Working From Home – Setting Boundaries

Setting boundaries in all aspects of life is hard but important, and working from home is no exception. Here’s how I tackled setting my own boundaries as I adjusted to remote work.

---

The Issue

The two biggest problems I’ve encountered when working from home directly related to setting my own hours. Weird, right? It’s one of the biggest draws for remote work, and it’s lauded as a great freedom… which it is. But it’s also a major responsibility.

When I first started, I wasn’t setting enough hours. I had just gotten out of a soul-draining job and I simply didn’t want to work. It didn’t last very long, because I can’t get paid for work I don’t do, but then it caused me to swing the other way: I was setting too many hours for myself. I never “turned off” where work was concerned, responding to clients and spending time on contracts when I should have been sleeping or otherwise recovering.

So if those are the two extremes, how do we find a comfortable middle? My answer was to establish boundaries and enforce days off. Let me explain:Establish Boundaries
My boundaries are 8am and 8pm. This means that I am only allowed to do work related tasks between the hours of 8am and 8pm. I try to avoid 12 hour days and take breaks as I can, but setting these times lets me actually relax outside of my work hours.

Establish Boundaries

My boundaries are 8am and 8pm. This means that I am only allowed to do work related tasks between the hours of 8am and 8pm. I try to avoid 12 hour days and take breaks as I can, but setting these times lets me actually relax outside of my work hours.

For example, I wake up at 5:30am every day, which gives me two and a half hours of free time. I’m not allowed to start work until 8am, which forces me to do other things like work out and eat a decent breakfast. I don’t particularly like waking up that early, but those two and a half hours are usually my favorite part of the day.

Similarly, once it reaches 8pm I have to stop whatever I’m doing. This causes me to focus on my time management so that I can reach a satisfactory stopping point and clean up my workspace to be ready for the next day. Instead of working until it’s done, I have to make it fit my scheduled hours, just like clocking in and out for a more typical job. It’s how I don’t take work home, even though I work from home.

Enforcing Days Off

This was the hardest boundary for me to set, but it has made a world of difference in my work performance. Every week, I take Wednesday and Sunday off. This works best for me so that I can get back to my clients in a timely fashion while still allowing myself to rest.

One of the enforcements is that I cannot spend time on any work-related tasks. None whatsoever. If I only have a few thousand words left to write for a contract, it has to wait until my next work day. If I get an email from a client with feedback, I cannot open it until my next work day. It’s hard to do, especially since I do the majority of my work from my phone and always have my phone on my person, but it helps me recharge so that I can give my clients the best work I can.

Instead, my off days are spent on pet projects. I still try to write on my days off so that it remains a solid habit, but it’s so much fun to write for me instead of someone else. The whole reason I decided to pursue freelance writing is that I love to write. My days off help keep the fun in writing and keep my enthusiasm up.

I also have to enforce my work days, so I can’t work on my personal projects during work hours, but that makes my days off even more rewarding. I get to take all the quick notes I’ve jotted down and compile them into bigger ideas that I get to play with. Essentially, I’m optimizing my work days and off days, which in then optimizes my work-life balance so that I can be a well-rounded and thriving human.

To Summarize

Setting boundaries and enforcing days off can boost productivity, which is the goal when working from home. To avoid working too much or too little, there needs to be structure, and tailoring that structure to your work and yourself will help you thrive.

---

What do you think? Do you set boundaries to help your work-life balance? Are you going to make some? Leave a comment to let me know what you think!

-Katy