what do time boundaries sound like?

Time boundaries are self-explanatory: they are boundaries around our time. They protect our time: what we spend it on, who we spend it with, how long we spend it. Time boundaries sound like:

“I am so excited to see you tonight for dinner. I'll only have an hour to spend with you before I need to head home.”

“I won’t be answering e-mails while I’m on my trip.”

“I feel apprehensive initiating plans with you after you canceled last-minute the past few times. I’ll need you to make the plans if you want to hang out again.”

“I reserve my mornings for myself. You can leave voicemails at that time but I won’t be responding to calls until I’m ready.”

“I’m glad you could finally make it; our meeting was scheduled to start fifteen minutes ago. We will still be ending at the scheduled time.”

“I’m happy to have your company as I run errands; however, I know you like to window shop & I won’t be able to deviate from the schedule I have.”

“The last time I offered to babysit you came home an hour later than communicated. I won’t be able to help again in the future.”

Remember: we don’t need to justify how we spend our time. We don’t need to provide a reason in order to make a valid excuse. Our time is precious & we know our own limits & needs.

*You can read more of these posts on my instagram page, @therapy.with.emilee