Harmony & Boundaries - March

February flew by and March lasted almost as long as January! It was my first Women's HERstory Month in this new role at work and it was incredible. Yes, it took lots of planning but it was so worth it. Watching the speakers we selected share their journeys with our people was nothing short of incredible.

Both speakers talked a lot about boundaries and protecting our time. Not everyone should have access to you all the time. That message was reinforced while I was on vacation in the middle of the month. It is powerful to truly disconnect and not be accessible to anyone. While weekends and holidays are relaxing, people still can find you.

I firmly believe having boundaries around our time is essential for our health too. Stress is something that impacts our health without us really knowing how. It's not exactly measurable like how heavy we can lift or how much we sleep. Yet, it causes collateral damage. To me, stress amplifies when we don't hold our true to our boundaries. Here are two ways I've been working on my boundaries this month:

• Communicate clearly what you need: This can be really hard especially when people are used to depending on you. I've found that giving people advance warning and planning together makes the conversation go smoother.
• Take time to plan your week: Even if it's five minutes on a Sunday night, it makes a difference! You can see what nights you have "off" after work and plan with your partner on how to divide and conquer.

How do you hold boundaries on your time? I'd love to hear more ideas in the comments!