Managing Your Time – The 5 Messages You Send When You Set Boundaries

Time management is a valuable skill for any worker to possess. Because we only have twenty-four hours in a day, it’s necessary for us to prioritize our time and get the most important tasks done first. We also need to be able to give realistic estimates of how quickly we can get a project done so that others can plan accordingly. When we practice good time management strategies, we send 5 essential messages for setting successful boundaries. The first of these is that you intend to follow through with this boundary. It’s clear that you’re not just trying to get them off your back.

The second of the 5 essential messages for setting successful boundaries is that you’ve given this boundary a lot of thought. When you practice good time management strategies, you show your customers, coworkers, clients, or supervisors that you have carefully considered all of the possible circumstances that could affect your ability to follow through with the timeline you’ve set. It shows that you’ve thought the situation through, and that you have a realistic and practical view of what it’s going to take to finish this task and how quickly you think you can accomplish the task.

The third of the 5 essential messages for setting successful boundaries is that you understand how your timeline affects others. When setting a deadline for a task or project, you don’t want your client, coworker, or boss to get the impression that you’re giving yourself too much time to finish the project, as though you’re factoring in all the time that you plan to spend surfing the internet instead of working on this task. You want it to be clear that you’re trying to be realistic, but that you intend to work hard at this project until you reach your goal. Hard work is non-negotiable when it comes to good time management strategies.

The fourth of the 5 essential messages for setting successful boundaries is that you respect your client/boss/coworker, and that you want to show this by offering them clear parameters under which you’ll do this work. The truth is that very few workers can afford to be single-minded in their work. Emergencies often come up, and if you don’t consider the possibility of extenuating circumstances when setting a deadline, you could be setting yourself up to miss that deadline and disappoint and inconvenience your client. Good time management strategies include factoring in the unexpected.

The last of the 5 essential messages for setting successful boundaries is that you can be trusted because your boundaries are clear and easy to understand. You don’t want to muddy the waters by saying that you’ll have the work done by such and such a time, as long as this doesn’t happen or that doesn’t happen, and that you might be able to get it done sooner, but they shouldn’t bank on it. This is more confusing than necessary. Good time management strategies mean simply having the work done when you say you will. That makes things easier for everyone involved.