Limits

We never have enough time to get everything done.

So things get dropped, done incompletely, or come in late. The alternative is to burn yourself out with overwork, but the result of that is that work increases until you’re well beyond capacity.

Your health, family, and life pay the price.

I had a client some years ago who declared, in all seriousness, that it was impossible to say no to his boss. He was convinced that whatever the boss asked for must be delivered, despite any impact on his personal life. He ended up working 80+ hours a week and that still wasn’t enough.

I asked him to play out the likely future in this case:

1. He would continue to work harder and harder
2. The boss would continue to demand more
3. He would get sick, perhaps even hospitalized
4. He would be fired or quit this job, perhaps with great regret

Somewhere along step 3 the work would stop getting done, so the problem would go back to his boss or others on the team. Certainly by step 4, the whole arrangement would fall apart because you can’t get work done by someone who no longer works for you.

So the workload situation would get resolved, but he would be an absolute wreck.

The solution – we can all see it – is that “you have to learn how to say no to this guy.” If that seems impossible, then jump to step 4 and leave. It might be painful, but no more than the boss ruining your life.

OK, so this was extreme – although realistic. But it’s something we can all learn from.

You have to set – and enforce – limits on your time and energy. It’s something you have to learn, because nobody is given the magic number. It depends on your mind and body, your situation, and a million things which are unique to you.

As I move into a later stage of my life, I’ve seen the balance shift. It’s not about having a job and boss anymore, instead it’s about serving clients and the others I interact with. So far it’s working for me, but I continue to pay attention to it.

Have you figured out some of your limits yet?