Wellness Wednesday Issue #69

😎 Self-Esteem: How to build UNSHAKABLE self confidence.

📈 Wellness: 10 functional health predictions for 2024.

💸 Finances: 7 approaches to paying for kids’ education.

🗳️ Politics: Everything you need to know about the voting rules where you live.

🫶 Grief: How to be there for a grieving friend or family member.

We often find ourselves spread thinly across multiple fronts — professional, social, familial, and personal.

Striving to excel in each of these areas can sometimes lead to a serious depletion of our most vital resources: our time and peace of mind.

Why Boundaries Matter:
Setting boundaries is crucial, not because it’s a sign of selfishness, but because it’s an act of self-awareness.

By clearly defining what we find acceptable and what we don’t, we not only preserve our energy but also foster respect and understanding within our relationships.

The Challenge of People-Pleasing:
For those of us who tend to please others, the idea of setting boundaries can be daunting.

You might worry about coming across as rude or inconsiderate.

Remember, establishing healthy boundaries teaches others how to treat us and helps regain control of our lives.

This control extends across our schedules, our emotional state, and our overall wellbeing.

Effective Communication Scripts:
Having a set of ready-to-use phrases can make all the difference.

These scripts ensure you convey your needs clearly and confidently, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings.

When You Disagree:

• “I see things differently, and here’s why…”
• “I value your input, but I am going to stick with my decision on this.”
• “My perspective is based on a different experience.”

When You Need a Break:

• “I need a moment to think about this—let’s circle back later.”
• “Let’s pause here and revisit this topic when we’re both fresh.”
• “I’m currently overwhelmed and would appreciate if we could delay this discussion.”

When You Want to Say No:

• “I can’t commit to this right now.”
• “Unfortunately, that won’t be possible on my end.”
• “I need to prioritize other commitments at the moment.”

When You Need to Take Control:

• “I appreciate your concern, but I have it covered.”
• “I’m focusing on what’s best for me right now.”
• “My priorities are my responsibility, and I need to honor them.”

When You’re Unsure:

• “That’s an interesting point—can you explain why you think that way?”
• “Help me understand why you’re asking that.”
• “Could you clarify what you mean?”

⭐️ Interested to see what boundary style you have? Try this quiz and learn more about the 6 boundary styles.

Feeling overwhelmed and stressed at work lately?

Take a breath — it’s time to inject some mindfulness into your busy workday!

Bonusly’s Mindfulness Bingo Card makes it easy and fun to build awareness and presence into your daily routine.

Here’s what you get in this free Mindfulness Bingo Card:

• 😌 Multiple work-specific mindfulness exercises.
• 💡 Unique ideas to help your team incorporate mindfulness into the work day.
• 👥 Activities that can be done solo or as a team.
• 💻 A PDF document you can easily share with others.

Get The Free Mindfulness Bingo Card.

I get asked often what it’s like to own a business and work from home with my husband.

I usually start my answer with “It used to suck, BUT…” 😅

Because it did suck — at first.

Luckily, it wasn’t our first time working together.

We actually met at work prior to launching our own business together (he was technically my manager, but I’ll save that for a different time 🙈).

So we at least had a jumping-off point, and already knew we liked working together.

But running a business and working from home where personal and professional lives can blur in an instant was a challenge.

He would constantly barge into my office to chat about work, making any kind of flow state disappear.

I would work on things in his domain of the business without really consulting him.

We had zero boundaries so work was bleeding into every conversation we had, even post-work hours, which expedited burnout.

So we decided to try couples therapy because we weren’t loving the situations we were creating.

Our counselor helped us identify points of contention and set boundaries not just around working from home, which is already challenging, but with each other as well.

Here are 8 things we started doing that made a world of difference:

1. Closing our office doors to signal we didn’t want to be disturbed, whether it be due to meetings or focus time. If the door is closed, we text or DM each other to see if it’s a good time to chat.
2. Booking meetings in each other’s calendars. It may seem silly to book meetings with each other when you’re in the same place and see each other all the time, but this helps us stay focused on the task, limit the time we spend talking about a project, and allows us to visualize our schedules better.
3. Scheduling regular date nights to force us out of the house during the week, and remind ourselves that life isn’t all about work. We also established a “no work talk” rule during date nights.
4. Keeping a “we’re on the same team” mindset. It’s easy to fight when you’re stressed, and when you’re each other’s only coworkers, it’s easy to be in the crosshairs. Remembering you’re on the same team helps to de-escalate the tension.
5. Planning the next day together. We’ll talk about our schedules for the next day — if someone has a lighter schedule, that person will pick up more of the housework, meal prep, etc.
6. Understanding each other’s morning routines. We work around each other’s morning routines and give the space necessary to complete them.
7. Meal prepping together. We realized that we’re the types of people who can work through the entire day without eating (and get hangry af), so meal prepping on weekends has become sacred.
8. Giving each other pep talks and encouraging breaks. I can certainly spot my husband’s energy and moods a mile away (and vice versa) so we do our best to give each other pep talks when the other is down, and also encourage breaks often.

Working from home with my husband isn’t always a walk in the park.

It’s messy and challenging finding that sweet spot between personal and professional time, but when we do hit that rhythm, nothing beats the teamwork.

Joanna Ericta (Co-Founder of TA)

If you’re looking for a fun way to bond and connect with your remote or hybrid team, look no further.

This spin on the classic game show format divides your coworkers into two teams to battle it out in a multi-round survey game to guess the most popular answers.

When should you plan this virtual event?

How about to celebrate any of these upcoming workplace events and holidays:

• Mother’s Day (May 12th)
• First Day of Pride Month (June 1)
• Juneteenth (June 19)

Sign up for free to start planning and customizing your event.

P.S. If coworker feud isn’t your thing, they offer plenty of affordable options at less than $20 per person!

👁️ Elevate your eyelash game with the Shiseido Eyelash Curler, designed to capture every lash for a perfect curl without pinching.

💧 Stay hydrated and replenish vital electrolytes with LMNT Recharge. We’re especially digging adding the mango chile one to soda water, but there are other great flavors.

⏲️ Boost your focus and productivity with this easy-to-use productivity timer, perfect for managing your time efficiently during busy workdays.

🏋️‍♂️ If you find yourself sitting too much, try these office exercises to stay active and improve your health without leaving your desk.