A step-by-step guide to setting boundaries when working from home.

You made the BEST career move ever going remote.

Life level unlocked. This is so awesome.

But, pharmacy school didn't teach you to set boundaries when working from home.

My goal is to teach you today:

1. What is a boundary and why we need them to separate work and home life
2. How to set a boundary
3. List of crowdsourced real life ideas (from professionals that work from home)

What is a boundary and why do we need them?

A boundary is a communication to yourself and others (family, friends, manager, etc) where you state what you will do, and won’t do in a given situation.

The purpose is to set reasonable limits, protect your energy and sanity, and feel more powerful, joyful, and energized.

How to set a boundary:

If you have not mastered boundary setting yet-start small. You will build confidence as you enforce them. With practice it will become an enjoyable habit.

Step 1: Look for areas in your life where you feel powerless, unhappy, and not so confident.

Let’s call it a broken boundary. Ex: You are watching your kids while trying to work everyday from 3-5pm after school. You feel stressed and distracted. You work late at night to catch up. Your sleep is suffering.

Step 2: Decide what you want that boundary to look like. Ex: You have a babysitter come over everyday from 3-5pm to help the kids get a snack, start homework or play with them, and prep dinner.

Step 3: What is the mindset that is holding you back from setting that boundary? Ex: You think that it will cost too much to hire a babysitter.

Step 4: Take action. Ex: You ask a couple friends what they pay for a sitter. You do the math and it’s not too much for 2 hours/day. You talk to your partner and say: “I really could use some extra help with the kids while I work from 3-5PM. I feel very stressed during that time and want to hire a sitter. I already posted on our town’s facebook group, and have a few high school kids interested. It will only cost $XX and be worth it to make the kids and myself happy.”

Hire a sitter and blissfully work until 5PM knowing your kids are taken care of. Enjoy quality time with your family without worrying about work.

List of crowdsourced tips from professionals that work from home:

(I recently posted about this topic and got a lot of great ideas. Thank you to all who posted their tips).

1. You can’t be a babysitter for your kids and work at the same time. Get childcare support as if you still worked outside of your home.
2. Create a dedicated workspace. No working from the kitchen table and constantly getting distracted. If you don’t have the space at home, try a co-working space or rent an office.
3. Set clear work hours. No more being “on” from the minute you wake up until you go to sleep. When your “work hours” are over, shut the laptop and keep it out of sight. Obviously, if you provide direct patient care and a patient needs your support use your professional judgement.
4. I highly recommend a standing desk, walking pad, and spending time completely unplugged outdoors if possible. It's easy to focus on your next to-do item but it's critical to create pauses and incorporate movement into your day.
5. I usually walk around the block really quick between meetings to get my pep back and get some sunshine.
6. You’ve got to establish a beginning and an end to your workday (similar to a commute for in office workers). Otherwise work can easily take over.
7. I recently had a final interview, but the interviewer was in a café. The background noise was so distracting. It felt completely unprofessional.
8. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be in a meeting with a parent with no child support, especially infants, who need constant care. You're on company time. This is not a license to steal time.
9. If you feel so sick that you wouldn’t even think of going in to a brick and mortar office, call out sick while working remote. Otherwise, you are still on the clock and expected to get stuff done.
10. I make sure I get ready as if I am going to the office. I shower and put on clothes suitable to be seen in public, eat a satisfying breakfast, and catch up on the news with my first cup of coffee. Then I “commute” to work. No rolling out of bed right to the computer.
11. Most importantly DON’T work in your bed.
12. I highly recommend that you set an alarm to go off when it's time for lunch and you take an hour. I also recommend you set aside time for breaks in the morning and in the afternoon. You cannot pour from an empty picture!

Let’s get started setting boundaries today (TL;DR):

1. Identify areas in your work/home life that make you feel powerless.
2. Start with something small to gain confidence.
3. Decide what needs to be done and take one action step towards that boundary today.

Stephanie

P.S.-Whenever you are ready there are two more ways Stephanie can help you:

• ????[FREE] Join the movement of remote PharmD's who are thriving at work and owning their health, too. Join here.
• Hit reply to this email (or send me a DM) with a problem you are facing as you navigate working from home. Chances are I’ll write a newsletter to solve your problem if it applies to others.