Do you ever feel like work is eating into your personal life way too much?
Do you ever feel like that long work to-do list is filled with tasks that are not leveraging your skills and strengths?
Do you feel like you’re spending too much time on tasks that aren’t adding value or moving you forward in your career?
Do you ever feel like people are not respecting your time or energy?
If you’ve felt these, this is your sign to acknowledge these feelings and how they are impacting you.
Without you noticing, it’s probably holding your career back. It’s robbing you of joy and stopping you from being present.
Creating better boundaries empowers you to thrive in your most important work with joy.
This is what it looks like when you don’t have great boundaries.
This is something I struggled with for a while, but I figured it out and worked on it. So I want to give you the mindset shift that I had to go through as well as the exact steps that I took so I could enforce and maintain better boundaries.
When I set these boundaries, I was really able to deliver at work and home in a way that brought me joy. I got more time back on my calendar for things like self-care or taking on projects that would move my career forward.
So here’s the first hurdle. The mindset shift that I went through when it came to boundaries was realizing that boundaries are not about other people and what they do or what they don’t do.
Boundaries keep your mind and body ready for what matter most!
Boundaries are about me and what I’m willing to accept.
If I am willing to accept someone always coming into my office and chatting in my ear, they’re going to keep doing it. If I’m willing to accept projects that don’t add value to my career and don’t use my skills in a way that I want them to be showcased, then I’m going to keep having to work on these types of things.
Getting super clear on my boundaries allowed me to focus on changing my behaviors so that other people understood who I am, what I’m willing to accept, and what I’m not willing to accept.
I once had a coworker who was always coming to my office, chatting with me and distracting me. When I realized I wasn’t willing to accept that, I had a conversation with her and she stopped.
The truth is, I was afraid to have that conversation because I was worried.
What is she going to think?
Is she not going to like me?
Is this going to hurt my career because she’s somewhat influential in the office?
Is this boundary really important to me?
At the end of the day, the answer was yes. It was important to me because I needed to focus at work. After all, when I focus on the task at hand, I do better. She was preventing me from doing that.
I set a boundary and that made a big difference in my ability to get my work done during the day.
Boundaries are about you and what you are willing to accept. Make life work on your terms!
Be ready to accept the consequences.
I want to be honest that it’s scary.
It’s a hard truth to walk through because, ultimately, you are also responsible for the negative outcomes when you adhere to your boundaries. And there will be negative outcomes.
The good news is that if you are clear and focused on what it is that you want out of life, you can weigh those negative consequences.
Will you need to navigate this new dynamic between you and your coworker? Yes, but is it worth it if you’re getting more done and you could show up better at work?
If you set boundaries with the tasks you accept, you have to accept that people might react negatively, but this is how assertive but open communication is important.
Be assertive and clear about your boundaries.
The first time I said no to a project that would help me be more visible in the company, but I knew wasn’t aligned with my strengths, I was hesitant. “What if they think I’m not dependable?”
However, because I knew how to be clear about what it was that I wanted, I was able to assert my boundaries, maintain eye contact, speak with confidence, and clarify what projects I’d love to be involved in and what would maximize my unique skill sets.
Get ready for more space to do great things.
I hope you find this helpful because when you can start to set boundaries, it does free you up mentally and physically to deliver on the things that are most important to you.
It also gets some time back in your day so you can take a nap, take a walk, read a book, or do things that revive your passion and purpose.
Don’t forget to sign up for my free resource library. You’ll get free printable worksheets, workbooks, and checklists to help with goal setting, time management, and self-care for busy moms.
Let’s makeover your routine at How To Get Unstuck.
