Setting Boundaries: Why I Keep My Personal Life and Blog Separate

Setting Boundaries: Why I Keep My Personal Life and Blog Separate

I’ve always been the kind of person who keeps their personal life separate from their work life, and I want to share with you why. I know this isn’t ideal for those of you asking me more personal questions as I continue to discuss deeper issues on my blog, but I believe a healthy work/life balance is key to living a happy life.

I’ll be honest: I often struggle when it comes to deciding what I should or shouldn’t share on my blog. There’s a part of me that wants to let all of you in on certain things that happen to me in my personal life, but there’s also a part of me that knows that without setting boundaries things would become chaotic and ultimately unhealthy. As I’ve grown professionally, I’ve learned to be more business-minded, and I want to keep a professional point of view on how much I share.

By setting limitations, I am able to avoid a lot of stress, and mental health is crucial for successes in and outside of the office. In order to keep my mental health in check, I want to make sure I am firm with my word and execute self-control. In fact, I think we should all learn to set boundaries more frequently in many aspects of our lives (not just work).

I’m also much more creative and productive when there are distinguishable differences between what I speak about on my blog and what is going on with me personally. Of course, I share what I feel is acceptable and what I’m comfortable with, but I feel strongly about keeping big parts of my life private. For me, there has to be that separation in order to have that “off” switch and really focus on what’s in front of me.

It’s so easy to get sucked in to social media and blogging when it’s something you could be working on at any given moment at any given time. And I’ve learned from the past that if I don’t set aside time to put away my work, I am not giving my family, friends, boyfriend, or even myself the attention they/I deserve.  I want to be able to be truly present with the people I’m with, especially when I have promised them that I would give them my time. It wouldn’t be fair to be working (or thinking of work) when I am with them. Plus, if I don’t set limits to what I share, I would never stop working and in turn I would be so much less productive - and that’s just not healthy.

Overworking is something my generation in particular is guilty of. I always feel this constant need to be doing more, and I often think that what I’m doing is never enough. By setting boundaries to what I share, I can stop myself from overworking and in turn feel much happier with my life and more satisfied with what I accomplish. I think it’s important for all of us to know that we are not just what we do for work, we are so much more. That separation is crucial.

Being present is something we all likely struggle with, especially since we live in a world with so many distractions. Luckily, it’s something we can always work on. I hope you understand where I am coming from when it comes to keeping things private. Thank you for listening! X kt