Maggie McVay Lynch
Nov 2 · 1 min read

A great reminder for me. I do have a tendency to want to be available and helpful to people. In the past that has had an impact on my own time management. I do their thing and then that means my thing is done late at night. It’s all a boundary thing. :)

About two years ago I started letting people know in the groups I regularly interact with that my life was so packed right now that I’d be responding when I could, and that might mean a week or more later. I also outlined the things I was no longer going to do for people and gave them resources to help.

Interestingly, most people said: “It’s about time you set boundaries on your time so we don’t take advantage of you.” Ah hem. They knew they were taking advantage but as long as I let them they continued.

Now I just have to work on the guilt I feel when I ignore someone or don’t respond. It’s ingrained for decades, but I’m working on it. Each year I’m more clear about what I can and can’t do, with myself and others. I figure by the time I did I’ll probably have it down cold. :)

    Maggie McVay Lynch

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    A geek-creative with 21 books published, I write stories about people making heroic choices one messy moment at a time. Learn more at maggielynch.com