The Art of Balancing
“I’m not working from home, I’m sleeping at the office!” someone in the team I was coaching recently exclaimed.
This is a sentiment many of us can identify with as remote working has blurred the boundaries between home and work life. Our colleagues are online at all sorts of odd times as they flex to fit in competing demands of life and work. It feels as if we must always be available to meet them whenever they need us. No longer does the exodus of employees from our office building give us permission to also stop working and head home or at least remind us that we should turn our attention to the other important things in our life. Instead, we need to set these boundaries for ourselves.
“Easier said than done!” you yell.
I agree, so here are some tips to get you started:
- Consciously decide to set appropriate boundaries. Intention precedes action.
- Reflect and name the value of the things you want to stop Working for and start Living for.
- Choose a symbolic act that serves to mark the shift from Work to Life and back again e.g. shut down your laptop instead of letting it sleep; turn your work lamp on to start the day and off to finish it; send a daily “stop working” alert to a colleague.
- Invite support to hold you to this practice.