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One of my favorite ways to vacation is to cruise. Why? Because I can completely unplug while having a good time.
[callout]Once I board the ship, I immediately begin to relax.[/callout]
My husband and I have an agreement when we cruise. When we reach international waters, I turn off my phone, iPad and watch and place them in the safe. Yes, I unplug for the entire vacation.
Cruising is very liberating. First, when I leave my house in the morning to head to work I am carrying at least three bags (purse, tote bag, and lunch bag). Once we set sail, all I need is my sign and sail card, unlike my daily routine.
Second, I don’t have to cook or clean. There are numerous places to eat and our cabin steward takes care of our room. I love coming back to the room after dinner to find a cute towel animal and chocolate on my pillow.
Next, I don’t have to drive to be entertained! Everything, i.e. shopping, Broadway shows, fitness center, pool, spa, is located on the ship. Our last cruise ship had an IMAX theater with first-run movies.
Lastly, we visit beautiful ports of call. While we have cruised locations in Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, every port has one thing in common. What? A yellow line! Yes, a yellow line with a warning sign saying, “Don’t cross the yellow line.”
The yellow line is a warning to all visitors. The line serves as a visual boundary to keep us safe. The port authorities want to ensure you don’t fall off the pier into the water. The yellow line is there to keep us out of a dangerous situation.
Boundaries are important in life and leadership. According to Laurie Maddalena, “without boundaries, our days become a haze of activities without any focus.” As a leader, you must protect your time to maximize your productivity.
As the leader how do you protect your time? Below are Maddelena’s eight leadership boundaries that can help you protect your time and energy:
- Closing your door to work on an important project
- Telling your team, you are not available for the next two hours, so you can work on a project
- Taking a lunch break every day to give your brain a rest
- Not accepting a meeting request without an agenda
- Protecting the first half hour of your workday to get focused and review your priorities for the day
- Leaving the office, no later than 6:00 pm each day
- Not checking email on weekends
- Not working at all on vacation
Boundaries set us up for success.
[shareable cite=”Kevin Eikenberry”]At the end of the day, boundaries are less about defining what we can’t do and more about what we can do”[/shareable]
What boundaries will you enact to achieve success?
Your leadership guide,
Kim
Dr. Kim Moore | Your Leadership Guide | kimdmoore.com
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