Helpful boundaries

I used to stay late at the office in the evening. I felt I was getting more done and that without staying late I’d not get the job done. I could tell I was getting tired in the evening but assumed I was still being productive.

Then I had my son, and when I came back from maternity leave I absolutely had to leave on time. Not being there to pick up my son in time was not an option!

But the odd thing was that I wasn’t getting less done.

Because I knew I needed to get home on time, I became really focused. I worked hard right up to heading out of the door, then left on the dot.

Yes, there were some tasks that got left to the next day, but I made sure the essentials got done. Sometimes this led me to query whether a particular task was really necessary, or find ways to get it done more efficiently.

It worked so well that I found the days when I didn’t have a deadline felt really unproductive.

So I tried to make this work for me, giving myself a time boundary even when I didn’t have a real deadline. Challenge myself to get things done by a specific time. It meant I used work time efficiently for work, and then had time for other things that mattered

I’ve been reflecting on this a lot lately, as I adjust to not being in a job with regular hours. I have more uncommitted time, but I need to use it effectively to build my business and continue developing my skills. But right now I don’t have firm boundaries on that time, making it easy for me to slip into a mode where I’m not controlling my time.

A case in point, drafting a blog post in the evening! I could keep polishing, thinking about what image I want. And then perhaps I could draft some more posts. Perhaps browse a bit more posts from people working on similar things.

But I’m tired and this isn’t the best use of my time just now. So it’s time to get away from screens, do my yoga practice and get to bed, so I’m fresh to give an early morning personal training session. I’ve set myself the challenge of finishing by 9, and if necessary coming back to the post tomorrow.

What boundaries do you currently set? And where might it help you to set clearer boundaries to make time work better for you.