Boundaries in Action: Another Meeting? No, Thanks!

As a teacher in higher education, it can be challenging to balance the demands of teaching, research, and service. It is easy to fall into the trap of overcommitting and trying to do everything at once. However, setting and maintaining boundaries is crucial to maintaining one's mental and emotional well-being, as well as preventing burnout.

Boundaries can be defined as limits or rules that we set for ourselves to protect our time, energy, and resources. They can take many forms, such as saying no to unnecessary meetings, delegating tasks, or setting clear expectations for students. Boundaries can be difficult to enforce, especially in academia, where there is often pressure to constantly produce and achieve.

However, not setting boundaries can lead to a host of negative consequences. Teachers who do not set boundaries may find themselves suffering from symptoms of burnout, such as overwhelm, disconnection, or ineffectiveness. Setting and maintaining boundaries keeps your energy for where it is best used.

Recently, my colleague did an exemplary job of holding her boundaries. Instead of reflexively accepting a meeting request, she asked for more information about the intention and content. Through our discussion about the meeting we realized that it probably wasn't necessary, as the ideas would be covered in other spaces where they could be more actionable. I appreciated my colleague setting and maintaining boundaries around this meeting, which ultimately prevented unnecessary expense of time and energy for three busy professors.

As in this example, setting boundaries is not only about protecting oneself but also about respecting others' time and energy. By being clear about what one needs and expects, it becomes easier to communicate those expectations to others and avoid misunderstandings or miscommunications. In this way, setting boundaries can actually improve communication and foster better relationships with colleagues and students.

There are many ways teachers can set and maintain boundaries in their work.

1. One way is to schedule specific times for certain tasks and stick to those schedules as much as possible. For example, one could schedule time for grading papers, writing, and meetings, and avoid mixing those tasks during the same time period.
   

2. Another way is to say no to unnecessary commitments and delegate tasks when possible. This can involve being clear about one's values, priorities and limitations and aligning our time and energy to those intentions.

I am grateful for my colleague's example of boundaries in action, and I hope that more teachers will prioritize their well-being by setting and enforcing boundaries in their work.

If you think you could use some help setting boundaries, or maintaining them (often the hard part!), I'd be happy to help.

Help me with boundaries!