Happy last week of October! We’re shifting into the season of slowing down, reflecting, and prepping for plans in 2022. It is so weird to type that out, but if we know what’s coming it’s easier to get ready for it. Also, this week’s post is the first for a series that’ll be explored as we head into November. I’ll be sharing examples of what I’m working on myself because I want to practice what I preach.

Do you feel like you “always need to be on,” and if so, how do you play that out in your work life? With the Great Resignation happening, as others have dubbed it (which I like) the Great Awakening, we’ve all been reflecting on two B’s more often… Boundaries and Balance.

It seems like we, as professionals, are always trying to acquire the two. Striving in our daily life is natural and wanting to be our best is completely valid for sure. Though, perhaps you’ve felt the same as I: “Well maybe when X Thing gets finished, I’ll find a better balance with my to-do list…” Or, “I need to do Y, and I’m feeling burnt out, but I’m not even sure how to express new, changing boundaries to those I work with…”

We’ve talked about these two topics before on FSW, but maybe it’s worth rehashing. We cannot keep putting our boundaries and balance on the back burner. I believe we know this in our brains, hearts, and souls, but as we overanalyze or get stuck in the “how,” our time and days just continue. Before we know it, we can lose ourselves in our work and its demands while still wanting more out of life.

How Do You Approach Your Work Boundaries?

In our culture, we grow up learning to “be on” and give it our all. Time, effort, dedication, loyalty, and more, are the values we tend to hear about, but going a mile a minute is not sustainable for most of us. So, I’ve got some questions for you:

How do you approach your work boundaries? Do you go all-in? Have a decent work-life balance? Don’t even know where to start?

It helps to know why we’re doing what we do. In knowing the why, we can start from that foundation, and then gain a deeper awareness of our choices in our jobs. Now, I get it… When we know why we do something and also have a passion for it, it can be challenging to keep healthier boundaries. It’s difficult when we have a servant’s heart and want to make a difference. Still, in holding our boundaries now we will inevitably increase our own development. Then in our working worlds, we’ll dig into what makes us tick even further, so we can blossom.

What if I Put Up too Many Boundaries and Lose Opportunities?

Sharing our strengths and our work in this world will make a difference to others. Guaranteed. Though, if we split ourselves up in too many directions, our energy, time, and efforts, can get split up as well. It’s like light diffusing through a crystal, when we need it focused to light our way instead.

So, let’s practice this entire week holding boundaries with others and ourselves. Let’s go deeper into our why, our choices, and our passions. From there, we can reflect on where we’d like to go and then align with what we need to do, step by step.

And next week, we’ll talk about the second B… Balance, my friends.

Ready to apply more boundaries in your job or the work you do? Leave a comment below on what your plan is! Not sure where to start? That’s ok, too; leave a comment or feel free to connect 1:1 here. If you’d like to join the FSW Circle, to not only get notified of new content but also feel like there are others out there going through the same, here’s where you sign up. Finally, if you’re into independent homework and researching on your own, here’s the FSW Quiz to begin to reconnect with yourself once again. I’m walking with you, 100%, Women & Womxn! Have a great week ahead, in your power!