work life balance
So, how do you boss up and own your day when we live in a society that is made to distract you? Boundaries. Strong boundaries. Creating boundaries for yourself is key to managing your day. Boundaries apply to productivity the same way they apply in friendships, relationships, and family. The problem we run into is standing by our boundaries. It takes a level of discipline and consistency. This requires continuous commitment and practice.
Here are 7 boundaries you can set for yourself to be more productive and slay not only your workday but all your goals.
1.Limit Social Media
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You can't tell me you're not mindlessly scrolling through the 'gram or TikTok throughout your day. Because I do it too. We are all guilty AF of this. It's like an addiction or some type of FOMO. We have to constantly be in the know. We have to ensure we are not missing out on someone else's life. Read that again. Someone else's life. When we should be paying attention to our own life. Some people will spend 4-8 hours a day on social media like it's a whole job. I mean, if social media is your job, you're exempt from this conversation.
Thanks to app updates and Apple, we have the tools to physically limit social media. It's called Do Not Disturb. It's a setting that can be turned on or off to your choosing. But if that doesn't work for you, consider deactivating your social media accounts or deleting the apps from your phone. In 2019, I took a social media break for a whole year. And I'm currently on a social media break now. Trust me, you're not missing anything. And I have been able to manage my time better, complete my to-do list, and do more of what I love.
2.Limit Communication
If it's not work-related or an emergency, it can wait. There's no need to respond to every single call, text message, and/or email. Those people in your DMs can wait too. We are also guilty of this. We feel like we have to be responsive to everything and we don't. If it has nothing to do with your time or money, it can wait. This goes for work emails, messages, and meetings as well. If it has nothing to do with you and your position, kindly excuse yourself from the meeting. Set time aside in your day to respond to work messaging platforms and emails. Ask to schedule work communications for certain days and times of the week. There is no need for daily meetings if it's not an urgent matter. Provide updates on pertinent projects through emails and/orproject management apps.
3.If It’s Not Written Down, Don’t Worry About It
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Plan out your workday or workweek with a daily planner. I typically do this on Sunday nights or Monday mornings. I even go so far as to color code events, projects, appointments, and deadlines. If a task is not written down in your planner as a to-do for that day, or week, don't worry about it. These tasks can be done when you have time and energy to complete them. And don't go adding more things to your day when you know you may not have the time to dedicate to it. Worrying about what you didn't complete only adds more stress. Minimize stress by setting this boundary.
4.Break Down Big Projects
Large projects can be daunting. It's hard to know where to start and where to end. The key is to break down large projects into smaller parts, then assign estimated due dates for each part of the project. You want to also track project completion using agannt chart.A gannt chart is a project management tool that displays project activities set to a timeline. You can adjust the timeline based on external factors or dependencies. This way, you are not overwhelmed about completing the project on time. If you only have 2-3 hours a week to work on parts of the project, that's OK. Honor the time that you're able to give.
5.Set A Routine And Stick To It
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Day drinking or weekday bar hopping is not it. Do not expect your day to go your way with a hangover. I yelled at my client for this. Shout out to him because he was the inspiration for this whole article. Having a daily routine will help you move through your day effortlessly. Your daily routine should include habits like eating a good breakfast, waking up early, going to bed early, drinking water, and daily exercise. Habits like these help you prioritize and understand what is important.
6.Take A Break
Being productive does not mean working 6 to 8 hours straight without a break. We are not robots, and we are not made to constantly be on. We are human, we need to rest and recharge daily. Don't skip breaks or lunches, take them. You would be surprised what a 20-minute break can do for you. It allows you to reset your energy levels.Research shows that our minds naturally need a break after 90 minutes of intense work. Science doesn't lie. Use your breaks to practice mindfulness or take a walk. Research also shows spending time outside helps relax our minds.
7.Know When To Call It Quits
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Listen, I stop working at 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. On a good day where I checked everything off my to-do list, I call it quits at 3 p.m. too. And I don't work weekends unless it's necessary. We have to end our day. How else would we know when a new day begins? Again, we are not meant to be one hundred percent on. But this is America – we live in a capitalistic society that expects high-performance 24/7.
I know some of us don't have the luxury of controlling our schedules. Not all of us are exempt employees or self-employed. With that being said, I would suggest taking 30 minutes before you go off the clock to start preparing for the next workday. This is called a shutdown ritual. Organize your desk, close tabs on your internet browser, write out your to-do list, or check your calendar.
The goal is to be productive, not busy. We often use the word busy to imply we don't have time, but it doesn't mean we are productive. According to Google, to be productive means achieving or producing a significant amount or a result. To be busy means having a great deal to do. Do you see the difference? Productivity is associated with a result or outcome.
With that said, I think it's time to change how we use our words when it comes to managing our workdays. If we can master this, we can transform our day.
For more job search tips, career advice and profiles, check out the xoNecole Workin Girl section here.
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It's pretty understood that the culture perceives Issa Rae as a giant; a cultural phenomenon. And we hold her on that pedestal because she just so happens to perceive the culture as exactly the same. She puts absolutely nothing before us, and we trust that about her. We know how she gets down, and we know that her pivot game is incomparable. She is purely unparalleled.
And if diversifying everything she gets her hands on doesn't keep her busy enough, she somehow carved the time to speak with Rolling Stone for the cover of their May issue.
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Donning a latex-tight metallic blue turtleneck, she reminded me of a superhero. Or maybe it's just that that's how I always see her. But anyway, there she was.
In the interview, which took place at her pool over a bottle of prosecco, she discusses everything from work-life balance and being a better friend, to her start in entertainment and wishing she never told the world so much about herself.
Continue reading for our favorite highlights!
Issa on balancing multiple projects with being a good friend:
While admitting she was striving for more balance a few years ago, Issa says she failed--especially now that her workload is at its heaviest. And sis is starting to believe that she may just be built this way.
"I'm just always thinking about work. I was always like this. [In the past] it was like, 'I need to work to make sure I have the means of affording a place to live.' [Or] 'This didn't work, what's the next thing I can do?' I think that's just how my mind works. That's Capricorn shit. Workaholic shit. If you have any suggestions, let me know. I've fallen short because I'm so used to [them] accommodating this in-person dynamic. So this year has tested who I am as a friend and really made me realize, 'Oh, I'm not considerate in this way, and I can do more here.'"
On being a product of "Internet Culture":
"I know how I am as a consumer, as a stan of people, and what I look for. I had the foresight to shield myself from what anybody who was looking for anything on me would try to find, because I know this culture. Internet culture is weird and malicious. I've just worked really hard to protect myself from the ugliest parts of it."
On the opportunities that came from 'Awkward Black Girl' and the biggest lesson she's learned in entertainment:
Although ABG is how she got her start in entertainment, the opportunities that came from the series, almost altered the Issa we know today.
"I was so focused on what I felt like fit their network that I didn't focus on the story I wanted to tell," Rae has said. "I was eager to please, and that made my voice kind of irrelevant, and the reason they brought me in in the first place was to have something to say. I had to realize I have a specific point of view, I have a specific story to tell, and I need to tap into that."
"This industry is built on exclusion. Knowing people is such a currency, and if you don't know anybody, you're just left to fend for yourself."
On new City Girls'-based television show:
"[Jermaine Dupri] coming out and criticizing female rappers for only talking about their pussy, I was just like, 'This is so unfair.' So that inspired the writing of it."
She continues:
"I guess I feel more empowered in the film and television industry," she says. "We have our own problems, but it is nothing like the music industry. I'm in awe every single day of just, 'Y'all can do this? This can happen, and it's still going to happen?' I have a lot of catching up to do. That feels exhausting in a different way."
On the new season of 'Insecure':
"We're not telling a Covid story. I had fatigue."
Same, sis.
On being protective of her personal life:
One of Issa's biggest regrets is that she told so much about her personal life in her book, which she only wrote because she never expected so many people to read it. And sis talked about it all, from her experience catfishing random men in chat rooms as a preteen, to her discovery of her dad's affair.
"It felt like I was writing journal entries. The 24- through 27-year-old version of me will live on through a book. My opinions, whatever whimsical thoughts and notions, will live on forever. That's what I don't like about it."
Now, Issa is more, cautious, especially about her engagement to businessman bae, Louis Diame (which she never introduces to the interviewer, but is present).
"I just feel superprotective of any relationship I'm in. That's come from observing and making fun of people over the years who broadcast the most intimate parts of their relationships, then are left with egg on their face. I call them the 'me and my boo' people. Let me embarrass myself. Don't let a nigga embarrass you. That's always been my focus."
A wordddddd, sis!
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This article is in partnership with Rocket Mortgage®.
When it comes to moving up the ladder in your career, a lot can be said about sacrifice. Add being a Black woman to the mix, and the work you put into achieving the career of your dreams becomes a journey. The end result is working twice as hard to harvest the seeds of success we do plant, if they are allowed to blossom at all.
Someone who can speak to that sentiment is Rocket Mortgage® Technology Team Leader Tamika Webb, whose work in the technology field has been a decade in the making. However, it's only in the last four years that she's been able to see the seeds that she has sown truly bloom.
"I hit so many ceilings to get to where I had to go," she says. "Then I was hired at Rocket Mortgage®, and every year I've been able to do something different."
With the help of the company, Webb has been shown that the sky is truly her only limit. Webb came to Rocket Mortgage® as a Technology Business Analyst, was quickly promoted to a Product Owner, and now holds the title of Engineering Team Leader through the company's Red Door Project, which enables team members to receive mentorship from senior leaders. Webb is working toward becoming a Director of Technology. "It's cliché but it's in the name… Rocket," she reflects. "We move quickly."
Webb shares the importance of maintaining a work-life balance, how she supports her team and the advice she has for aspiring tech leaders.
Look for a company that helps you grow.
"In my 4 years of working with Rocket Mortgage®, I've had the best opportunities to grow. I haven't been told no. Anything that I've thought I wanted to do and I've expressed to my leaders or shown interest in, I've been given the resources to do. They would say, 'Unleash your inner scientist.' That's one of the things that keeps me with the company – the sky's the limit. There are so many resources for us to grow professionally.
"Rocket Mortgage® recently started a program where they're paying for us to go back to school – 100% tuition reimbursement for certain programs. I have my bachelor's degree already and I have quite a bit of student loan debt from that, so to have the opportunity to work on my master's degree for free is amazing. I'm absolutely taking full advantage of that."
Be unapologetic about your boundaries.
"My schedule is pretty hectic because I support a big system that's used across the entire company and you have to keep your finger on the pulse of the business and what the system is doing to make sure we're always providing that value."
"I'm always pulled in a number of directions and there are days where I might work long hours, but I usually try to set boundaries from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Unless there's an emergency, I won't get on a call beyond those times. If someone tries to schedule a meeting at 4:30, I don't take that meeting. I found that when I didn't set those boundaries, I was exhausted. And leadership has been very receptive and encourages everybody to set our boundaries because burnout happens so easily, especially in my world."
"Work-life balance is something I'm really big about maintaining. If It's not an emergency, I am done working. I'm off and doing my mother thing. I have to flip that hat from Engineering Team Leader to now engineering leader of the household. Dinner has to be cooked, I have to sit and talk with my family."
Photo Credit: Rocket Mortgage®
Understand what motivates your team.
"When we were in the office, there were so many fun events that we would do. We had award ceremonies, a carnival, Nerf gun fights. It's very different now while I'm working from home. But as a leader, I try to make sure we have happy hours once a week. I'll tell the team that at 4:00pm, we're done. Let's turn on cameras, we'll play games, let's talk about whatever. It breaks up the monotony.
"I ask my team, 'How do you want to be rewarded?' and 'How do you want to be recognized?' When I was a team member at other companies, we would get rewarded with points, but that's not necessarily what made the most impact to me. So I decided that when I became a leader, I would ask my team members, 'What is it that you like?' Some of my team members like Amazon gift cards, somebody else likes beer. I also have a profile for each of them just to acknowledge their birthdays, their anniversaries, the kids' birthdays. That's the support from a personal perspective that I give them."
Remember: Growth is always a good thing.
"We enable team members to shadow other team members in different business areas and learn what they do. As a leader, I don't want to see my team members move to another team because they're a great asset and we're a family. However, I do want to see them move on because it's all about growth. I'm a big, big, big proponent of growth. If you're not growing then you're dying."
Know that success in tech is about tinkering.
"You need to always have a drive or a passion for tinkering, for problem-solving, for troubleshooting, for creating things. You need to always stay up on the latest technology. If you're a gamer, try creating a game. It's that mindset of always trying to pull some stuff apart, see how it works."
"We have an ISM [or a core belief] that says, 'We'll figure it out,' which is one of my favorite ISMs. You have to be ready to move. You can't just say, 'Oh, I don't know this' and then do nothing about it. You have to go talk to somebody, you might have to Google some things, you just have to be willing to learn. You have to be a sponge in essence."
Be the one brave enough to ask the “dumb” question.
"There are meetings I sit in and they're talking circles around me but I know some basic, intuitive questions and I'll say, 'Hey, let's level-set. I am not an engineer, I am not a coder, so can we break this down so I can understand it?' You need to have a thirst to learn whatever is in front of you so you can be a part of any conversation."
Know that the tech world needs women like you.
"Being a woman in technology can be intimidating because there are fewer of us. I would say to any woman considering joining the field, 'come play'. Don't be scared, don't be fearful, don't worry about the typical stereotypes when you think about technology. The girls are there. We're here, we are. And there's more and more of us being recruited every day. Just come, just apply."
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Featured image by Rocket Mortgage®
