#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.

Want More? - If you love the content of this podcast, you'll love our Simple Sunday newsletter too. When you sign up, you’ll receive a simple dose of inspiration, practical tips, and a little fun—designed to help you start your week with simplicity and intention. Sign up here

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...

Chapters

• 1:05 The Magic of Boundaries
• 3:02 Just Keep At It
• 4:14 I Don't Buy Starbucks
• 6:59 Where Can You Set a Boundary This Week?

Transcript

Michelle Gauthier: 0:00

The boundary is there and I just get to keep the ongoing peace because the rule is in place.

Michelle Gauthier: 0:10

You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less. I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former overwhelmed working woman and current life coach. On this show, we unpack the stress and pressure that today's working woman experiences and in each episode you'll get a strategy to bring more calm, ease and relaxation to your life.

Michelle Gauthier: 0:37

Hi, friend, thanks for joining. Today I'm going to talk about something a little different. If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you know I talk a lot about problems, people pleasing, saying yes when you don't want to, feeling overwhelmed, and I give you tons of ideas on how to fix those things. But today I want to talk about what happens after you fix them, because that's where the magic really is. That's the part that we're all really going for, and what reminded me of this was something Tasha, who's a former client of mine.

Michelle Gauthier: 1:05

She was on the Monday episode if you haven't listened to that one yet, episode 158. She shared how she set a boundary with her kids, which was basically when I walk in the door after work, I need 15 minutes to myself before I answer any questions, and just like that. Obviously, kids don't listen on the first try. You have to keep reminding them. But after that boundary was implemented, her evenings got so much easier, so much less chaotic. Her kids got used to it. That one small boundary for her to have 15 minutes to go gather herself, change clothes, move into mom mode from boss mode had a ripple effect that changed their entire family routine. That change their entire family routine and it's still going today. So when you listen today, you learn how setting just one small boundary can unlock big relief in your daily life, like fewer demands, less decisions to make and more calm moments that just keep lasting. I'm going to give you a couple real life examples that aren't dramatic or confrontational. They're just small, little boundaries that I've put in in my life, and that couple examples that will really give you a good idea for what happens after you do this kind of work.

Michelle Gauthier: 2:13

So at the start of this episode I mentioned my client, Tasha, in this small shift that she made where she put a boundary in that her kids weren't allowed to ask her any questions for 15 minutes after she first got home from work. Let's just think about the effects of that, the impacts of that. So now when she walks in the door she no longer has them asking her questions and if they do, she just reminds them I need 15 minutes. Then for her. She goes upstairs and changes her clothes and kind of gets herself together and into family mode and comes down back down with her kids and let's just think about the effect of her whole evening and the effect on the whole family that that stressful part is skipped. She can just be present, be with her kids, enjoy dinner there.

Michelle Gauthier: 3:02

It's so nice because once you put a boundary in place, you don't even have to worry about people pleasing or that stressful saying no, because the boundary is just, you can't ask me any questions and you just have to keep reminding them of the boundary. And if you think about let's just make the assumption that the night that they spend together is much nicer because they didn't have this tense 15 minute interaction when their mom first walked in the door. And then let's just say that that happens not just like one day, but that happens every day and over time. The kids aren't even, you know, asking anymore. They're just waiting until that 15 minutes is over to start interacting with her. And so they don't have one nice night, but they have a week full of nice nights and a month full and a year full and pretty soon it's just not an issue at all anymore and there's so much less stress happening. So even though this is a tiny boundary, the way that it carries out and keeps going is so big. So if you think about some place in your life where you could set a small boundary like this. It feels sometimes a little stressful to set the boundary, but I just want to remind you how long the effects will keep going.

Michelle Gauthier: 4:14

I'll tell you a personal story about this that made a big deal in my life my kids, so they're 14 and 17. Gosh, we'll be 18 by the time this podcast goes live, and they both have their own money. They get allowance for the chores that they do at home and then they have jobs. So they have their own money. They get allowance for the chores that they do at home and then they have jobs. So they have their own money. But when my son first started driving and when my daughter first started up basically realizing what Starbucks is and that it's delicious and cool, it's like a cool thing to have at middle school, then they would both ask me for you know, can we go out to fast food, or can you take me to Starbucks and I can get Starbucks, and over time, it really, first of all, it's a lot of time and it's a lot of money. So I decided that what I needed to do was put a boundary in place that I don't pay for Starbucks at all and if I have groceries in the house which I always, always do. But you would just rather go to Cain's Chicken or whatever. You're welcome to do that, but I am not funding that. It has just saved me so much mental energy and this has been like probably a year since I put this boundary in, so they don't even ask me anymore.

Michelle Gauthier: 5:23

Just today I was at Target with my daughter and we were doing some shopping and I was actually buying something for her Sometimes I do, sometimes I don don't and as we were checking out, she said I really want to go get a Starbucks. Do we have time for me to go grab it, because there's a Starbucks in our Target? And I said sure, yeah, did you bring your wallet? Yes, I did. So she went and bought it. She would not ask me to buy her that anymore, because it's just a boundary that I don't buy that. And the fun thing about it is, instead of having a fight or me sometimes buying it and sometimes not, they know what to expect. They know exactly what to expect. They also know if they don't have the money, then they can't have it.

Michelle Gauthier: 5:59

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 so much, mom, that's so great of you to do that for me. So I can't even imagine how many asks that I just don't get because they just don't ask me about it anymore. The boundary is there and I just get to keep the ongoing piece because the rule is in place. Another boundary that can give you a lot of freedom is deciding that you don't answer work emails after a certain point of the day, maybe like five or six o'clock. Imagine what your evenings would look like if you just didn't look at your work stuff. It would give you so much more freedom.

Michelle Gauthier: 6:37

So I think the moral of the story today is, if you want to learn exactly how to set a boundary I have quite a few episodes that will talk about the nuts and bolts of how to do it, but I really today just wanted to talk about the freedom and what happens when you have a boundary and you stick to it, because once you stick to it and you get the gains from it, they just keep coming.

Michelle Gauthier: 6:59

So I highly recommend you to think about this week where's a place where I could set a boundary? And when I do that, what will it look like for me? How different will it feel? And how long will I feel differently? And the answer is probably like forever, which is the best part. I will put a link in the show notes, too, to a couple of the episodes that you can listen to if you're not a long time listener or you just need a refresher and you want to learn about how exactly to set a boundary and what the steps are for doing that and how to communicate it to the person. And then I'll also link an episode that tells you many different ways to say the word no. Okay, so get out there, set a new boundary and see what effects it has on your life.

Michelle Gauthier: 7:47

Thank you for listening to the Overwhelmed Working Woman podcast. If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at michellegauthiercom. See you next week.