The Hard Truth About Boundaries

The hard truth about boundaries is that when you set then, you have to abide by them. I’ve clearly been MIA from this blog for EIGHT months! Funny because I started this blog full force wanting to give career tips etc. Truth be told, that was when I was between jobs, doing contracting and frankly, had the time.

When I exited the workforce almost a year ago to today, I wanted to make sure the next role I took, I was better at not letting work take over my life. As I said before on this blog - work is a part of life. It’s not LIFE. I also wanted to make sure my life was more balanced. I had to finally accept the fact that there is an infinite time to every day and I cannot do it all. Merely TRYING to do it all would likely lead me to burn out faster.

I took a demanding job but I really love it. It requires me to travel A LOT and it make look like my life is all about work but its actually not. It ebbs and flows in an expected way. A few months ago when it was getting to be too much - I set a boundary. I literally emailed my boss and the gist was “hey so for the next 45 days I’m working on X, Y and Z because I need to focus on those things for A,B and C reason. So H, I, J,K and L balls are going to get dropped but I’ll pick them back up when I can give it time.” I then sent a similar note to my peers- no joke. So they understood my boundary and expectations. Low and behold, I got X, Y and Z done in time, some things early and could take on other things again. That was a boundary.

It’s why this blog temporarily faded away. I had to set a boundary. I did not want every hour of my day spent “doing something” - I wanted time to just relax. At the outset of the job, I definitely had to invest more time in work - so the blog went to the wayside. Then I got work under control and I wanted to work on getting acclimated to a new city. So the blog went to the side. Then (and still) I wanted to work on my mental health - again the blog was on the side. It’s because I set boundaries and tbh, I didn’t feel bad about it.

I’m at a place now where I can fit the blog back in - yay! So for now, the blog is “in bounds” but the boundaries can change. Look for more posts from me on an inconsistent basis (setting expectations with you, reader).

In the meantime, till the next blog, what boundaries do you NEED to set? And why aren’t you setting them like.. tomorrow??

PS I literally wrote this on the train - that northeast regional DC to NYC!

Tactics: Tidying Up Your Inbox

*A note: I realize there’s so much to be learned about HOW to get work done. All my how to posts will be labeled with “Tactics:”

Woohoo! It’s pre-holidays week! Depending on your role, it’s the best week of the year and/or one of the most stressful weeks of the year. Its hopefully when your colleagues are winding down and so are you. Some of you are taking official breaks and some unofficial breaks aka not a whole lot of meetings and no need to use vacation days.

This happens to be a great time to get your shit together! Kick start your resolution! And at work… there’s one place to start -> your inbox. [I really hope none of yall are the mailbox on the left. If you are, MAYBE these tips will help but maybe it won’t.]

Despite gchat, lync, Slack, email is still one of the most used channels in a workplace and it’s usually a cluster in there. Even as a Chief of Staff, my inbox was notoriously one of the worsts and super disorganized. I definitely made sure everything was “read”but I had no idea where to find emails or even if I had responded to ones. I sometimes relied on that “PER MY LAST EMAIL” reminder to take action. But thankfully, I was saved when I started working directly for one of the most organized executives I had ever seen. Literally, she was almost at inbox zero or inbox 15. I think the only time she went to inbox 15 was when I had to manage her email (sorry about that).

Starting a new job this week though I was DETERMINED to start organized and I spent the last three months actually organizing my personal email. Here’s how.

• Set up folders/labels. THIS IS SO EASY TO DO. Just friggin do it. Just look at your most recent 50 emails and start building folders off of what you see. “1:1 email from boss” “All staff notes” “Quick Update with Comp” “Random” “Doc Access” “Recognition”. These folders will help you 1 search easier and 2 get things out of your inbox!

• Move emails into the folders. I promise, you won’t lose the emails forever. They’ll still be there but in their place instead of right in your face. This might even decrease some anxiety you feel anytime you’re on email.

• Automate the filing. I know you can do this is Outlook (i actually did this) and I think you can do it in Gmail. It’s easy- set up a rule “Emails with “Puppy” in Subject line go to “Adorable” folder. It’s doable and it’ll save you a lot of time. The folder will then be bolded so you know what’s unread

• Color code your emails! This is my favorite feature. I set a rule to color code emails from “VIPs” aka My Boss, My Boss’s Boss, Expense Team (or whoever is chasing me). The color immediately draws your attention to the email like a red alert! You’ll never miss those important emails again and well if they’re still in your inbox unread- you might have some explaining to do

• Send & Archive. By far the easiest way to just get an email out of your face. You have to add this in Gmail and I think set a rule in Outlook but this gets the email out your inbox and into an archive. If it’s labeled, it’ll go into the appropriate folder and only pop up when a response to the thread comes up. It’s worth it.

Now if you’ve been at a company for like 5+ years, its probably too hard and a gigantic waste of time to go and categorize all your email. Hell, 3 months and its hard. I suggest setting up a folder system going FORWARD (pun semi intended). This will make you way more efficient and organized in the New Year. You’re going to thank me first and yourself later when you realize how much better you feel managing email.

Share your tips and tricks in the comments!