The Summer Boundary Reset: Reclaim Your Time, Energy, and Sanity

This week, a client was frustrated by low engagement with her newsletter. “When did you send it?” I asked.

She paused: “July 4th.”

In fairness, while this is a national American holiday, most of her audience is Canadian. July 1st is Canada Day. July 5th was the Calgary Stampede Parade. And in between, her target audience are often offline—relaxing at the lake or simply choosing sunshine over screen time. It’s a week when many recalibrate their work-life boundaries.

“I only read one email newsletter this week,” I shared. “And it had nothing to do with work.”
Even my brain was craving slowness. A moment in the sun. A good book. Something that felt more like living than hustling.

You might be thinking: But what if I miss a chance? What if this is the post or email that finally lands?

“A career, a business or a life based on fear isn’t
going to get you to where you want to be.”

Even though we have more paid time off than ever, we’re using it less. A recent study suggests this may be because taking a vacation feels like breaking an unspoken workplace rule – making people feel guilty or worry about how they’re seen at work. That guilt can lead them to shorten their trips, apologize for taking time off, or skipping vacation altogether.

Let’s get honest – building a life or career on fear won’t lead you to the freedom or fulfillment you want.

Looking back, I can see how often fear made my decisions for me:

• • • I didn’t use my professional development budget because I was scared to be away.
    • I stayed at work late to prove myself. 
    • I worked through lunch, skipped workouts, and missed out on meaningful moments with my family, driven by a fear of not contributing enough at work.

But the joke was on me. I was sacrificing my well-being and work/life happiness… and no one was handing out awards for it.

“When you say yes – what are you saying no to?”

Do you struggle with boundary setting? The Guilt Around Vacation is Real – and It’s Costing Us

Even though employees have more paid time off than ever, they’re taking less of it. Why? Because it feels like breaking an unspoken workplace rule. Studies show guilt leads workers to shorten vacations, apologize for taking time off, or skipping their holiday time altogether.

But the real cost? Burnout.

Not exercising your boundaries = burnout. And it’s rising sharply.

Let’s put it in perspective with some data:

• The top causes of burnout are heavy workloads and long hours (39%), emotional or mental fatigue from high-stress tasks (38%), insufficient work-life balance (28%), lack of management support or recognition (28%), and lack of professional growth opportunities (28%)
• Nearly half of Canadian workers (47%) reported burnout in early 2025 – up from 33% just two years earlier.
• Working parents, HR and legal professionals, and millennials are the hardest hit.
• Burned-out workers are nearly three times more likely to be job hunting.
• It leads to exhaustion, lower performance, disconnection – and people leaving jobs they once cared deeply about.

5 Ways to Set (and Keep) Summer Boundaries

Let’s move from reflection to action. While it’s difficult to get away from the expectations of your particular workplace, with reduced resources and increased expectations, there are some personal boundaries and ways of being that you could try implementing – even just for a little while, during a self-declared “slower” season at work.

1. Honour Your Time

Most workplaces have a “busy” season. For accountants it’s tax time, for construction workers it’s summer time, for many office workers it’s the dark days of winter when people pull up their sleeves and get the big stuff done. What if you chose a season of time at your workplace when you stuck to the designated working hours. This gives you a season of time you can look forward to that follow the ideal of how your work would function in an ideal setting. 

Always working overtime or always pushing the boundaries of your physical clock isn’t sustainable in the long-term – as indicated by the parade of statistics I shared above.

Choose a “slower” season to stick to your work hours. No overtime. No guilt.

→ Your Action: What’s one way you’ll honour your time this summer?

2. Change Your Location

For many years now, I have given myself permission to not only implement “summer hours” but also to work from a different location. Granted, the remote nature of my work allows that privilege more than ever, however it wasn’t always that way. As a communications consultant I would do my best to influence project deadlines and subcontract the in-person work so I could work from my cabin for a few weeks over the summer – then I’d tack on my summer holidays and voila – I have enjoyed working from a different location. And even though I’m still working, the change of environment provides an ease of pace that I don’t enjoy the same way from my office in the city. (Never mind the makeshift work space 😉  I still love it.)

A fresh space brings fresh energy. A cabin, a coffee shop, a park bench – new scenery creates new mental space.

→ Your Action: How can you change your work environment, even once a week?

3. Focus on Your Health First

What if your renewed focus on your health drove the bus, instead of the work clock? What would an ideal workday look like for you with your health in mind? What time do you need to have available every day to move your body, eat well, enjoy restorative rest and nurturing relationships?

Design your day with you in mind – movement, food, rest, relationships.

→ Your Action: What does your ideal wellness-first workday look like? Here’s a perfect week template you can use.

4. Create a Rest Ritual

Ensuring you get the rest you need almost every day is a key way to keep burn-out at bay. Giving yourself a shut down time with an evening ritual that removes blue light and allows for rest is a commitment you have to make. It won’t just happen on its own.

A screen-free wind-down, a regular bedtime, even a 10-minute breathwork practice can help.

→ Your Action: What’s one small step toward more restorative rest that you can implement this evening?

5. Implement Brave Boundaries

The top performers know their priorities and stick to them. They’re the ones in university who were strict about study before play. They’re the ones who prioritize family over casual friendships. They’re the ones who know where the best use of their time is. In short, they don’t do everything because they know they can’t. 

Know what matters most – and don’t try to do it all.

→ Your Action: What’s the best use of your time this season? What will you not do to preserve time spent on what’s most important?

Too Long Didn’t Read? (I see you!)

Rest isn’t a reward. It’s your responsibility. Choose courage over guilt. Presence over pressure. And boundaries that support the life you’re here to live – not just the job you’re here to do.

Curious about how to implement those brave boundaries with grace, kindness, and an approach that’s aligned to you? I’m just a phone call away. Book a coffee chat here: 30 Minute Coffee Chat