Create Better Boundaries at Work
And just like that, schedules are back-to-back with more meetings, emails, and deadlines. You may have also added in a commute to the office. All of this may make you feel more out of control at work. Without pausing to reflect on where you are and what you value, it can be easy to get caught up in the churn and keep moving forward each day. But you deserve better than working at everyone else’s whim, which means it’s time to review and reset your boundaries.
Boundaries are your expectations of what’s reasonable, comfortable, and appropriate for you. To have effective boundaries, you’ll have to define them—and communicate them to others. Though everyone has different versions of what’s okay for them, here are four areas where you can create better boundaries to preserve your energy, which will set you up for success at work and home.
Your Calendar
Review your calendar for the week. I suspect you have more meetings than you know what to do with. Though meetings are important for collaborative work, you need time to get your own work done, and you also need breaks. Proactively go through your calendar and protect time throughout the week for thinking and projects. Find one meeting this week you can delegate to a team member or drop from your calendar. Put an “Invest in yourself” time block on your calendar, whether that’s for a workout or a walk, reading or catching up on One Bold Move a Day podcasts. While you’re at it, find a day in the next month or so you can take for vacation (even if you have no formal plans!)—and really take your time, one of the ultimate ways to set boundaries.
Your Email
If meetings weren’t already taking up your whole day, email could. It does not deserve this much of your attention and time. Here’s the thing: You don’t need to respond to every email the minute you get it. (This is a reminder for me as much as it is for you.) Talk with your boss and colleagues about what reasonable timeframes are for response. I’ve read about some companies that add 4H to emails that need a response within a 4-hour timeframe to indicate higher priority. There have been times when I deleted my work email from my phone, either while on vacation or when things feel overwhelming at work. I realized if I wanted to get serious about taking a break, I needed to remove the temptation.
Your Phone
When you find yourself checking your phone frequently, try to understand what happens just before you pick up your phone. This can help inform a boundary you may need to better differentiate. Strangely enough, my trigger for picking up my phone is when I am most overwhelmed. Choose a strategy to help you create better boundaries when it comes to social, such as deleting certain apps from your phone, turning on time restrictions, and leaving your phone in a drawer or another room during certain times or days. I’ve experimented with all of these and some days I’m better at it than others. Here’s my newest strategy: I keep a photo on my lock screen of my top business and personal goals to remind myself of what matters most. (You could also do a screen shot of your vision board!)
Your Willingness to Say Yes
It can be easy to get caught up in what it means to be a good leader, employee, or friend and for many people it starts with the word YES. You can’t say yes to everything or everyone and have anything left for yourself. To effectively to do this, you’ll have to learn how to say no gracefully. Saying no to something allows you to say yes to what you value most.
To get started on all of this, make a commitment to show up for yourself—first. By creating better boundaries, you’ll have more energy to use in ways that matter most to you.