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I find that boundaries work better when they’re created ahead of time.
It doesn’t mean that a boundary in response to an overstep or a boundary on the fly isn’t okay, of course. Those are great, too.
But I like the ones I set ahead of time because they make me feel safe.
Plus, when the rules of engagement are set ahead of time, there are fewer messes.
(Note: I said fewer. We’re human. There will always be messes.)
At the beginning of each month in our company, we fill out our individual dates that we’ll be unavailable so that everyone else on the team knows.
The other day during our team meeting we were talking about availability around the holidays, especially as it relates to customer service and our email response time.
We’ve experimented with varying levels of availability over the holidays in years past, and this year I really wanted to dial it in way ahead of time so that our team knows what to expect and so that our customers know what to expect.
Communication about our boundaries is a beautiful way of loving others and ourselves.
Knowing what to expect helps people feel safe.
As we were talking, I realized that while we certainly could be available to our customers and larger community over the holidays, doing so would be the antithesis of our mission, which is to help ambitious people light up the world without burning themselves out.
Just because we CAN be online 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year does not mean it’s good for us. Or even for our customers.
We talked through the potential availability plans, the pros and cons of each for our team and our customers, and here’s what we came up with – may it inspire you to set your boundaries around holiday availability for yourself and your business early and clearly:
Our Company Holiday Availability Plan
Minimally Available November 25th
Unavailable November 26th-27th for the US Thanksgiving Holiday
Unavailable December 23rd-27th
Minimally Available December 28th-January 3rd
Your availability plan doesn’t have to look like ours.
But I DO recommend having one. Because if you don’t, you’ll likely get sucked into the cultural trance of “expected perpetual availability.”
You deserve rest. You deserve to unplug. Just because you can be available all the time doesn’t mean you should.
Let’s interrupt the trance, set some boundaries with ourselves and each other, and give ourselves permission to log off.
What’s your holiday availability plan for your business or just for you personally? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments!
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Beautiful plan!
May it inspire you to make one of your own!
I love this SO MUCH! Thank you Kate
You’re so very welcome!
You inspired me about the auto response-I put it in my Gcal to remind myself to put it on and take a couple of days off…
Yay! Autoresponders FTW!!! Let technology hold the boundaries for you!
I love this. Especially this year I really think it’s important to slow down and lay off the email and social for a bit. Even though a lot of people haven’t left their homes as much this year as in years past, unless they are essential or Frontline workers, it’s still so important to take a break and not feel obligated to be in front of the screen! Thanks for this!
Yes yes yes! We all need a break from being online for sure!
I love this. Thank you for the reminder to care for ourselves fully so that we can give the best of us when it IS time to serve and show up for others. I’ve seen others in my industry offer 24/7 support and I’ve considered how that may be valuable, however, it will just not work for me. Clear boundaries with rest is a must! Thanks Kate and crew!
Yep – 24/7 availability is not in alignment with our philosophy so it doesn’t work for us either. Glad this reminder was helpful for you!
[…] our company holiday break was drawing to a close, I knew I had some reckoning to […]
[…] our company holiday break was drawing to a close, I knew I had some reckoning to […]
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