I can’t believe I’m saying this but tomorrow is my first day back at work in the School District of Philadelphia. As I make final preparations for my class, I can’t help but think about the time, energy (and money) that teachers spend outside of our contracted hours.

Working outside the office isn’t limited to teaching. Many folks find themselves opening emails during dinner or taking work calls on vacation but why do we make ourselves available all the time? Even if you don’t plan to work outside of work, why is it so hard to say no?

Last week, a popular psychologist on Instagram posted that the reason some of us find it difficult to say no is because we want to control what other people think about us. Now, I’m not one to believe everything I see on Instagram but this post resonated with me.

Sure, I work extra hours preparing lesson plans to be prepared for the school day. But saying yes to extra meetings, taking calls outside of work hours, taking on extra work outside of my job? I believe that's related to wanted to be viewed as the hero. 

This school year, I want to prioritize creating and maintaining work boundaries. Just because I can do something, doesn’t mean I have to. Does this mean I won’t finalize and review my lesson plans on Sundays? No. But it does mean I’ll set a time for that work to be done. Despite my constant need to be productive, I can fill my spare time with other activities that aren’t work related.

, are there any areas in work where you need to set boundaries? Whether it’s leaving the office on time or setting timelines to work on a big project, use this week to get clear on where you need to set boundaries the most.