Set Your Boundaries: Plant Seeds Now, Reap Rewards Later
I was inspired to sit down and inspired to record this podcast because I realised this morning, that I set boundaries 12 months ago and now, I am (finally) reaping the rewards. Today, I feel calm and like life is spacious and I want to hold on to that feeling and share with you how I got here.
In this episode, I explore how boundaries were not part of my life before I started by business and my family (fomo over here!). To be honest, I learnt the hard way; I struggled with being present in my family life, I was exhausted rolling from one shoot to the next, shooting weddings that didn’t make me feel inspired, feeling drained and overwhelmed by a backlog of editing.
For all the listeners of the Life & Len’s Podcast, I share each of the boundaries I set for this wedding season here on my blog. I hope they inspire you to set boundaries (if you don’t have any!) or at least reflect on whether the boundaries you have in place right now are really working for you, your business and your family-life. For those of you that are working parents and find the juggle of parenting and running a business a challenge (I feel you!), I have a free work-life balance as a parent download with 6 actionable steps that have really helped me thrive in the last 12 months.
I’m excited for you to listen to this episode and I hope that with boundaries in place, that your life feels spacious too.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Setting Boundaries means thinking ‘future me will thank me for this’. We create boundaries so we can have longevity in our business and in our personal life. One of my key boundaries is; “does it light me up? If not, don’t do it”. Protecting my energy and creativity is more important to me than money. I can always find other ways to make money, than taking work that doesn’t bring me joy.
Boundaries are meant to be set, broken and reset; don’t be afraid to protect or update your boundaries as your personal life and business evolves. There are times when your family life needs more of your time and energy than your business does and that is ok.
Block out time for yourself. If you’re a terrible boss and don’t give yourself time to rest and a weekend off, then you need to reassess things. Hustling and working hard, means you sacrifice other things. Allow time for family, life and love because that is what really matters.
Thank you for listening to the Life and Lens podcast.
SUMMARY
Expressed boundaries means I can be properly present for my couples – and properly present in my life.
As a creative, I am visual and so my boundaries are written down on a piece of paper and sit next to me on my desk as a constant reminder. It helps me to stay on track when new leads, queries and opportunities come my way to make sure I make choices that are aligned with my goals and the way I want to run my business. In personal and business life, it’s taken time to put boundaries in place and I adjust them constantly.
To find a summary of each of the boundaries, I set for this coming wedding season, visit my blog post here.
Episode Free Resources: For those of you that are working parents or aand find the juggle of parenting and running a business a challenge (I feel you!), I have a free download with 6 actionable steps that have really helped me thrive in the last 12 months.
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
Lei Lei Clavey Education Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leileiclaveyeducation/
Lei Lei Photography Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leileiclavey/
Lei Lei Photography Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leileiclaveyphotography
Lei Lei LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lei-lei-clavey/
Lei Lei’s website: https://www.leileiclavey.com/