Take Control of Your Time – Set Some Boundaries
Poor time management can cause stress you don’t need in your life. If people at work or within your family and friends are taking advantage of you by requesting or demanding precious time – it’s time to set boundaries for yourself.
Is It You?
Part of the problem with letting people steal your time from you could be you. If you allow people to interrupt you at work, let friends call when you’re trying to interact with your family or if a person in a relationship disrespects you by taking advantage of your good nature, you may need to rethink the boundaries you already have in place and create boundaries which would help you regain your time.
Most people who don’t set restrictions on their time become frustrated and feel abused and angry. They may be afraid of hurting someone’s feelings and don’t trust themselves to set and enforce time boundaries.
If you find your time being stolen time and again by people in your life, think about how each instance comes about where your time is stolen by someone else.
Boundaries at Work
There may be a coworker who interrupts you when you’ve got a full work load and can’t spare the time to hear about the travails with her boyfriend or husband. After you set the boundary of not letting anything interrupt you until your work is finished, you should respond clearly and firmly that you are very busy and you’ll call to set another time to talk.
Boundaries at Home
When you’re in a relationship or married to a spouse who does far less than his fair share of work around the house or with the kids, the issue should be immediately addressed and you should be clear about needing more time to yourself rather than doing the work of two people.
Families may abuse your time by expecting you to come to all dinners and events – even if the time may be inconvenient to you. Politely and firmly turn down the invitations, but always appreciate them asking you.
Your self-esteem can take a huge spiral downward if you continue to let people take advantage of your time. Many people have a very difficult time saying “No,” for fear they won’t feel appreciated and useful.
Conclusion
The truth is that people will respect you more and you’ll feel much more useful when you take control of your time and put some personal boundaries in place that will improve your health, self-confidence, and happiness.
Loving Life — The Reboot!
Dominique
7 Comments
Roy A Ackerman, PhD, EA
Or, your significant other can be an introvert- and they need some alone time (as much as that may hurt)…
Dominique
Good point!
Kebba Buckley Button
Dominique, thanks for another great piece on a vaguely-understood topic. I need to snug up some boundaries myself. I started talking with a loved one about boundaries one year, and for months, he joked like he had never heard the word before. Now he helps out more.
Angie Vallejo
I have set some boundaries at home which has helped. However, taking care of an elderly parent, homeschooling and trying to reboot a business does not coexist together. 😳
Dominique
I understand — my father was living with us until this past May so I totally have been there. I was homeschooling my daughter at the same time.
Martha
I have a very unique husband, he chips in and helps with housework, laundry, cooking and the grandbabies!
Dominique
Congrats on that! My husband is pretty good about that!