When schedules are full and we seem to need to constantly shift from one important task to the next, our workload may fill more hours of the day and spill over into the weekend. We may feel like we can never catch up, but at the same time, desperately need a break. Having time away from work can actually make us more effective on the job by giving ourselves an opportunity to renew our minds and energy. It’s good to remember: there’s nothing productive about burnout!
It’s good to remind ourselves of practices that can help us keep healthy work-life boundaries, both for ourselves and for those with whom we live, work and learn.
Here are a few considerations to keep in mind.
- Honor the Off-hours: As mentioned above, time away from work can help us actually perform better at our jobs – in the off-hours, we must allow time for the valuable and important work of rest and renewal to take place. Support a culture that protects everyone’s valuable off-hours by limiting communications outside of the normal workday. Whenever possible, try and avoid sending emails in the evening and on weekends by using tools such as the schedule send feature on Gmail. If you’re working late and the message isn’t urgent, you can check that email off your to-do list while respecting your colleague’s personal time by delaying the message’s arrival until they’re back in the office.
- Meeting Mindfully: When schedules are busy, sometimes the only available meeting times are the 12:00 noon hour and at the end of the day. Be mindful when scheduling meetings during these times. If scheduling a meeting at noon, you may be asking folks to give up their chance to eat lunch in order to meet with you. If it’s ok for attendees to eat during the meeting, openly invite them to bring their lunches when scheduling. If the 4:00 or 5:00 hours are your only open time frames, be mindful of those who may have family obligations at those times. Try to avoid scheduling 4:00 or 5:00 meetings on Fridays, when folks might need the time to wrap up their work week and reflect on what’s needed for the week to come. Your participants may not be in a good frame of mind to meet at the very end of a busy week and will appreciate the consideration!
- Empathy Everywhere: There’s hardly anyone who has come out of the last year unscathed. Whether navigating working from home while supervising children, feeling the emotional pain of racial injustice and political conflict, grieving a loss of a loved one in the midst of the pandemic, or experiencing feelings of uncertainty, disconnect, interruption and isolation, the past year has been a trying time for everyone. More than ever, this is a time to approach others with kindness and consideration of what they might be going through. Check in with colleagues you haven’t connected with in a while to let them know you’re thinking of them. If you feel comfortable doing so, share your experience and invite them to share theirs. Think about how you would like to be talked to and interacted with if you were in the other person’s position. Think about what grace and understanding you may need to offer as you navigate your work with each other. Check your assumptions and expectations – are they appropriate, given the circumstances? We never know what someone brings with them to work, but we can do our best to help each other thrive as best as possible during trying times.
- Packing it up: If you’re working from home or perhaps have seen your workload increase onsite, the boundaries between our work life and our home life can become blurred in busy times. We might be missing the commute that gave us time to process the day and put physical distance between our day at work and our time at home. We may have a packed schedule that makes it harder to decompress and let go when the workday ends. Creating a routine or a ritual that marks the closing of the workday is a helpful way to signal to yourself that you’re leaving the workspace and entering the home space. This might look like packing up your work materials at the end of the day so they’re out of sight. It might be leaving the room, shutting off the lights and closing the door. It may be changing your outfit, taking a shower or putting on some music and doing a dance. It may even be simulating the distance a commute time provides by going for a walk at the end of each workday. Whatever method works best, consider adapting a closing ritual to help you pack up your workday so that you can enjoy time at home, and benefit from the rest and renewal you need and deserve.