Getting to know Work-Life Balance: A Guide to Setting Boundaries
This episode was inspired by a tweet I saw from one of my favorite creators Skylar Marshai. In it, she asked, “how do y’all say no? To projects, clients, unnecessary meetings, etc. I’d love to know how you word it.”
This question is such a relevant one because the word no is something that many of us find challenging. Having to say no to someone in a position of authority can make you question yourself and wonder, “who am I to say no?” or “Do I really not have the time to meet? I know for sure that these questions come up for me often, and it remains a challenge! So this episode is all about work-life balance, the importance of setting boundaries, and 7 ways that boundaries can look in our work and personal lives.
Listen to “Ep 08: Work-Life Balance…Who is That?” on Spreaker.Table of Contents
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The Facts About Mental Health and Work
Given that many of us are in the first few years of our careers or just getting started, it could not be a better time to start clarifying how boundaries should look in the workplace. It’s best to get clear on this now than to go on for years without understanding the ramifications associated with ignoring mental health in the workplace. Doing so can mean that we’re normalizing exhaustion and burnout.
I read this Harvard Business Review Article, and it said that: “18% of the US adult population have an anxiety disorder, but we hate to talk about mental health at work. When we’re feeling emotional at work, our impulse is to conceal it — to hide in the bathroom when we’re upset, or book a fake meeting if we need alone time during the day.”
It’s essential to ask why we do this? Why do we fear honesty and being upfront?
The article broke this down further for those who understand things best numerically.
saying that “Failure to acknowledge an employee’s mental health can hurt productivity, professional relationships, and the bottom line: So $17-$44 billion is lost to depression each year, whereas $4 is returned to the economy for every $1 spent caring for people with mental health issues.”
#1 get a clear picture of the needs of your work life and personal life
A great way to start doing this is by syncing your work and personal calendars. If you live with family members, this can be a great place to start. Try adding a family calendar for things like doctor’s appointments, cooking, or even general family time.
If you need more visual cues, you can sync your personal calendar to your work calendar to see your life play out all in one place. Most major calendar systems will allow you to do sync multiple calendars. It doesn’t matter what method you choose to use; it can be digital or written! Your focus should be on getting a clear understanding of when you’re busy and when you’re free to have enough time to accomplish everything you need to!
#2 evaluate what things you need to keep your home life and work-life afloat
A significant thing to watch out for is conflicts with project deadlines and personal life events.
If you find yourself having late-night meetings that conflict with your family dinners or your unwinding time, it may be time to re-evaluate! If this happens on a one-off basis, that’s ok! These things happen, we’re working adults! However, if they are ongoing, then it’s imperative that you don’t ignore this and actually bring it up with your manager.
#3 Evaluate your responsibilities at home
More on the topic of co-existing with family members, try your best to be aware of what is going on in their lives so that you can choose times for family events that work for everyone. However, it might be a great idea to start taking a hard look at all of your personal life events if you live alone. There may be things that need to be shifted around so that you can see how everything fits into the overall picture of your work-life balance.
#4 Take autonomy of your calendar
The concept of taking ownership of my calendar is one I struggled with for a while. I felt that I had to consistently keep my calendar open if someone needed a meeting at the last minute. Even though I had work and other responsibilities to tend to, I found myself going back to the same question, “who am I to say no?”
Over time, I concluded that my calendar belongs to me and that time for myself just to focus and put my head down and do deep work is essential! Setting aside some do not disturb time when your focus is at its peak and distractions can be kept to a minimum is vital.
#5 I want to know, How do you show up for yourself each day?
You should Definitely strive for at least one self-care act a day but if you can, aim for three! You get to define what self-care is and how that looks for you. It’s so important that we show up for ourselves and commit to self-care DAILY, especially while working from home.
In times like these, the lines are blurred, and it is so easy to get comfortable and just stick yourself at the desk, not move for 8 hours. This gets even hazier if you’re working from your bedroom.
Many of us really thrived on having a routine. Things that we took for granted include:
- Waking up and going to the gym before work.
- Listening to a podcast.
- Reading a book on the commute.
These are things that we no longer have! Since that’s the case, we have to start holding ourselves accountable for giving ourselves what we need.
#6 Do you respect your own working hours?
Some days there will be an exception to the rule. However, we all need to make sure that we’re making it more transparent when we’re available and when we aren’t.
By no means is this a guarantee that everyone will strictly adhere to your self-designated working hours, but at least you have them! Setting these rules for yourself and sticking to them is the best way to make sure that you have time to focus on yourself and nurture yourself.
