Setting boundaries can be challenging but also rewarding. It allows you to stay focused on what is important in your personal growth and development. Setting boundaries can also help you achieve some long sought after goals and career ambitions. It gives you a compass to follow and removes ineffective distractions that can often take you off your path or cause you to step back into limitations that you have worked so hard to preserve.

If setting boundaries has been a challenge for you in the past, having to maintain them in this new reality of quarantine at home can be overwhelming and at times, frustrating as we work to adapt what our life looks like today — and tomorrow. Being able to set clear boundaries during this time at home can be the most important thing you do and can help to keep you on track when it comes to the goals you want to achieve.

Here are a few tips to help you establish simple guidelines that make maintaining healthy boundaries effective.

1. Remain self-awareness - Know the situations that challenge your boundaries and be aware of when similar situations may arise.

2. Create healthy limitations - Establishing healthy limitations helps you maintain your boundaries. Be clear on where you stand with yourself and others. And know upfront what you will and will not accept from others.

3. Understand your feelings - The best gift we can offer ourselves is a clear understanding of our own feelings and how they affect our perception of people, situations, and your environment.

4. Practice self-care - Self-care is important for everyone but especially for those working to maintain healthy boundaries with work, spouses, and parents. If you don’t take time to take care of yourself, you can’t show up in a way that brings your best self or allows your voice to be heard.

5. Ask for help - Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Having a support system is critical to maintaining healthy relationships with others. If you feel you can maintain your boundaries, reach out to a coach, counselor, or therapist to help you design a plan that works for you and can be adopted into your daily life.

When we decided how we want to engage with our co-workers, family, friends, and community; we set ourselves up for success and limit the opportunity of being bogged down in situations or environments that do not align with our values and beliefs.