially when you start practicing boundaries. Overtly stating your needs may surprise some. But if you don’t state your boundaries, how can you expect people to know them? It’s normal to feel anxious and guilty during this time, but you can tolerate it and it will pass. To help tolerate this transition, say a boundary-focused affirmation out loud to help you tolerate the uncomfortable feelings that come up during boundary setting: "I am honoring myself and I am honoring my boundaries."  

Plus, going back to those goals, saying no to something means I am saying yes to my priorities. 

Build the business. And take the vacation. 

Combine your season with your goals and priorities and you have the perfect formula. 

*Insert, I didn’t work much at all over vacation, launched our most popular podcast episode yet (Did you listen to the Jenna Kutcher interview?) AND didn’t have to rely on social media to do all the things.*

I am telling you there is a better way and this is one of the steps. 

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