This is a tricky one. How can you set work-vs-life boundaries unless your colleagues are also respecting those boundaries? You'd have to do small "experiments" to find where you can realistically set a boundary that others will respect. For example, stop responding to Teams messages after 5pm on a Friday to see how people respond. If no one cares that you didn't get back to them until Monday morning, then you know that boundary will likely stick. Take small steps like this to incrementally reclaim your life.

It's important to make sure you take care of yourself first and foremost. It always comes back to the oxygen mask analogy - you have to put on your own mask before you're able to assist others. Setting important boundaries to protect yourself allows you to navigate a demanding workload while maintaining your own wellness. Whether that is communicating your available and unavailable hours, prioritizing certain tasks, or delegating tasks to someone else who is capable, it is up to the person in charge to set their own boundaries for the greatest chance of success.

Set realistic boundaries that you can stick too. This may take practice as it will be a new habit that you are trying to create. The difficulty for most people is in not letting other people infiltrate those boundaries, however sometimes it is necessary. It can be helpful to work out what scenarios, if any, where it would be appropriate to break your boundary. Putting your boundaries (if time sensitive) in a calendar with notification can be helpful so that you remember to stick to them yourself. When setting boundaries to begin with you might want to start small, such as finishing work on time, and then building on that as it becomes to feel second nature. Too much too soon can lead to the behaviour not sticking.

Many times, we find it hard to raise our hand because we don't want to appear weak or vulnerable, and we don't do it until we're drowning. We fear being judged. However, raising your hand to ask for help, through the channels opened by companies for this purpose, and expressing with concrete examples of facts and without a tone of complaint, can be the way not only to obtain the support we need but to open reflections for change and improvement within the company. As a leader in the corporate world, I experienced many cases where, thanks to employees who had the courage to express what they were feeling, powerful discussions were opened at the executive level that allowed for visible improvements.

Sure, we know we need to take care of ourselves, but multiple occupations absorb us. So, what can we do? True self-care starts in our own mind. We have more than 60,000 daily thoughts, most of them repetitive. Can you stop for a moment and observe what thoughts come to you? Can you remember what thoughts you have had in the last few hours? A mind that wanders is a mind that tires more easily. A mind that goes on autopilot is a mind that repeats the same memories of the past and projects fears into the future. That is the opposite of self-care. In contrast, a mind that absorbs the present moment, that uses mindfulness, is a mind that takes care of itself. That is the fundamental pillar of self-care; then, space opens up for everything else.

¿Qué es lo verdaderamente importante para tí? Si hay algo o alguien por lo que sientas valga la pena tu vida -hijos, pareja, padres, amigos- recuerda que para que puedas estar para ellos primero tienes que estar para tí, y si no te cuidas, pues no estarás bien ni para tí ni para nadie... Toma decisiones para cuidarte, cada día que pasa cuenta.