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Abstract

g healthy boundaries will have a positive effect on your life as a whole. You’ll feel valued and respected, and will be able to experience more of what you enjoy.</p><p id="62ff">Imagine what you want your day to look like and keep that at the forefront of your mind. If you’re hoping to have a productive work day, set boundaries with family and friends. On the flip side, if you’re hoping to squeeze some much needed personal time into your day, set boundaries with clients so you can protect this.</p><p id="7ba8">Actress Lena Dunham said her life changed once she started to express the word ‘no’ more often; “<i>It was a slow process, but a polite ‘no’ soon entered my vernacular … And something miraculous happened: my personal life followed suit. … People respond well to honesty, to reality. They understand. And so with those no’s, YES sprung back up everywhere. Funny how that works.”</i></p><h2 id="8dc7">Identifying if a boundary has been crossed</h2><p id="585d">If it feels uncomfortable and your gut feeling says your boundary is being violated, it’s probably right.</p><p id="6bcf">Notice your feelings. You might feel resentful, angry, taken advantage of, or even guilty if you don’t comply. This can be particularly the case around close family and friends so it can be uncomfortable to tell them you’re not really available.</p><p id="5c19">Don’t be tempted to answer every text or phone call, keep your office door closed, and quit the habit of saying ‘yes’ to everything. Especially those things that do not serve you.</p><p id="2436">Ask yourself if the actions you’re taking today will bring you closer to your personal and professional goals. Once you learn to start saying ‘no’, it’ll be a game changer. <i>Trust me.</i></p><p id="d5e9">Establishing boundaries whilst remote working can be a difficult process and it’s not always easy to take action. But there’s a few things you can do to get started.</p><h2 id="b39e">Create a dedicated workspace</h2><p id="3d17">Establish a room or area in your home, at least for part of the day, which is dedicated entirely to work. A place where any members of your household know not to

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disturb you unless absolutely necessary.</p><p id="1637"><i>I have a lock on my door but this doesn’t stop the cats from scratching at it so I’ve resolved to letting them in and taking centre stage on my video calls.</i></p><p id="58d5">Most importantly, create an office space that works for you. The whole point of working from home is to embrace the flexibility and to have the working environment you desire, whether that’s a desk, a sofa, or even the bath. Hey, whatever works!</p><h2 id="220c">Set your hours</h2><p id="3cc5">This is super crucial if you want to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Resist the urge to work longer hours in order to ‘get things done’. You wouldn’t do this in an office environment, except for when you really have to hit that deadline.</p><p id="5aff">Arrange a schedule that makes sense to you and stick to it. Having a routine set of time that you’re ‘at work’ makes it easier for everyone to know when you’re available, and more importantly, when you’re not.</p><h2 id="3174">Take breaks</h2><p id="db19">Again, do what you’d do if you were in your regular workplace. Take regular coffee breaks, stretch your legs, and even pick up the phone to check in with your colleagues.</p><p id="dec1">Take that lunch break and schedule your work around it. Whilst it’s important to have flexibility, scheduling breaks means you’re less at risk of burning out by powering through the day without.</p><h2 id="f0ff">When you’re done, your done</h2><p id="5dba">Sign out at the end of your working day and turn notifications off. Set your status to ‘away’ and make it clear to colleagues and clients that you won’t be responding to anything work related until the following day.</p><p id="1b73">Take time to decompress from your working day by going for a short walk or sitting down with a nice cold beer — something that symbolises you are ‘done’.</p><p id="2646">The minute you start saying ‘no’ is the moment you start to take control of your life. Think about yourself, respect yourself, and above all, be kind to yourself. Setting boundaries isn’t selfish — it’s a much needed form of self-care.</p></article></body>

Working From Home: Why You’re Not Setting Healthy Boundaries and What To Do About It

“Boundaries are a part of self-care. They are healthy, normal, and necessary.” ~ Doreen Virtue

Ah, boundaries. How many of us actually have healthy boundaries set in place and perhaps more importantly, how many people then respect these boundaries?

I, for one, have been pretty lax at setting boundaries and it’s only been to the detriment of myself.

I remember when I first started freelancing, the owner of the agency I get some of my clients through told me to not always make myself so readily available, and that included responding to emails and WhatsApp messages out of hours.

“Oh, I don’t mind them messaging me” I said breezily. “It doesn’t bother me.”

Sweet, naive old me. How wrong I was.

Fast forward to now and I’ve realised that not setting boundaries means the increasingly faint line between my work and personal life has become incredibly blurred.

And working from home has meant that those around me assume I have more flexibility and availability than I actually do.

Sure, some days my calendar is wide open and I’m happy to have an unexpected visit or phone call, to accompany my current binge-watching session of Desperate Housewives. But other days, I’m just plain busy.

Then of course, when my working day is done and I should be switching off and settling in for the night with my husband, my phone constantly dings with email notifications and I reply to one, and then another…

So what’s the solution?

Why should we set boundaries?

Establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries will have a positive effect on your life as a whole. You’ll feel valued and respected, and will be able to experience more of what you enjoy.

Imagine what you want your day to look like and keep that at the forefront of your mind. If you’re hoping to have a productive work day, set boundaries with family and friends. On the flip side, if you’re hoping to squeeze some much needed personal time into your day, set boundaries with clients so you can protect this.

Actress Lena Dunham said her life changed once she started to express the word ‘no’ more often; “It was a slow process, but a polite ‘no’ soon entered my vernacular … And something miraculous happened: my personal life followed suit. … People respond well to honesty, to reality. They understand. And so with those no’s, YES sprung back up everywhere. Funny how that works.”

Identifying if a boundary has been crossed

If it feels uncomfortable and your gut feeling says your boundary is being violated, it’s probably right.

Notice your feelings. You might feel resentful, angry, taken advantage of, or even guilty if you don’t comply. This can be particularly the case around close family and friends so it can be uncomfortable to tell them you’re not really available.

Don’t be tempted to answer every text or phone call, keep your office door closed, and quit the habit of saying ‘yes’ to everything. Especially those things that do not serve you.

Ask yourself if the actions you’re taking today will bring you closer to your personal and professional goals. Once you learn to start saying ‘no’, it’ll be a game changer. Trust me.

Establishing boundaries whilst remote working can be a difficult process and it’s not always easy to take action. But there’s a few things you can do to get started.

Create a dedicated workspace

Establish a room or area in your home, at least for part of the day, which is dedicated entirely to work. A place where any members of your household know not to disturb you unless absolutely necessary.

I have a lock on my door but this doesn’t stop the cats from scratching at it so I’ve resolved to letting them in and taking centre stage on my video calls.

Most importantly, create an office space that works for you. The whole point of working from home is to embrace the flexibility and to have the working environment you desire, whether that’s a desk, a sofa, or even the bath. Hey, whatever works!

Set your hours

This is super crucial if you want to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Resist the urge to work longer hours in order to ‘get things done’. You wouldn’t do this in an office environment, except for when you really have to hit that deadline.

Arrange a schedule that makes sense to you and stick to it. Having a routine set of time that you’re ‘at work’ makes it easier for everyone to know when you’re available, and more importantly, when you’re not.

Take breaks

Again, do what you’d do if you were in your regular workplace. Take regular coffee breaks, stretch your legs, and even pick up the phone to check in with your colleagues.

Take that lunch break and schedule your work around it. Whilst it’s important to have flexibility, scheduling breaks means you’re less at risk of burning out by powering through the day without.

When you’re done, your done

Sign out at the end of your working day and turn notifications off. Set your status to ‘away’ and make it clear to colleagues and clients that you won’t be responding to anything work related until the following day.

Take time to decompress from your working day by going for a short walk or sitting down with a nice cold beer — something that symbolises you are ‘done’.

The minute you start saying ‘no’ is the moment you start to take control of your life. Think about yourself, respect yourself, and above all, be kind to yourself. Setting boundaries isn’t selfish — it’s a much needed form of self-care.