Can't Leave At 5:30? Three Alternative Ways To Set Healthy Work Boundaries

Sheryl Sandberg leaves work at 5:30. Barbara Corcoran shuts off her phone for half the day. And that rascal Tim Ferriss somehow gets away with only working four hours a week (allegedly). But they're all superstars. Here's what normal people can do to set healthy work boundaries.

"Bravo to Sheryl Sandberg for leaving work at 5:30," CNN applauded in a recent headline. That's just one of many headlines congratulating the chief operating officer at Facebook for leaving work at a reasonable hour to spend time with her kids. During our most recent episode of Work Flow, Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran shared her weekday ritual of turning off her phone from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. to focus on her family. For a few years now, author Tim Ferriss has teased us with the 4-hour fantasy--the 4-hour work week and the 4-hour body--with "Superhuman" recipes for outsourcing your life and achieving a sexy shape.

As I look toward my own professional networks, I see an opposite trend. From work days that end at midnight to 60-hour workweeks, the winning recipe for many workers is, well, a lot of hard work. There are few shortcuts, even fewer opportunities to work less, and, unless you're the boss, turning off for long periods isn't always well-received.

I'm not saying that the Sandbergs, Corcorans, and Ferrisses of the world don't work hard. Quite the opposite. Clearly they've hustled for years, propelling themselves into fantastic careers that I would argue finally give them the opportunity to design their lives with the freedom they've shared as of late. Most of us aren't "there" yet.

Fortunately, it is possible to maintain some type of balance in our lives, even if it doesn't free up all nights and some days. Here are three ways "normal people" can establish boundaries to move away from what feels like a 24-hour workday.

1. Analyze Your Time

Before you can tweak the design of your days, you need to properly understand how much time you're being productive and how much time you're wasting. Y...

[Source: Fast Company]