A Time Management Article by Harold Taylor
There are boundaries everywhere that keep us from infringing on other people’s territory. There are locked doors, signs, and even alarms to prevent us from entering stores after their advertised business hours. There are fences to ensure we use the gate, signs to keep you off the lawn, traffic lights telling us when to stop and when to proceed, and detour signs, pylons and so on it to direct us as we drive.
In business we have specified working hours and safety rules, policies and procedures, mission statements and goals. In schools, restaurants, gymnasiums – literally everywhere we go – we encounter boundaries that direct our actions and our behavior.
But what about your boundaries? Do you have boundaries that protect your rights and announce how you wish to be treated? Do you have your life under control, so you are not being taken advantage of in any way? Is your health, happiness, productivity, personal life, family, possessions, working hours, and whatever is important to you adequately protected? Do you have boundaries at work?
In your business, job or career, lack of personal boundaries can cause busyness, disorganization, inefficiency, overtime, stress, exhaustion, fractured relationships, and other problems that threaten your health, happiness, and productivity.
To protect your time, you must determine how you expect to be treated, and communicate this by your words and actions.
Develop a set of personal policies. Know when and how to say no, not only to others, but to yourself. Boundaries are not designed to keep others out as much as they are designed to protect you from yourself. In future blog articles this will be explained fully.
In the meantime, think about the problems you are experiencing that infringe on your time and negatively impact your personal productivity and health and well-being. And join me next week as I discuss boundaries in your business and personal life.
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