How To Set Boundaries as a Freelance Graphic Designer and Creative Entrepreneur.
Vol. 068
How To Set Boundaries as a Freelance Graphic Designer and Creative Entrepreneur.
Setting healthy boundaries can prevent burnout, reduce client conflict, and foster a sustainable creative practice.
A quick bite:
For some reason setting a boundary is a difficult thing to do when you run your own business. As business owners or freelancers, we feel like we must “be on” 24/7/365. The truth of the matter is that if you don’t set boundaries, you’ll burn yourself out. If you’re burnt out, you’re not only unable to do much for yourself, but you can’t do anything for your clients. Below are a few boundaries that I’ve employed that have truly changed my creative business.
Continue reading below…
I currently have 65 unread texts.
I completely ignore “the pressure” to respond to messages instantly — this is a boundary that I have set, and I feel really good about that.
Setting boundaries, saying no, and adjusting your schedule and workflow to align with what YOU need to as a creative entrepreneur is imperative not only to the success of your business but the longevity of your mental health.
The amazing Brene Brown said “Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.” You can’t pour from an empty cup; if you fail yourself by constantly getting depleted, you’ll also be failing others.
Below I wanted to normalize some of the boundaries that I have. Some may seem goofy or even scary to uphold, but doing so has truly revolutionized my approach to work, life, and long-term balance.
Ignore all inbound calls and texts that aren’t scheduled or on your calendar.
Filter ALL client communication through email
Say no when you want to say no
Employ productivity tactics and habits daily
Schedule-send your emails
Ignore all inbound calls and texts that aren’t scheduled or on your calendar.
My mom, my friends, and yes, even my clients — if you’re not scheduled into the calendar or catching me at JUST the right time, I will be ignoring your call.
A random inbound phone call or text is a request for your time. Not a requirement.
If you’re unavailable, that’s okay! You don’t need to drop everything you’re doing to field an unplanned call. Nor do you need to answer a call literally just to say “I’m busy, can I call you back?” You ignoring the call does that for you without disrupting your workflow.
It takes an average of 20mins to get into a deep workflow. If you’re constantly allowing yourself to be interrupted, simple tasks throughout your day will take you hours. This is why I employ the pomodoro technique most days, enabling me to block-schedule productivity and progress in my daily, weekly, and big-picture tasks.
Would my clients hate to see this? Maybe. But I’d explain to them that allowing for uninterrupted deep work allows me to truly get into the headspace of their respective businesses, and this enables me to create the most compelling graphic design and brand work possible.
The simple act of planning for a call vs taking a call as it comes in enables me to get FAR more done in any given day.
As the author, Bob Carter, said: “Poor planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on mine.” Of course, the business of branding and graphic design is a service-based business: Technically, my job is to support my clients as best as possible; however, this is done with a sensitivity to all of my other clients as well. Setting a boundary around unplanned interruptions is one of the best ways to do so.
Filter ALL client communication through email
This one is easy. And, quite frankly, one of the best boundaries I have set for my creative business.
I used to receive and address job inquiries on Facebook messages, Instagram DMs, texts, in-person conversations, comments on posts, messages on LinkedIn, you name it.
This was exhausting.
I realized that I was spending way too much time and mental space trying to track down conversations, responses, and feedback on all of these platforms. Why? Because I didn’t have systems and processes in place that I was upholding. This was a choice that was being made, and that choice can be changed.
I have since moved ALL prospect and client correspondence to email.
If a client texts me a question, I will move their question to email, and I will then respond there. And, this is done with consideration of my previous point as well.
I used to fear that if I set this boundary I would be seen as unavailable, unresponsive, or unprofessional.
In reality, setting this boundary conveys professionalism, shows that you have a dialed process, and ultimately this enables you to do your job better.
Say no when you want to say no
I’ll be honest, this one is tough. Even when you know a project isn’t the right fit, for some reason the “no” word is hard. Money, shiny object syndrome (cool projects, clients, or opportunities) and promise of clout or future opportunities all cloud our ability to say no to work.
The reality is, if your gut is telling you to say no, you should embrace just that.
Too many times I have accepted a logo design project that feels wrong — I then later find that the client is impossible, the project is miserable, or something otherwise. You should always heavily consider what your gut is telling you.
While I agree that diversifying your business is crucial, it’s also important to lean into what you know best. Sometimes you must say no in order to keep your trajectory on track.
If your specialty is branding (and that’s all you want to do), and a client asks you to create social media templates, don’t be afraid to say no! Saying no for some reason has become a taboo thing — we have built up in our minds that saying no is letting our clients down. I can assure you that’s not the case.
Saying no allows you to focus on what you do best.
Better yet, instead of directly saying no, consider finding a few referral partners to whom you can refer your client. In this way, you not only avoid doing work that you don’t want to do, but you’re able to support another small business AND you continue to position yourself as a truly supportive partner for your clients.
Employ productivity tactics and habits
As previously mentioned, I often use the pomodoro technique to dedicate blocks of time throughout my day.
Additionally, I use a bunch of apps, plugins, and programs to facilitate productivity and keep me on track.
One of the most important boundaries I have set was the perception of constant availability.
Particularly now that I have an employee, I realized that I needed to allow myself time for true, deep creative work. While yes, I’m always here to support her growth, that does not mean I am available at every beck and call.
Despite sitting directly next to each other and we could literally tap each other on the shoulder — we don’t. We use Slack.
Communicating on Slack allows us both to stay in the deep work zone as we need, and we can then catch up and communicate with each other when we have a stopping or pivot point. This ensures that we’re not constantly interrupted and delaying the progression of our key tasks of the day.
Schedule-send your emails
When an email to or from a client is not urgent, treat it as such! You are not going to miss an opportunity because you took ½ day, or even 2 full days to respond to an email! And, if you do miss the opportunity because of “that delay”, I can assure you that’s a project you didn’t want to navigate anyways.
Sending emails back n forth all day is a HUGE time suck, and much of it isn’t necessary in my opinion.
I use the “schedule send” feature in Gmail for 90% of my emails. I make an effort to only check my email a couple of times each day, and at that time I batch read/respond to my emails. However, to avoid getting immediate responses from my clients (and knowing that I won’t be checking my email for at least a few hours) I will schedule-send my emails to go out at the end of the day, the beginning of the following day, or even the following week, based on the urgency of the request..
Rapid responses to emails only perpetuates the expectation for unnecessarily rapid responses and answers.
You need to build yourself the time and space to be creative, and this is a great step to do so.
These are just a few of the boundaries I have set for myself. They have given me mental space, helped reduce burnout and overwhelm, and helped me more comfortably manage my graphic design business.
I truly think if you make the effort to Ignore all inbound calls and texts that aren’t scheduled or on your calendar, filter ALL of your client communication exclusively through email, say no when you want to say no, employ productivity tactics and habits that work for you, and schedule-send your emails, you’ll find yourself feeling far more fresh, creative and productive.
