Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries.Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries?When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly? My favorite is that Boundaries don't need to be grand. They just need to be established." I feel this because quite often I bite off more than I can chew. If I just pick one thing--two tops and stick to it, perhaps I can relax and enjoy my life more. I made a boundary at the beginning of the year that at 4 p.m. on school days I would start organizing myself for the next day and tidy up and be out my classroom door at 4:15. I am a work in progress. Overall, I am leaving earlier than last year, but there is still room for improvement. I want to start being deliberate during my time. Focus solely on the designated task at the designated time. I feel like I am living whole-heartedly when I am with those I love and connecting with them. I have a hard time taking breaks when I become determined to finish something by a certain time, even if it is a self-imposed deadline and I feel myself waning.
I enjoyed hearing about how his son had asked if he was on an airplane and his response was "No, I'm in a hotel." The kid responds and says "You're always in a hotel" and hangs up the phone. That hits home. I don't ever want to be a parent that isn't around for their children. I want to be there every step of the way, watching all of their firsts and successes/achievements. I want to to be at every ball game, dance recital, music concert, etc. I feel like I'm living life whole-heartedly when I have the perfect combination of work/home life. I enjoy being at school and teaching these bright young 3rd graders, but I also enjoy spending time with my family at night.
Less a line from the video, but more a thought that continued to pop up as I watched: 'Your job listing will be posted before your obituary.' I learned very fast that I would not handle work email on my phone (1 bad parent in my second year of teaching brought a quick end to that). But more and more, it is my policy that you can send an email and I will get to it on the next business day. I am often frowned upon when I have not responded to an email immediately or didn't see an improptu dress up day that was send over the weekend. But this is something that I must stick to and I feel strongly about. If we are to change the expectation, it must at least begin as an all or nothing, or else where do the 'exceptions' end? I feel best about this decision when I remember that I also have a job of raising my own children-- to which I am very committed.
I connected with his comment at the beginning of the career woman--who works all day, comes home and does all the housework, prepares the meals and finishes the dishes. I finally had to ask for help from my husband and children because I was finding myself to not be a very happy person. I try to leave at 4pm from my teaching job and leave the work at school, so that I can be focused on my family during the evening.
I liked the part about being a career woman and coming home to do the home "chores". My husband and I have learned how to balance home chores and we have a good system where things get done and we both do the ones we enjoy the most! I have taught for 22 years and at different stages of my life I have balanced work/home life differently. I started teaching before I had children so I spent more hours at school than I did at home. When our children were small I brought school work home to do when they went to sleep. Now our children our teenagers and I think I have finally found a better balance. I love making lists and have two lists on my desk. One list is for all the "big" things that need to get done but not necessarily right away. The other sticky note is for things that I need to accomplish that day. Before I leave for the night, I always check to make sure I have accomplished what needs to be done for that day. When I find that I have extra time, I accomplish something off the "big" list. I have learned that prioritizing what has to be done "today" compared to "someday" helps me stay focused and sets a boundary for me so that when I go home, I can be present at home.
This quote really stuck out to me: 'If we want to live a whole-hearted life, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol in productivity as self worth.' This is so me. I was never brought up to sleep or play, we worked and worked due to a large family and not many acres of land. This was absolutely fine with me: I knew I was loved and never felt I went without anything. I still find it hard to do the above because it is not in my nature and I find it really hard to stop and play or stop and rest - there is always too much to do - and there honestly is. When will I realize that there will always be something that needs done - whether it be at home or at school. Every day I feel like I am never done at school - there is honestly always so much more to do. I arrive early and stay late due to so much to do. I use my time very wisely, but, there are always new ideas to look up or behavior issues that need to be dealt with. I need to tell myself that it will never be done, and it is time to go home and it will all be there tomorrow. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I am doing something with my family - nothing is better!
I liked the quote "You will have to determine what is driving you to tolerate a life of unbalance." The speaker said it was ego for him, but he had to ask himself, if I am so successful why am I so miserable. As for work life balance, I am pretty good at that. During the pandemic, was the worst time for me, because we were getting more and more responsibilities with the same amount of time, and while a lot of my coworkers were killing themselves to do more and spending hours doing it. I had to draw a line. I do what I can at work and if I can't do it I can't do it. I don't take it home. I started leaving all of my work stuff at work during the week, so I wouldn't be tempted to do things at home. I still do an hour or two of work at home on the weekend, but it does not take over my life.
Paraphrasing my take-awaay: My girls don't care about my title or salary, they want me to be home and present. Something has to give. More time as a family = SO worth it. I need to make conscience choices and slow down... take a step back to see the future. I'm not the only one my choices affect. Define the values I want to protect and list a boundary to help me attain it.
**I never really thought about work-life "Boundaries". I love that. Last year, I went through a season of burn-out and did a lot on self-care. One of my favorite sayings out of that was Work-Life Juggle - recognizing that 'balance' isn't realistic. BUT, I like the word "boundaries" even more because rather than just giving in to the "juggle"... it helps me prioritize and put in action items I can control!
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly? I appreciated that he made taking steps to create work-life boundaries very attainable. Sure, it could be quitting your job, but it could just setting aside Saturday afternoons for your loved ones. The story that really stuck out to me was his 3 year old son telling him he was always at hotels. I can't imagine how devastating that would be. I am in a much better place with work-life boundaries after changing careers and my job. My work was having a huge negative impact on both my mental and physical health and it was evident that a change was necessary. I am very grateful to have much less work stress and exhaustion in my life. I feel like I'm living life whole heartedly when I spend time reading the Bible and in prayer, take good care of my body with healthy food and exercise, and spend time with my husband, family, and friends.
I appreciated that he called it a journey. I am not sure any of us ever have life completely figured out. As life changes, and we enter into different stages, things change. It is a constant journey, but it is not one in which we have no power. We have the power to choose how we spend our time (much of the time, anyway), and for the most part, it is up to us to create our boundaries.
I am not great at this, but I continue to get better. I am learning to say "no" without excused. I am learning that busy does not equate to one's worth. Some of the most amazing women I know aren't those who worked themselves ragged, but took time to be mothers, enjoy hobbies, and who stopped to smell the roses.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
I laughed a little when at the beginning, Carlos spoke about the roles of men and women. My husband and I have had many, many conversations about this exact thing. Now, as our adult children are newly married and starting families, we are helping them navigate the same types of conversations. I also really liked the quote, “If we want to live a whole-hearted life, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol in productivity as self worth.” Currently, I feel I have finally reached a very good work/life balance. I needed to change jobs and have to work daily on maintaining the balance. I feel like I am living life to the fullest when I am present and engaged for my family and taking in each memory and moment to the fullest. Along with being present in my personal life I also need to be fulfilled in my professional life.
I enjoyed the story of him talking to his son on the phone and him saying “you’re always in a hotel” and hearing his reflection from this. I feel like over the last couple years I’ve created a better work-life balance. I stopped coaching to free up my evenings and weekends and have also started really feeling “ok” with leaving things at school to be done at another time. I don’t ever want to be the parent that continually misses moments because of work. I feel like I whole-heartedly am living life when I’m teaching my 2nd graders and then coming home and being present with my family!
I identified as the career woman. I am a single mom and only have one child left at home. I work all day, come home, do the house work, prepare meals, do dishes...I have really had to be intentional about letting go of things that my 16 year old can do himself and teaching him about picking up after himself, shared space and his responsibility with that, etc.
My favorite line was "Letting go of productivity as self worth and validation".
At the end of the day, I do not want to think of my day as productive or unproductive in terms how how much I accomplished whether in the home or at work. I want to think of my day in terms of how much joy I had, what I enjoyed, and how it impacted my relationships. When he talked about his 3 year old saying "you're always in hotels" I resonated with that because I have two young kids and it is so important for me to be present with them even though I do have a full time job.
I do think I have a pretty good work life balance - I am able to leave at contract time each day and switch into mom mode. I do not often work in the evenings or on the weekend. I do however let work things take over my mental load and even if I am not actually working at home, my mind still may be there and my "worth" of the day as well.
A line that really struck me was: "What is driving you to a life of imbalance?" It made me think about what my answer was to that question. Work/life balance has always been tricky for me to figure out. There are just so many tasks that need to be completed in both places. I feel like I've gotten better at balancing things the older I have gotten. His simple list of 4 established boundaries showed that setting boundaries doesn't have to be an elaborate process. It's just about listing your values and setting a few boundaries to protect those values. I most feel like I'm living life whole-heartedly when I am truly present and mindful of the time I am blessed to spend with my family and friends.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
I liked when he said boundaries don't have to be grand, they just have to be established. I also liked how he gave the principals to set those boundaries. This is something I struggled with a lot when I first started teaching but have gradually gotten better at it. I decided to not take home work on weeknights and only allow my self a couple hours on the week to work. I set this boundary and now I am able to have time to do things that allow me to life life whole-heartedly. I get to be present when I spend time with friends or family and not stress/ think about everything I need to get done for work.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. The story that stood out to me was when his little boy called and asked if he was in an airplane, and his dad said "no buddy, I'm in a hotel." To which his boy responded, "You're always in a hotel!" I wonder what my own kids would say to end the sentence "Mom, you're always ____________." I have a feeling the answer will make me cry, just like Carlos did.
Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? I'm struggling with it, and to be honest I'd say I was at the very beginning. I started teaching first grade 8 years ago and spent the first two years not only figuring out how to teach first grade, but also getting my masters. I had 3 young kids at home at the time and it was HARD. It really set me up for some bad work-life habits right from the get-go that I haven't grown out of.
When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly? I don't know if I am most of the time. It's been a difficult few years personally and professionally and it's really sent me into a tough headspace. Feeling I should be home when I'm working, and feeling like I should be working when I'm home is a crummy cycle to be in. I'm trying to live life whole-heartedly and be completely IN wherever I am.
The story that hit home to me, was about the working mom who comes home, fixes supper, does dishes and the chores. I have created this, by not asking or expecting my family to help when I get home, I just do it for them. I have a good work-life balance. I get to school early in the morning so I can plan for the day and then leave at 4 pm, leaving most work at school. My thought is that it will be there for me in the morning and I need to enjoy the time with my family while they are still at home. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I spend the day with my kids, watching them compete/participate in their activities. It is a time that I don't worry about grading, lesson plans, or all of the other committees/boards that I am on.
I thought the story with his son at the beginning of the video was moving. He was clearly emotional about it and it was monumental for him to shift his priorities and get over his ego at work. I spent the summer of 2022 (the summer that my son was born) preparing my classroom all summer long. I wasted so much time and tried to hustle during his naps to prep things for my classroom. I wasted time on my classroom when I could have been enjoying all the little moments with him. I am now 11 weeks postpartum with my second and have made it a boundary of mine to not come in to the school at all over summer until August 1st. I have rarely brought school home during the school year and often leave at contract time. It is important for me to be present with my boys at home. They aren't going to want to hear me say on a Saturday night that I have to go in and prep for the next week. They are going to want me to stay home and watch a movie with them. It's imperative that I set these boundaries now while they are young so they become habitual as they get older.
His statement of, "You have to determine what is driving you to tolerate a life of unbalance." Since an early age, working hard was a way of life. It was what I realized a few years ago, I was using as a standard in determining my success. Like Carlos, I was empty and miserable. With grand nieces and nephews coming into my life, I woke up! Family is my priority. Each year, I improve on focusing on my family. I leave school work at school. I don't have school email on my phone or reply to text messages during "off hours". My hardest work life balance is my cattle. They are a priority, also. However, my "Lils" love "helping" so it's an enjoyable experience when we are together at the farm. I am living a whole hearted life when I am with my family, engaged in the moment.
My favorite part of the talk was that your boundaries don't have to grand they just have to be established. If we do not have boundaries we will let ourselves be pulled away from the things that are really important to us in our lives. We will always find excuses and justify to ourselves the neglecting of those things that are really important and really keep us going. I am really living whole hearted life when I am making sure that I am taking care of my faith life and spending quality time with my family.
"Boundaries don't need to be grand, they need to be established" This was a line that really stood out to me. It made that connection of what boundaries truly are. They dont have to be some huge thing.. they just have to be established and part of the routine. This goes back to finding the really important things in life and not letting anything take away from them or get in the way. I am living life to the fullest by keeping my Faith strong, and building a family. These are two very important things to me and I am establishing that now so that it never wavers in the future.
I really appreciated Carlos' realization that he was missing out on his family's life and saw that it was part of the journey that he was not participating in. Establishing the work/life boundaries are so important. I feel that when our children were very young it wasn't so hard to set those boundaries for me, but it was much harder for my husband, who was working a couple of jobs trying to support the family. For me it got much harder when I went out to work and had to maintain a home at the same time and we had children events at all ages. I do feel that it is beneficial to set those boundaries. The benefits of realizing the importantance of the people in our lives does have a trinkle down effect on our children, who can see us making time for the people we love.
The statement “Define the values that you want to protect” really stood out to me. It reminded me that if something is truly important, we find a way to make time for it. If something is worth protecting, it’s worth the effort to prioritize it.
I’ve realized that I need to be more intentional about protecting my time. That means learning to say no to things that don’t align with my values, and being more consistent in saying yes to the things that do. Time is limited, and I want to invest it in the people, practices, and priorities that truly matter to me.
My favorite line is LUKE. Out of the mouth of babes. Sometimes it is the littlest voices that make the biggest impacts on our lives. Im so glad he listened and took it to heart what Luke was innocently telling his daddy. Sometime a child can sum it all up in a few words and those words change our lives forever. Our life has changed a lot from when our kids were little. Routine was key and very important. Now, if we want to do something fun or do something that we usually don't do, it works better now that we are empty nesters. We all still need boundaries. In our classrooms and homes, personal lives and in marriage boundaries are all good. Time seems to fly the older you get, and I want to enjoy and make the most of each one of those times.
I really liked the line, “Creating boundaries creates opportunities to show up.” Currently, I am working on establishing a more rigid work-life boundary so I am able to show up for myself and others. I feel like in the past, it is easy to come home and continue working on work-related tasks- because they can feel never ending! Now that I have started a family, I will be putting up more of a boundary and putting myself and my family time first.
I feel like I am living wholeheartedly when I am able to spend time with my family. During the summer, I spend a lot of time with my husband, parents, and extended family at our family’s lake cabin. I look forward to these weekends together every year. I am genuinely happy, care-free and content.
The line the stood out to me was "Boundaries don't need to be grand, they need to be established" Thinking of my life as an educator , and as a husband/ father, I think setting those boundaries 20 years ago helped me balance family and work. By all means, the beginning of my career had many set backs but I always managed to create even the smallest boundaries to help me balance work and family. Whether I was making sure family came first or not stressing about a lesson that did not go well. We can only control so much and we need to know our limits.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
The line that stuck with me from Carlos Hidalgo was, "you are always in hotels." I would also be crushed if my child said that to me, I would want to be very present in my child's life and have always intentionally made my work/home life boundaries very clear and it is one of the best pieces of advice I received from mentors and coworkers. I am very lucky because the admin in my school are very encouraging about making that boundary clear right away in your teaching career.
We have to be willing to prioritize sleep & play and letting go of exhaustion as a symbol of productivity and self worth. At this moment I do not have a family of kids running around but I know that when I do my evenings will have to look much different in the world of teaching and coaching. Right now, especially in the coaching world most of my evening is still spent watching film and practice planning or Lesson planning for school. In the school department I have gotten better about working ahead during the day when I am able and not having to do much at home, but still tend to work on things here and there anyways. With coaching, I have not found that balance and it is something I will have to work towards shifting where that time is spent and how I still accomplish it with a family to spend time with as well. All of this to say, when we are in the career of being able to impact and affect change in students/athletes lives, I really do get fulfillment and joy from the extra work that I put in, because I really do feel like it makes me a better teacher/coach for my students/athletes. I think I have found a good balance for my season of life right now, I just know that it will need to change as a family grows.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
Define the boundaries! I am feel like I have a good work/family balance in regards to spending time with my children. I feel like my husband and I need to define the boundaries for our relationships. We talk about it, try to fix it, but we inevitably fall back to being to busy for each other.I think we need to actually write it down and have it visible!
I connected with the career woman perception as far as being responsible for dinner, children activities, and chores. As a mother of three and full time teacher I leave work at work most of the time, but am running from one thing to the next regarding home life. I feel this school year I have done a much better job of leaving as much of work at work as possible. I am being intentional with balancing my after work time between home responsibilities and taking time for myself. I make an effort to relax by reading books I want to read, not that I have to for school or work. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I am with my family enjoying the outdoors.
Not necessarily a favorite, but the one that I can relate to the most is the story of his son Luke talking to him saying he is always in a hotel. When I was teaching, I was fortunate to have my in-laws within 2 blocks of the school. I would send my children over there so I could get some work done and have a few moments to myself. Fast forward to my new job and I had to take 2 months of focus studying. This cut into my family time and now that I’m studying to take another test my kids are constantly asking if I need to study or if I can play a game with them. Studying for this exam is a medium priority as I only have four months to study and pass the exam, but that’s a lot of time that means I am not fully there for my family. This will provide me with more opportunities at work, but like he mentioned the kids don’t care about your title, they just want mom or dad at home. I feel like I started the process of living my life whole-heartedly when I left the classroom. I am able to still do the things I loved doing in the classroom, but it’s on my time now. There will always be bumps in the road and I feel like I’m at a speed bump right now, but there is always a plan for us and taking the first step is the hardest but can be the most rewarding.
If we want to live a WHOLE-HEARTED LIFE, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and let go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth. While not directly his words, this is a reminder that I often need. I was so used to getting lost in the work and never having much time outside of it. I felt like I lost myself along the way. It took walking away from the classroom for me to realize how much I had truly given up. While I still work in education, I am no longer teaching in a classroom. I have made more time for friends and family, had time to complete projects that I had been working on for years, and finding things that truly bring me joy. With that change, I have found myself wanting to get back into the classroom, but this time with a better idea of what I am able to do and what to watch for so I do not find myself falling back into exhaustion and overwork.
My favorite line was from his daughter when she said daddy I like who you are now, but wish it wouldn't have taken so long. It's a reminder that we need to get a list of things most important and set a goal to work on that. I need to find things that bring me joy and work on those.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
It's really refreshing to hear a story of acknowledging the devastating effects of ego. I am happy for him to find the "whole-hearted life" that he was after. Not everyone is able to wake up to this realization and I'm happy for him, and even more so, his family that he was able to figure it out. I think I have a pretty solid work-life balance. I'm sixteen years into my teaching career and I'm grateful for the early years of my teaching before I had kids to work the really long hours and every weekend. As a result, I'm able to spend much less time working now that I want to spend my "whole-hearted life" with my kids. I love to run to park and rec activities, ballet lessons, and a fun activity on the weekends. My kids are the heart of working toward my "whole-hearted life".
Who wasn't moved by the story of when his little boy answered the phone when Carlos called home, it really hit the heart strings. Sometimes it takes things like that to get our attention and get us to realize there needs to be a change in priorities. I have been teaching for many years and I believe I have established good work-life boundaries. Carlos described it as a journey, and I think we all have to discover the boundaries that will make our work and family life balanced. I feel like I am living whole heartedly when my family gathers together, family is everything to me. I have found that balance that allows me to work hard while I am at school, and be able to, for the most part, leave work at work, and be present with family after that.
Carlos Hidalgo stressed the importance of prioritizing what we value and determining our boundaries to protect those values. That is so accurate! I feel like I am living my life whole-heartedly when my faith, family, friends and health are the priority in my life. As Carlos indicated in his talk, it is too easy to let work consume us and cause us to lose sight of what is important. I like how he and his family made intentional efforts in setting their boundaries by making meaningful time for relationships and time for mental/physical rejuvenation, cultivating things that bring joy and taking care of their health. Sounds like a perfect plan if done with intentional effort.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly? My favorite line from the talk was to take time to slow down and when setting boundaries, they don't need to be grand, they just need to be established. I am currently doing home care for a family member and sometimes it requires me to be gone in the evenings and some times on the weekends. Although my kids are older and help out, there are still things that I need to do when I get home. I am working on trying to set boundaries for keeping Saturday evenings and Sundays open for family time rather than catching up from the busy week. I feel like I am living life whole heartedly when my grown children are home and we attend church together and a meal together as well as when we are all together on a family camping trip. There will be more time for making memories if we can just take the time to slow down and enjoy what brings us joy!
The line that stood out to me from Hidalgo's presentation was, "Boundaries don't need to be grand, they need to be established." I often put pressure on myself and am a "go big or go home" type of person. This was an excellent reminder that I don't have to set ALL the boundaries around ALL the things and figure out every single small detail of scheduling my days effectively - I just have to start small and establish something. It reminds me to take the pressure off myself! Small, realistic goals/boundaries you can actually achieve are more effective than grand ones you cannot sustain.
When I was teaching, I don't really think I had any work/life boundaries. My husband and I were newly married and both taught at the same small school district, so we often brought work home and did things like planning/grading together. If I return to teaching, it will be a whole different story now that we have two sons. I have realized that even now, I can establish boundaries around my time at home. I can dedicate time to work and time to play with my boys or have alone time.
I feel like I am living whole-heartedly when I am fully engaged in having fun with my sons. Not worried about housework, not on my phone, nut pressuring myself to "get it all done." But just enjoying my husband and sons!
1. "Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries." "We have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and letting go as exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth."
2. "Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries?" While I think I am pretty bad at it, I have made good progress in the past few years. I have been saying no to some things, I have improved in my willingness to NOT do school work on vacation, and I have let some things at school that are not my job simply not get done because no one else will do it. 3. "When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?" When I am on a family vacation where I successfully ignore school despite the texts, calls, and email.
"Your boundaries don't need to be grand, they just need to be established."
I used to be pretty bad at this, especially early in my career and before kids. Once my position shifted and I had actual planning time in my day everything shifted. Now I don't bring work home unless I absolutely have to and I make a point to leave by 4:00 pm (15 minutes past contract time) each day. The only time I work at home now is during the summer.
I think the weekends, breaks, vacations, and summer I am living life whole heartedly. Most of the time weeknights are also disconnected from work.
The story about his son calling him and hanging up on him made me want to cry! I will say I really try to keep school and home life balanced as much as possible. I tell my husband that he should feel like he can have less on his plate during the summer because it is my job to take care of most of the daily chores and getting kids to and from their activities. He pulls his weight during the school year with getting the kids ready in the morning so I can get out the door to work. I had a really good mentor teacher when I first started who told me to work hard during the day to make sure you can leave school work at school and not take it home with you. I feel like I am living my life whole heartedly when I feel organized, and have had a productive day. I usually measure my productivity in how much I accomplished whether it is housework or school work. This is probably not a great mindset and I need to shift that to building relationships with my family and friends instead.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
The line the stood out to me was "Boundaries don't need to be grand, they need to be established." I have always struggled with boundaries. I know I need to set them and I am starting to get better. I used to try to squeeze in attending all my niece's kids events. I love the little ones, but I can't be at all events. I go to the ones that fit comfortably into my schedule, but I no longer feel obligated. They have plenty of people cheering them on and I have other priorities. I have gotten better about work-life balance. I really used my planning period and my commute time, when I was a passenger in the carpool to lesson plan and grade. When I was home, I really tried to be present with the family. I would allow myself two hours on Sunday evening to prep for school for the coming week. I don't know that I am living life whole-heartedly, but I think I am getting closer. I wish I would have been better about balance years ago.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
The line that truly connected with me was when his son said "Daddy, you're always in hotels" and then he hung up the phone. I feel as though I do a good job of setting boundaries between work and home. However, when I get home I feel the burden of accomplishing all the household chores and tasks that we need to do each night such as homework, nightly reading, baths, cooking meals, etc. I need ot do a better job of being present with my boys once we're home and not holding such high expectations for our daily life. When I do let go of some of those expectations, I do feel like I am living life whole-heartedly. I'm laughing and playing with my children, I'm present with my spouse and we are communicating better, I don't feel the stress of completing things off my mental check lists, and so much more.
My favorite part of Carlos Hidalgo’s talk was when he shared how stepping away from his successful business wasn’t just about changing careers—it was about coming home to his family and to himself. That line where he talks about sitting at the dinner table with his family again after years of being mentally and physically absent really stuck with me. It reminded me that success isn’t just about titles or accomplishments—it’s about being fully present where it matters most. That hit me. As a teacher, coach, and dad to a one-year-old, I get how easy it is to be there in body but totally checked out.
I’m still figuring out my work-life boundaries, but I’ve started small—like shutting off email after dinner and protecting weekends for family time. I feel like I’m living whole-heartedly when I’m on the floor playing with my daughter or laughing with my wife—no distractions, just being present. That’s the kind of “success” I want more of.
One line from Hidalgo’s talk that really stuck with me is when he was comparing boundaries to walls. He said, "they’re bridges that connect us to what really matters." I like that because it makes boundaries feel less like something that keeps us out, and more like something that helps us protect the important stuff in life, like our families.
As an ELL teacher, wife, and mom, I’m still figuring out how to set good boundaries between work and home. Some days I do okay, but other days, work stress just sneaks in and it’s hard to switch off.
For me, I feel like I’m really living fully when I’m completely present with my daughter whether we’re playing, reading, or just hanging out, and I am not thinking about work. Those moments help me relax and remind me why I do what I do.
Hidalgo’s talk motivates me to keep working on boundaries and not to block things out, but to build a better balance so all parts of my life can feel more connected.
I wrote down many things Hidalgo said but "Continues to be a process" and "Boundaries don't need to be grand, they just need to be established." So true. Just admitting things are going haywire and trying to compromise and find a solution is necessary to fix a situation. This happened many times in our marriage, so we needed to talk and work it out together for everyone's sake. Now, I can say we needed those up and downs to be better with each other over the long haul. To understand or just except life. It has taken a long time, but I can honestly say it is getting better. It takes both of us 100% trying, and now I do it alone. Glad I have kids who understand personalities and help. We don't always agree but we do discuss.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life wholeheartedly?
"Your boundaries don't need to be grand, they just need to be established." I appreciated this quote and the reminder that establishing a few protected boundaries can help you create a routine that allows more time for the things that are important to you. He shared that prioritizing and creating boundaries in his own life helped him to be more productive when he was at work and led to better mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I find this to be true for myself. I have to set times that I don't work on school when I am at home. Too much time spent working at home leads to feeling burnt out, being less productive, and takes away from quality time with my family and other activities that are important to me.
I really enjoyed this Ted Talk! I resonated with many of his ideas and stories, the first one being this: "If we want to live a whole-hearted life, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol in productivity as self worth." As I look back over my career, I have found success and self-worth in my job and my status. I felt it was my duty. I think it affected my relationships. Now my kids are older and I only have one left in the house, I am wiser and more comfortable leaving work at work and not going out to my classroom on the weekends. But I still have that mentality that I need to do more. I also appreciated the Renee Brown quote about how we really are just longing for connection and deep meanful relationships. I totally get that. I have three boys and a husband and I still desire for there to be more to our relationships, but being boys I don't think they do. I also related to the fact that we have to be more intentional, both with making an effort and in setting boundaries to better our mental, physical and emotional health. Boundaries do not only benefit us, but also those around us.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly? I thought the story that Carlos shared about his business travel. He was on the go advancing in his career but realized he was missing out the family time; missing their events and not being with the family as much as he liked. Then calling home to have his 6 year old ask if he was on the plane., "No I am at the hotel." Then his 6 year old hung up. A realization as to how work took over. My work /life boundaries I feel are pretty good. There are the busy times of the year with school, but my family is very supportive and I put family first. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I feel I am caught up with school work and have quality time for myself and family.
I liked his story about his son in the hotel room. Kids say what they mean and mean what they say. Such honesty, helps make change real and meaningful. It also showed me that my step one decision was right. Work is important to me and my family means a lot to me and there needs to be a balance with the two. I also know that I need to say no to work and say yes to my family - more. Family moments come once - my grandson is only 3 once. So he is much more important than whether I get all my work done right now. I need to balance things more in order to give my life more meaning.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
I connected with "define the values you want to protect." Establishing boundaries is so important and something I struggle with. My husband does not work a traditional Monday through Friday job so I find myself working during non-contract hours because he is at work so it doesn't take time away from what I want to do with him, but at the same time, I am not protecting my time for myself and allowing myself to recharge over the weekend to live whole heartedly. Myself and another team member put a lot of time and effort into last year in hopes of making following years less intensive when it comes to planning and prep. The goal is that we do not work afterhours or weekends and we can find those work/life boundaries.
There were a couple of lines shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk that really stuck with me. When he was talking about how much his work kept him away from his family and he said he, “Justified it by telling himself he was doing it all for his family,” that really struck me because so often I tell myself that I have to work these long hours in order to take care of and provide for my family. I also found it interesting when he said, “What was missing was meaningful relationships and connections, which is what we as human beings are fundamentally wired for.” This is so true because at the end of the day, we can have lots of material possessions, money, and achievements, but if we have no one to share our life and experiences with, what is the point of it all. Finally, I really liked when he said, “Boundaries don’t need to be grand, they just need to be established.” This was helpful for me because sometimes I wonder if I’m doing enough to set boundaries and sometimes, I end up overthinking setting boundaries because I feel it needs to be a complicated and detailed list of rules that I follow, when I just need to set a few boundaries and follow them. I am early in the process of establishing work-life boundaries. When I had my son in 2024, I knew I needed to establish some boundaries so I could spend time with him, yet also get my work done. What I did this past school year was follow a boundary that I had set for myself called, “Out the Door by 4.” Basically, I stay at school until 4:00 and work on whatever is most urgent. Then, when it is 4:00, I leave school, and I don’t take anything with me. This generally works well, unless it is a week where I have several appointments, errands to run, or IEP meetings. On those weeks, I get off balance and it bothers me. I need to continue to work on finding a way to balance these things out so that they don’t all happen during the same week and interrupt my scheduled work time. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly in the summer or during breaks during the school year, because this is when I have time to get things done at home, spend time with family, and spend time doing things for myself. I wish it wasn’t this way, and I could feel this way throughout the school year. I am hoping that I can implement some ideas that I have learned from this book to help me live life whole-heartedly throughout the school year.
What I found interesting was the perceptions we adopted in our culture that are so wrong as he stated in the "ted talk."Even when I stayed at home with the kids, my husband viewed this as a full time job and was always there at the end of the day to help with the things to be done, take the kids places, prep dinner. He was just involved when I was at home as I am now at work. I would say probably even more so now with it being my first year back to work. I too feel though that I have lived most life off balance and without many boundaries. When he talked about his child hanging up the phone and saying "dad you are always in hotels. " I could relate. My kids have told me many times all I do is "school stuff" or "clean up the house" It tears at my heart yet I still continue to work on it thinking it is the most important thing. I knew that I did this when I taught years ago and it got easier each year that I taught but I didn't have kids then. I said going back is time around, I wouldn't bring stuff home now that I have kids home, yet still I do just that. I try to be the best teacher I can be, get lots of good feedback, go the extra mile, care too much about what others think ... yet I still I yearn for more. What I was missing was all that time I am not having with my kids and family like I did before. I need to be more conscious with my choices and set work and home life boundaries. What I also found amazing that he said was ... if we want to live a whole hearted life, we need to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and let go of exhaustion of status symbols of productivity and self worth. I used to feel that the more exhausted I was it meant that I worked my hardest and was productive and should feel fulfilled. I thought this would make me feel satisfied and happy. What I was really missing was my closest relationships my family. I even did this house chores ... putting them last at times instead of making them first. I need to define my boundaries with work and school. What I want to protect the most is my family. That is what I want to be my biggest legacy ... a mom who took the time for her kids, nurtured them, taught them, and gave them all the love and attention. I need to set the boundary that when I am at work - I am working. I am there and focused. I am productive and not distracted about anything outside. If I need a moment to breathe I do that, so I can go back with more intent and do things more effectively but my goal is to not bring things home unless I am in a season (start of the year, end of the year, conferences, report cards.) When I do need that time. I do it on my own if it is early morning or after they go to bed or have them out doing something fun. When I am at home and with my family. I am wholeheartedly there. I am present and not distracted by work related things even if it is a phone call or email. I want to make the most of our time together and make the time count. Another thing I found interesting is that he said we don't have to make our boundaries grand. We just need to establish them. Our results will be far greater living a life with boundaries than if we just tried to "mesh" work and home life. We will be able to think clearer, be more creative, have a better physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, our relationships will also be better than they have ever been. I loved how he said he set he decided what was important to him and the boundary he wanted to make and what it would look like with his wife. I think that is a huge thing to. Involve your spouse and children in the process. Maybe there is something we are missing and don't see. I want to do this with my family as well. At the end his daughter said, I Love the you are now. I just wish you hadn't taken so long to show up." I don't want this to be me. I am still young and my kids are too. There is a lot of time ahead of us and I think if I can make this change now, how magical it could truly be for both my work and personal life.
My favorite part or the part that hit home was when he talked about meaningful relationships and connectiveness. I have to admit that I have never been good at work/life boundaries and at scheduling myself. I have always ran around chasing my own tail even though my husband was very supportive in telling me that the house didn't have to be clean, the laundry folded, or the kids in several activities to keep up with the neighbors. Looking back now, I wish I had taken all the advice in this talk-- much like Carlos, I am a slow learner and get caught up in the whirlwind of importance. Now that I am older, I am trying to make up for the time lost and finally getting my priorities straight. Taking time to just do nothing feels good!
Inviting and incorporating more boundaries so we can learn how to show up. When my kids were very little, I knew that working full time was not a comfortable option for me. So at some point, I cut my hours back some and it was a blessing that was very needed. I continue to work part time but now I recently took a school job. The hours will probably be a bit more during a school year but much less in the summer and that is trade off I am ok with. I feel I have very good work life boundaries and I am fortunate enough to have a working but home involved husband.
I am trying to determine my work-life priorities so that I can set necessary boundaries. Family is high, but work is a high priority 1) because I enjoy working, and 2) the money that comes from or is saved by my work is helpful to reaching some financial commitments and goals.
My work is more than teaching. I have some side hustles and a lot of self-sufficient lifestyle goals that tap into my personal independence and creativity. My garden harvest, foraging, bartering all go into my canner. This work can get monotonous and long, but the result is satisfying. I would rather be doing these tasks than watching tv or getting stuck in reels on my phone. I enjoy the satisfaction of being connected to my food and to the natural order of the world. This connection does help me feel alive and authentic.
Some would say that I don't play enough, but I feel wasteful with my time if I am just sitting around or squandering my time.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. 'Your boundaries don't need to be grand, they just need to be established.' All you have to do is decide where the line is (the easy part) and hold to it (the hard part).
Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? I'm mostly good, one thing I have done is instead of staying up late every night grading and planning, I give up one night a week to grading and planning and the rest of the time, I have decided things can wait.
When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly? When I have created enough time that I can just lounge around with my family, I think I'm living my best life. That's what brings me the most joy.
One of my favorite lines from Carlos Hidalgo’s talk is when he said, “We wear burnout as a badge of honor.” That really hit me - It made me reflect on how often we push through exhaustion, thinking it means we’re doing a good job—when really, it means we’re stretched too thin.
Right now, I’m still learning how to set better work-life boundaries. As a teacher, it’s easy to let work spill into evenings and weekends, but ever since I have had children I have put my foot down and refused to bring work and my computer home at nights or over the weekend. However, I still often fret about how my day went or what I will plan for a new lab.
I feel like I’m living more whole-heartedly when I step away from my to-do list and spend time with my family - It reminds me that life isn’t just about work.
I was struck by the line "what drives you to tolerate a life of imbalance". What am I gaining by working so much? Or what am I avoiding my working too much? Currently I'm in the process of putting boundaries on working outside of my contracted time. Learning to prioritize and knowing it will never all get done. I feel I'm living life whole-heartedly when I can say no to things, advocate for myself and I can slow down without feeling guilty.
When he told the story about his son saying "you're always in a hotel," this hit home for me. A couple of years ago I was working in a district that unfortunately, had a lot of negativity within the buildings. This put a toll on me. I felt my spirits and love for teaching diminish rapidly. I would bring this home and complain about to my family. Then I would get right back to work, working on the next days lessons and be crabby about that. My youngest son said to me, "you're never happy anymore."
I was given this talent to teach and I want to teach the way God intended, how could I do that when all I felt was anger towards the job? My family didn't deserve me coming home and putting these feelings on them, it was not fair to them. I knew something needed to change.
I am now at a new job, hoping for a better working environment and working with older students teaching one subject, so I'm praying the work load won't be as "time consuming" like it was in lower elementary, teaching all the subjects. However, that is something I NEED to work on this school year. I will use my time planning wisely and effectively so I am not going home and doing 5-6 more hours of school time. I NEED to set boundaries and follow through with them!
One of my favorite lines was, “If we want to live a whole-hearted life, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth”. I’m in the beginning of the process of setting a work-life boundary. Once I was starting to get things figured out, I got moved to a new grade level and was back to square one. Now going in to my second year of a new grade level, I am starting the year with a schedule to help me stay on top of what needs to be done at school, time for myself, exercise, and time with my husband. I’m going to use my prep time wisely and not spend it visiting. I’m going to choose two days a week to stay longer to tackle things from my to-do list. I plan to leave things at work so I can enjoy time with my husband and do things I enjoy like reading, watching a show, or seeing a friend. I used to stay late at school and then stay up late working at home that I wore exhaustion as a badge of honor. I never gave time for myself, family, or friends and if I did, I was guilty that I wasn’t doing something for work. Now that I’m expecting, I’m working on establishing a better work-life boundary so my family gets the best of me. I feel like I am actually living whole-heartedly when I spend time with family and friends and don’t even give an ounce of thought to work.
“Being a career women you are expected to take care of household chores, get kids to practice……” Growing up it was modeled to me that the women work in the home and put themselves last. I made a vow to myself that I would never be reliant on a man to meet my needs because I lived in fear my whole life, that there would not be enough money to make ends meet and my mom was so unhappy. When I got married even though my husband and I had the same careers, I took it upon myself to make sure the household was cared for as well as the kids. I was miserable and overwhelmed. My husband is not expect that of me, I just put it on myself because I was told by my mom what a bad mom I was. I tried to earn love and respect. I am still working on this even though my kids are grown. I always fee like I need to put in more time than others at work to gain respect of the men that run the school. I’m a work in progress. This book has opened my eyes. I am working with my counselor on boundaries .i am hopeful this year will be better and I WILL incorporate boundaries.
His line "determine what drives you to tolerate a life of imbalance" struck me. The work we do is important, but it will never be more important than prioritizing those we love and ourselves. Establishing boundaries is crucial, even if they are minimal.
In the last couple of school years, I have tried really hard to leave my work at school. Many times there is grading still to be done, or copies that need to be made, but I know that I will benefit more by just walking away and enjoying my afternoon/evening. The work will still be there in the morning, and I will find the time throughout my day to get it done. Obviously this doesn't always work out - inevitably I will fall behind and the stack of papers will grow, but then I will stay late one afternoon or come in on a Saturday to knock it out. It's not a perfect balance, but it's so much better to me than taking stacks of work home each night. It allows me to feel like I have an identity outside of being a teacher.
I would say the quote that got me thinking about my own life is: You will have to determine what is driving you to tolerate a life of unbalance. Lately I have felt an imbalance and not sure why. Tired, but not that productive. Giving all the time, but no feeling of accompliment. Each area of my life gets a litte, so each area of my life shows a little progress. This summer I decided to prioritize my mental health by joining an intense grief group to work on deaths of my parents and other grief/losses that were never addressed. It is hardwork but I feel needed to reset the balance in my life going forward. I look towards a future with better intentions, boundaried, goals and peace in the voyage. I am a voyager in my life.
One of the quotes that stuck out to me the was "being a career woman and then expected to do the household chores and everything else at home." This really had me thinking about how that is the mindset that I used to have but in the last few months that I have accepted that I can't or shouldn't be doing everything so I have asked my husband for help around our house. I have also taken a step back with setting boundaries for school hours. I would have parents texting or calling at 10 o'clock or later at night and I would feel like I needed to answer them but I started last year with not answering or replying back until the next morning. I do think that helped me feel less stressed and also put my family as a priority instead of always being on my phone or computer for school work. Don't get me wrong I love being at school with my kindergarteners and watching them learn and grow but I also enjoy my time at home with my family.
The story about his 3 year-old son saying "You're always in a hotel" resonated with me. My boys have told me "You are always cleaning, mom". I don't want them to remember all the cleaning I did. I want them to remember the time I spent with them playing, reading books, making cookies, etc. I struggle with balance very much...always have. I am learning to say, "What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now". Maybe my house doesn't have to be perfectly clean at the moment! I need to set boundaries to protect my family.
I actually was struck by two of his comments: "We have to be willing to prioritize sleep & play and letting go of exhaustion as a symbol of productivity and self worth." AND "You will have to determine what is driving you to tolerate a life of unbalance." I was raised with a very strong work ethic and it was constantly modeled by my parents. They were also very good at balancing faith/family/work time and they were always available to me. I feel like I have always been the same way with my life and my kids, but the last few years I have used work as a way to balance out my emotions and help with my "alone time". It felt better to be busy and somewhere that I was "needed" (or so I saw it that way) so that I could keep my anxiety at bay. Now, I am claiming back my time for self-preservation and time with my kids and grandkids and family. I want to be good to ME and use my time to take care of myself so I can be there for those that matter in my life. This is when I am living whole-heartedly! This past summer is the first time in 30+ years that I have not had a job and spent my time with family, friends, and took care of ME! :)
It is interesting that my situation with work-life is based around my children. I think that I have a major advantage from most other moms in that I get to see my kids at my job every day--sometimes several times a day. My kids are in my class, and I get to see them get awards at events, perform on the sports teams, and watch them rehearse a play or a musical. I also know everything that's going on in the school (much to their dismay). The part of the TED talk that struck me the most is the part about investing in my marriage and a life with my children. Time as an investment was a big part of the beginning of the Fewer Things Better book. I also liked the line he quoted from Brenee Brown about "If we want to live a wholehearted life, we have to be intentional..." Finally, I think it is important for every family to define the values that we want to protect and make sure that we are setting the boundaries that we need in order to protect them. ~Christina Moyer
The line that hit me was the working women have to keep things running at home. I had a hard time coming home to relax when knowing that supper needed to be made, our kids need to get their homework done, prepare for tomorrow, and make sure I was ready for work tomorrow.
I left teaching and I decided that I would not put my work email on my phone. I wanted my time after work to be time for my family. I wanted to be intentional with my time when I was at home time went to my husband and kids first, the other activities came after my family’s needs were met first.
When I was teaching, it rarely feltnlike I was living life whole-heartedly. Maybe it was the short time from when the school year ended until summer school activities began. Currently, I feel like I am actually living life whole-heartedly.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
"Determine what drives you to tolerate a life of imbalance." That line really stuck with me because it made me stop and reflect. Why do I keep allowing things to stretch me so thin? Is it the pressure to meet expectations, not wanting to let people down, or maybe trying to prove I can handle it all? I would say it's probably become a mix of all of that.
Right now, I’d say I’m somewhere in the middle of figuring out what healthy work-life boundaries look like for me. I’ve started to recognize when I’m heading toward burnout and have gotten better about setting limits, protecting my time, and prioritizing what matters most. But I still have moments where I feel guilty for slowing down or saying no. Saying no has by far been the hardest part of not feeling like I’m letting others down.
I feel like I’m truly living life completely when I’m fully present, whether I’m spending quality time with people I care about or investing energy into only the things I’m passionate about. It’s not about having everything balanced perfectly, but about being intentional with where I give my energy. When I do that, life feels a lot more meaningful and fulfilling. This is an every day focus and stepping stone to create a balanced life for me personally and professionally.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
"What drove me more than anything was my ego. You will have to determine what drives you to tolerate a life of imbalance. For me it was ego." This is what stood out for me right away. Figuring out your why is important, both why you want to do fewer things better like Angela Watson had asked in her book and also your why for being overwhelmed by tasks. I think identifying both those things have been my starting point for finding balance. This is the first summer I stepped back from working full-time and I focused on other priorities. While I am still working, the extra time I have has allowed me to focus on goals for myself and my family relationships. I also like that he said to define your boundaries, that they do not need to be grand just established. I hope to continue to set boundaries as the school year is about to begin. I have felt that I have been living life whole-heartedly this summer and hope to continue to be able to focus on my priorities throughout this school year.
I really enjoyed listening to his life story about how he worked for a big corporation which was his dream. He eventually worked so much that he found himself with little time for his family. Then he quit his job and started a new job. I was thinking that things would be better for him, but in return it ended up to be how it was when he had the other job. Little time for his family, which he didn’t want. The line that stuck out the most for me was when he said, “All you need to do is set boundaries, that’s all.” Even though he quit his first job expecting new results in the different job he didn’t set the boundaries. That’s one thing that I have learned in teaching is that I need to set boundaries. A few years ago I felt like I wasn’t very productive after 3:30, so I stopped staying late after school. It also helped free up more family time. My family comes first and by setting this simple boundary it has freed up my time with them. This past year I also quit working on the weekends. I used to go in every Saturday and work all day. My older kids would stay home by themselves and I missed opportunities with them. This past year I have spent more time with them and attended more of their hockey games. I have also realized that teaching is my job and it’s not my life. I want to leave a legacy of being a loving mom that was around for her kids. I want to be present in their lives!
One line I really liked from Carlos Hidalgo’s talk was “Your boundaries don’t need to be grand. They just need to be established.” I think I have done pretty well at establishing work-life boundaries. In my first couple of years of teaching I was doing way too much work at home, but I have since drawn boundaries and 99% of the time I only do schoolwork at school. This has been tremendously beneficial for my life, mental health, and attitude toward my career and students. I feel like I am living my life wholeheartedly when I am spending undistracted, quality time with the people that I love.
“When I am working, I am working. I am there, I am focused. I am productive, and I am not distracted by anything in the outside. When I am involved in my relationships outside of work and my hobbies and those things that bring me joy, I am wholly there, I am focused, and I’m not distracted by anything work related."
The lines above stood out to me because that is what I am trying to accomplish myself, and I think I'm doing pretty good so far! I spent my first 6 years of teaching working way too many hours. I would come in to school 2 hours before school started. When I knew I was going to become a mom, I made changes. I only come 30 minutes before reporting time, I removed my work email from my phone, and I don't take work home with me. I could still do better in the aspect of not letting work take up space in my mind when I am home with my family. I feel like I am living life wholeheartedly when I am with my family with no distractions.
The line that stuck with me was: Boundaries don't need to be grand they just need to be established. I need to work on establishing and sticking with my boundaries. I can be wishy washy. In my head I am strong and definitive but in practice I can easily fold. I have boundaries I just need to stand up for them. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I am happy with my home schedule AND my work schedule. Work does give me a sense of worth and accomplishment. Running a household and enjoying my family also gives me a sense of worth and accomplishment. I feel great when both are running smoothly.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
Carlos shared great insight in his Ted Talk. It makes me a bit sad that it took him so long to come to a good work-life boundary and a few tries because by that time his kids were leaving the house for college; yet, I commend him for not giving up and for finally establishing a healthy work-home balance. I know I will struggle at times too, but I'm hopeful that I can figure out a healthy work-home balance early (now) to first and foremost be present for my spouse and kids, especially since my kids are both under 3. I don't want to miss a minute of them growing up since I know how fast it will go.
I really like at the end when Carlos challenges us to "Write down what you value and what boundary you may need to incorporate to protect that value." It makes perfect sense to do that in order to be purposeful and intentional about the priorities we have and the time we have to value those.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
I love the guy you are now, just wish it didn't take you so long to show up. As a coach I completely connect to what he is saying. I missed so many things that my children were involved in as they were growing up because I couldn't miss, or didn't think I could miss. It is so important to set boundaries for our lives and make sure that we are present for those that are the most important to us. Work can wait, phone calls can wait, emails can be answered later, but time can never be replaced that you lost with your family.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is that Boundaries don't need to be grand. They just need to be established." I feel this because quite often I bite off more than I can chew. If I just pick one thing--two tops and stick to it, perhaps I can relax and enjoy my life more. I made a boundary at the beginning of the year that at 4 p.m. on school days I would start organizing myself for the next day and tidy up and be out my classroom door at 4:15. I am a work in progress. Overall, I am leaving earlier than last year, but there is still room for improvement. I want to start being deliberate during my time. Focus solely on the designated task at the designated time. I feel like I am living whole-heartedly when I am with those I love and connecting with them. I have a hard time taking breaks when I become determined to finish something by a certain time, even if it is a self-imposed deadline and I feel myself waning.
I enjoyed hearing about how his son had asked if he was on an airplane and his response was "No, I'm in a hotel." The kid responds and says "You're always in a hotel" and hangs up the phone. That hits home. I don't ever want to be a parent that isn't around for their children. I want to be there every step of the way, watching all of their firsts and successes/achievements. I want to to be at every ball game, dance recital, music concert, etc. I feel like I'm living life whole-heartedly when I have the perfect combination of work/home life. I enjoy being at school and teaching these bright young 3rd graders, but I also enjoy spending time with my family at night.
ReplyDeleteLess a line from the video, but more a thought that continued to pop up as I watched: 'Your job listing will be posted before your obituary.' I learned very fast that I would not handle work email on my phone (1 bad parent in my second year of teaching brought a quick end to that). But more and more, it is my policy that you can send an email and I will get to it on the next business day. I am often frowned upon when I have not responded to an email immediately or didn't see an improptu dress up day that was send over the weekend. But this is something that I must stick to and I feel strongly about. If we are to change the expectation, it must at least begin as an all or nothing, or else where do the 'exceptions' end? I feel best about this decision when I remember that I also have a job of raising my own children-- to which I am very committed.
ReplyDeleteI connected with his comment at the beginning of the career woman--who works all day, comes home and does all the housework, prepares the meals and finishes the dishes. I finally had to ask for help from my husband and children because I was finding myself to not be a very happy person. I try to leave at 4pm from my teaching job and leave the work at school, so that I can be focused on my family during the evening.
ReplyDeleteI liked the part about being a career woman and coming home to do the home "chores". My husband and I have learned how to balance home chores and we have a good system where things get done and we both do the ones we enjoy the most!
ReplyDeleteI have taught for 22 years and at different stages of my life I have balanced work/home life differently. I started teaching before I had children so I spent more hours at school than I did at home. When our children were small I brought school work home to do when they went to sleep. Now our children our teenagers and I think I have finally found a better balance. I love making lists and have two lists on my desk. One list is for all the "big" things that need to get done but not necessarily right away. The other sticky note is for things that I need to accomplish that day. Before I leave for the night, I always check to make sure I have accomplished what needs to be done for that day. When I find that I have extra time, I accomplish something off the "big" list. I have learned that prioritizing what has to be done "today" compared to "someday" helps me stay focused and sets a boundary for me so that when I go home, I can be present at home.
This quote really stuck out to me: 'If we want to live a whole-hearted life, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol in productivity as self worth.' This is so me. I was never brought up to sleep or play, we worked and worked due to a large family and not many acres of land. This was absolutely fine with me: I knew I was loved and never felt I went without anything. I still find it hard to do the above because it is not in my nature and I find it really hard to stop and play or stop and rest - there is always too much to do - and there honestly is. When will I realize that there will always be something that needs done - whether it be at home or at school. Every day I feel like I am never done at school - there is honestly always so much more to do. I arrive early and stay late due to so much to do. I use my time very wisely, but, there are always new ideas to look up or behavior issues that need to be dealt with. I need to tell myself that it will never be done, and it is time to go home and it will all be there tomorrow. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I am doing something with my family - nothing is better!
ReplyDeleteI liked the quote "You will have to determine what is driving you to tolerate a life of unbalance." The speaker said it was ego for him, but he had to ask himself, if I am so successful why am I so miserable.
ReplyDeleteAs for work life balance, I am pretty good at that. During the pandemic, was the worst time for me, because we were getting more and more responsibilities with the same amount of time, and while a lot of my coworkers were killing themselves to do more and spending hours doing it. I had to draw a line. I do what I can at work and if I can't do it I can't do it. I don't take it home. I started leaving all of my work stuff at work during the week, so I wouldn't be tempted to do things at home. I still do an hour or two of work at home on the weekend, but it does not take over my life.
Paraphrasing my take-awaay: My girls don't care about my title or salary, they want me to be home and present. Something has to give. More time as a family = SO worth it. I need to make conscience choices and slow down... take a step back to see the future. I'm not the only one my choices affect. Define the values I want to protect and list a boundary to help me attain it.
ReplyDelete**I never really thought about work-life "Boundaries". I love that. Last year, I went through a season of burn-out and did a lot on self-care. One of my favorite sayings out of that was Work-Life Juggle - recognizing that 'balance' isn't realistic. BUT, I like the word "boundaries" even more because rather than just giving in to the "juggle"... it helps me prioritize and put in action items I can control!
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteI appreciated that he made taking steps to create work-life boundaries very attainable. Sure, it could be quitting your job, but it could just setting aside Saturday afternoons for your loved ones. The story that really stuck out to me was his 3 year old son telling him he was always at hotels. I can't imagine how devastating that would be. I am in a much better place with work-life boundaries after changing careers and my job. My work was having a huge negative impact on both my mental and physical health and it was evident that a change was necessary. I am very grateful to have much less work stress and exhaustion in my life. I feel like I'm living life whole heartedly when I spend time reading the Bible and in prayer, take good care of my body with healthy food and exercise, and spend time with my husband, family, and friends.
I appreciated that he called it a journey. I am not sure any of us ever have life completely figured out. As life changes, and we enter into different stages, things change. It is a constant journey, but it is not one in which we have no power. We have the power to choose how we spend our time (much of the time, anyway), and for the most part, it is up to us to create our boundaries.
ReplyDeleteI am not great at this, but I continue to get better. I am learning to say "no" without excused. I am learning that busy does not equate to one's worth. Some of the most amazing women I know aren't those who worked themselves ragged, but took time to be mothers, enjoy hobbies, and who stopped to smell the roses.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteI laughed a little when at the beginning, Carlos spoke about the roles of men and women. My husband and I have had many, many conversations about this exact thing. Now, as our adult children are newly married and starting families, we are helping them navigate the same types of conversations. I also really liked the quote, “If we want to live a whole-hearted life, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol in productivity as self worth.”
Currently, I feel I have finally reached a very good work/life balance. I needed to change jobs and have to work daily on maintaining the balance. I feel like I am living life to the fullest when I am present and engaged for my family and taking in each memory and moment to the fullest. Along with being present in my personal life I also need to be fulfilled in my professional life.
I enjoyed the story of him talking to his son on the phone and him saying “you’re always in a hotel” and hearing his reflection from this. I feel like over the last couple years I’ve created a better work-life balance. I stopped coaching to free up my evenings and weekends and have also started really feeling “ok” with leaving things at school to be done at another time. I don’t ever want to be the parent that continually misses moments because of work. I feel like I whole-heartedly am living life when I’m teaching my 2nd graders and then coming home and being present with my family!
ReplyDeleteI identified as the career woman. I am a single mom and only have one child left at home. I work all day, come home, do the house work, prepare meals, do dishes...I have really had to be intentional about letting go of things that my 16 year old can do himself and teaching him about picking up after himself, shared space and his responsibility with that, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line was "Letting go of productivity as self worth and validation".
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, I do not want to think of my day as productive or unproductive in terms how how much I accomplished whether in the home or at work. I want to think of my day in terms of how much joy I had, what I enjoyed, and how it impacted my relationships. When he talked about his 3 year old saying "you're always in hotels" I resonated with that because I have two young kids and it is so important for me to be present with them even though I do have a full time job.
I do think I have a pretty good work life balance - I am able to leave at contract time each day and switch into mom mode. I do not often work in the evenings or on the weekend. I do however let work things take over my mental load and even if I am not actually working at home, my mind still may be there and my "worth" of the day as well.
A line that really struck me was: "What is driving you to a life of imbalance?" It made me think about what my answer was to that question. Work/life balance has always been tricky for me to figure out. There are just so many tasks that need to be completed in both places. I feel like I've gotten better at balancing things the older I have gotten. His simple list of 4 established boundaries showed that setting boundaries doesn't have to be an elaborate process. It's just about listing your values and setting a few boundaries to protect those values. I most feel like I'm living life whole-heartedly when I am truly present and mindful of the time I am blessed to spend with my family and friends.
ReplyDeleteShare your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteI liked when he said boundaries don't have to be grand, they just have to be established. I also liked how he gave the principals to set those boundaries. This is something I struggled with a lot when I first started teaching but have gradually gotten better at it. I decided to not take home work on weeknights and only allow my self a couple hours on the week to work. I set this boundary and now I am able to have time to do things that allow me to life life whole-heartedly. I get to be present when I spend time with friends or family and not stress/ think about everything I need to get done for work.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries.
ReplyDeleteThe story that stood out to me was when his little boy called and asked if he was in an airplane, and his dad said "no buddy, I'm in a hotel." To which his boy responded, "You're always in a hotel!" I wonder what my own kids would say to end the sentence "Mom, you're always ____________." I have a feeling the answer will make me cry, just like Carlos did.
Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries?
I'm struggling with it, and to be honest I'd say I was at the very beginning. I started teaching first grade 8 years ago and spent the first two years not only figuring out how to teach first grade, but also getting my masters. I had 3 young kids at home at the time and it was HARD. It really set me up for some bad work-life habits right from the get-go that I haven't grown out of.
When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
I don't know if I am most of the time. It's been a difficult few years personally and professionally and it's really sent me into a tough headspace. Feeling I should be home when I'm working, and feeling like I should be working when I'm home is a crummy cycle to be in. I'm trying to live life whole-heartedly and be completely IN wherever I am.
The story that hit home to me, was about the working mom who comes home, fixes supper, does dishes and the chores. I have created this, by not asking or expecting my family to help when I get home, I just do it for them. I have a good work-life balance. I get to school early in the morning so I can plan for the day and then leave at 4 pm, leaving most work at school. My thought is that it will be there for me in the morning and I need to enjoy the time with my family while they are still at home. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I spend the day with my kids, watching them compete/participate in their activities. It is a time that I don't worry about grading, lesson plans, or all of the other committees/boards that I am on.
ReplyDeleteI thought the story with his son at the beginning of the video was moving. He was clearly emotional about it and it was monumental for him to shift his priorities and get over his ego at work. I spent the summer of 2022 (the summer that my son was born) preparing my classroom all summer long. I wasted so much time and tried to hustle during his naps to prep things for my classroom. I wasted time on my classroom when I could have been enjoying all the little moments with him. I am now 11 weeks postpartum with my second and have made it a boundary of mine to not come in to the school at all over summer until August 1st. I have rarely brought school home during the school year and often leave at contract time. It is important for me to be present with my boys at home. They aren't going to want to hear me say on a Saturday night that I have to go in and prep for the next week. They are going to want me to stay home and watch a movie with them. It's imperative that I set these boundaries now while they are young so they become habitual as they get older.
ReplyDeleteHis statement of, "You have to determine what is driving you to tolerate a life of unbalance." Since an early age, working hard was a way of life. It was what I realized a few years ago, I was using as a standard in determining my success. Like Carlos, I was empty and miserable. With grand nieces and nephews coming into my life, I woke up! Family is my priority. Each year, I improve on focusing on my family. I leave school work at school. I don't have school email on my phone or reply to text messages during "off hours". My hardest work life balance is my cattle. They are a priority, also. However, my "Lils" love "helping" so it's an enjoyable experience when we are together at the farm.
ReplyDeleteI am living a whole hearted life when I am with my family, engaged in the moment.
My favorite part of the talk was that your boundaries don't have to grand they just have to be established. If we do not have boundaries we will let ourselves be pulled away from the things that are really important to us in our lives. We will always find excuses and justify to ourselves the neglecting of those things that are really important and really keep us going. I am really living whole hearted life when I am making sure that I am taking care of my faith life and spending quality time with my family.
ReplyDelete"Boundaries don't need to be grand, they need to be established" This was a line that really stood out to me. It made that connection of what boundaries truly are. They dont have to be some huge thing.. they just have to be established and part of the routine. This goes back to finding the really important things in life and not letting anything take away from them or get in the way. I am living life to the fullest by keeping my Faith strong, and building a family. These are two very important things to me and I am establishing that now so that it never wavers in the future.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated Carlos' realization that he was missing out on his family's life and saw that it was part of the journey that he was not participating in. Establishing the work/life boundaries are so important. I feel that when our children were very young it wasn't so hard to set those boundaries for me, but it was much harder for my husband, who was working a couple of jobs trying to support the family. For me it got much harder when I went out to work and had to maintain a home at the same time and we had children events at all ages. I do feel that it is beneficial to set those boundaries. The benefits of realizing the importantance of the people in our lives does have a trinkle down effect on our children, who can see us making time for the people we love.
ReplyDeleteThe statement “Define the values that you want to protect” really stood out to me. It reminded me that if something is truly important, we find a way to make time for it. If something is worth protecting, it’s worth the effort to prioritize it.
ReplyDeleteI’ve realized that I need to be more intentional about protecting my time. That means learning to say no to things that don’t align with my values, and being more consistent in saying yes to the things that do. Time is limited, and I want to invest it in the people, practices, and priorities that truly matter to me.
My favorite line is LUKE. Out of the mouth of babes. Sometimes it is the littlest voices that make the biggest impacts on our lives. Im so glad he listened and took it to heart what Luke was innocently telling his daddy. Sometime a child can sum it all up in a few words and those words change our lives forever.
ReplyDeleteOur life has changed a lot from when our kids were little. Routine was key and very important. Now, if we want to do something fun or do something that we usually don't do, it works better now that we are empty nesters.
We all still need boundaries. In our classrooms and homes, personal lives and in marriage boundaries are all good. Time seems to fly the older you get, and I want to enjoy and make the most of each one of those times.
I really liked the line, “Creating boundaries creates opportunities to show up.” Currently, I am working on establishing a more rigid work-life boundary so I am able to show up for myself and others. I feel like in the past, it is easy to come home and continue working on work-related tasks- because they can feel never ending! Now that I have started a family, I will be putting up more of a boundary and putting myself and my family time first.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I am living wholeheartedly when I am able to spend time with my family. During the summer, I spend a lot of time with my husband, parents, and extended family at our family’s lake cabin. I look forward to these weekends together every year. I am genuinely happy, care-free and content.
The line the stood out to me was "Boundaries don't need to be grand, they need to be established" Thinking of my life as an educator , and as a husband/ father, I think setting those boundaries 20 years ago helped me balance family and work. By all means, the beginning of my career had many set backs but I always managed to create even the smallest boundaries to help me balance work and family. Whether I was making sure family came first or not stressing about a lesson that did not go well. We can only control so much and we need to know our limits.
ReplyDeleteShare your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteThe line that stuck with me from Carlos Hidalgo was, "you are always in hotels." I would also be crushed if my child said that to me, I would want to be very present in my child's life and have always intentionally made my work/home life boundaries very clear and it is one of the best pieces of advice I received from mentors and coworkers. I am very lucky because the admin in my school are very encouraging about making that boundary clear right away in your teaching career.
We have to be willing to prioritize sleep & play and letting go of exhaustion as a symbol of productivity and self worth. At this moment I do not have a family of kids running around but I know that when I do my evenings will have to look much different in the world of teaching and coaching. Right now, especially in the coaching world most of my evening is still spent watching film and practice planning or Lesson planning for school. In the school department I have gotten better about working ahead during the day when I am able and not having to do much at home, but still tend to work on things here and there anyways. With coaching, I have not found that balance and it is something I will have to work towards shifting where that time is spent and how I still accomplish it with a family to spend time with as well. All of this to say, when we are in the career of being able to impact and affect change in students/athletes lives, I really do get fulfillment and joy from the extra work that I put in, because I really do feel like it makes me a better teacher/coach for my students/athletes. I think I have found a good balance for my season of life right now, I just know that it will need to change as a family grows.
ReplyDeleteShare your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteDefine the boundaries! I am feel like I have a good work/family balance in regards to spending time with my children. I feel like my husband and I need to define the boundaries for our relationships. We talk about it, try to fix it, but we inevitably fall back to being to busy for each other.I think we need to actually write it down and have it visible!
I connected with the career woman perception as far as being responsible for dinner, children activities, and chores. As a mother of three and full time teacher I leave work at work most of the time, but am running from one thing to the next regarding home life. I feel this school year I have done a much better job of leaving as much of work at work as possible. I am being intentional with balancing my after work time between home responsibilities and taking time for myself. I make an effort to relax by reading books I want to read, not that I have to for school or work. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I am with my family enjoying the outdoors.
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily a favorite, but the one that I can relate to the most is the story of his son Luke talking to him saying he is always in a hotel. When I was teaching, I was fortunate to have my in-laws within 2 blocks of the school. I would send my children over there so I could get some work done and have a few moments to myself. Fast forward to my new job and I had to take 2 months of focus studying. This cut into my family time and now that I’m studying to take another test my kids are constantly asking if I need to study or if I can play a game with them. Studying for this exam is a medium priority as I only have four months to study and pass the exam, but that’s a lot of time that means I am not fully there for my family. This will provide me with more opportunities at work, but like he mentioned the kids don’t care about your title, they just want mom or dad at home. I feel like I started the process of living my life whole-heartedly when I left the classroom. I am able to still do the things I loved doing in the classroom, but it’s on my time now. There will always be bumps in the road and I feel like I’m at a speed bump right now, but there is always a plan for us and taking the first step is the hardest but can be the most rewarding.
ReplyDeleteIf we want to live a WHOLE-HEARTED LIFE, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and let go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth. While not directly his words, this is a reminder that I often need. I was so used to getting lost in the work and never having much time outside of it. I felt like I lost myself along the way. It took walking away from the classroom for me to realize how much I had truly given up. While I still work in education, I am no longer teaching in a classroom. I have made more time for friends and family, had time to complete projects that I had been working on for years, and finding things that truly bring me joy. With that change, I have found myself wanting to get back into the classroom, but this time with a better idea of what I am able to do and what to watch for so I do not find myself falling back into exhaustion and overwork.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line was from his daughter when she said daddy I like who you are now, but wish it wouldn't have taken so long. It's a reminder that we need to get a list of things most important and set a goal to work on that. I need to find things that bring me joy and work on those.
ReplyDeleteShare your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteIt's really refreshing to hear a story of acknowledging the devastating effects of ego. I am happy for him to find the "whole-hearted life" that he was after. Not everyone is able to wake up to this realization and I'm happy for him, and even more so, his family that he was able to figure it out. I think I have a pretty solid work-life balance. I'm sixteen years into my teaching career and I'm grateful for the early years of my teaching before I had kids to work the really long hours and every weekend. As a result, I'm able to spend much less time working now that I want to spend my "whole-hearted life" with my kids. I love to run to park and rec activities, ballet lessons, and a fun activity on the weekends. My kids are the heart of working toward my "whole-hearted life".
Who wasn't moved by the story of when his little boy answered the phone when Carlos called home, it really hit the heart strings. Sometimes it takes things like that to get our attention and get us to realize there needs to be a change in priorities. I have been teaching for many years and I believe I have established good work-life boundaries. Carlos described it as a journey, and I think we all have to discover the boundaries that will make our work and family life balanced. I feel like I am living whole heartedly when my family gathers together, family is everything to me. I have found that balance that allows me to work hard while I am at school, and be able to, for the most part, leave work at work, and be present with family after that.
ReplyDeleteCarlos Hidalgo stressed the importance of prioritizing what we value and determining our boundaries to protect those values. That is so accurate! I feel like I am living my life whole-heartedly when my faith, family, friends and health are the priority in my life. As Carlos indicated in his talk, it is too easy to let work consume us and cause us to lose sight of what is important. I like how he and his family made intentional efforts in setting their boundaries by making meaningful time for relationships and time for mental/physical rejuvenation, cultivating things that bring joy and taking care of their health. Sounds like a perfect plan if done with intentional effort.
ReplyDeleteShare your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line from the talk was to take time to slow down and when setting boundaries, they don't need to be grand, they just need to be established. I am currently doing home care for a family member and sometimes it requires me to be gone in the evenings and some times on the weekends. Although my kids are older and help out, there are still things that I need to do when I get home. I am working on trying to set boundaries for keeping Saturday evenings and Sundays open for family time rather than catching up from the busy week. I feel like I am living life whole heartedly when my grown children are home and we attend church together and a meal together as well as when we are all together on a family camping trip. There will be more time for making memories if we can just take the time to slow down and enjoy what brings us joy!
The line that stood out to me from Hidalgo's presentation was, "Boundaries don't need to be grand, they need to be established." I often put pressure on myself and am a "go big or go home" type of person. This was an excellent reminder that I don't have to set ALL the boundaries around ALL the things and figure out every single small detail of scheduling my days effectively - I just have to start small and establish something. It reminds me to take the pressure off myself! Small, realistic goals/boundaries you can actually achieve are more effective than grand ones you cannot sustain.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was teaching, I don't really think I had any work/life boundaries. My husband and I were newly married and both taught at the same small school district, so we often brought work home and did things like planning/grading together. If I return to teaching, it will be a whole different story now that we have two sons. I have realized that even now, I can establish boundaries around my time at home. I can dedicate time to work and time to play with my boys or have alone time.
I feel like I am living whole-heartedly when I am fully engaged in having fun with my sons. Not worried about housework, not on my phone, nut pressuring myself to "get it all done." But just enjoying my husband and sons!
1. "Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries."
ReplyDelete"We have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and letting go as exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth."
2. "Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries?" While I think I am pretty bad at it, I have made good progress in the past few years. I have been saying no to some things, I have improved in my willingness to NOT do school work on vacation, and I have let some things at school that are not my job simply not get done because no one else will do it.
3. "When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?"
When I am on a family vacation where I successfully ignore school despite the texts, calls, and email.
"Your boundaries don't need to be grand, they just need to be established."
ReplyDeleteI used to be pretty bad at this, especially early in my career and before kids. Once my position shifted and I had actual planning time in my day everything shifted. Now I don't bring work home unless I absolutely have to and I make a point to leave by 4:00 pm (15 minutes past contract time) each day. The only time I work at home now is during the summer.
I think the weekends, breaks, vacations, and summer I am living life whole heartedly. Most of the time weeknights are also disconnected from work.
The story about his son calling him and hanging up on him made me want to cry! I will say I really try to keep school and home life balanced as much as possible. I tell my husband that he should feel like he can have less on his plate during the summer because it is my job to take care of most of the daily chores and getting kids to and from their activities. He pulls his weight during the school year with getting the kids ready in the morning so I can get out the door to work. I had a really good mentor teacher when I first started who told me to work hard during the day to make sure you can leave school work at school and not take it home with you.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I am living my life whole heartedly when I feel organized, and have had a productive day. I usually measure my productivity in how much I accomplished whether it is housework or school work. This is probably not a great mindset and I need to shift that to building relationships with my family and friends instead.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteThe line the stood out to me was "Boundaries don't need to be grand, they need to be established." I have always struggled with boundaries. I know I need to set them and I am starting to get better. I used to try to squeeze in attending all my niece's kids events. I love the little ones, but I can't be at all events. I go to the ones that fit comfortably into my schedule, but I no longer feel obligated. They have plenty of people cheering them on and I have other priorities. I have gotten better about work-life balance. I really used my planning period and my commute time, when I was a passenger in the carpool to lesson plan and grade. When I was home, I really tried to be present with the family. I would allow myself two hours on Sunday evening to prep for school for the coming week. I don't know that I am living life whole-heartedly, but I think I am getting closer. I wish I would have been better about balance years ago.
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ReplyDeleteShare your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteThe line that truly connected with me was when his son said "Daddy, you're always in hotels" and then he hung up the phone. I feel as though I do a good job of setting boundaries between work and home. However, when I get home I feel the burden of accomplishing all the household chores and tasks that we need to do each night such as homework, nightly reading, baths, cooking meals, etc. I need ot do a better job of being present with my boys once we're home and not holding such high expectations for our daily life. When I do let go of some of those expectations, I do feel like I am living life whole-heartedly. I'm laughing and playing with my children, I'm present with my spouse and we are communicating better, I don't feel the stress of completing things off my mental check lists, and so much more.
My favorite part of Carlos Hidalgo’s talk was when he shared how stepping away from his successful business wasn’t just about changing careers—it was about coming home to his family and to himself. That line where he talks about sitting at the dinner table with his family again after years of being mentally and physically absent really stuck with me. It reminded me that success isn’t just about titles or accomplishments—it’s about being fully present where it matters most. That hit me. As a teacher, coach, and dad to a one-year-old, I get how easy it is to be there in body but totally checked out.
ReplyDeleteI’m still figuring out my work-life boundaries, but I’ve started small—like shutting off email after dinner and protecting weekends for family time. I feel like I’m living whole-heartedly when I’m on the floor playing with my daughter or laughing with my wife—no distractions, just being present. That’s the kind of “success” I want more of.
One line from Hidalgo’s talk that really stuck with me is when he was comparing boundaries to walls. He said, "they’re bridges that connect us to what really matters." I like that because it makes boundaries feel less like something that keeps us out, and more like something that helps us protect the important stuff in life, like our families.
ReplyDeleteAs an ELL teacher, wife, and mom, I’m still figuring out how to set good boundaries between work and home. Some days I do okay, but other days, work stress just sneaks in and it’s hard to switch off.
For me, I feel like I’m really living fully when I’m completely present with my daughter whether we’re playing, reading, or just hanging out, and I am not thinking about work. Those moments help me relax and remind me why I do what I do.
Hidalgo’s talk motivates me to keep working on boundaries and not to block things out, but to build a better balance so all parts of my life can feel more connected.
I wrote down many things Hidalgo said but "Continues to be a process" and "Boundaries don't need to be grand, they just need to be established."
ReplyDeleteSo true. Just admitting things are going haywire and trying to compromise and find a solution is necessary to fix a situation. This happened many times in our marriage, so we needed to talk and work it out together for everyone's sake.
Now, I can say we needed those up and downs to be better with each other over the long haul. To understand or just except life. It has taken a long time, but I can honestly say it is getting better. It takes both of us 100% trying, and now I do it alone. Glad I have kids who understand personalities and help. We don't always agree but we do discuss.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life wholeheartedly?
ReplyDelete"Your boundaries don't need to be grand, they just need to be established."
I appreciated this quote and the reminder that establishing a few protected boundaries can help you create a routine that allows more time for the things that are important to you. He shared that prioritizing and creating boundaries in his own life helped him to be more productive when he was at work and led to better mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I find this to be true for myself. I have to set times that I don't work on school when I am at home. Too much time spent working at home leads to feeling burnt out, being less productive, and takes away from quality time with my family and other activities that are important to me.
I really enjoyed this Ted Talk! I resonated with many of his ideas and stories, the first one being this: "If we want to live a whole-hearted life, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol in productivity as self worth." As I look back over my career, I have found success and self-worth in my job and my status. I felt it was my duty. I think it affected my relationships. Now my kids are older and I only have one left in the house, I am wiser and more comfortable leaving work at work and not going out to my classroom on the weekends. But I still have that mentality that I need to do more. I also appreciated the Renee Brown quote about how we really are just longing for connection and deep meanful relationships. I totally get that. I have three boys and a husband and I still desire for there to be more to our relationships, but being boys I don't think they do. I also related to the fact that we have to be more intentional, both with making an effort and in setting boundaries to better our mental, physical and emotional health. Boundaries do not only benefit us, but also those around us.
ReplyDeleteShare your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteI thought the story that Carlos shared about his business travel. He was on the go advancing in his career but realized he was missing out the family time; missing their events and not being with the family as much as he liked. Then calling home to have his 6 year old ask if he was on the plane., "No I am at the hotel." Then his 6 year old hung up. A realization as to how work took over.
My work /life boundaries I feel are pretty good. There are the busy times of the year with school, but my family is very supportive and I put family first.
I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I feel I am caught up with school work and have quality time for myself and family.
I liked his story about his son in the hotel room. Kids say what they mean and mean what they say. Such honesty, helps make change real and meaningful.
ReplyDeleteIt also showed me that my step one decision was right. Work is important to me and my family means a lot to me and there needs to be a balance with the two. I also know that I need to say no to work and say yes to my family - more. Family moments come once - my grandson is only 3 once. So he is much more important than whether I get all my work done right now. I need to balance things more in order to give my life more meaning.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteI connected with "define the values you want to protect." Establishing boundaries is so important and something I struggle with. My husband does not work a traditional Monday through Friday job so I find myself working during non-contract hours because he is at work so it doesn't take time away from what I want to do with him, but at the same time, I am not protecting my time for myself and allowing myself to recharge over the weekend to live whole heartedly.
Myself and another team member put a lot of time and effort into last year in hopes of making following years less intensive when it comes to planning and prep. The goal is that we do not work afterhours or weekends and we can find those work/life boundaries.
There were a couple of lines shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk that really stuck with me. When he was talking about how much his work kept him away from his family and he said he, “Justified it by telling himself he was doing it all for his family,” that really struck me because so often I tell myself that I have to work these long hours in order to take care of and provide for my family. I also found it interesting when he said, “What was missing was meaningful relationships and connections, which is what we as human beings are fundamentally wired for.” This is so true because at the end of the day, we can have lots of material possessions, money, and achievements, but if we have no one to share our life and experiences with, what is the point of it all. Finally, I really liked when he said, “Boundaries don’t need to be grand, they just need to be established.” This was helpful for me because sometimes I wonder if I’m doing enough to set boundaries and sometimes, I end up overthinking setting boundaries because I feel it needs to be a complicated and detailed list of rules that I follow, when I just need to set a few boundaries and follow them. I am early in the process of establishing work-life boundaries. When I had my son in 2024, I knew I needed to establish some boundaries so I could spend time with him, yet also get my work done. What I did this past school year was follow a boundary that I had set for myself called, “Out the Door by 4.” Basically, I stay at school until 4:00 and work on whatever is most urgent. Then, when it is 4:00, I leave school, and I don’t take anything with me. This generally works well, unless it is a week where I have several appointments, errands to run, or IEP meetings. On those weeks, I get off balance and it bothers me. I need to continue to work on finding a way to balance these things out so that they don’t all happen during the same week and interrupt my scheduled work time. I feel like I am living life whole-heartedly in the summer or during breaks during the school year, because this is when I have time to get things done at home, spend time with family, and spend time doing things for myself. I wish it wasn’t this way, and I could feel this way throughout the school year. I am hoping that I can implement some ideas that I have learned from this book to help me live life whole-heartedly throughout the school year.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting was the perceptions we adopted in our culture that are so wrong as he stated in the "ted talk."Even when I stayed at home with the kids, my husband viewed this as a full time job and was always there at the end of the day to help with the things to be done, take the kids places, prep dinner. He was just involved when I was at home as I am now at work. I would say probably even more so now with it being my first year back to work. I too feel though that I have lived most life off balance and without many boundaries. When he talked about his child hanging up the phone and saying "dad you are always in hotels. " I could relate. My kids have told me many times all I do is "school stuff" or "clean up the house" It tears at my heart yet I still continue to work on it thinking it is the most important thing. I knew that I did this when I taught years ago and it got easier each year that I taught but I didn't have kids then. I said going back is time around, I wouldn't bring stuff home now that I have kids home, yet still I do just that. I try to be the best teacher I can be, get lots of good feedback, go the extra mile, care too much about what others think ... yet I still I yearn for more. What I was missing was all that time I am not having with my kids and family like I did before. I need to be more conscious with my choices and set work and home life boundaries.
ReplyDeleteWhat I also found amazing that he said was ... if we want to live a whole hearted life, we need to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and let go of exhaustion of status symbols of productivity and self worth. I used to feel that the more exhausted I was it meant that I worked my hardest and was productive and should feel fulfilled. I thought this would make me feel satisfied and happy. What I was really missing was my closest relationships my family. I even did this house chores ... putting them last at times instead of making them first. I need to define my boundaries with work and school. What I want to protect the most is my family. That is what I want to be my biggest legacy ... a mom who took the time for her kids, nurtured them, taught them, and gave them all the love and attention. I need to set the boundary that when I am at work - I am working. I am there and focused. I am productive and not distracted about anything outside. If I need a moment to breathe I do that, so I can go back with more intent and do things more effectively but my goal is to not bring things home unless I am in a season (start of the year, end of the year, conferences, report cards.) When I do need that time. I do it on my own if it is early morning or after they go to bed or have them out doing something fun. When I am at home and with my family. I am wholeheartedly there. I am present and not distracted by work related things even if it is a phone call or email. I want to make the most of our time together and make the time count.
Another thing I found interesting is that he said we don't have to make our boundaries grand. We just need to establish them. Our results will be far greater living a life with boundaries than if we just tried to "mesh" work and home life. We will be able to think clearer, be more creative, have a better physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, our relationships will also be better than they have ever been.
I loved how he said he set he decided what was important to him and the boundary he wanted to make and what it would look like with his wife. I think that is a huge thing to. Involve your spouse and children in the process. Maybe there is something we are missing and don't see. I want to do this with my family as well.
At the end his daughter said, I Love the you are now. I just wish you hadn't taken so long to show up." I don't want this to be me. I am still young and my kids are too. There is a lot of time ahead of us and I think if I can make this change now, how magical it could truly be for both my work and personal life.
My favorite part or the part that hit home was when he talked about meaningful relationships and connectiveness. I have to admit that I have never been good at work/life boundaries and at scheduling myself. I have always ran around chasing my own tail even though my husband was very supportive in telling me that the house didn't have to be clean, the laundry folded, or the kids in several activities to keep up with the neighbors. Looking back now, I wish I had taken all the advice in this talk-- much like Carlos, I am a slow learner and get caught up in the whirlwind of importance. Now that I am older, I am trying to make up for the time lost and finally getting my priorities straight. Taking time to just do nothing feels good!
ReplyDeleteInviting and incorporating more boundaries so we can learn how to show up. When my kids were very little, I knew that working full time was not a comfortable option for me. So at some point, I cut my hours back some and it was a blessing that was very needed. I continue to work part time but now I recently took a school job. The hours will probably be a bit more during a school year but much less in the summer and that is trade off I am ok with. I feel I have very good work life boundaries and I am fortunate enough to have a working but home involved husband.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to determine my work-life priorities so that I can set necessary boundaries. Family is high, but work is a high priority 1) because I enjoy working, and 2) the money that comes from or is saved by my work is helpful to reaching some financial commitments and goals.
ReplyDeleteMy work is more than teaching. I have some side hustles and a lot of self-sufficient lifestyle goals that tap into my personal independence and creativity. My garden harvest, foraging, bartering all go into my canner. This work can get monotonous and long, but the result is satisfying. I would rather be doing these tasks than watching tv or getting stuck in reels on my phone. I enjoy the satisfaction of being connected to my food and to the natural order of the world. This connection does help me feel alive and authentic.
Some would say that I don't play enough, but I feel wasteful with my time if I am just sitting around or squandering my time.
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DeleteShare your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. 'Your boundaries don't need to be grand, they just need to be established.' All you have to do is decide where the line is (the easy part) and hold to it (the hard part).
ReplyDeleteWhere are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries?
I'm mostly good, one thing I have done is instead of staying up late every night grading and planning, I give up one night a week to grading and planning and the rest of the time, I have decided things can wait.
When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
When I have created enough time that I can just lounge around with my family, I think I'm living my best life. That's what brings me the most joy.
One of my favorite lines from Carlos Hidalgo’s talk is when he said, “We wear burnout as a badge of honor.” That really hit me - It made me reflect on how often we push through exhaustion, thinking it means we’re doing a good job—when really, it means we’re stretched too thin.
ReplyDeleteRight now, I’m still learning how to set better work-life boundaries. As a teacher, it’s easy to let work spill into evenings and weekends, but ever since I have had children I have put my foot down and refused to bring work and my computer home at nights or over the weekend. However, I still often fret about how my day went or what I will plan for a new lab.
I feel like I’m living more whole-heartedly when I step away from my to-do list and spend time with my family - It reminds me that life isn’t just about work.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by the line "what drives you to tolerate a life of imbalance". What am I gaining by working so much? Or what am I avoiding my working too much? Currently I'm in the process of putting boundaries on working outside of my contracted time. Learning to prioritize and knowing it will never all get done. I feel I'm living life whole-heartedly when I can say no to things, advocate for myself and I can slow down without feeling guilty.
When he told the story about his son saying "you're always in a hotel," this hit home for me. A couple of years ago I was working in a district that unfortunately, had a lot of negativity within the buildings. This put a toll on me. I felt my spirits and love for teaching diminish rapidly. I would bring this home and complain about to my family. Then I would get right back to work, working on the next days lessons and be crabby about that. My youngest son said to me, "you're never happy anymore."
ReplyDeleteI was given this talent to teach and I want to teach the way God intended, how could I do that when all I felt was anger towards the job? My family didn't deserve me coming home and putting these feelings on them, it was not fair to them. I knew something needed to change.
I am now at a new job, hoping for a better working environment and working with older students teaching one subject, so I'm praying the work load won't be as "time consuming" like it was in lower elementary, teaching all the subjects. However, that is something I NEED to work on this school year. I will use my time planning wisely and effectively so I am not going home and doing 5-6 more hours of school time. I NEED to set boundaries and follow through with them!
One of my favorite lines was, “If we want to live a whole-hearted life, we have to be intentional about cultivating sleep and play and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth”. I’m in the beginning of the process of setting a work-life boundary. Once I was starting to get things figured out, I got moved to a new grade level and was back to square one. Now going in to my second year of a new grade level, I am starting the year with a schedule to help me stay on top of what needs to be done at school, time for myself, exercise, and time with my husband. I’m going to use my prep time wisely and not spend it visiting. I’m going to choose two days a week to stay longer to tackle things from my to-do list. I plan to leave things at work so I can enjoy time with my husband and do things I enjoy like reading, watching a show, or seeing a friend. I used to stay late at school and then stay up late working at home that I wore exhaustion as a badge of honor. I never gave time for myself, family, or friends and if I did, I was guilty that I wasn’t doing something for work. Now that I’m expecting, I’m working on establishing a better work-life boundary so my family gets the best of me. I feel like I am actually living whole-heartedly when I spend time with family and friends and don’t even give an ounce of thought to work.
ReplyDelete“Being a career women you are expected to take care of household chores, get kids to practice……” Growing up it was modeled to me that the women work in the home and put themselves last. I made a vow to myself that I would never be reliant on a man to meet my needs because I lived in fear my whole life, that there would not be enough money to make ends meet and my mom was so unhappy. When I got married even though my husband and I had the same careers, I took it upon myself to make sure the household was cared for as well as the kids. I was miserable and overwhelmed. My husband is not expect that of me, I just put it on myself because I was told by my mom what a bad mom I was. I tried to earn love and respect. I am still working on this even though my kids are grown. I always fee like I need to put in more time than others at work to gain respect of the men that run the school. I’m a work in progress. This book has opened my eyes. I am working with my counselor on boundaries .i am hopeful this year will be better and I WILL incorporate boundaries.
ReplyDeleteHis line "determine what drives you to tolerate a life of imbalance" struck me. The work we do is important, but it will never be more important than prioritizing those we love and ourselves. Establishing boundaries is crucial, even if they are minimal.
ReplyDeleteIn the last couple of school years, I have tried really hard to leave my work at school. Many times there is grading still to be done, or copies that need to be made, but I know that I will benefit more by just walking away and enjoying my afternoon/evening. The work will still be there in the morning, and I will find the time throughout my day to get it done. Obviously this doesn't always work out - inevitably I will fall behind and the stack of papers will grow, but then I will stay late one afternoon or come in on a Saturday to knock it out. It's not a perfect balance, but it's so much better to me than taking stacks of work home each night. It allows me to feel like I have an identity outside of being a teacher.
I would say the quote that got me thinking about my own life is: You will have to determine what is driving you to tolerate a life of unbalance. Lately I have felt an imbalance and not sure why. Tired, but not that productive. Giving all the time, but no feeling of accompliment. Each area of my life gets a litte, so each area of my life shows a little progress. This summer I decided to prioritize my mental health by joining an intense grief group to work on deaths of my parents and other grief/losses that were never addressed. It is hardwork but I feel needed to reset the balance in my life going forward. I look towards a future with better intentions, boundaried, goals and peace in the voyage. I am a voyager in my life.
ReplyDeleteOne of the quotes that stuck out to me the was "being a career woman and then expected to do the household chores and everything else at home." This really had me thinking about how that is the mindset that I used to have but in the last few months that I have accepted that I can't or shouldn't be doing everything so I have asked my husband for help around our house. I have also taken a step back with setting boundaries for school hours. I would have parents texting or calling at 10 o'clock or later at night and I would feel like I needed to answer them but I started last year with not answering or replying back until the next morning. I do think that helped me feel less stressed and also put my family as a priority instead of always being on my phone or computer for school work. Don't get me wrong I love being at school with my kindergarteners and watching them learn and grow but I also enjoy my time at home with my family.
ReplyDeleteThe story about his 3 year-old son saying "You're always in a hotel" resonated with me. My boys have told me "You are always cleaning, mom". I don't want them to remember all the cleaning I did. I want them to remember the time I spent with them playing, reading books, making cookies, etc. I struggle with balance very much...always have. I am learning to say, "What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now". Maybe my house doesn't have to be perfectly clean at the moment! I need to set boundaries to protect my family.
ReplyDeleteI actually was struck by two of his comments: "We have to be willing to prioritize sleep & play and letting go of exhaustion as a symbol of productivity and self worth." AND "You will have to determine what is driving you to tolerate a life of unbalance." I was raised with a very strong work ethic and it was constantly modeled by my parents. They were also very good at balancing faith/family/work time and they were always available to me. I feel like I have always been the same way with my life and my kids, but the last few years I have used work as a way to balance out my emotions and help with my "alone time". It felt better to be busy and somewhere that I was "needed" (or so I saw it that way) so that I could keep my anxiety at bay. Now, I am claiming back my time for self-preservation and time with my kids and grandkids and family. I want to be good to ME and use my time to take care of myself so I can be there for those that matter in my life. This is when I am living whole-heartedly! This past summer is the first time in 30+ years that I have not had a job and spent my time with family, friends, and took care of ME! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that my situation with work-life is based around my children. I think that I have a major advantage from most other moms in that I get to see my kids at my job every day--sometimes several times a day. My kids are in my class, and I get to see them get awards at events, perform on the sports teams, and watch them rehearse a play or a musical. I also know everything that's going on in the school (much to their dismay). The part of the TED talk that struck me the most is the part about investing in my marriage and a life with my children. Time as an investment was a big part of the beginning of the Fewer Things Better book. I also liked the line he quoted from Brenee Brown about "If we want to live a wholehearted life, we have to be intentional..." Finally, I think it is important for every family to define the values that we want to protect and make sure that we are setting the boundaries that we need in order to protect them. ~Christina Moyer
ReplyDeleteThe line that hit me was the working women have to keep things running at home. I had a hard time coming home to relax when knowing that supper needed to be made, our kids need to get their homework done, prepare for tomorrow, and make sure I was ready for work tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI left teaching and I decided that I would not put my work email on my phone. I wanted my time after work to be time for my family. I wanted to be intentional with my time when I was at home time went to my husband and kids first, the other activities came after my family’s needs were met first.
When I was teaching, it rarely feltnlike I was living life whole-heartedly. Maybe it was the short time from when the school year ended until summer school activities began. Currently, I feel like I am actually living life whole-heartedly.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDelete"Determine what drives you to tolerate a life of imbalance." That line really stuck with me because it made me stop and reflect. Why do I keep allowing things to stretch me so thin? Is it the pressure to meet expectations, not wanting to let people down, or maybe trying to prove I can handle it all? I would say it's probably become a mix of all of that.
Right now, I’d say I’m somewhere in the middle of figuring out what healthy work-life boundaries look like for me. I’ve started to recognize when I’m heading toward burnout and have gotten better about setting limits, protecting my time, and prioritizing what matters most. But I still have moments where I feel guilty for slowing down or saying no. Saying no has by far been the hardest part of not feeling like I’m letting others down.
I feel like I’m truly living life completely when I’m fully present, whether I’m spending quality time with people I care about or investing energy into only the things I’m passionate about. It’s not about having everything balanced perfectly, but about being intentional with where I give my energy. When I do that, life feels a lot more meaningful and fulfilling. This is an every day focus and stepping stone to create a balanced life for me personally and professionally.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDelete"What drove me more than anything was my ego. You will have to determine what drives you to tolerate a life of imbalance. For me it was ego." This is what stood out for me right away. Figuring out your why is important, both why you want to do fewer things better like Angela Watson had asked in her book and also your why for being overwhelmed by tasks. I think identifying both those things have been my starting point for finding balance. This is the first summer I stepped back from working full-time and I focused on other priorities. While I am still working, the extra time I have has allowed me to focus on goals for myself and my family relationships. I also like that he said to define your boundaries, that they do not need to be grand just established. I hope to continue to set boundaries as the school year is about to begin. I have felt that I have been living life whole-heartedly this summer and hope to continue to be able to focus on my priorities throughout this school year.
I really enjoyed listening to his life story about how he worked for a big corporation which was his dream. He eventually worked so much that he found himself with little time for his family. Then he quit his job and started a new job. I was thinking that things would be better for him, but in return it ended up to be how it was when he had the other job. Little time for his family, which he didn’t want.
ReplyDeleteThe line that stuck out the most for me was when he said, “All you need to do is set boundaries, that’s all.” Even though he quit his first job expecting new results in the different job he didn’t set the boundaries. That’s one thing that I have learned in teaching is that I need to set boundaries. A few years ago I felt like I wasn’t very productive after 3:30, so I stopped staying late after school. It also helped free up more family time. My family comes first and by setting this simple boundary it has freed up my time with them. This past year I also quit working on the weekends. I used to go in every Saturday and work all day. My older kids would stay home by themselves and I missed opportunities with them. This past year I have spent more time with them and attended more of their hockey games. I have also realized that teaching is my job and it’s not my life. I want to leave a legacy of being a loving mom that was around for her kids. I want to be present in their lives!
One line I really liked from Carlos Hidalgo’s talk was “Your boundaries don’t need to be grand. They just need to be established.” I think I have done pretty well at establishing work-life boundaries. In my first couple of years of teaching I was doing way too much work at home, but I have since drawn boundaries and 99% of the time I only do schoolwork at school. This has been tremendously beneficial for my life, mental health, and attitude toward my career and students. I feel like I am living my life wholeheartedly when I am spending undistracted, quality time with the people that I love.
ReplyDelete“When I am working, I am working. I am there, I am focused. I am productive, and I am not distracted by anything in the outside. When I am involved in my relationships outside of work and my hobbies and those things that bring me joy, I am wholly there, I am focused, and I’m not distracted by anything work related."
ReplyDeleteThe lines above stood out to me because that is what I am trying to accomplish myself, and I think I'm doing pretty good so far! I spent my first 6 years of teaching working way too many hours. I would come in to school 2 hours before school started. When I knew I was going to become a mom, I made changes. I only come 30 minutes before reporting time, I removed my work email from my phone, and I don't take work home with me. I could still do better in the aspect of not letting work take up space in my mind when I am home with my family. I feel like I am living life wholeheartedly when I am with my family with no distractions.
The line that stuck with me was: Boundaries don't need to be grand they just need to be established. I need to work on establishing and sticking with my boundaries. I can be wishy washy. In my head I am strong and definitive but in practice I can easily fold. I have boundaries I just need to stand up for them.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I am living life whole-heartedly when I am happy with my home schedule AND my work schedule. Work does give me a sense of worth and accomplishment. Running a household and enjoying my family also gives me a sense of worth and accomplishment. I feel great when both are running smoothly.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteCarlos shared great insight in his Ted Talk. It makes me a bit sad that it took him so long to come to a good work-life boundary and a few tries because by that time his kids were leaving the house for college; yet, I commend him for not giving up and for finally establishing a healthy work-home balance. I know I will struggle at times too, but I'm hopeful that I can figure out a healthy work-home balance early (now) to first and foremost be present for my spouse and kids, especially since my kids are both under 3. I don't want to miss a minute of them growing up since I know how fast it will go.
I really like at the end when Carlos challenges us to "Write down what you value and what boundary you may need to incorporate to protect that value." It makes perfect sense to do that in order to be purposeful and intentional about the priorities we have and the time we have to value those.
Share your favorite line or story shared by Carlos Hidalgo in his talk, Setting Work-Life Boundaries. Where are you at in the process of establishing work-life boundaries? When do you feel like you are actually living life whole-heartedly?
ReplyDeleteI love the guy you are now, just wish it didn't take you so long to show up.
As a coach I completely connect to what he is saying. I missed so many things that my children were involved in as they were growing up because I couldn't miss, or didn't think I could miss. It is so important to set boundaries for our lives and make sure that we are present for those that are the most important to us. Work can wait, phone calls can wait, emails can be answered later, but time can never be replaced that you lost with your family.