Workload & wellbeing
Set two guardrails you don't need permission for
A micro habit for taking back part of your week, starting with what's already yours
Pick two limits you can keep this week without anyone's permission, keep them for a week, and notice what changes.
- 10 minutes a week
- Just you
- Weekly
- Make time
Why this can work
When work takes more than you have, some of the load is yours to shape, even when most of it isn't. Two small limits you set yourself, like a stop time or a block with no meetings, give you something to stand on right away.
Read moreHow to set boundaries at work
You’ll come away with two limits on your week that you set yourself, and a week of seeing what they do.
- Name what's taking the most.
Late nights, back-to-back meetings, a phone that never stops, Sunday evening email. One line each for the two or three that cost you most.
- Pick two guardrails you control.
Limits you can keep without asking anyone: a stop time, an hour a day where you don't accept meetings, notifications off after a set hour, lunch away from your desk, no email before a set time. Pick the two that match what's taking the most.
Tip: Choose ones you'd keep in a bad week. A modest limit you keep beats an ambitious one you break by Wednesday.
- Set them up so they hold.
Put the block on your calendar and mark it busy. Set your phone's quiet hours. Put an alarm at your stop time. Let the defaults do the work, so you aren't deciding again every day.
- Keep them for a week, then write one line each.
Did it hold, what did it cost, what changed? Keep what helped, swap what didn't, and go again.
MonTueWedThuFri9 am11 am1 pm3 pm10 min, yours5 pm0.7 hrs a month, for you9 hrs a year you didn’t have beforeSame slot so it stops being a decision
Good times to repeat it: at the start of a heavy weekwhen work starts spilling into eveningsafter a change in role or team
Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
Instant replies, every invite accepted, the laptop open at night. The work may be fixed; how it reaches you often isn't.
What might make this harder
Pick guardrails inside that: a protected hour, or notifications on only for the people who truly need you. Small limits still count.
Questions people ask
How do I set boundaries at work without asking permission?
Start with limits that affect only how work reaches you: a stop time, notifications off after a set hour, a block where you don't accept meetings. None of these need anyone's sign-off.
What are some examples of healthy work boundaries?
A consistent stop time, a meeting-free hour each day, email off on weekends, a real lunch break, and quiet hours on your phone. The right ones are the ones that match what's draining you.
How do I stop checking work email at night?
Make it the default rather than a decision: set quiet hours on your phone, move email off your home screen, and choose a time after which you don't open it. Keep it for a week and see what happens.
Why this works, and where it comes from
A heavy workload tends to fill your view with everything you can't control: the volume, the deadlines, the people setting them. That list is real, and it can make the whole thing feel hopeless. But there's usually a slice of your week that's already yours, and it's the one place you can start today.
Guardrails work because they change the default, so you decide once instead of every evening. Once your phone goes quiet at seven and the block is marked busy, there's no nightly debate about checking, and no morning one about the meeting. Two is on purpose: small enough to keep in a hard week, enough to feel a difference.
There's a second reason to start here. After a week, you have evidence: what helped, what didn't, what the limits cost. If you do go to your manager for help, you'll be asking as someone who has already done their part. That tends to change the conversation from here's a problem to here's what I've tried and where I'm stuck.
It isn't enough on its own if the hours or the pressure are making you ill. Then personal limits are a patch; talk to your manager, HR or a doctor. Being on call is its own arrangement: fit your guardrails around it, and treat how on-call works as a conversation worth having with your manager.
Other simple things to consider
What to do next
More in Workload & wellbeing
A few minutes that compound
Do it with Truest and it goes on your permanent record, in a Career Vault your employer doesn’t own.
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An exercise written by Truest, based on our experience. Last updated September 25, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.