Setting Boundaries at Work: 10 Strategies For Planners

Marcie Booth, senior employee events manager at The Goodway Group, found that Alexa is her best friend when it comes to forcing herself to stop work every day. 

I started having Alexa turn off my office lights at 4:45 and say, ‘It’s quitting time… please shut down and relax, Marcie!” she said. “That simple reminder helps me to enjoy the rest of my life.”

She’s not alone in coming to the realization that – especially in the meeting planning profession, with its long hours and long stretches of time away from home – it’s up to each individual to create healthy boundaries.

Booth finds balance from walks at the beach, working out or doing yin yoga, or FaceTiming with her friends and family.

“Our industry is more challenging than most,” said another anonymous planner. “The meetings are happening no matter what, and deadlines can't be pushed because of a vacation, for example. We're not going to let our meetings fail just to prove we need more staff. We're going to do what we need to do – and that often adversely affects our health.”

“I learned years ago how little employers actually care about employee sacrifices,” she said. “Now I have my own company and bill hourly. If I’m going to work 80 hour weeks, I’m getting paid for every second.

These 3 words act as a guiding force for these two planners and others that Skift Meetings spoke with: ‘Put yourself first.’

Here are 10 of their strategies for being realistic about how much you can accomplish and setting boundaries to create a healthier work-life balance:

1. Take the time you have earned. When you’re not traveling for a program, resist the urge to do any work outside of regular hours. Use all your vacation. Don’t skip lunch. 

2. If you’re short-staffed and your company won’t give you resources, don’t do three people’s jobs. That will just prove their point that you can do it all. 

3. Learn to say no: ‘No, we can't help with that new event/additional project.’ ‘No, we don't have the bandwidth.’ ‘No, we can't make an exception as it's past the deadline.’
   
4. If you are unable to hire additional staff, make the case to hire temps. Companies like Cadre and Soundings specialize in temporary help for specific tasks, such as site selection or registration.
   
5. Turn off notifications on your phone. You know you will be getting emails in the evenings, you don’t need to constantly be reminded.

6. Calm your mind during your work day. Meditation, long walks, 10-minute breaks, deep breathing, or apps such as Calm or Mindvalley can help.
   
7. Keep a ‘Kudos’ folder on your desktop with all the compliments you receive, and dig into it when you need a re-set. Focus on how great you feel after a meeting and the positive feedback you get from attendees and clients.
   
8. Do not check emails on vacation, even if it saves you time returning all those messages when you’re back in the office.
   
9. Consider therapy if work is affecting your mental health. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), in particular, helps people learn to manage their emotions and change their reactions to situations at work.
   
10. For fun, take the Planner Archetype Quiz from Phoenix Unleashed to reveal your industry work style and habits. Your goal? To be a ‘Balanced Badass’ – ‘a pro who’s nailed success without burnout. Calm, confident and collected, with rock-solid boundaries that you implement without guilt or second-guessing.’