You probably have a contract or agreement with your customers/clients and your team, but do you have one with yourself?
One powerful strategy to achieve more balance in your life is to make a work contract with yourself.
This contract outlines how you will show up for your customers/clients while maintaining your sanity and work-life balance.
Let’s explore how you can craft this contract and stick to it.
Why Make a Contract with Yourself?
A self-contract is a commitment to your goals, boundaries, and priorities.
It helps you stay focused, avoid burnout, and ensure that you’re providing the best possible service to your customers without overextending yourself.
Here are some key benefits:
1. **Clarity:** Clearly defining your commitments helps you stay on track.
2. **Accountability:** A self-contract holds you accountable to your goals and boundaries.
3. **Balance:** It promotes a healthy balance between work and personal life.
Steps to Create Your Self-Contract
1. Define Your Core Commitments
Start by identifying the core commitments you want to make to your customers. These should reflect your values and the level of service you aspire to provide.
Examples:
– Respond to customer inquiries within 24 hours.
– Provide high-quality, valuable content regularly.
– Offer personalized support during specific hours (not whenever your client asks)
Lesson Learned: One thing I have learned over the years is that it is all about expectations. If you provide your clients with clear and consistent expectations – “you will receive a 1:1 call on this date”, “you can submit anything for feedback and I will review it and get it back to you within 48 hours”, it helps to set up the relationship from the beginning – which makes everyone happier.
2. Set Clear Boundaries
Setting boundaries is crucial to prevent burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Define what you’re willing to do and, equally important, what you’re not willing to do.
**Example Boundaries:**
– No work emails or calls after 6 PM.
– Limit social media engagement to one hour per day.
– Schedule specific times for deep work and client meetings.
3. Allocate Your Time Wisely
Allocate specific time blocks for different tasks. This helps you manage your time more effectively and ensures that you’re dedicating enough time to each aspect of your business.
Example Time Blocks:
– Morning: Customer engagement, relationship building and emails.
– Midday: Content creation and strategy planning.
– Afternoon: Client meetings and follow-ups.
– Evening: Personal development and relaxation.
4. Use Automation and Delegation
Leverage automation tools and delegate tasks to free up your time while still providing excellent customer service.
Automation Tools:
– Email Automation: Tools like ActiveCampaign, Kajabi, High Level can automate your email responses and campaigns.
– Social Media Scheduling: Use platforms like Metricool to schedule posts in advance. We schedule ours 30 days in advance so we need to worry about them once a month but it looks like we are always posting.
– Customer Support:Chatbots and tools like Zendesk can handle common inquiries and support tickets.
Delegation:
– Hire virtual assistants for administrative tasks.
– Use freelancers for content creation, graphic design, or marketing.
5. Regularly Review and Adjust
Your needs and business demands will evolve over time, so regularly review and adjust your self-contract to ensure it remains effective.
Review Schedule:
– Weekly: Quick check-ins to adjust daily tasks and priorities.
– Monthly: Review overall goals and boundaries.
– Quarterly: Assess your progress and make larger adjustments if needed.
Crafting Your Self-Contract
Here’s a template to help you create your self-contract:
—
Self-Contract for [Your Name]
**Core Commitments:**
1. Respond to customer inquiries within 24 hours.
2. Provide valuable content to my audience weekly.
3. Offer personalized support during business hours (9 AM – 5 PM).
**Boundaries:**
1. No work emails or calls after 6 PM.
2. Limit social media engagement to one hour per day.
3. Schedule specific times for deep work and client meetings.
**Time Allocation:**
– Morning: Customer support and emails.
– Midday: Content creation and strategy planning.
– Afternoon: Client meetings and follow-ups.
– Evening: Personal development and relaxation.
**Automation and Delegation:**
1. Use HighLevel for email automation.
2. Schedule social media posts with Metricool.
3. Hire a virtual assistant for administrative tasks.
**Review Schedule:**
– Weekly: Quick check-ins to adjust daily tasks and priorities.
– Monthly: Review overall goals and boundaries.
– Quarterly: Assess progress and make larger adjustments if needed.
—
Conclusion
Making a contract with yourself is a powerful way to ensure you show up for your customers without losing all your time.
By defining your commitments, setting clear boundaries, allocating your time wisely, leveraging automation and delegation, and regularly reviewing your contract, you can maintain a healthy balance while running a successful online business.
Ready to create your self-contract?
Start today and experience the benefits of a more balanced and focused approach to customer service.
—
Need help crafting your self-contract or finding the right tools to manage your time? Book a free 30-minute discovery call with me and let’s create a plan that works for you.
