WEBVTT - Make boundaries positive

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to make boundaries positive. There are all sorts

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<v Speaker 1>of things we would prefer not to do for reasons

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<v Speaker 1>of work life balance, But rather than make these sound

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<v Speaker 1>negative and focused on what we won't do, we can

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<v Speaker 1>point out what we still can do, because it's usually

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<v Speaker 1>still a lot. Today's tip, like some others this week,

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<v Speaker 1>comes from Laura May Martin's new book Uptime. Martin is

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<v Speaker 1>Google's productivity guru, and she coaches executives there on how

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<v Speaker 1>to be more efficient. In her book, she notes that

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<v Speaker 1>the bridge between boundaries and approachability is the right communication.

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<v Speaker 1>The best way to communicate boundaries is to frame from

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<v Speaker 1>the positive. You highlight what you will do, not what

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<v Speaker 1>you won't. So, for example, I don't take meetings on

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<v Speaker 1>Fridays becomes I take meetings Monday to Thursday. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>instant message outside my work hours becomes I'm available by

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<v Speaker 1>messaging between seven am and five pm. I'm not taking

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<v Speaker 1>any new clients right now becomes something like I'm taking

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<v Speaker 1>new clients starting in July and I don't have time

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<v Speaker 1>during the week to meet about this topic becomes I

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<v Speaker 1>have office hours every Friday where I can meet on

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<v Speaker 1>this topic. All of these statements get at the exact

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<v Speaker 1>same thing, but they sound so much more positive. Wow,

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<v Speaker 1>this person is available by messaging for ten hours every day.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a lot, so why even call attention to the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that they won't be signed on to the messaging

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<v Speaker 1>system at five point thirty pm. As for the boundary

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<v Speaker 1>that you are not taking new clients immediately but probably

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<v Speaker 1>will in the future, it just sounds like you are

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<v Speaker 1>creating options. How wonderful. The person who wants to work

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<v Speaker 1>with you can decide to wait until you are accepting

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<v Speaker 1>new clients again, or they cannot wait, but that makes

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<v Speaker 1>them feel like they have a choice. You remain approachable.

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<v Speaker 1>I really like this idea. I should note here that

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<v Speaker 1>I personally don't maintain a whole lot of strict work

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<v Speaker 1>in life boundaries in my schedule. I work for myself

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<v Speaker 1>with a lot of flexibility. One result of that is

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<v Speaker 1>that I inevitably wind up doing personal stuff during work hours.

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<v Speaker 1>That means that if the work still needs to get done,

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<v Speaker 1>I do work things what many people consider personal hours,

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<v Speaker 1>and that is fine. With me, but for those with

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<v Speaker 1>more regimented schedules, boundaries can make life feel a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more sustainable. People might feel awkward about setting and sticking

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<v Speaker 1>to boundaries, but when they are framed in a positive light,

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<v Speaker 1>it all feels so much more congenial, and that makes

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<v Speaker 1>people more likely to honor them because these boundaries seem reasonable.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe they won't honor them all the time, but a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of the time, and that can make all the

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<v Speaker 1>difference in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Bread. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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