#159| Why Boundaries Are Life-Changing for Overwhelmed Working Women (You Can Do It!): Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing

Are you constantly drained by everyone’s questions, requests, and last-minute demands? Enter: the magic of boundaries. 

Discover how setting one small, clear boundary can transform your life from chaotic to calm—without drama, guilt, or endless explanations.

In this episode, you will:

• Learn real-life boundary examples that create immediate and lasting relief
• Hear how a former overwhelmed working mom made family time peaceful again
• Find out why boundaries bring freedom, not confrontation, and how yours can too

Press play now to hear simple, non-confrontational boundary strategies that can help you enjoy calmer, happier days starting tonight.

Featured on the podcast:
Ep #4: How Creating Boundaries Will Stop Overwhelm
Ep #61: 11 Ways to Say No Effortlessly & Guilt-Free
Ep #66: How to FINALLY Feel Empowered and Break Free From Overwhelm by Holding Boundaries

Wondering why you're overwhelmed? Take my "why am I overwhelmed" quiz to find out the source of your overwhelm, and what to do about it.

Send Me a Message - Have a question, comment, or just want to say hi? Message me here, I'd love to chat!

Work With Me - Interested in working with me 1-on-1, taking a class, or joining one of my coaching groups? Message me here to get the scoop.

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Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...

Episode Transcript

Michelle Gauthier (00:00):
The boundary is there and I just get to keep
the ongoing peace because therule is in place.
You're listening to OverwhelmedWorking Woman, the podcast that
helps you be more calm and moreproductive by doing less.
I'm your host, MichelleGauthier, a former overwhelmed

(00:20):
working woman and current lifecoach.
On this show, we unpack thestress and pressure that today's
working woman experiences andin each episode you'll get a
strategy to bring more calm,ease and relaxation to your life
.
Hi, friend, thanks for joining.
Today I'm going to talk aboutsomething a little different.
If you've been listening to thepodcast for a while, you know I

(00:43):
talk a lot about problems,people pleasing, saying yes when
you don't want to, feelingoverwhelmed, and I give you tons
of ideas on how to fix thosethings.
But today I want to talk aboutwhat happens after you fix them,
because that's where the magicreally is.
That's the part that we're allreally going for, and what
reminded me of this wassomething Tasha, who's a former

(01:04):
client of mine.
She was on the Monday episode ifyou haven't listened to that
one yet, episode 158.
She shared how she set aboundary with her kids, which
was basically when I walk in thedoor after work, I need 15
minutes to myself before Ianswer any questions, and just
like that.
Obviously, kids don't listen onthe first try.
You have to keep reminding them.
But after that boundary wasimplemented, her evenings got so

(01:26):
much easier, so much lesschaotic.
Her kids got used to it.
That one small boundary for herto have 15 minutes to go gather
herself, change clothes, moveinto mom mode from boss mode had
a ripple effect that changedtheir entire family routine.
That change their entire familyroutine and it's still going

(01:49):
today.
So when you listen today, youlearn how setting just one small
boundary can unlock big reliefin your daily life, like fewer
demands, less decisions to makeand more calm moments that just
keep lasting.
I'm going to give you a couplereal life examples that aren't
dramatic or confrontational.
They're just small, littleboundaries that I've put in in
my life, and that coupleexamples that will really give
you a good idea for what happensafter you do this kind of work.

(02:13):
So at the start of this episodeI mentioned my client, Tasha, in
this small shift that she madewhere she put a boundary in that
her kids weren't allowed to askher any questions for 15
minutes after she first got homefrom work.
Let's just think about theeffects of that, the impacts of
that.
So now when she walks in thedoor she no longer has them

(02:36):
asking her questions and if theydo, she just reminds them I
need 15 minutes.
Then for her.
She goes upstairs and changesher clothes and kind of gets
herself together and into familymode and comes down back down
with her kids and let's justthink about the effect of her
whole evening and the effect onthe whole family that that
stressful part is skipped.

(02:56):
She can just be present, bewith her kids, enjoy dinner
there.
It's so nice because once youput a boundary in place, you
don't even have to worry aboutpeople pleasing or that
stressful saying no, because theboundary is just, you can't ask
me any questions and you justhave to keep reminding them of
the boundary.
And if you think about let'sjust make the assumption that

(03:18):
the night that they spendtogether is much nicer because
they didn't have this tense 15minute interaction when their
mom first walked in the door.
And then let's just say thatthat happens not just like one
day, but that happens every dayand over time.
The kids aren't even, you know,asking anymore.
They're just waiting until that15 minutes is over to start

(03:39):
interacting with her.
And so they don't have one nicenight, but they have a week
full of nice nights and a monthfull and a year full and pretty
soon it's just not an issue atall anymore and there's so much
less stress happening.
So even though this is a tinyboundary, the way that it
carries out and keeps going isso big.

(04:00):
So if you think about someplace in your life where you
could set a small boundary likethis.
It feels sometimes a littlestressful to set the boundary,
but I just want to remind youhow long the effects will keep
going.
I'll tell you a personal storyabout this that made a big deal
in my life my kids, so they're14 and 17.

(04:22):
Gosh, we'll be 18 by the timethis podcast goes live, and they
both have their own money.
They get allowance for thechores that they do at home and
then they have jobs.
So they have their own money.
They get allowance for thechores that they do at home and
then they have jobs.
So they have their own money.
But when my son first starteddriving and when my daughter
first started up basicallyrealizing what Starbucks is and
that it's delicious and cool,it's like a cool thing to have
at middle school, then theywould both ask me for you know,

(04:45):
can we go out to fast food, orcan you take me to Starbucks and
I can get Starbucks, and overtime, it really, first of all,
it's a lot of time and it's alot of money.
So I decided that what I neededto do was put a boundary in
place that I don't pay forStarbucks at all and if I have

(05:06):
groceries in the house which Ialways, always do.
But you would just rather go toCain's Chicken or whatever.
You're welcome to do that, butI am not funding that.
It has just saved me so muchmental energy and this has been
like probably a year since I putthis boundary in, so they don't
even ask me anymore.
Just today I was at Target withmy daughter and we were doing
some shopping and I was actuallybuying something for her

(05:28):
Sometimes I do, sometimes I dondon't and as we were checking
out, she said I really want togo get a Starbucks.
Do we have time for me to gograb it, because there's a
Starbucks in our Target?
And I said sure, yeah, did youbring your wallet?
Yes, I did.
So she went and bought it.
She would not ask me to buy herthat anymore, because it's just
a boundary that I don't buythat.
And the fun thing about it is,instead of having a fight or me

(05:51):
sometimes buying it andsometimes not, they know what to
expect.
They know exactly what toexpect.
They also know if they don'thave the money, then they can't
have it.
And it is really fun sometimes,like, let's say we're on a
vacation or something, I'll say,oh, I'll treat to Starbucks,
what would you like this time?
Then she's like Thank you somuch, mom, that's so great of
you to do that for me.
So I can't even imagine howmany asks that I just don't get

(06:14):
because they just don't ask meabout it anymore.
The boundary is there and Ijust get to keep the ongoing
piece because the rule is inplace.
Another boundary that can giveyou a lot of freedom is deciding
that you don't answer workemails after a certain point of
the day, maybe like five or sixo'clock.
Imagine what your eveningswould look like if you just
didn't look at your work stuff.

(06:34):
It would give you so much morefreedom.
So I think the moral of thestory today is, if you want to
learn exactly how to set aboundary I have quite a few
episodes that will talk aboutthe nuts and bolts of how to do
it, but I really today justwanted to talk about the freedom
and what happens when you havea boundary and you stick to it,

(06:54):
because once you stick to it andyou get the gains from it, they
just keep coming.
So I highly recommend you tothink about this week where's a
place where I could set aboundary?
And when I do that, what willit look like for me?
How different will it feel?
And how long will I feeldifferently?
And the answer is probably likeforever, which is the best part

(07:15):
.
I will put a link in the shownotes, too, to a couple of the
episodes that you can listen toif you're not a long time
listener or you just need arefresher and you want to learn
about how exactly to set aboundary and what the steps are
for doing that and how tocommunicate it to the person.
And then I'll also link anepisode that tells you many
different ways to say the wordno.

(07:37):
Okay, so get out there, set anew boundary and see what
effects it has on your life.
Thank you for listening to theOverwhelmed Working Woman
podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my
website at michellegauthiercom.
See you next week.