5 WAYS TO SET HEALTHY WORK–LIFE BOUNDARIES

Working too much? Set positive boundaries and take control of your time outside of work with these five tips.

---

RECOGNISE THE IMPORTANCE OF BOUNDARIES
The first step to avoiding burnout is to understand the importance of boundaries. A few years ago, it became illegal for employers in Portugal to contact their employees outside of office hours. South Africa, unfortunately, does not have any such law. However, the existence of such a law points to the need for interventions to protect our much-needed downtime away from work, and to prevent work from invading our free time (thanks, pandemic), essentially preventing us from ever ‘switching off’. And if skyrocketing burnout levels are anything to go by, modern workers should be guarding their downtime with their lives!

PRIORITISE
What do you need to get done today, this week, this month, this year? Sometimes, we feel like life is a never-ending list of tasks that we never get to the end of, and a sense of despondency can take hold if we feel we are simply not making progress.

Consultant Vinesh Sukumaran told forbes.com about his method to focus on the essentials: “Start the day with just three activities that, if completed, would make that day a success. If you finish those three activities, then think of adding a cherry on top by doing a few more.”

IDENTIFY YOUR PERSONAL SELF-CARE ESSENTIALS
What do you need to perform at your best? For most people, sleep is a self-care essential. For some, time spent with family and friends – or even alone – could be an essential battery charger. Other acts of self-care include exercising, practising a favourite hobby, therapy, learning something new, going for a manicure or massage, or binge-watching a TV series. Identify at least five things you need regularly to feel taken care of and maintain a sense of equilibrium, and then allot time for them. This could mean adding them to your diary with the same sense of commitment and importance you would give to a work presentation.

DELEGATE – AND LEARN TO SAY ‘NO’
Admit it – some of us thrive on feeling needed, or we have trouble saying no, and so we regularly take on more than we have the capacity for. Take a good hard look at your workload and your commitments, and honestly separate the necessary tasks (as in, part of your job description) from the unnecessary (volunteering for extra projects, attending non-essential meetings, offering to organise your neighbour’s baby shower). This is a good time to learn to say no and vow not to take on any more responsibilities for the sake of your mental health.

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT
Consider trying one of the many apps available to help support your productivity – and your downtime.

• Freedom helps block distractions from your devices.
• Moment can coach you to use your phone in a healthier way.
• Flipd will block access to your phone for a set period, so you can enjoy life.
• SelfControl is a MacOS app that claims to block access to websites, your mail servers, or anything else on the internet.