Are boundaries possible in the “New Normal”?

Follow he climbed into her chair and asked for her coloring crayons, so I took my glasses o and walked over to get them for her. It was 5 p.m., so my day should’ve been tied up, but there were a few more things I wanted to nish. As I made my way back to my desk, “Oh yeah, dinner,” popped into my head, so I grabbed the meat from the fridge and started the pan to cook the ground beef for tacos. It sizzled and slowly cooked while I made my way back and forth between my laptop and stirred the meat.

“Can I have a drink, mom?” she asked patiently as she colored her paper. On my next trip back to my laptop I swi ly grabbed a cup, lled it with water and placed it in front of her. I scurriedly stirred the pan in order to respond to an important Teams message that had just come in.

I was doing many things, but was I really? My brain wasn’t where my feet were. And, it has seemed all too common that we are all experiencing that with our “new normal.”

We love the ability to work remote, but where have the boundaries gone? The following tricks have helped me put my mind back where my feet are.

Close your laptop like it’s a door (because it is)

I can e ectively check out when I put physical boundaries in place. To mentally be available and present with my family I close my laptop, turn my second monitor o and turn my desk lamps o . This signals to me my day is done and the rest can wait until tomorrow. You deserve this and so does your family.

15-minute breaks are still necessary

Remember those legally enforced breaks you used to receive in the o ce? Honey, you still need them. Maybe those 15-minute breaks mean you are putting a load of laundry in, tossing some food in the crockpot for supper or maybe it’s scrolling Instagram or grabbing that shower you never got this morning. (I’m partial to a 15 minute Peloton workout.) Whatever your 15-minute break looks like, take them! There are very few things that can’t wait 15 minutes.

Guide your kids like you would your team

If the door was closed, you wouldn’t barge into your boss’s o ce without knocking rst. The same rule can apply to your family. If they knock, and you don’t answer, you’re busy and will be out as soon as possible. In case of an emergency, all rules go out the window. However, setting this boundary will help them understand when they can and cannot interrupt.

Get an old school alarm clock

Our new age means we are always on and available, if we allow it. Getting pulled into email responses late in the evening became common for me, but it never allowed my brain to rest. A real alarm clock — yeah, the old school kind — has allowed me to set boundaries that nally help me feel rested again. I plug my phone in the kitchen at night and don’t look at it until a er I get my kids fed in the morning.

Relax

The same expectations and boundaries that you once had won’t work anymore. Relax. That’s ok. I love this new age because I remember when it was inappropriate for a leader to have her baby wrapped onto her during a conference call … and now it’s admired. Evolve with the environment and give yourself a break. You’re still crushing it.

Always in love,