Finding Freedom Through Boundaries

How Setting Healthy Boundaries Can Enhance Your Focus, Well-Being, and Impact

Nov 09, 2024

When I was in fourth grade, I began playing Little League baseball.

I was an athletic kid. Some adults might have called me “big-boned”—a gentle way of saying I was a bit chubby for my age—but I was stronger and faster than many of my peers and had great hand-eye coordination, which translated well onto the baseball field.

As a result, I was often asked to play different positions. I loved the flexibility of being a first baseman in one game, a pitcher in the next, and a third baseman after that.

My coaches were probably just testing me out in different roles to see where I felt most comfortable and where I could make the biggest contribution to the team. Indeed, I eventually settled into being a solid middle infielder and pitcher, though I also spent a lot of time as a catcher and left fielder.

Baseball taught me about setting healthy boundaries.

I loved that each infielder had a specific area of the field to cover. Though the baseball field felt vast (especially when I was out in the outfield) and the ball could travel very fast, focusing on just a small section of the field helped each player prevent the other team from scoring.

In essence, boundaries in my workspace felt empowering.

As a tenure-track faculty member, the parallels are striking. Just as a baseball field has clear lines marking different territories, our academic lives benefit from similar boundaries. Without them, the demands of research, teaching, service, and personal life can blur into an unsustainable mess.

Last week, we discussed the importance of establishing a clear, intentional academic identity—the power of clarity—to help you avoid becoming overwhelmed, overcommitted, and overworked.

This week, we’ll focus on building sustainable work habits so that once you choose your lane, you don’t go too fast, crash, and burn.

Let’s dive in!

The Academia-Specific Challenge of Boundaries

Unlike many professions, academia presents unique challenges in setting boundaries.

The traditional 9-to-5 workday rarely applies to us; one task inevitably leads to another. A stressful day of teaching can leave you drained during evening research hours. Difficult interactions with students can spill over into tense exchanges with colleagues and a harsh tone in emails.

Frustrations over publication progress can lead to a perpetual sense of dissatisfaction and the adoption of unhealthy work habits.

I’ve experienced it all.

The flexibility that initially draws many of us to academic careers can become a double-edged sword, blurring the lines between work and personal time.

But with the right mindset shift, these challenges can be reframed as opportunities to refine our academic identity and create intentional spaces for both professional and personal growth.

By viewing these blurred lines as areas for boundary-setting, we can take proactive steps toward more sustainable work habits.

There’s a pervasive myth in academia that constant availability makes you a better scholar or mentor. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Just as a baseball player can’t cover the entire field alone, we can’t be everything to everyone at all times.

Without boundaries, you’ll find yourself tripping, colliding with others, and eventually making fatal missteps.

Here are three reasons why this is true:

1. Setting Boundaries Protects Your Research

Research is a cornerstone of academic success, especially on the tenure track, yet it’s often the first casualty of poor boundary-setting.

Many academics prioritize their classroom teaching—and rightly so.

But as Greg McKeown explains in Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, which we unpacked a bit last week, boundaries protect our time from being hijacked, freeing us from the burden of constantly saying “no” to tasks that advance others’ objectives rather than our own.

In academia, this means treating your writing time as sacred—non-negotiable appointments with yourself to advance your research agenda.

For example, consider time-blocking your peak productivity hours as essential and protect them zealously.

The physical space where you work matters tremendously as well. Some faculty find success working from home on writing days, while others prefer the library or a quiet corner in their department building.

Whatever you choose, make it your dedicated research sanctuary. The visual and spatial cues of a consistent environment reinforce these boundaries for both yourself and others.

Finally, in our digital age, protecting research time also means managing your online presence. Constant email notifications can fragment your attention and disrupt deep thinking.

By setting specific times for checking and responding to emails and social media messages, you preserve the mental space needed for meaningful scholarly work—and protect personal time to spend with the people you love.

2. Setting Boundaries Protects Your Teaching and Service

In academia, the lines between mentoring and enabling can blur easily.

As Greg McKeown notes,

“When people make their problem our problem, we aren’t helping them; we’re enabling them.”

This insight applies well to our interactions with students and colleagues.

When we take on every student’s crisis as our own or agree to serve on every committee, we aren’t truly helping; we’re enabling dependency while diminishing our own effectiveness.

Setting boundaries in teaching requires clear communication and consistent practice. Students tend to respect professors who maintain professional boundaries while still offering support.

Your syllabi function as contracts that outline expectations and limits, and office hours transform from open-ended time blocks to structured opportunities for meaningful interaction.

For instance, I ask my students to send calendar invitations for office hours or I send one to them when they request a meeting, even though anyone is welcome to stop by during my scheduled office hours. My goal is to teach students the value of using a calendar to manage their time for professional commitments.

Service commitments demand similar clarity.

Without clear boundaries, we risk becoming constrained by limits others set for us.

In academia, this often leads to an overwhelming number of committee assignments and administrative duties that crowd out essential research time.

Servant leadership encourages us to balance service with self-care, making it possible to invest time in both scholarly work and in the service we provide to our students and colleagues.

3. Setting Boundaries Protects Your Mental Health

The importance of mental health in academia cannot be overstated.

Setting boundaries between personal and professional life can provide freedom from stress and anxiety—a necessity in our modern age, particularly for those whose work intersects with legal and political issues.

As faculty, I believe we have an obligation to support and encourage our students, reminding them of their immense power to transform the world for the better.

But we cannot fulfill this responsibility if we neglect our own health and well-being.

As McKeown observes,

“Boundaries are like the walls of a sandcastle. The second we let one fall over, the rest of them come crashing down.”

Signs of eroding boundaries often appear gradually.

You may find yourself working through family dinners, unable to sleep without checking email, or feeling constantly overwhelmed despite working longer hours.

Physical symptoms of stress might emerge, and paradoxically, research productivity may decrease despite the extra hours at your desk.

In truth, sometimes less really is more—efficiency over quantity.

As an aside, I try to keep these letters short and sweet, but there is a lot more to discuss in the coming weeks. Subscribe today so you don’t miss it.

Work-Life Integration vs. Work-Life Balance

I know I’ve used the term balance before, but the concept of work-life balance in academia might be better framed as work-life integration.

The ability to choose what is most essential in life is invaluable.

However, if we don’t set any boundaries, none will exist.

Academic life rarely fits into neat compartments: sometimes we work from home, sometimes we travel to conferences with family, and sometimes our children sit in on our classes.

Yet we can create sustainable rhythms that honor both our professional ambitions and personal needs. Successful integration requires thoughtful planning and regular assessment.

Some faculty designate specific days for different tasks, grouping similar activities together and building in buffer time for unexpected demands through block scheduling.

Others create weekly schedules that respect both work and personal commitments, establishing firm cutoff times to transition from one activity to the next.

The key is finding a sustainable pattern that works for your unique situation.

Creating Social Contracts

Setting boundaries is fundamentally about establishing expectations.

When we embark on new projects or form new relationships, it’s essential to clearly outline priorities and mutual expectations—defining what we’re prepared to give and what we’re willing to accept in return.

Equally important is establishing a “contract” with yourself.

What commitments do you want to honor in your work?
How do they align with your core values?

This self-defined scope can serve as a compass, guiding you to make intentional, value-driven decisions.

This brings me to the often-debated concept of “academic branding.”

Some argue that “branding”—a term commonly associated with the business world—undermines academia’s dedication to free thought and learning.

But I see it differently.

For me, academic branding isn’t about profit; it’s about clarity.

It’s about communicating what you care about, what you stand for, and, importantly, where you choose to focus your time and energy.

By openly sharing our core values and academic interests, we foster more genuine connections with colleagues, students, and the broader community.

In this way, academic branding becomes an act of boundary-setting: it allows others to understand what we offer, what we prioritize, and where our influence lies.

Far from corrupting the spirit of academia, this approach actually supports its mission by helping us connect meaningfully, avoid burnout, and maintain a strong sense of purpose.

In the end, if we don’t set these expectations for ourselves, we risk either falling short or overextending in ways that dilute our impact.

In academia, these boundaries extend to our department, students, and collaborators, helping us create a sustainable, purpose-driven career path.

Implementing Boundaries: A Practical Approach

“Great, I’m on board,” you might be saying.

“But where do I start?”

Establishing boundaries begins with intentional habits that provide structure and help compartmentalize your roles.

Many people find that grounding practices—like daily prayer, meditation, or reflections on gratitude—help separate and protect different areas of life, allowing them to bring a fresh mindset to each.

For example, even if a day in the classroom is challenging, that stress doesn’t need to carry over into an evening of research or personal time.

Start with one or two clear boundaries that will have the most immediate impact.

You might choose to protect your writing time as uninterrupted focus hours or set limits on responding to emails outside of core work hours.

As these boundaries become second nature, expand them to other areas, like setting aside time for professional development or protecting moments for creative thinking. This enables you to grow into the leader you have been called to become.

Communicating these boundaries to colleagues, students, and collaborators ensures mutual respect, while consistency reinforces their importance.

These boundaries don’t just prevent burnout—they also directly contribute to the “Accelerate” component of my C.A.R.E. framework for academic branding, which I mentioned last week and will explain more in future newsletters.

By intentionally protecting time for aligned, strategic scholarly activities, you build momentum in your research, teaching, and service.

Boundaries allow you to channel your energy into what matters most, increasing the quality and pace of your work.

This deliberate acceleration toward your goals is key to sustaining a thriving academic identity and ultimately driving impactful scholarship.

The Liberation of Limits

Just as the boundaries of the baseball field provided clarity and purpose for me as a kid in little league, academic boundaries can be equally empowering.

They protect our time, energy, and mental health while enabling us to excel in our chosen areas of focus.

Remember, boundaries aren’t about limitation—they’re about liberation.

As you progress on your tenure track journey, keep in mind that setting boundaries isn’t selfish; it’s essential.

Boundaries are what allow us to make our best contributions to our fields, students, and communities, while also maintaining our well-being and relationships.

The ability to choose what is most essential in academic life is invaluable. If you don’t set any boundaries, there simply won’t be any.

By thoughtfully establishing and maintaining boundaries, you create the space needed to thrive both personally and professionally.

Your future self—and your future tenure portfolio—will thank you for the boundaries you set today.

Becoming Full,

P.S. If you made it this far, you are committed. I find great joy in helping committed academics achieve focus and clarity. If you’re struggling with questions about your scholarly identity or developing your academic brand, I’d love to assist you.

Please feel free to leave your questions in the comments. I also offer individual coaching for a select number of clients. Next week, we’ll explore ways to integrate creativity into your work life once you have established balance. Subscribe to ensure you don’t miss it!

Our Mission: At The Tenure Track, we believe every academic deserves to thrive both in their career and personal life. Our mission is to provide the tools, insights, and community support to help you achieve lasting success on the path to becoming a full professor—and beyond.