Are you overworked? Or Under-Boundaried?

A LOT happened in my work world this fall. Grounded Wildness launched in October, which was awesome -- and also SO MANY details and to-do's to execute.

By the time Thanksgiving came around, I was exhausted.

I vowed to reset my boundaries, lay off checking work email at night and on the weekends, and get back to my normal routine.

I also planned to take a full five days off over Thanksgiving.

And then I didn't do any of it.

I accepted a meeting on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which led to follow-up that needed to be done the day after Thanksgiving, so I didn't get the break I needed.

After Thanksgiving, I continued to pop into my work email at night. I wasn't spending much actual time on email, but I was checking. Several times a night when I was at home.

By the time I got to January, my mind was still dragging. I wasn't burned out, I just felt like I was clicked into work WAY TOO OFTEN.

You probably know that feeling, when you're thinking about work even when you're not officially working or doing a quick check of your email just to see what's there, even if you don't respond.

Clicked in is the best way I can describe it.

And I needed to UNCLICK.

But here's the interesting thing...during all this time, even at the height of the book launch, I never worked too many hours.

I was purposeful about focusing on the things that felt important and fun and not overcommitting myself.

I wasn't overworked, but I was under-boundaried -- and that led to almost as much mental tiredness as being overworked because my brain wasn't getting the breaks it needed.

I made another vow a few weeks ago to make changes. I've (mostly) done them this time - and they've made a HUGE difference.

I set my computer to block my email, Facebook, and LinkedIn starting at 8:30pm.

I've checked my work email and LinkedIn MUCH less on the weekends. Not zero, but less.

I've also looked at Facebook and Instagram less in general, especially on the weekends. It's so easy to get sucked in and then the scrolling simultaneously makes my mind go numb and amps it up. I don't know how this is possible, but that's exactly how it feels.

This isn't a perfect journey. I still feel the pull to check my email or scroll social media -- and sometimes I do.

But even with this completely imperfect journey, I already feel SO MUCH BETTER. I have more energy. My brain feels clearer. Ideas for new programs and workshops are flooding into me (more details to come on those next week!). I'm more grounded.

So I wanted to pose the question to you: Are you overworked? Or under-boundaried?

You can definitely be both as well! There have been many times in my life I've been both overworked AND under-boundaried.

Whatever your answer is, please don't feel any guilt for where you're at. There are SO MANY systems set up to erode our boundaries. I don't know anyone who is immune.

So no guilt. Where you're at is just where you're at.

I wanted to ask you this question because once you know the answer, then you can take steps to get to the root causes and make changes that will make a real difference for you.

👉 If you want more guidance on setting boundaries, check out my Ultimate Guide To Saying No and Setting Boundaries At Work.

It provides strategies to set better boundaries with yourself, as well as scripts to have conversations with your manager about your workload, and reflection questions to understand what's holding you back from saying no and setting boundaries more often.

It will help whether you are overworked, under-boundaried - or both!

I hope it's helpful to you!

Stay wild,

Heather