Establishing boundaries to cultivate more of what you want to grow in your business is a lot like tending to a garden, which is exactly the metaphor we use in an exercise from the Being Boss book. In today’s minisode, we’re sharing how you can plot out your “boss garden” and the importance of establishing solid boundaries to make sure it grows.
Kathleen Shannon 0:04
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Caitlin Brehm 0:47
Okay, bosses in this minisode are going to ask you to put on your gardener hat. There's so many hat.
Emily Thompson 0:55
I like this too. I need a gardening hat.
Caitlin Brehm 1:00
it might be similar to your scientific hat.
Emily Thompson 1:03
Maybe. a gardening and a geographer hat is better. It's similar in many ways. Yep.
Caitlin Brehm 1:11
But whatever your hat looks like, we're going to talk about creating boundaries. And in the being boss book, we use the metaphor of a garden to talk about which boundaries, you're building and cultivating. And you can find this in the being boss book on pages 84 and 85.
Emily Thompson 1:29
So I was most or I am most excited about this exercise. Because of all the exercises in the being boss book. This one I think was the only one that was super brand new. It was one that we created as we were writing the as we were writing the boundaries chapter for the being boss book, because it was something that Kathleen and I do very intuitively but we needed to be able to illustrate it for other people. So all the other exercises in the books are things that we've used for, you know, clients or courses or you know, engagements before, but this one came right out of creating the being boss book. And the idea of this is to help you set up boundaries, so that you can be very mindfully building the kind of life you want to live.
Kathleen Shannon 2:18
So I was just on vacation and ended up playing a lot of plants versus zombies. Have you guys? Yes. So that's kind of what this exercise is. It's kind of like playing some plants versus zombies. So it's choosing what it is that you want to grow and nurture and cultivate. And really looking at where your line of Defense's and what you're trying to protect your precious plants from being loved this.
Emily Thompson 2:45
So a couple of minisodes ago, we dove into the values exercise, if you haven't done that one yet, pause, back up, back up a couple of minisodes. And listen to that one because that one plays into furthering into this exercise as well,
Kathleen Shannon 3:01
which just also goes to show how much values are the backbone of what we do. It's making its way into every single exercise in our book in our CEO day kit. I mean, really, if it seems fluffy to you just try it because it will inform everything moving forward. So in this exercise, one of the first things that we have you do is identify your energy boosts and your energy drains. So for us, some of our energy boosts include water and sunshine, quite literally. Right, we're plants too. We also need a full night's sleep, some really good nourishing food. And then you know a few fun things like for our soul,
Emily Thompson 3:45
right? And the things that that drainus include toxic relationships,
Kathleen Shannon 3:51
all the social, right?
Emily Thompson 3:54
Yeah, all the social media and toxic relationships may go pretty hand and
Kathleen Shannon 4:00
I found that even for me lately, eating too much sugar is a total energy drain.
Emily Thompson 4:06
Yeah, I also find that if I spend a whole day there looking at my phone or a computer, I'm pretty drained by the end of the day as well. So for you to get started with this exercise, identify what energizes you and what drains you because these are super indicative of a lot of important things in your life. And we'll be using those throughout the rest of the exercise.
Kathleen Shannon 4:29
And then in the book on page 85. We basically have a grid and this represents your garden and at the top of it you will be listing out your core values. So three to five things that really help you steer your boundaries and draw your line and know when and where to draw your line. And then we have different plots, little veggie plots for the different aspects of your life including your relationships, your working career, your home, your places, your education and personal Your growth, your money and finances, things you do for fun, your hobbies, your emotional and spiritual self, your health. And then we have a space for a white space, which should probably be a whole other minisode on its own. But we have all these different plots that you can cultivate and really figure out what it is that you want to grow there. So for example, for me, it might be if my core values are authenticity and adventure in my relationships, I'm going to put down my family, because they always come first. But then I might put down my business partners, and I might start to think about Okay, what am I cultivating there? whenever it comes to my boundaries, and how can my values be reflected in those relationships? And then what is it that I need to protect those relationships from whenever it comes to my values? So it might be saying no to certain speaking gigs that were being offered? Or it might be saying yes to certain workshops, that might not necessarily be a paid gig, but definitely reflect what it is that I'm wanting to create. Any more thoughts from you, Emily on that?
Emily Thompson 6:10
Yeah, I mean, I think as you fill up these blocks, with the things that you find super important to you, the things that are going to boost your energy that are going to help you feel vibrant and alive, it will become really clear why there is a big old square around all of these, why we've built a wall around our garden, to keep out the weeds in the past are the things that are going to distract you from the things that are most important to you. I think, you know, one of the questions we get quite often is how is it that you make time for the parts of your business that you actually enjoy doing, and you build a wall around them, and you make them really important and you protect those things, you make time for those things. Because those are the things that are most important. I think that if you found yourself either in your career or in your relationships, or just in your day to day life, in a place where you are not making priority, the things that you enjoy and that energize you, then your walls may be crumbling, your boundaries aren't very strong, and you need to better define what it is that's important to you and protect those things, protect them, and make them a part of your daily or weekly life. Because only then are you going to find yourself in a place where you're actually doing the things that you want to be doing.
Kathleen Shannon 7:27
And our lines of defense. So the things that make our fence look like saying no, like that's literally one of the easiest things that you can do to uphold your boundaries. Time blocking is a huge one. So look at your calendar, look at your boundaries, look at what's in your orbit, look at your values, is your calendar, literally reflecting what it is that you're wanting to create. This can be a great way to create some boundaries is in your calendar, on your to do list, what is on your to do list and how does that reflect your boundaries. And what else automating things
Emily Thompson 8:02
I also think where you're spending your money if you are if your money should be going to the things that are within your wall, not outside of it to for sure. Or also think about you know, your physical space for me because work and the work that I do is such an important part of what's going on inside my garden. I have an entire dedicated office to the work that I do. I'm not doing my work at the kitchen table, or you know, in a main part of my house where I'm going to be easily distracted. I have I've made a physical space for the things that are important to me.
Kathleen Shannon 8:38
I love it. So there you go. You can find the book in this exercise in in the book, which you can just go to beingboss.club/book to find where you can find that. This minisode was brought to you by twenty20. Check them out at twenty20.com/beingboss that's t w e n t y 20 as in the number.com slash being boss.
Emily Thompson 9:09
Did you like this minisode Be sure to check us out on our website at beingboss.club. There you can find more from being boss including our full episodes minisodes and blog posts. And while you're there, be sure to sign up for our mailing list so that you can get access to behind the scenes and exclusive content from Kathleen and myself to help you be more boss in your work and life. Do the work the boss
