Weekly Wellbeing: Mental boundaries
Weekly Wellbeing: Mental boundaries 
Hey guys, time for another Weekly Wellbeing activity! 
It can be really easy to forget to draw boundaries between different aspects of our life. Work, sleep, recreation, and study can all overlap in ways that sometimes aren't the best for our headspace or for our produtivity either tbh
I know that this year, a lot of our daily life is now being done from home. Which means it's super easy to have our hobbies, sleep, work, and study take place in the same spot. This can make it hard to switch off and not feel like we need to be on call 24/7. For example, my housemate finishes work at 5, but sometimes she's still getting calls after 7, because there's no point at which people officially 'go home from work'.
I've seen a lot people talk about feeling guilty for not being super productive in their downtime, but rest and recreation are really important for wellbeing!
So for this Weekly Wellbeing:
1. Are there areas of your life that are starting to blur into one another? Does this work for you or is it impacting your wellbeing in any way?
2. Can you think of any ways of creating boundaries between R and R, and other committments? e.g. getting changed after school, logging out of your email at a certain time etc.?
I love this topic and it's so important but it never occurred to me how important it was until lockdown happened this year.
1. Are there areas of your life that are starting to blur into one another? Does this work for you or is it impacting your wellbeing in any way?
Separating downtime and study time has been quite difficult because I'm so used to having the option to either study at home and then going out to meet up with friends or study at the library and then spending my spare time at home. When lockdowns first began this was the main issue that I had to difficulties with and it just made everything so much more stressful.
2. Can you think of any ways of creating boundaries between R and R, and other commitments? e.g. getting changed after school, logging out of your email at a certain time, etc.?
How I overcame this was by setting up regular routines that I would follow every morning to bring back some normalcy into my life. I would also force myself to log off everything uni-related around 5 pm and just spend the rest of the day doing things I enjoyed (meaning playing animal crossing 
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@Sunnybear I've gone through the same thing re: study and home life. It can be difficult. However, I'm glad you've got a strategy in place so that you can "switch off". I've never played Animal Crossing before but my friends are obsessed!!!
@h0peful It definitely took me some trial and errors to figure out what worked and what didn't 
Really?! You have to try it, at first I couldn't get into it but once you get going on designing everything and then seeing your ideas come together it got so addicting 
@Sunnybear I have heard that it can become very addicting, hence I'm scared to try it does the name accurately reflect the purpose of the game - i.e. to help animals cross the road?! Haha!
@Hannah-RO I love that phrase! Maybe one day you can post some pictures of the kittens!
@h0peful ooooftttt... Can't say I'm the same.. only joking! I love dogs too but cats just have a special place in my heart I've never given the name 'animal crossing' much thought but nope we don't help animals cross the road
Dogs are pretty awesome too @h0peful ! Lovely that you've got two pups that bring you joy 
Would love to post some pics @Sunnybear but all the photos I take of them are really bad hahahha I think my brother took some cute ones though, will see what I can dig up!
(I have also always wondered why it was called animal crossing and thought it was about crossing the road 
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1. Are there areas of your life that are starting to blur into one another? Does this work for you or is it impacting your wellbeing in any way?
This is definitely an issue I have at the moment. Silly me, at the beginning of lockdown I was so bored so signed up to heaps of different activities and opportunities. I love them but now I just feel overwhelmed and stressed! I hardly have anytime for myself. When I do try to "switch off", my mind still races with thoughts.
2. Can you think of any ways of creating boundaries between R and R, and other committments? e.g. getting changed after school, logging out of your email at a certain time etc.?
First thing I could do is to have a shower first thing in the morning and get ready for the day. Second, I always make an excuse that I don't have time to go for a walk because I have so much work to do. I need to change this habit because 1) physical activity will improve my mood and calm me down 2) I will probably be more productive if I come back to work later with a clear and positive mindset
Hey @h0peful I very much related to both of your responses, what activities did you get involved in? Good on you getting engaged in stuff though, I also signed up for things and am wondering now how to continue to fit them into my life! What do you do to switch off?
Starting your day with a shower is a great idea. As is going for walks! I started walking everyday when I finish work and it has made such a difference - and has definitely made me feel clearer. What time of day would be good for you to go for a walk?
@Hannah-RO I got involved in a lot of community initiatives and groups so absolutely not anything that I regret! Just a bit tough sometimes to juggle it all. What about you? - what kind of activities did you get involved in?
I think walking in the morning works best for me... I kind of have to force myself straight away otherwise I would probably come up with excuses later on
Ah that is awesome @h0peful ! Good on you - totally true though that it can be hard to juggle. I started doing some volunteering and some kitten fostering which I want to do more of but have to work out how to make it work with my current schedule 
Walking first thing sounds so good!! I am not a morning person but I very deeply respect those who are!
@Hannah-RO What made you decide that you wanted to start fostering kittens? I'm the biggest cat person 
is it hard when the kittens get adopted and have to leave? I know that's the whole point of fostering but I feel like I'll be too attached to let them go!
Oh my goshhhh do it @Sunnybear ! It is the best. I did it once many years ago, then when covid lockdown was happening I had been reading about how its a great time to foster, I was at home a lot and had the space and time. It is definitely hard to say good bye, but it's also lovely to know they are going to make another family really happy - and also all the kittens I had this year were unwell in someway when I got them so it was a bit of extra work! So while it was sad it was also a relief in some ways to pass them on AND it means you can get new ones!!
@Hannah-RO @Sunnybear ooft... guys, hate to break it to you but I'm a dog person. I have two dogs that I absolutely adore!!! Would love to foster some one day!
Reading that makes me so happy!! @Hannah-RO I would love to but unfortunately, I don't have the space to foster but I do love hearing foster success stories 
How many kittens do you usually foster at a time? It must feel super rewarding after all the kittens get adopted and go to their forever homes! I sometimes pet-set for my relatives and it's the best thing ever
Ah yeah I understand, it can be hard getting everything into place to be able to do it, but maybe in future it could be something to look into 
I have only ever had either 2 or 3 at a time, I think they are pretty perfect numbers for me - any more would probably be too much of a handful! But having more than one means they look after each other, keep each other warm and learn how to be cats together - it's less exhausting for me as I don't have to entertain them as much cause their fav toys are each other!
You're right that it is super rewarding, there is a cute phrase in cat-foster world that is "goodbye is the goal" which I think is really sweet. And pet sitting is so good!!! You're relatives (both human and animal) are very lucky to have you doing that for them and it sounds like its fun for you too
This is such a good point and i deeply relate to this. even now i'm having a bit of headache cos everything's been so much "go go go"
1. Are there areas of your life that are starting to blur into one another? Does this work for you or is it impacting your wellbeing in any way?
I think i went from having nothing to do to having a lot to do really quickly and i've structured things maybe not the best way. so most days i have a lot going back to back, such as volunteering.
It is impacting my wellbeing because i feel like my alertness/stress levels are just constantly on and never fall down. so it's good for me to get back into yoga, go for a walk or just peace out and play a game
2. Can you think of any ways of creating boundaries between R and R, and other committments? e.g. getting changed after school, logging out of your email at a certain time etc.?
I think between doing things it would be good to peace out, do some cleaning, watch a show or just play a game/read a book. otherwise, scheduling some mindfulness time is really great for me
oh and going to sleep earlier/sitting in bed earlier signals to my brain that i can relax a bit more
@wanderingwasp yeah I relate- structure is great but if everything is go go go still, it can be hard to catch your breath! How are the efforts to create more rest and recovery for you?
Studying and downtime has definitely blurred into one being in lockdown in Victoria. I like to go for a walk at the end of the day once I’ve finished studying. Then after I get home from my walk I like to read or watch TV during down time which has definitely helped!
I definitely agree with what many posts have said. Lockdown has made the study and downtime a bit blurred for me as well. I feel like going for a walk at the end of the day helps me to clear my mind and take a break from study.
@mol1912 - I have also started going on walks as well! It's another good way to create those boundaries between studying and downtime since you have to leave the place you're studying at.
@November13 sometimes lectures in bed gets the job done 😛 especially in winter brrrrr
@WheresMySquishy your caring schedule sounds absolutely full on! have you been trying any new hobbies when you've managed to get some downtime?
@Tay100 wearing different clothes is such a helpful one! when i put on pjs it's like an off switch for my brain 😛
@sunnygirl606 that sounds like a good way of creating a boundary, it can be super tricky to switch gears sometimes can't it?
@Bingo1234 definitely a mood! taking a walk sounds like a really good physical break between activities -might give that one a shot! 😄
@ecla34 Yep, I've been trying to play video games when I wake up and in the evening instead of doing work. What we're going to do is have a break from some of the supports for a while and reduce another support to being every fortnight instead of every week. This also means I can hopefully go out to the shops after I do my volunteering this week. 🙂 We just felt that there were too many people doing physical things at the moment that weren't providing much benefit.
@ecla34 yeah it's the greatest, I wear an Oodie hoodie to so it's even better!
1. Are there areas of your life that are starting to blur into one another? Does this work for you or is it impacting your wellbeing in any way?
- I feel like my life is just becoming uni and work. Whenever i have 'down time' i just keep thinking about all the uni i have to do. It impacts my wellbeing sometimes; sometimes it is helpful because it helps me to keep on track but others it just gets overwhelming.
2. Can you think of any ways of creating boundaries between R and R, and other commitments? e.g. getting changed after school, logging out of your email at a certain time etc.?
- Stop uni work earlier to give myself time to 'log out' of my uni mode
