This post is brought to you by Shannon Olson, LSCW.
May begins the month with May Day, which began in 1886 when laborers gathered to demand 8 hour work days. Leading up to that protest laborers were being forced to work ten, twelve even sixteen hour days, or risk losing their jobs. It sounds as if we have come full circle in 2017. The day the protest began back in 1886, four laborers were killed.
Today, with such an imbalance we risk our health and our relationships. How do we set better boundaries with our work life? Here are some ideas!
*Pick 2 hours and go device free
*No calls or emails after 7pm
*Negotiate with your boss to work one day from home
*Get out of the office for 30 minutes for lunch, coffee or a personal call
*Turn off your notifications (you won’t be tempted to look/answer if you don’t know!)
*Commit to leave at a certain time each day
We need work to live, and have really been taught to live to work. Unfortunately, this has cost us dearly in our health and relationships which happen to be our quality of life. When you ask yourself, “What am I doing all this for?” Don’t let the answer be silence. Build in the very things that make life worth living! You deserve it. Untangling yourself from fears that trap us in an unhealthy cycle can be overwhelming, and we’d love to help!