It’s actually easy to forget that we don’t have an unlimited supply of energy until we crash out and wonder what happened. But of course, there’s work, family, messages, and the general busyness of modern life, and a lot of people end up totally drained by the end of the week. And the fact is the problem isn’t that we’re doing too much, it’s more like we’re giving our energy to the wrong things. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more about how to set boundaries that actually work and protect your energy.
Where Does Your Energy Go?
Before you can protect your energy, you’ve got to see where it’s going and what’s using it up, so make sure you pay attention to the moments that leave you feeling stressed or frustrated. It could be a colleague who’s always offloading their stress onto you, for example, or maybe you’ve got a habit of checking your emails late at night, and so on. It all adds up.
One thing you can do is try keeping track for a week and see what tasks, people, and habits make you feel good and energised and what drains you. Once you see the pattern, you can make the right changes.
Learn To Say No Without Guilt
For a lot of people, saying no feels selfish and uncomfortable, and we worry that we’re letting people down or being seen as difficult – but the truth is that saying yes to everything means you’re saying no to yourself, and that’s not the right way to do it. If you say no when you need to, you’ll be protecting your time, health, and energy, and that’s vital.
Setting boundaries isn’t selfish, and no doesn’t have to be a negative thing – it can just be a neutral and truthful response to something. And sometimes it’s better to say no for other reasons, like safety and lack of knowledge, and so on – it’s why we hire experts for things like septic tank cleaning because we know it’s not our skillset. No is important, in other words.
Set Clear Expectations
When you think about it, healthy boundaries have to be clear and consistent, and if you’re always available, people are just going to assume you’re fine with it. For example, if you respond to work messages late at night, colleagues might think that’s the norm and they’ll assume you’re always going to respond, so they’ll keep getting in touch.
The key is to decide what’s right for you and let other people know, whether that’s not checking your emails after 6pm, keeping your weekend totally free, or having specific times for rest, and so on. And you don’t need to explain your reasons because that’s none of anyone else’s business.
Final Thoughts
Boundaries are important because they let in what’s good for you and keep out what drains you, and when you work them out and stick to them, you’ll notice your days become a lot less draining, meaning your free time can be a lot more fun.
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