5 Tips for Setting Boundaries While WFH
How to set boundaries as a leader when working remotely.
Setting healthy boundaries at home and with your team can be a challenge when working remotely. Here are 5 ways to set expectations and take care of yourself to decrease overwhelm.
Communicate often. When working remotely and juggling your home-life, it’s important for team members to have a safe space to connect and share information. Try hosting a daily virtual stand up with your direct reports. Use this time to align on priorities, adjust expectations and discuss workloads. This will help ensure that everyone stays on track and connects with each other in times of uncertainty.
Be honest. With yourself and your team, it’s important to share how you’re doing and what you challenges you’re facing. By being open about the challenges you face, you set the example for your team. They’ll feel more comfortable sharing their challenges if they see you doing it too. If you’re not sure where to start or how to support your team while feeling overwhelmed, ask them. They’ll likely know what should be a priority and what can slide, and will tell you what they need from you.
Prioritize self-care. Perhaps this should be recommendation #1! If you’re a parent who is working from home, this is especially important. Boundary setting might feel like an impossible task, but even 5 minutes for yourself in the morning can be helpful to re-center and maintain some degree of “groundedness” and inner-balance. Additional self-care ideas can be found here.
Set realistic expectations. Expectations for all - for family and for your work team. Think about what you’re able to accomplish and share those expectations with those who need to know. If you have an upset toddler, or a roommate who is on a call 5 feet from where you’re working, you might need to back out of that meeting. Give yourself permission to adapt on the fly and release yourself from any guilt, shame or judgement. Those feelings and thoughts don’t serve you. Perhaps all you can do in a day is manage your email inbox or work on a single project. This is ok - generally people aren’t going to expect that you can perform at 100% capacity during unprecedented circumstances. Cut yourself some slack, and be proactive in sharing what you can and cannot do.
Work time + play time. When you’re accustomed to working in an office and suddenly you find yourself working from home, you may slip into the “working 24/7” trap. This is not only unsustainable, it’s unhealthy. Try creating a routine each day with activities that mark the start and end to your workday.
Activities that might start your day:
Send a good morning GIF to your team.
Brew a cup of coffee (or tea!) and sit down at your home workspace.
Read an inspiring article and get down to business.
Go for a brisk walk around the block, and open your work computer when you arrive back home.
Write a list of your goals for the day.
Activities that might end your day:
Draft a list of your accomplishments from the day and note tasks for the following day. (Celebrate small wins!)
Send a note of kudos to one of your direct reports.
Send a goodbye note in your team’s chat function to let folks know you’re offline for the rest of the day.
Make a plan to check in with family or friends - giving you a hard stop to the workday.
Workout! Get into those gym clothes and go for a run, do some yoga, whatever makes you break a sweat and decompress.
What else do you do to set and maintain healthy boundaries while working from home? Comment below!
If you’re searching for more personalized support to explore your boundaries and specific methods to help you maintain them, book a free coaching session below.