‘Tis the season to take time off around the holidays or serve as a backup for a coworker. If you are the latter employee, you may have busy days at work. And that’s why you need work boundaries.
The holiday season is a time for joy, family, friends, and celebrations, but it can also be stressful if you have a lot going on at work and need to help someone else while they are out of the office.
If you couldn’t take time off, you might be in for a treat. While it’s nice of you to help a colleague, you may have more tasks than you expected this time of the year. Are you still waiting for a promotion, a raise, or a bonus? The wait alone can cause you stress, let alone the pressure to plan for the following year.
By the end of this read, you’ll know what work boundaries are and the seven work boundaries you need this holiday season, and receive a bonus tip to help you cope.
Table of Contents
Definition Of Work Boundaries
Establishing and respecting work boundaries is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life balance in the fast-paced world. According to Indeed, “setting boundaries at work means establishing healthy professional practices for yourself.”
Work boundaries are the invisible lines that separate your professional and personal life. They set the limits on when, where, and how work-related activities encroach upon your personal time and space. Establishing clear boundaries at work helps create a structure that fosters balance and prevents burnout.
Without defined boundaries, becoming consumed with your work is easy, leading to burnout. Limiting working hours and workload helps preserve your mental and physical health.
Setting boundaries can boost productivity. When you have dedicated work hours and breaks, you’re more likely to focus during work and recharge during downtime.
Boundaries ensure that you have quality time for family, friends, and personal interests, fostering stronger relationships.
Healthy work boundaries contribute to overall well-being. When you prioritize self-care and balance, you’re better equipped to handle challenges and enjoy a more fulfilling life.
Practical Steps to Setting Work Boundaries
- Set clear start and end times for your workday. Stick to these hours to maintain a sense of structure.
- Designate a specific area for work to create a physical boundary between your professional and personal life.
- Understand your limits, and don’t hesitate to decline additional tasks when reaching your capacity.
- Regular breaks are essential for maintaining focus. Schedule short breaks throughout the day to recharge.
- Communicate your boundaries to colleagues, supervisors, and even yourself. Effective communication is critical to mutual respect.
Work boundaries are not restrictions; they can help you cope with stressful times at work. By embracing and enforcing these boundaries, you take a significant step towards achieving a harmonious balance between your career and personal well-being.
Get the e-book: The Boundaries at Work Guide
The 7 Work Boundaries For a Healthy Holiday Season
With all the extra demands, holiday parties, and gatherings, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and neglect your work-life balance. That’s why it’s important to set work boundaries to protect your time and energy so you can enjoy the seasons with friends and loved ones without stressing about work. These Seven Boundaries can be the best gift you can give yourself this holiday season.
1. Set Your Priorities
Contrary to what people make you believe, only some tasks are priorities. Priority means one thing at a time, not eight. Use these three steps to help you set priorities at work:
The Daily Three
Before the workday ends, list the top 3 priorities you must accomplish the next day. Then, block time in your calendar to work on each one separately.
The goal is to perform one of those tasks at a time within a time frame. If possible, tackle those tasks when you have the most energy to concentrate and get them done.
Organize your work tasks by priority to avoid feeling swamped. Create a checklist of three and then move on to the other items on the list. Focusing on completing high-priority items can help you create a more manageable workload. And don’t strive for perfection with your regular tasks. Good enough is good enough, especially during the holidays.
Communicate Your Schedule in Advance
Don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver? Then, communicate what you can do and when you can do it. Check your workload, priorities, and schedule before you say yes to another task.
Also, let your manager know your availability and capacity to take and deliver tasks during the holidays, primarily if you serve as a backup while a colleague is out of the office. You don’t want to keep adding meetings and unnecessary tasks to your plate while the team is temporarily short-staffed.
Take Breaks
Are you going a million miles an hour? It sounds counterintuitive, but taking breaks can help you work more efficiently and get things done faster.
You can even schedule breaks in your calendar. For example, for every 50 minutes performed, you take 10 minutes away from your desk.
Incorporate short breaks into your workday to recharge. Whether it’s a brief walk or a snack, these breaks can contribute to maintaining focus and sustaining energy levels. Taking a 5-10 minute break can help you feel invigorated.
2. Set Realistic Expectations
Can you perform the 20 tasks your colleague left for you to finish while they are out of the office? Did you say YES to that complex task that your manager asked? Did you agree to deliver a project earlier than scheduled to please the client?
You’ll soon realize you can only tackle all those tasks if you work 60+ hours weekly. And who wants to do that around the holidays when everyone else is celebrating?
It is essential to recognize your limits and decline additional tasks if your plate is already full. Most colleagues will appreciate your honesty ahead of time if you can’t deliver everything they expected.
The same goes for requests from your manager. If something can wait or is not urgent, let them know when you’ll do the task after you complete the other ones on your list. You can even request a few minutes of your manager’s time and show them what you must do before you decline or ask for more time to complete their task.
3. Manage Your Schedule
You probably heard that stress is inevitable, but with a solid plan, you can prevent overstressing yourself during the holiday season with this step: if it’s not on your calendar, you can’t do it. Use this tip as if the item missing from your calendar doesn’t exist. If you skip this step, you’ll feel easily overwhelmed and unable to accomplish what you want to do each day.
You can start by adding everything you need to do to your calendar for that first day. Adding everything and realistically setting a time to accomplish that task is essential. Then, do the same for the next day. Committing to your calendar and moving things around as needed is crucial, but don’t overbook yourself. Leave room for breaks and rest.
The key to successful calendar management is this:
Be realistic about who you are and what you can accomplish daily.
Please don’t lie to yourself about what you can do or when you will most likely do it.
If you don’t usually wake up at 5 AM to get to work early, don’t expect to do this for a week if you typically go to bed at midnight.
4. Protect Your Time
Time management is a skill most people think they have mastered, but there’s always something new to learn about. Here are a few tips to help you improve your time management skills:
Leverage Technology
Use technology wisely to enhance efficiency in your work, but be mindful not to spend too much time on unnecessary apps and websites during this time. Technology should help instead of distract you from the tasks you need to accomplish.
Set Work Hours
Establish specific work hours to maintain a predictable schedule and be realistic about what you can accomplish around your regular hours. For example, if 8 AM to 4 PM is your regular schedule, keep your schedule manageable to maintain your time. Your goal is to manage your well-being outside of your work hours so you can spend quality time with people and do things you enjoy.
Manage Your Time
Say no if you receive a request and know you want to wait to do it. Of course, this only applies to some things, such as critical requests from your manager. But you can say no to some tasks and invitations. You can even create a folder in your inbox with those emails, then go over each message and write a polite declining response. Here are a few sentences you can use to say no kindly:
Hi [Name], Thanks for this invitation. I appreciate it! Unfortunately, I’m on a tight deadline with some projects, and I won’t be able to make it. Again, thanks for thinking of me.
Or
Hi [Name], Thanks for your message. Unfortunately, I’m on a tight deadline with some projects and can’t help with this task right now. If the task can wait, we can chat again on [add date]. Does that work for you?
If you use the second template, add a note to your calendar to remind yourself that you told the person you would be available on that date to discuss the task. This way, you’ll know what to expect if they accept your offer.
Saying yes feels good and can open up possibilities. But getting things done means having the time and capacity to commit to what matters. When you say yes to everything, it decreases your available time and increases your stress. Your goal is to work on the tasks you can handle without compromising your well-being.
5. Create a ‘Next Year’ List
Most people use the holiday season to review items in their inboxes or to-do lists that are not top priorities, but you don’t have that luxury right now. Instead, you can create a ‘next year’ list and move those tedious tasks to sometime in January.
When you have a busy holiday season, you don’t want to get distracted with tasks that won’t impact the needle and help you accomplish your goals.
If a task doesn’t make you miss an important deadline or charge you late fees for missing a payment, it can wait until January. If the task has been on your calendar for a long time, waiting another month won’t make a difference, especially if you’re overwhelmed.
6. Ask For Help
Do you have an assistant or intern on the team? Ask if they can help. Yes, even when some people on your team are out of the office, you can still ask for help.
If you still can’t manage your workload, ask if someone else can help you finish a task or if they have any suggestions on how to get it done faster.
Sometimes, a colleague could have an idea or perform something differently and help you save time. You can also ask your manager for help delegating tasks to other team members or prioritize what needs to get done first. If your manager is unaware of what you have on your plate, they might assume you are handling everything without struggle.
7. Limit Distractions
Need to concentrate on a task? Mute notifications or put your phone away from your sight. Sound simple? It is, but most of us allow our phones to distract us for hours daily.
If you use a chat tool at work, put your status to busy or offline. Let your manager and team know when you’ll check emails so they know they shouldn’t expect an urgent response. Let them know how to reach you in case a priority comes up.
You can find a dedicated, quiet space without noise if you work from home. You can also use noise-canceling headphones. If that’s not possible, some public libraries have quiet rooms, and most offer silent environments even in the main areas.
BONUS TIP – Be Kind to Yourself!
The holidays can be stressful, especially if you add work busyness to your day. Remember that you are a human being deserving of love, health, and well-being, so don’t be too hard on yourself. If you make a mistake at work, own up to it, pick yourself up, and keep going.
Grab the freebie: Well-being Checklist
Be Gentle to Your Mind
Set limits on work emails and phone calls. If something doesn’t work, it can be something other than a 60-minute meeting. Call the person and discuss the matter for 15 minutes.
Turn off work notifications on your phone and computer outside of work hours. If you need to check your email, set aside a specific time each day.
Even when you are busy at work, you still need to get your mind away from the office tasks. Schedule some time for yourself each day to relax and recharge. It could be anything from reading a book to taking a walk to spending time with loved ones. You deserve to put yourself on your schedule!
Related Post: How to Achieve Career Well-Being: Practical Steps for a Fulfilling Work Life Balance
If work is taking a toll on your mental health, check if your company offers resources to help employees manage stress during the holidays, such as employee assistance programs (EAPs) or wellness programs. They can help you manage work stress and help you improve your work-life balance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between personal and professional boundaries?
- Personal boundaries: These define your comfort level in personal matters, like how much time you spend working outside of work hours or how much personal information you share with others.
- Professional boundaries: These establish appropriate work-related interactions, including when to respond to emails, the types of requests you’re comfortable taking on and maintaining a respectful and professional tone.
Upholding these boundaries helps you maintain a healthy work-life balance. For example, setting a personal boundary might involve avoiding work emails after a certain time each day, while a professional boundary could involve politely declining requests for additional work if you’re already overloaded.
I’m a team leader. How can I set boundaries at work while also supporting my team?
- Lead by example: Demonstrate healthy boundaries by sticking to your own schedule and avoiding after-hours work unless absolutely necessary.
- Communicate openly: Discuss expectations with your team regarding communication during the holidays and be flexible when possible. Encourage your team to use their vacation time and prioritize their well-being.
- Delegate effectively: Ensure workload is distributed fairly and consider adjusting deadlines or responsibilities during the busy holiday season.
By setting clear boundaries and being empathetic towards your team’s needs, you can create a supportive work environment while maintaining your own well-being.
I’m worried setting boundaries at work might make me seem unapproachable or unfriendly. How can I avoid this?
- Frame boundaries positively: Instead of focusing on what you’re limiting, explain how boundaries help you be more productive and supportive. For example, mention that clear boundaries allow you to concentrate fully during work hours, leading to better results and ultimately allowing you to be more helpful to your colleagues.
- Maintain a positive and respectful tone: Even when setting boundaries, be polite and express your appreciation for their understanding.
- Offer alternative solutions: Where possible, suggest alternative ways to collaborate or be available, demonstrating your willingness to connect while respecting your boundaries. For example, you could offer to discuss urgent matters during a brief call within your work hours instead of responding to an after-hours email.
By setting boundaries with a positive and collaborative approach, you can maintain strong working relationships while protecting your time and well-being.
Related Post: Proven Strategies For Managing Workplace Stress
Ana Goehner
Career Coach & strategist
Conclusion
The holidays can be a joyful but often busy time for everyone, primarily if you are a backup for a colleague at work. It isn’t challenging to deal with the season’s busyness, but work boundaries can help you manage this time of the year without compromising your well-being. You deserve to feel joy, rest, and relax despite your workload. If you need help to begin your journey toward well-being, I have a free resource to help you. Get the Weekday Well-being Checklist here.
Have you implemented work boundaries? Tell me more about your experience in the comments.
Here are some free resources:
- The Boundaries at Work Guide
- Well-Being Checklist
- How to Achieve Career Well-Being: Practical Steps for a Fulfilling Work Life Balance
- Proven Strategies For Managing Workplace Stress
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